Battery-powered drill/driver options - RFI

[daniel lane]

Hi, all -

Recently one of my DeWalt 18V drills decided to let out its smoke, rendering it inoperable. Today, when visiting the local hardware store for kidproofing stuff, I saw an advert for $100 off a Milwaukee set if you bring in a cordless drill/driver with 2 batteries. This prompted hours of research, which didn't help that much!

The short of it is I'm looking to replace the now smokeless DeWalt, but I'm thinking of moving to lithium ion. To do so will probably set the stage for future purchases, as I'm a huge fan of "one battery type for all, one charger for all". So...I'm asking for advice.

My use is not commercial/construction, so from what I've read, I'm leaning toward the 10.8V drills/drivers for hobby use. I was thinking seriously about the Makita, but with this particular offer, Milwaukee is contending for new shop primary (I've been DeWalt 18V XRP for the last 6-8 years). This is a a remarkable silly yet serious topic for me, as I have a lot of DeWalt 18V tools that will be slowly replaced with another brand/voltage should I switch. I've done a lot of research and lots of what I'm finding is ~2008 vintage commentary, I'm hoping for something more recent.

Anyone have any input/thoughts?


Thanks,

daniel

[John Sanford]

Contact DeWalt, give them the model numbers of the tools you have. IIRC, DeWalt allows you to use some/many of their late generation NiCad tools with DW's lithion-ion batteries. If so, you just go out and get one of their 18v Lithium-Ion tools, which will give you two Li-Ion batteries and charger, and you're good to go.

[Craig Michael]

I have makita blue 18v drill and impact combo set and it's excellent. You could go the white makita if you want the more compact size, people give those great reviews. I looked at the milwaukee too but opted for the makita just because so many were always so positive on the makita and not many had the milwaukee's to give me a first hand take. If you want to stay with one platform, I'd go with the makita, they have the most tools available. If you wanted a 12v tool, I'd opt for milwaukee. In that level they make great tools and have the most available.

[Ben Althaus]

I had an 18v Milwaukee drill that I bought when 18v came out. It served me very well over the years. When the second battery failed ( I bit the bullet and replaced the first failure) I decided that I wanted a L-Ion. I ended up with the Hitachi 18v L-Ion and could not be happier. L-Ion is the way to go for sure. Be aware that TTI (Ryobi) now owns Milwaukee and there has been a quality drop. A lot of Ryobi quality in Milwaukee clothing from what I have read.

[Greg R Bradley]

I also seem to recall that Dewalt was one of the few, perhaps the only, company that carried some compatability from their Ni-Cd line into their Li-Ion line. If that is true and you can buy a new 18v Li-Ion kit, that seems like your best bet given your other 18v Dewalt stuff and the fact that you have been happy with them. I would also recommend you contact Dewalt and confirm that you could use the newer batteries on your equipment.

You haven't found the weak points in that Dewalt line, so newer Dewalt and Milwaukee will be as good, and probably better, for you. Bosch & Makita are a step up in durability on most of their cordless tools but that doesn't seem important for your use.

I think the most important decision is if you want to go to a lighter weight cordless series for most of your use. You mentioned the 10.8v lines, which seems to indicate that you want something lighter. Don't forget the 10.8v lines are all being advertised as "12v max" at this point, even though they are actually 10.8v.

I love the 10.8v tools but they might not be powerful enough for all your uses. That will depend on what you need. Most of the newest 18v Li-Ion tools also have slim batteries that get the weight down to much less than your current "smokeless" drill. It would be hard to make a bad decision in current 10.8/12v or 18v Li-Ion tools if you buy Dewalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, or Makita.

[Eddie Watkins]

If you go with the Dewalt Li-Ion, be aware that they also have the two different batteries in the 18 v. There is a regular version and a XRP? version that has much longer charge capacity. Because I have a bunch of 18v Dewalt tools I, too, was trying to stay with a single battery type and bought a new set of drills with the standard batteries. I wasn't real happy with them so I bought two of the more powerful Li-Ions.

