Another Cordless bites the dust

[Joe Pelonio]

My latest cordless drill, a 12 volt Black and Decker decided to catch on fire while I was up a ladder with it Friday installing signs. Before that I had two
Skils, 14.4 volt, and the charger melted. Later they were recalled but the replacements didn't last long before they wouldn't hold a charge. Before that I had a Ryobi, eventually while the battery would hold a charge for a lot of hours use, if it sat a day or two after charging it would be dead when needed.

Since I was in the middle of several jobs I didn't have tome to check in before buying the latest, but thought I'd ask anyway for any opinions on it.

I was not about to get any of the others that have let me down in the last 10 years so I tried Sears Craftsman. This looked like a good deal on sale, 19.2 volt, two batteries, work light that uses the same battery, built in led light on the drill, hard case for $89, regular $129.99. Are the $200+ ones that much better, to be worth the extra money?

[glenn bradley]

My latest cordless drill, a 12 volt Black and Decker decided to catch on fire while I was up a ladder with it Friday installing signs.

My dad had three B&D's catch fire; good name, FireStorm . I can recommend against the C-man's and I do use some C-man tools so this is not a hate crime. My batt's worked great for a little over 6 months. They will now run the drill for 30 minutes or so each and will not run the trim saw at all.

My 10 year old Makita had only recently had the batteries rebuilt. The 7 yeare old DeWalt was right behind it but I expect to not have to worry about them for another set of years. No more of those "other guys" for me. Why buy three $50 tools when one $100 will outlast them all many times over?

[Chet Kagel]

I have a 14 v Dewalt and a 12 v Makita both of which have given me good service. The Makita is about 5 years old and the Dewalt is probably 10 yrs. I've purchased a couple of batteries for each. They seem to serve different purposes for me, I use the Dewalt for drilling and the Makita for screws.
I've received my first rebuilt battery for the Makita from West Coast Battery Rebuilders, www.wcbatteryrebuilders.com I have no affiliation with any of these companies. It's too early to vouch for the battery rebuilder as I would like to see how long they last, but their prices are what attracted me to them. Time will tell.

[Joe McCormick]

I can't speak for the $200.00 drills but I like my Craftsman drills. I have three of the 19.2 volt Craftsman drills with a 1/2" chucks using ni-cad batteries and an older one with a 3/8" chuck. I have dropped them off of 8' foot ladders and they still work just fine. I find that they have lots of power and the batteries recharge fairly quick. I would buy another one if I needed it, but for now 4 are enough. I have at least ten batteries so I am never needing to wait for a battery to recharge. I also have two of the work lights. One is a fluorescent and the other uses a bulb. Both are great lights. I think you get a 30 day try out period with Craftsman tools, so give it a try. If you don't like it take it back.

[skip coyne]

the sears are made by ryobi , Ive had good luck with ryobi and its all I would consider

on both the sears and ryobi you can upgrade the nicads to lithium later

Personally I would get the lion to start

I have a Ryobi 12volt lithium , that I bought to use primarily as a screw gun . Ive been very pleased with it very light , lots of torque and long battery life . and the batteries stay charged between uses

drill , soft case and two batteries $79.00 at home depot

[Joe Pelonio]

My dad had three B&D's catch fire; good name, FireStorm . I can recommend against the C-man's and I do use some C-man tools so this is not a hate crime. My batt's worked great for a little over 6 months. They will now run the drill for 30 minutes or so each and will not run the trim saw at all.

My 10 year old Makita had only recently had the batteries rebuilt. The 7 yeare old DeWalt was right behind it but I expect to not have to worry about them for another set of years. No more of those "other guys" for me. Why buy three $50 tools when one $100 will outlast them all many times over?

Yes, it was a "Firestorm"!

That's what I was thinking, if these don't hold up I'll have to try Makita or DeWalt.

