Which new cordless drill and impact driver?

[Stephen Sebed]

my last cordless drill quit working suddenly. So far I've only had Craftsman drills and they have all only lasted two to three years before the batteries or drill gave up. I want something that will last longer! At work I use a dewalt 18v xrp drill/hammerdrill and impact driver everyday and really like them. They have a lot of power and seem to run a long time. (I really don't have anything to compare runtime to!) It looks like dewalt batteries will interchange. Am I correct on this, the dewalt 18v tools can use either nickel-cadmium batteries or the lithium ion batteries? If that's true, I really like the standardization of the different battery types. The ability to buy either lithium or nicad replacement batteries is nice. I figure the drill and impact will far outlast any batteries I can get so being able to get replacements is essential. Do any of the other manufacturers offer all this? How long should a homeowner/serious diyselfer expect a battery to last anyway?

I've been seriously considering the rigid line of 18v cordless tools due to the lifetime warranty offered. But they don't seem to have a drill/impact kit and there combo kit looks a bit overpriced. I would love to have a lifetime warranty on the tool and batteries!!



P.S. I think I'm getting spoiled with the impact driver at work. I used to drive screws with my drill but the impact is much nicer!

[Dan Rude]

Try the Milwaukee 18 volt kit, the special now is the extra battery with it at Home Depo. Warrenty on the Batteries is 5 yrs. I like mine, but have found the the drill can's handle my Irwin boring bits. But then my 3/8 corded can't either. I also have the 12 volt driver which does a lot of my small stuff now.

[Jeff Todd]

I have bosch drills. that have the 18v "bluecore" batts. and those drills have taken a beating and still work great.. http://www.buy.com/prod/new-bosch-23618-18v-cordless-bluecore-impactor-1-4-fastening-driver/q/sellerid/23349077/loc/66357/203890808.htmlI have the impact and drill well I bought the impact and it camewith the "compact tough" drill free. if i could do it again I would buy the same drills again..even over lith ion. seams like a lot of people complain about there lith. ion drills after they get them..( i work construction) and a lot of the subs complain about drills..most of them love mine.. they may be a little heavier but not much.and im not a 90 yr lady so I can manage the 6 oz more the drill weighs also i think that bosch was offering a really great warranty for ther batts.. i though i heard lifetime.. first 3 years a whole NEW pack..after that they would send you a "referb"

[Eddie Watkins]

I have the Dewalt set. I originally bought the standard 18v set(non-lithium, non-XRP) and was very disappointed in the life of the batteries. I bought the new 18v XRP lithium batteries and it made all the difference. I also use the new batteries in my old 18v Dewalt tools and have had no problem. The tools do seem to run at a higher RPM, tho.

[Rich Engelhardt]

. Am I correct on this, the dewalt 18v tools can use either nickel-cadmium batteries or the lithium ion batteries? If that's true, I really like the standardization of the different battery types
Sort of - you need to buy a different charger for the LiIon, but, yes - the 18V DeWalt tools will use all three batteries.

[Stephen Pereira]

[QUOTE=Stephen Sebed;1706541]
I've been seriously considering the rigid line of 18v cordless tools due to the lifetime warranty offered. "

I'd check into that 'lifetime warranty"before you buy. I bought the Rigid cordless drill for just that reason. batteries ..or drill..don't know which..lasted maybe two years. Took it back to HD..you have to go through all sorts of hoops to get their so called "lifetime" warranty..they want me to send them a check ..supposedly refundable..before they will warranty their junk.

I had a Black and Decker "Professional" cordless drill..that drill and batteries was the best..had it for 15 years and if I hadn't dropped it would probably be still going today.

[Jeff Monson]

I bought the Milwaukee impact driver/drill combo set, in lithium ion, very happy with them. Great battery life, quick charging and very light.

[John McClanahan]

[QUOTE=Stephen Pereira;1706594][QUOTE=Stephen Sebed;1706541]
I've been seriously considering the rigid line of 18v cordless tools due to the lifetime warranty offered. "

I'd check into that 'lifetime warranty"before you buy. I bought the Rigid cordless drill for just that reason. batteries ..or drill..don't know which..lasted maybe two years. Took it back to HD..you have to go through all sorts of hoops to get their so called "lifetime" warranty..they want me to send them a check ..supposedly refundable..before they will warranty their junk.