[Craig Michael]

The corporate owner for both is TTI but there has not been any quality drop off for milwaukee, their tools are as good as ever. The M12 line is fantastic. The only thing Ryobi that I own is a 20 yr old circular saw that I use only for masonry, and junk stuff that I don't want to use the good one on. From what I've heard on some other boards Ryobi's has a few good tools, I guess their new ear protection/head phones are pretty good and the flashlight in their sub compact line.

[Ronald Blue]

The DeWalt 18 volt lithium ion batteries are compatible with all the 18volt tools. So if your happy with the other tools you have then just upgrade to the lithium ion drill and chrager and you will be set. Here is a link from DeWalt that compares the nicad to the lithium ion batteries. http://www.dewalt.com/tool-compare/ProductCompare.aspx?prod1=8131&prod2=17720&

[Steve Costa]

Consider the Panasonic L-Ion drills. I have had 2 Panasonic Ni Cads for over 8 years, never a problem. I have been told that Pansonic is one of the few companies that make their own batteries. When my Ni-Cads die I'll but Panasonics. They make a nice 15V version. Not cheap but will last you a very long time.

[James White]

"I saw an advert for $100 off a Milwaukee set if you bring in a cordless drill/driver with 2 batteries."

Can you share the details of this deal. Is it still available?

James

[Aaron Rowland]

You don't buy a battery drill, you rent it. Some Li ion batteries are an order of magnitude better then the nicads and others. DeWalt went with the best, the A123 brand. They are very expensive however and DeWalt also offers elcheapos to meet a price point. You can rapid charge a A123 in minutes rather then hours with the right charger. The charger that DeWalt sells is is slow however. $ again. A123 makes the batteries for Tesla and Fiskar I think. I have a couple of drills with A123's and the batteries can sit on the shelf for a year with no self discharge. The RC Electric guys use them and it's possible to retrofit an old nicad pack with them. They come in only two sizes, 1100 mha and 2300 mah. I have a VSX drill by BD that's my favorite. They quit making them because of low sales due to cost. I bought about 10 packs of battery's at the BD close out store a few years ago. Paid close to nothing for the drill and battery's. Had the units for years and will never wear them out. No old age degradation either. A site that sells the bigger A123's is Hobby City along with high speed chargers. The battery is about $8.00 per cell and you have to solder the pack up your self. For DIY electric guy only.

Then there is Harbor Freight with a 3/8 drill 18 V pack for $15.00 when it's on sale.

[daniel lane]

Thanks, all. I hadn't realized DeWalt had compatible 18V LiIon/NiCads, so I will likely look that route. My second option at this point is probably the white Makitas, if only because I've held them and like them. I'll keep my eyes open for options, but likely will find myself sticking with the yellow guys (lotsa tools, lotsa batteries).



"I saw an advert for $100 off a Milwaukee set if you bring in a cordless drill/driver with 2 batteries."

Can you share the details of this deal. Is it still available?

James

http://www.damariscottahardware.com/PDF/milwaukee%20tradein.pdf

This isn't where I saw it, but it is the same thing I saw at the local OSH.



Regards,

daniel

[Brian Tymchak]

My Yellow 18V drill was on its last legs and so I went to the local Woodworking Shows show in search of a replacement. Was thinking primarily about the 18V LI combo kit I'd seen on Amazon and other places. However, I noticed the Dewalt display had >no< 18v LI batteries or tool combos. The rep said that Dewalt wasn't happy with the 18v Li batteries and they pulled the tools out of the displays. (Maybe they were just trying to unload a bunch of XRP stock??) Anyway, I bought a hammer drill (bare tool) and another XRP battery. The drill has the hammer feature as an option so I didn't need to buy a combo set saving me about $100. (Nice!) It is true that all of the new 18V Dewalt tools are designed to accomodate either LI or XRP batteries so I am able to reuse my existing XRP collection. Overall, pretty happy with the purchase and I get all the value out of my older batteries.