[mark page]

Joe, I bought a Crapsman set on sale, it came in a trunk/case with wheels and tote handle. 19.9V set that had drill, angle drill, recip saw, lamp, cutoff saw, three batteries, charger, sabre saw, and maybe another piece or two. I've had good luck with them, although I have to admit I was looking for another brand when I bought these. They were on sale cheaper than I could buy a stand-a-lone drill. The only thing I don't like about the C-Man drills are they wear a blister on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger with extended use, the balance is not perfect.
I had a Ryobi set and the charger shorted, burned out a gpi outlet in the house and could of set the house on fire. Don't know why the gpi didn't trip sooner, maybe it was defective too. But I have shyed away from Ryobi stuff ever since.

[Tom Esh]

Are the $200+ ones that much better, to be worth the extra money?

Generally, yes. A quick search here will turn up a bunch of threads on cordless drills and preferences. If you're thinking of stepping into that tier, I'd consider lithium ion. They aren't just for pros. Aside from all the performance benefits, the fact that they don't bleed charge when not in use is really a greater benefit to those of us who don't use them every day. You also get better battery charging / monitoring electronics (which has always been a weakness in other systems). I've had more nicad batts destroyed by dumb chargers than I otherwise could have worn out in a lifetime. L-Ion has essentially forced the manufacturers to step up on that.

[Gary Herrmann]

I've had an 18v Dewalt hammer drill for 10+ years. I did have to replace the batteries a year ago or so. Around the time I bought replacement batteries, I also bought another refurbished drill that has also done great.

I had a Craftsman 12v cordless for years. I may have bought it 15-18 years ago. It did just fine, but I just didn't use it as much because it lacked torque. Someone else has it now.

[Michael Donahue]

Check your local borgs for deals too. I buddy of mine got a Ridgid 18V set with a drill, impact driver, 2 batteries and a charger for under $140 because they were on clearance. You could always get a good deal if you keep your eyes peeled. Plus, Ridgid has a lifetime service agreement.

[Per Swenson]

Joe,

If I may be so bold...

You are a professional, with what I understand, a well regarded
and successful sign business.
Why would you even consider Harry the homeowner drills?
Would you buy a vinyl plotter from wall mart?
I didn't think so,

Reasonable professional drills Makita, Bosch, Panasonic, Hilti.
A real professional drill,,,dare I say it? Festool.
Also consider a impact driver, a professional impact driver.
Of those top four, we prefer the Hilti.

Per

[Peter Quinn]

Having never bought a cheepo model cordless I can't tell you Makita is better, but I can tell you Makita is worth every penny to me. I have been beating the same 14.4V NiMi drill for 5-6 years now on the same batteries, no problem. No fires to date. Light weight, powerful, good balance, great batteries. I am not interested in the other guys warranty, because often the tool with the best warranty is the biggest POS to begin with. I've heard people say "Oh Makita has the shortest warranty, X and such is five years, the Borg's is Lifetime, etc" and I think " That's good, cause your going to need it."

My father is retiring to FLA next month, asked me to search for a drill driver and impact wrench for him to work on his new home. His shoulders aren't what they used to be so he asked for something "not too heavy to carry". I was in sears today and picked up the 19.2V setup...that thing is a brick. Very heavy and awkward brick IMO. I'm going to get him the Makita LIon compact kit, might get myself one too, as soon as my old set dies, someday in the distant future!

[Bruce Page]

Joe, Per said it more tactfully than I could come up with but I agree with everything he said. You don’t see many professionals using “Harry the homeowner drills” like the Ryobi or B&D because they don’t stand up as well as the better made, more expensive brands.

[Mike Keers]

using my two old Makita 9.6 volt cordless drills every single day, one bought new in 1990 I think and the other 1992. Just had six batteries rebuilt within the past year, still going strong, and they are my main users. Not pretty, but never let me down. I hesitated only briefly at the $140 price of the second one in '92--I don't regret spending the money!

I agree with Per, altho I wouln't have been so bold as to mention it, but that was my thought reading your post--why is he even wasting money on Harvey Homeowner grade stuff?

[Glenn Howard]

After years of trying to "make do" with a casualty list that included a couple of different Craftsman models, a Firestorm, and your basic Black & Decker, I finally stepped up to a Bosch 14.4V and haven't looked back. As cliche as it sounds, you absolutely get what you pay for with cordless drills.