This is interesting. I've been looking at the small 12v drills, and the Rigid warranty caught my eye. Anyone else have experience with Rigid's warranty?

John

[Matt Meiser]

I really like my Milwaukee M18 stuff. First time I've gone ahead and gotten a cordless reciprocating saw and circular saw. The reciprocating saw works so well I ended up selling my corded one since I only use it for home projects. The circular saw wouldn't keep up with building a house or a deck, but for home repair/improvement its great. I also got a 1/2" impact wrench for car/tractor use.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I bought a Dewalt 18v LI XRP set about a year ago, and for a homeowner, I think it is ideal. I would like to have at least one more battery, and have considered getting it extra, or perhaps finding a circ saw that uses the same batteries, but so far, haven't done that.

[Steve Ryan]

Makita Li all the way. I used to like Milwalkee but they are now owned by Ryobi. Consumed a lot of Dewalts and Bosch at work, but am converting all of my own tools to Makita. I framed a lot of my two story house addition cutting with a Makita circular saw, drove many hundreds of 3" strong drive lag screws with their impact driver and drilled some serious big holes with the bigger Li drill. Battery life is great and the tools are not as heavy and bulky as the Bosch and Dewalt. In Makita I have the circular saw, 2 of the smallest impact drivers, 7 of the drills in different sizes, jig saw, small 1/2 impact driver, big 1/2 impact driver, and the blower. All use the same 18v Li batteries.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I had a Black and Decker "Professional" cordless drill..that drill and batteries was the best..had it for 15 years and if I hadn't dropped it would probably be still going today.

The old B&D pro line had a few good tools. Then B&D ruined their name by making really cheap crap sold everywhere. That's when Dewalt appeared on the scene. Not new tools, just the pro line turned yellow. Turns out yellow was just like a shiny object for most men. Amazing marketing, but underneath it's still B&D. I don't like either.

The basic problem with any cordless tool is the technology will be soon outdated, and batteries for your tool will be hard to find. I have a at least a dozen old cordless of various makes, and it's no longer realistic to buy batteries for them.

[David Castor]

I have the Makita 18V Li drill and driver set - got it on a smoking deal from Amazon last year. Much lighter than my 18V DeWalt drill. Battery capacity is not that great, but the re-charge cycle is very fast. HD has a deal on these right now - at least in my local store. So far I'm very happy - they have gotten a lot of use and seem to be holding up well. You're right about the impact driver. This is the first one I've had and it is impressive. I was driving some screws into a wall stud to hang some shelves and the screw went in so fast and easy I thought I had missed the stud. But you'll need some "impact ready" drivers to go with it.

Dave

[Andrew Joiner]

How long should a homeowner/serious diyselfer expect a battery to last anyway?

I've been seriously considering the rigid line of 18v cordless tools due to the lifetime warranty offered. But they don't seem to have a drill/impact kit and there combo kit looks a bit overpriced. I would love to have a lifetime warranty on the tool and batteries!!


I searched around and found out in most cases you must go to a Service Center. Mine are all 3 hours away round trip.
If the Ridgid Authorized Service Center is close to you and they have batteries in stock it may be a good deal for you. If you could go to HD and get a free replacement it would work for me.

[Chuong Nguyen]

I have a 10+ yr old Panasonic Drill/Driver battery: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-EY6432NQKW-15-6-Volt-2-Inch-Cordless/dp/B00009KDGY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305909761&sr=8-2
that I put through hell and it never failed. The batteries are now very old and aren't holding much. I'm surprised it last this long. I was about to get the new Panny Hammer drill and impact, but really fell in love with the Makita 18V LXT hammer drill (BHP454) and 18V Impact BTD144. Price for the Makita stuff is much lower than the Panny's Hammer/impact.

Battery life is excellent for both. I don't charge them as much as I was charging the Panny. Both fit my hands nicely.
I really like the impact. It uses a Brushless motor, has 3 variable speed selections too.
And the real kicker is, their batteries are made in Japan (just like the Panny). The BTD144 is also made in Japan. The BHP454 Hammer is made in China.

