Li-ion drills

Dave Black

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638
Location
Central PA
My wife said she was thinking about getting me a new drill for our anniversary. I was previously looking at bosch 18v drills, I seem to remember them being ranked the best in a magazine review fairly recently. I have a 14v dewalt that I am replacing. I recently looked at some of the compact 12/10.8v stuff thats out and was impressed. We have some other dewalt 18v tools around and so we have several extra of those batteries so in some ways a new dewalt li-ion would make sense because of the compatibility. I don't hate the dewalts but we have had some problems with the clutch getting stuck and not shifting into drill mode. Any thoughts?
 
One brand, I forget which, guarantees their batteries for life. That is a real plus. I would look into that.

I think that is Ridgid, from what I have heard though its not worth it because the quality isn't there. I don't have much experience with anything else except dewalt in the hand power tool realm. I have a bosch router that I really like. There is a dewalt, bosch, fein, milwaukee, service center nearby so that factors into my decision somewhat.
 
For home shop use, I've had the best luck with Makita. I bought an 18v Li-Ion drill a couple years ago and I love it. My experience with cordless drills has been that of poor battery performance. I have an old Dewalt, a Delta that's practically new, and two Makitas. The Dewalt and the Delta both have battery problems (the Dewalt has other problems too). The old Makita has a smart battery charger, once charged, it switches to trickle charge, so you don't over charge the battery. The new Makita with the Li-Ion is even better. There is circuitry in the battery that keeps track of the number of charge cycles, etc... Supposedly it charges/conditions the battery according to the condition of the battery. IMHO the battery is the weak point in cordless power tools, so I put more stock in quality battery technologies.

About a year ago I got a Makita trim saw that takes the same Li-Ion batteries. So far, it has performed well too.
 
I have 2 Dewalt 18v drill drivers both over 10 years old. Out of four battery packs 1 is dead, 2 are marginal and 1 is pretty good. I had to replace the motor on one and that cost me $22. Right now I don't even need to consider replacing the drill/drivers. I do have to decide if I want new battery packs or rebuild the ones I have.

Your mileage may vary :D

Cheers.
 
give me the pro and cons of compact drill/drivers vs full size 18v

For me it's the lighter weight and ease of use that makes me grab my 14.4v drills or impact drivers (two of each, all Hitachi) instead of either of the 18v drills (Craftsman and Ryobi). I'm seldom doing a task that uses the full charge of a battery...usually more like one or two holes (or a half dozen screws) then I'm done with it for the day. If it'll be more continuous work, I'll grab one of the 18v drills. And if I'm really gonna work it out, I'll grab a corded drill, either the old reliable Craftsman 3/8" of the Bosch 1/2" hammer drill (the Big Hoss).

For someone who is drilling a lot of holes or driving a lot of screws, then I'd say the 18v models are probably worth the extra weight, but for me, doing little piddly things around the shop, the smaller ones are preferable. My next ones will likely be 12v or smaller Li-Ion powered.
 
give me the pro and cons of compact drill/drivers vs full size 18v

What Vaughn said...the light weight, comfort, ease of use, etc. The micro drivers have ample power for most tasks. I've got a 19.2v Cman C3, a 14.4v Hitachi, and a 10.8v Hitachi....I reach for the 10.8v 9 times out of 10. If you want to drive 3" deck screws all day every day, you're better off with a bigger gun, but the micros will do "several" deck screws, and most other tasks with relative ease, and they'll fit in a lot places. Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee, Hitachi... :thumb:
 
i to vote for the smaller size, i have 2 Panasonic 15.6 and they have been threw the war and back and are still going but got two Bosch that gets the nod alot these days.. one is the 10.8 and the other is a 14.4 brute for heady duty drilling it is much better than the the size suggested for drill. i havent got but would look at the Bosch compact impacts as well they are real work horses, the other brands that Scott mentioned are good too , Hitachi Milwaukee, makita.. but you need to handle those little compacts before dropping in for another dewalt big one..:thumb:
 
