Kawasaki drill (Any Good) ??

[Seth Poorman]

Hey Guys
I have seen Kawasaki drills (18v) around town and at other places on the web for about $60 to $70 . Thats cheap !:eek: Is the drill any good ?
Thanks for your input..Seth...

[rocky brown]

don't know how good they are but at sams club and costco they are selling them for less than 40 bucks...at that price i don't know how you can go wrong. they also have a kawasaki 18 volt circular saw for about 70 dollars. or was it 19.2 volt?

[Hoa Dinh]

Check your local Costco or an autopart store (I saw them at Kragen and Pep Boys). If you don't like it, you can just bring it back.

For about the same price, you may want to buy the 18V Ryobi from HD. A nice thing about Ryobi is that extra batteries are available for about $20 each.

[Frank Conway]

I would look into buying a used brand name drill rather than going with something like that. I bought a used 19.2v Craftsman drill/light for $50 and have been happy with it. Although you do assume risk buying used, I think you assume more risk buying new off-brand stuff. Just my $.02.

[Brad Townsend]

I would look into buying a used brand name drill rather than going with something like that. I bought a used 19.2v Craftsman drill/light for $50 and have been happy with it. Although you do assume risk buying used, I think you assume more risk buying new off-brand stuff. Just my $.02. Craftsman is a brand name and Kawasaki isn't?:rolleyes: Not putting down Craftsman (I have a Craftsman bandsaw) and this drill may be a real stinker, but Kawasaki has a reputation for quality. Heck, John Deere has been using Kawa engines in it's premium line of lawn equipment for years.

[Robert Mickley]

I'm seriuosly considering rigid for the next battery operated stuff.
With the new limited lifetime warrenty, Yeah you have to send it in but theses days you have to send most stuff in for in warrenty work.

I do own a 19.2 volt craftsman drill, it works great. I did spend the twelve bucks for the extended warrenty and it paid for itself. 13 months after I got it it quit charging. Took it to sears and they repalced it no questions asked. It's been about a 2.5 years now since I got the first one and its still going strong.

[Matt Meiser]

Craftsman is a brand name and Kawasaki isn't?:rolleyes: Not putting down Craftsman (I have a Craftsman bandsaw) and this drill may be a real stinker, but Kawasaki has a reputation for quality. Heck, John Deere has been using Kawa engines in it's premium line of lawn equipment for years.

I seriously doubt Kawasaki is making these drills. More likely it is a marketing arrangement where someone paid for the rights to put the Kawasaki name on their product.

[Jon Eckels]

they're made by Alltrade

http://www.alltradetools.com/index.html/screen/kawasaki/display_id/id43bbe49b7fcc80.36459458

[glenn bradley]

Lowes was blowing out the DeWalt 9.6 drills for $49. I've had one of these for years and it's still going strong. Due to the battery power wars I was able to pick up a charger and 2 new batteries for $12. Shop around . . . alot.

[Brad Townsend]

I seriously doubt Kawasaki is making these drills. More likely it is a marketing arrangement where someone paid for the rights to put the Kawasaki name on their product. You are no doubt correct. I'm only saying that Kawasaki is a major known brand. I'm not making any claims for the quality of the drill.

[Bob Childress]

If they are made by Alltrade, they will come in under a number of brand names. But . . . I bought a set of "Alltrade" 18V tools four years ago from Costco for $100 (recip saw, drill, CS, and light plus two batteries and charger) and they are still going strong. Not as good as Festool or even DeWalt, but for light use a real bargain. Great second drill and great recip saw. Don't care what they call it.:D

[Matt Warfield]

If you live near a menards, I believe they are also selling the same drill under the Coleman name for $25. Picked one up for my wife for xmas on sale for $18. :D

[skip coyne]

I seriously doubt Kawasaki is making these drills. More likely it is a marketing arrangement where someone paid for the rights to put the Kawasaki name on their product.

good point but sears dosnt make craftsman , they could be made by the same co

[John Shuk]

Craftsman is a brand name and Kawasaki isn't?:rolleyes: Not putting down Craftsman (I have a Craftsman bandsaw) and this drill may be a real stinker, but Kawasaki has a reputation for quality. Heck, John Deere has been using Kawa engines in it's premium line of lawn equipment for years.

I've seen john Deere chainsaws and string trimmers that look like real stinkers. I have JD trimmer line that I threw away because it was real junk. If it isn't a product that the brand is well known for I usually take a real hard look.

[Corey Hallagan]

Most craftsman cordless drills are made by ITT which is the owner of Ryobi. I have the HD Ryobi 18V set and they work great and you can get a 2 pack of batteries for 40 bucks that works on all their past and current 18V. Nice line for the shop... don't know if they hold up to contractor use but I have used the heck out of mine.

[Brad Townsend]

I've seen john Deere chainsaws and string trimmers that look like real stinkers. I have JD trimmer line that I threw away because it was real junk. If it isn't a product that the brand is well known for I usually take a real hard look. These days, you have to take a hard look at the stuff they ARE known for. Their low end consumer lawn tractors are rather pathetic. That's why I specifically noted "premium line", as opposed to the L series that Home Depot sells.

[skip coyne]

Most craftsman cordless drills are made by ITT which is the owner of Ryobi. I have the HD Ryobi 18V set and they work great and you can get a 2 pack of batteries for 40 bucks that works on all their past and current 18V. Nice line for the shop... don't know if they hold up to contractor use but I have used the heck out of mine.
slight derail but I have the 18 volt ryobi too

have you seen the new fan ?

stopped by home depot tonight and they now have a fan that runs off the 18 volt battery pack

I picked one up and its great

but running on a partially charged battery for 4 hours now they say 5 hours on a full charge .

I see it getting a lot of use

[Jerry Schleining Sr.]

Bought a Kawasaki set (Drill, two batteries and charger) at COSTCO for about $ 50. Great deal.

The Drill works great...however, soon after normal use, the Charger went belly up. Called the 1 800 #, got a great guy who said to mail the charger to them in CA. Did it ($). Got a new Charger within weeks. Charged one battery, waited the cool down hour, then charged the second... NOTE: if you allow the charge to go beyond 1 hour, the charger burns out. (While doing other things in the shop) I forgot about timing the one hour charge requirement... the charger burned out, the battery melted and I almost had a house fire... "You pay for what you get"... I think the drill itself is a great tool for the price... the "Charger is Dangerous".

[Steve Rozmiarek]

These days, you have to take a hard look at the stuff they ARE known for. Their low end consumer lawn tractors are rather pathetic. That's why I specifically noted "premium line", as opposed to the L series that Home Depot sells.

Some of John Deeres high end stuff is crap as well, Brad. John Deere excells at coming up with a good idea, then cheapining up the manufacturing so much that it is ridiculous. NEVER by John Deere electronics. Average price of one of our tractors is about $220,000, so you'd think top of the line, but...

[Bharat Badrinath]

I have been using the Kawasaki drills. Bought it from Costco slightly over a year ago for ~$45. It worked well for me till i decided to drill a lot of holes non stop in one day it just stopped working. Spoke to the local costco guy and he told me to return it for a refund. Returned it abd bought the newer model which works fine too. The older version had an issue with the older charges for which there was a recall notice. Luckily my chargers didnt overheat or burn down.

For the price and the accessories, it is a good buy. Definitely not a heavy use drill in which case you are better off with a dewalt or the likes

[Philip Duffy]

Got mine at COSTCO and it lasted almost a full year before it died. Nice to look at but nearly useless in my book. Never again. Philip