Need a midsize cordless drill

[Michael Schwartz]

I currently have two 12 volt Dewalts and a monster Milwaukee v28 cordless drill. I have a bunch of Ryobis that I have been using for work that falls in-between the 12 volt and the 28 volt drills. I am thinking of selling off all my ryobi stuff and getting a good 14 or 18 volt set.


As much as I like the dewalt 14.4v drils, I am refusing to buy any cordless tools from dewalt untill they switch over to Lithium Ion Batteries.

I am tempted to get a Makita, but the one Makita I have used, an older 18 volt drill was kind of sketchy. You could grab the chuck, hold it with your hand, and stall the motor causing it to smoke. I can't even do this with my Ryobis which are decent, and get the job done.


What I am looking for.

I need a kit with both a good drill and and an Impact Driver, I will probably be using the impact driver more than the drill.

Lithium Ion Battery is a a Must.

I want something on the lighter side, but still need power. I am looking in the 14.4 and 18 volt range.

I need something that can survive getting tossed around a job site, and I don't have any particular brand loyalties, so suggest away.

[Jerry Bittner]

http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tools-subcategory.htm?H=189200&G=70084

Although I've just ran into a problem with my Pocket Driver -- Bosch ps20.
it is a fine tool and although the voltage is ONLY 10.8 volts, it is powerful. I have a Ridgid 18v impact driver that now mostly gathers dust since I prefer the Bosch which is much lighter and compact.

[Roy Hatch]

There's some interesting info on batteries at: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/
I wonder if there's a reason why some have not yet switched to L I?

Roy

[Jason White]

Festool. Last drill you'll ever buy.

JW


I currently have two 12 volt Dewalts and a monster Milwaukee v28 cordless drill. I have a bunch of Ryobis that I have been using for work that falls in-between the 12 volt and the 28 volt drills. I am thinking of selling off all my ryobi stuff and getting a good 14 or 18 volt set.


As much as I like the dewalt 14.4v drils, I am refusing to buy any cordless tools from dewalt untill they switch over to Lithium Ion Batteries.

I am tempted to get a Makita, but the one Makita I have used, an older 18 volt drill was kind of sketchy. You could grab the chuck, hold it with your hand, and stall the motor causing it to smoke. I can't even do this with my Ryobis which are decent, and get the job done.


What I am looking for.

I need a kit with both a good drill and and an Impact Driver, I will probably be using the impact driver more than the drill.

Lithium Ion Battery is a a Must.

I want something on the lighter side, but still need power. I am looking in the 14.4 and 18 volt range.

I need something that can survive getting tossed around a job site, and I don't have any particular brand loyalties, so suggest away.

[Jason White]

From what I know, Lithium Ion batteries are more fragile than standard NiCd type batteries. They're prone to overheating on a charger and they tend to wear out more quickly.

A lot of people jumped on this bandwagon because of marketing hype. But my builder friends tell me these batteries wear out more quickly.

JW


There's some interesting info on batteries at: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/
I wonder if there's a reason why some have not yet switched to L I?

Roy

[Maurice Ungaro]

I just got one of the new Makita 18v Li powered drivers, the white and black one. I love it. More torque than any 18v I have used in the past. The batteries charge up in 15 minutes, which is real nice if your are using it for work.

[Michael Schwartz]

I am planning to get the 10.8 bosch impact driver at some point or another, but I am looking for something with a bit more punch for now.

I knew somebody would sugest fesstool :rolleyes:

I am interested in what Bosh and Makita has to offer.

As far as lithium Ion batteries everybody seems to be offereing them now. Bosch (36, and 10.8) , Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt (36), Ridged, Craftsman, Hilti and I am sure there are others.

I prefer lithium Ion batteries hands down.

I have had my Milwaukee stuff for 6 months now and haven't had any issues. The batteries are 3AH, and they charge fully in 1 hour, without battery memory issues. I can charge them, and go to use them 2 weeks later and they will still have a full charge.


Compared to a Nicad they put out their full power the whole time. When the battery kicks, it kicks, but there is no significant change in tool performance during the use. I have cut upwards of a hundred 2x4's and about a dozen sheets of plywood on one charge with the 6.5 inch skillsaw. I only get out one of my corded saws now if I am setting up a cut station.


I will often use the drill moderatly all day long, go home check the fuel gauge on the battery, and it will still have enough of a charge that I won't bother to charge it.

I am sold on lithium Ion Batteries. As long as I can get them to last a bit longer than a Nicad I am happy. My Milwaukee V28 batteries have a two year warranty so I am not to concerned.

I am interested in Makitas offerings for the most part, especially the white one with black stripes.

[Steve Clardy]

Besides the two bosch pocket drivers I have, I also have three 14.4 volt bosch drills.
These are the blue cell batteries, with a three year warranty on the batteries.
Great drills

[Tom Hargrove]

Have you though of the Panasonic drills? A friend has one (15.6v) that I used extensively last year on a project. It had as much power as my DeWalt 18v, but was much lighter. The batteries lasted longer, and charged quickly.

[Dave Lewis]

I had a Bosch 12V drill and reviewed what they now offer w/ LI (10 v or 24v) But I bought a Makita kit that had a 18V drill - hammer-drill that weighs just a little more than the Bosch. It feels substantial and ergonomically fits may hand. The wife complains it has too much torque. Only improvement needed is a revised forward/reverse rod location - maybe I'm still used to the Bosch configuration though. Overall - 2 thumbs up.