I forgot to mention that we have 2 18v dewalt impact drivers that have good batteries. A few years back the family business finally got into cordless drills for our service trucks and we got drill/driver and impact combos for the trucks, I think at the time that the combo was like $20 more than just the drill. So the impact drivers went down to the shop. I almost exclusively use the impact drivers for driving screws so I am really just looking for a drill at this point, at least thats what I tell myself. Something I was just thinking about is I do a fair amount of metal work so I drill 1/2" holes in steel semi regularly. How well do the compact drills do with that type of thing?
 
I'm looking at this refurbished
http://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...=2691-22&CategoryName=SC:+M18+Cordless+System

or this new
http://boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=36618-02

Any thoughts? Logic would seem to dictate that the Bosch would be better quality since its 1 tool as opposed to 2 tools for about the same price. I believe there is only a few dollars difference in price between the new and refurbished version of the bosch drill. The Milwaukee drill by itself refurbished is like $129, while $170something new I don't know why the Bosch refurb isn't much cheaper than new. In Lowes and Home Depot the MIlwaukee and Bosch are the same price. Any thoughts as to which would have better battery longevity, not run time but total life till buying new batteries.
 
I had 2 CM 19.2 volt beasts, then one of them burned out. I replaced it with a Bosch 18V Li-ion and love it. it's about half the weight and more power. When the 2nd CM burns out I'll probably go with a smaller one to replace that. Like someone said before, unless you're driving deck screws all day, how much power/weight do you really need?
 
Probably not on your radar, but I've had great luck with my Ryobi One+ Ni-Cad with the Li-Ion batteries.
 
give me the pro and cons of compact drill/drivers vs full size 18v

Since I have a few of each, I'll go. Nicad and NiMH lose their charge fairly quickly, used or not when compared to lithiums in my shop. The lithiums I enjoy the most are oddly, Ridgid's 3/8" chuck version. Part of that could come from the fact that I got them in the 2 for 1 Christmas pack however many years a go that was. Mostly its the balance and the "real" drill chuck instead of the 1/4" hex drive thingy.

None of them are as fast as a corded drill and I have a few of those, primarily for pocket holes when I use them. I don't run any of my drills hard as I make furniture, not decks or houses. I say this so that my take on theses tools is well positioned. If I used them hard I might have a whole different opinion. All I know is that when I do need a drill, the old style are usually in need of a charge and the lithiums are ready to go. :dunno:
 
I have a few makita 14.4's. I've found the batteries fail in a year or two. I had 6 batteries last summer now I have only 1.
I saw an ad on TV last night for Ryobi 12 volt lithium ion drills for $69.00. I used to sell tools for Ryobi years ago and was always impressed with their quality on most of their stuff. If I had lots of extra cash I would probably spring for Bosch or Milwaukee.

I hardly ever use the impact driver. Only for deck screws or something real heavy. I could get along easily without one.

Like Glenn, I build mostly furniture. I also have been relying on my corded drill more and more.
I do have a little skill Li ion driver that is incredibly powerful for its size and seldom needs charging.

As soon as this last Makita battery dies, for shipping costs, I will give my Makita impact driver, 2 chargers and 3 drills to anyone who wants them.
 
I would look at either milwaukee or makita 18 volt li ion drills. The big decision is between the compact 18 volt or the larger full sized 18 volt.

I've owned the compact 18v milwuakee for 2 yrs and its a great drill but if your going to be using it for heavy work(decks, construction) you'd be better going for the larger 3.0 amp 18v drills.

Dave the 18v milwuakee set you posted only has 2 batteries total and I like having 2 for each tool. Also heres a little comparison of warrantys-

Brands-----Warranty on Tool----Warrannty on Battery
Milwaukee------5 yr---------------2yr / 5yr on some
Makita----------3yr---------------1yr
Bosch-----------1yr---------------1yr
 
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