I also have the Milwaukee M12 line and I do like their tools, but the battery really does not last long at all. I know, apples and oranges, but I'm not putting the M12 tools through the ringer like I do with the Makita.

(btw, to get the BTD144 impact, you have to get it seperate, it's not sold in sets.)

[Ted Baca]

I have recently bought the Makita 18v Lithium Ion and I have been disappointed in the quality of the drills. I have always been a big time lover of Makita nad didn't look at anything else when I bought a hammer Drill, Circular Saw and Impact Drive and after trying to drill with the Hammer Drill I discovered that the smaller bit vibrated to the point of breaking a 1/16" bit. And please note it was not in Hammer Mode. So I took it in to the local factory Makita Service center they replaced the Nose peice and chuck and the same problem existed. So I thought it must be the Hammer Drill so I bout a Drill only and it has the same vibration. Bact the the Service center they looked it over and pulled a new one off the shelf and it had the same vibration. Finally the technician confessed that the Makita specs were not as tight as they used to be. He said there is nothing he can do to correct th problem and seemed disappointed himself as he was a long time Makita Tech.
I do have a full set of the Bosch 12v Max Lithium Ion and can tell you they continue to impress me in power and performance. The smaller size it great to work with, battery life is incredible and the only drawback is the smaller chuck size when I need bigger bits. But the Makita works fine on the larger bits and I will add that the Jig and Circular saw are great. The small runout at the chcuk end is just disappointing after years of bragging up the Makita brand.

[brian wight]

I'm in the same situation (old craftsman nicad drill that's getting replaced). There's a new x4 line of ridgid cordless stuff coming out, the impact driver and hammer drill at my local home depot look pretty nice.

[Dell Littlefield]

I picked up a combo Hitachi from Lowes. 18v lithium ion drill, impact driver and flashlight. The impact driver will drive lag bolts at great speed. The drill/driver has plenty of torque and a high/low speed switch which is quite handy. It was much cheaper than DeWalt or other popular brands and the batteries seem to last a long time between charges. I really like it.

[Jeff Nicol]

I have owned the Panasonic 15.6V with 3.0NiMh batteries for about 9 years and have used the living tar out of them. They have been dropped from 20' and kept on going. I did have to replace one of the clutches in one of them but they are still going, but the batteries are starting to wear out and I may rebuild them one of these days as the drills are still going. But I was looking for a smaller 12V set with the impact driver and had been looking at the Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch and others but the price was a bit more than I wanted to pay. So one day here in Eau Claire WI the home town of MENARDS I was at one of the stores and they had a 3 piece set of 12V Lion with a 3/8 drill, flashlight and small recip saw for $79 with 2 batteries charger and carring bag. I picked it up and charged the batteries and I was impressed to say the least. I was able to cut through 6 old hemlock full 2x4's and the old 1" boards to make an opening in my old garage between the main space and the enlosed lean to without the fully charged battery going dead! It has quick release for the blade and any jigsaw blade will fit in it. The drill is used mostly for drilling pilot holes but I have used it to drill 5/8" holes with a spade bit for running wiring and will drill 15 -20 holes on a charge in fir lumber. I then bought another set that had another 3/8" drill and a 1/4" drive impact driver for $69 on sale with another charger and 2 batteries. The impact driver is a little monster and will drive 3" square drive screws like a champ, I built a small addition on my little garden shed about 5x12 w/8' walls, sheeting and metal roof and that was with 2 full batteries, so I am hooked on the little beast for sure. They are made by the same maufacturer as the tools sold by Canadian tire stores under the name "Mastercraft" here is a picture of the group.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172974&d=1285848433 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=122&attachmentid=172956)


Inexpensive and tough little brutes!

Jeff

[Dave Lewis]

I bought into the Makita 18V lithium; they've been good for an advanced homeowner.