I bought the kit reconditioned from Tyler Tool dba 18volttools.com or similar - they advertise in FHB magazine.

[Jason Abel]

A common misconception is that Lithium batteries run at full power and then just die. This is not true. There is a circuit board in there that doesn't allow the voltage of each cell to drop below 3V. That being said if you put the same board on a NiCad or NiMH battery it would perform the same. I know there are definitely some pros to lithium but those Makita's are charging at 9A. The one I had would hit 150 degrees when charging....a little excessive to say the least since they start a violent chemical reaction at 160 degrees. From what I've seem Milwaukee is at least using a large cell on the inside which is like a Long C size cell which is a little more robust than the cells Makita is using. The cells they are using were designed for laptops and other low drain applications. Now they are being pushed to the very edge....possibly beyond.

Juts my $0.02

[Mike Goetzke]

I sold off my Ridgid and Ryobi cordless tools and bought the Makita LXT600 kit at HDT. This is a very top notch kit. Very powerful, light weight, and the batteries are fully charged in 15minutes. I'm especially impressed with the power of the impact driver. I think they currently have the LXT700 on sale with a free battery from Makita.


Mike

[Hank Knight]

Michael,

I agree with Tom Hargrove's Panasonic recommendation. I've used Panasonic and Bosch cordless drills for a long time and, while I like the Bosch, Panasonic has got everybody beat by a long shot. Their battery technology is miles ahead of everybody else (I think they developed Li Ion technology for cordless tools) and the ergonomics of their tools is great. They are small, lightweight and have lots of power. As Tom said, the batteries last a long time and charge quickly. I bought a Panasonic impact driver early this year and it's a super tool. It has a digital torque adjustment that is very sensitive. You can set it to finish with 1/4 turn increments with each pull of the trigger so you can set the screw head just where you want it without worrying about burying it. I've driven 3" #14 screws into lead concrete anchors and tiny 3/4" #5s into hardwood with no problems. It's not cheap, but I highly recommend it. Panasonic had a deal earlier this year on the impact driver and the 15v drill driver - also a great tool - but I don't know if it's still running. It would be worth looking into.

My $.02.

Hank

[Jim Becker]

If I didn't own and love my Festool 12v drill/driver, I'd probably opt for the Panasonic at this point. (My second drill/driver is a 14.4v DeWalt with rebuilt packs with Jason's kits)

[Toby Robson]

Not to derail, it's kind-of related…

Is an 3/8 18v capable of replacing a corded 5.5amp (Milwaukee Keyless 0233-20) for most duties?

Clearly the battery is a timed limitation, but is a good 18v going to serve reasonable well?

(I just do wood, no metal or stone)

Newbie Thanks,

Toby

[Chris Parks]

What is more important than the battery technology is the motor technology. You need to buy a brushless motor in a cordless drill/driver. The batteries aren't that critical once you have brushless motors. The leaders in brushless are Panasonic & Festool, the rest are a long way behind.

[Gary Keedwell]

I know this is a little bit out of character for me, but the Fe$tool drills have those nifty chucks. They have bailed me out a few times when I had some hard to get to screws.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/evsac/Video/DONALD3.jpg
Gary K. Did I do good Bob?

[Toby Robson]

What is more important than the battery technology is the motor technology. You need to buy a brushless motor in a cordless drill/driver. The batteries aren't that critical once you have brushless motors. The leaders in brushless are Panasonic & Festool, the rest are a long way behind.

I was not expecting someone to play a 'you need a $450 cordless drill' card.

If that's the case, forget it. No way cordless is worth that.

Toby

[Jim Becker]

Toby, the Panasonic is "well under" that kind of price and is a great machine. You don't get the interchangeable chucks, etc., but you get a great drill/driver. Like I said earlier, if I didn't own and love the Festool 12v, I'd have the Panasonic.

[Greg Funk]

The batteries aren't that critical once you have brushless motors.
Sorry Chris but that doesn't sound right. Brushless motor or not if you don't have a decent battery and equally important a good charger your performance will suffer. Given that brushless motors are more expensive they generally ship good quality batteries with any brushless tools.

Greg

[Chris Parks]

Believe me when I say brushless is important, these motors are so more powerful it is not funny. I will give you an example away from woodworking and Festool and Panasonic. Brushless motors have been used for some years in model aircraft. These electric models are producing so much power it is debatable if a fuel motor is any quicker in day to day flying. They have so much power it is absolutely staggering. We are in the first generation of brushless for cordless drills, don't discount them because they don't have LiPo's, Nicads for our purpose are better. There have been some real issues with LiPo's exploding, I would hate to be around a drill with them in if it were dropped off a ladder. Sure LiPo's will enable a greater current draw but at their current state of development I think they are better left to others at the moment.

I recently had to buy a drill, I wanted brushless and had had 9 good years out of a 9.6 Panasonic so I wanted another one. The only thing that stopped me was that they only produce a dedicated impact driver so I passed. The only other drill that had the spec was a festool which I did buy but very reluctantly. The reason I went brushless was because drills are just getting heavier and to me that is stupid, it is supposed to be light and handy, not heavy and hard to handle. I still would have bought the Panasonic any day of the week over the Festool if they had the product because I genuinely like it better. Mind you when you get into this end of the market the difference in price is not that great. The brushless will leave any drill for dead in performance, try one and see don't take my word for it. I gaurantee you that within 2 years all the good brands will be brushless as the brush motors will not be able to compete.