[trevor adair]

I have used several different cordless over the years from a lot of the big names.. i think it comes down to what you are using them for. My purposes, assembly of casework install of cabinets etc I always prefer a good compact impact. My go to was the Makita 10v until I recently got my hands on the compact Dewalt..
http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCK211S2-12-Volt-Driver-Impact/dp/B0044DEXPW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305987916&sr=8-1

Read the reviews and decide for yourself but they are my new go to in 95% of my work..

[Dan Friedrichs]

Makita is currently running a deal where if you buy the LCT200W kit (drill + driver + 2 batts + charger), you get a 3rd battery free. For ~$200, that's a pretty good deal.

[Adam Gerlach]

I have the Milwaukee M18 set and love it. I got a killer deal on it though. $254 for the recip saw, circular saw, flash light, drill, 2 batts, and impact driller at HD a few years ago. Got home and saw a free tool give away on their website, so I got the hammer drill too for free!!!

Before the M18 I had a Bosch "blue core" and it was very nice until somebody stole it. I had planned on buying another Bosch but for such a good deal I couldn't pass up the M18. I prefer the Milwaukee though on performance. Also the batteries have a power gauge on them which is a nice touch. Somebody mentioned to be watch out for Milwaukees because they are now owned by Ryobi. That is not true. They are both owned by the same Mother company along with Ridgid. I don't remember the mother companies name (something like TSI)

I have not tried the Ridgid line but I will tell you I have had excellent service on the warranty for the Ridgid tools I do own. I bought a refurb granite tablesaw off ebay and the granite came chipped and cracked. I called Ridgid and in 3 days I received the replacement granite and a replacement fence with no fuss.

[Doug Palmer]

I own or have owned all of the following and rank them in order as listed with best being first. JMO

Milwaukee
Dewalt
Bosch
Rigid
Craftsman

[Stephen Sebed]

Thanks for all the input. I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal in the coming Father's day sales. any guesses on which brand will have replacement batteries available the longest?

[Joe Samorodin]

I use the Makita 18v system and the 10v impact driver. I have used all the other types as well but would recommend the Makita over them. My shop mate bought the Bosch
18v at the same time as I bought my Makita and his batteries are starting to cause problems. Two things though the Makita charger uses a fan to cool the battery and in heavy use this works great but the chargers have had some problems, I had mine replaced under warranty. The second is there is a counter chip on board the battery that when
you take it back for warranty they can tell the number of charges etc so for a contractor who uses the batteries heavily may not be covered under warranty as the abuse can be monitored electronically. I have the jigsaw,recip and circular attachments and they are really nice to use as well just make sure you have enough batteries for swap if you do this for a living as its a pain waiting for a battery to charge.

[John Coloccia]

Makita is currently running a deal where if you buy the LCT200W kit (drill + driver + 2 batts + charger), you get a 3rd battery free. For ~$200, that's a pretty good deal.

That's what I have. I replaced a large, beat up Hitachi cordless (I still have the Hitachi but the gear box is fried). The Hitachi replaced a large Porter Cable (the largest one they had at the time....this was 1996, I think. That thing went for nearly 10 years!). I'm really liking the smaller drivers. It's absolutely perfect for shop and home use. I wouldn't want to build a house with it, but that's about it. I'll never go back to those big and heavy ones unless I have to for some reason.

By the way, that little impact driver has more than enough power to drive long screws into whatever you'd like. It's quite powerful.

FWIW, I never really bonded with the Hitachi. I was kind of hoping it would die so I could replace it. I really LOVED my old Porter Cable....that was back when they still made a decent drill. I fell in love with the Makita right out of the box, right down to the little light that stays on for a few seconds after you pull the trigger (it's actually useful now!). I also really took a liking to my friend's Milwaukee. Very well balanced for a large drill.

[Scott Stafford]

We have used Milwaukee hammer drill/drivers exclusively in our business for the last twelve years. They get used daily and we have had no problems that were not caused by our neglect. (30 foot falls to concrete and such). However I did flinch last week when I replaced my drill/driver with the new top-end Milwaukee model... $350!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck!

Scott in Montana

[Larry Frank]

I have had the Makita 18v and could not be happier. It has worked well so far for two years. For me it is perfect and the light weight is great. It has done everything that I have asked it to. I never thought that I would use the impact driver but it is great for driving deck screws.