bosch 10.8 and now 12volt??

larry merlau

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Delton, Michigan
i have one of the 10.8 drivers and like it and was told the impacts are very useful by someone that knows tools.. well that was abit ago and now i see the 10.8 is apparently going away??? so i have two batteries for that and if i get a impact i will have it in 12v i think so do i get a 10.8 impact and use it till the batteries go away and then upgrade both to 12v at that time??/ calling the tool gurus whats your take on these and whats your suggestion on what to do.. and no chuck i am not going to use the handle version and arm power always...
 
i have one of the 10.8 drivers and like it and was told the impacts are very useful by someone that knows tools.. well that was abit ago and now i see the 10.8 is apparently going away??? so i have two batteries for that and if i get a impact i will have it in 12v i think so do i get a 10.8 impact and use it till the batteries go away and then upgrade both to 12v at that time??/ calling the tool gurus whats your take on these and whats your suggestion on what to do.. and no chuck i am not going to use the handle version and arm power always...

Larry,
They're actually the SAME BATTERY! I have the drill, driver, and the longer 'stick' driver with the articulating head. The stick driver was advertised at 10.8V, and the other two at 12V. All six batteries are exactly the same! So are the three chargers.

A Bosch rep - demonstrating at Hartville Hardware - told me that the batteries are 12V fresh off the charger, with no load, but under an operating load are actually 10.8V. It sounds like advertising BS to me.

But I must say I really like the smaller, compact tools, and the batteries have plenty of power, and hold a charge well. They're fast becoming the most used battery-powered tools I have.
 
I know that my brother swears by his "little" Bosch impact driver in every day commercial use.

He is an HVAC chief engineer for a company that maintains large office buildings across North America. He developed serious carpal tunnel problems working his way up to that position (and he's only 35) opening and closing tens of thousands of access panels using hand screwdrivers and nut drivers.

His mantra to his crews is to keep these in their bags because he doesn't want them to have this same experience.
 
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so how do you like the impact jim, i like the driver alot and just didnt want to get nailed:) is it better than the normal driver in your opinion

I don't have the impact driver (yet). Mine is essentially a drill with the ¼" driver bit chuck. It has a clutch, and does turn a bit slower than the actual drill though. It's probably the one (of the three) that sees the most use.
 
Larry, my impact driver is a 14.4v Makita, but if the Bosch is anything like it, it'll become your favorite battery-powered tool. Absolutely amazing to see what an impact driver can do, and how easily it can do it.

My only complaint about my Makita driver (and drill and flashlight, for that matter), is that after a couple of years of use, the batteries don't have any shelf life after they're charged. They run fine fresh off the charger, but if they sit overnight off the charger, they're be too weak to use. I was gonna buy a couple of replacement batteries, but Reconditioned Sales had the refurbished impact driver kit on sale a couple months ago. I ended up getting my second impact driver, another charger, and two more batteries for the cost of one replacement battery. :D
 
well i havnt got the cans to the store yet but i am gonna get one of them impacts after jims thoughts and clarification on the batteries and dans on the impact in genral.. his comments reflected my buddies comments to a T:thumb::thumb: i my buddy was thirsty when he said it so i had to confirm the truth from a normal person:)
 
Bosch came out with these mini-cordless tools using 10.8 Li-Ion batteries. I think Makita followed them into the market, at least in the US.

Then Milwaukee introduced their line of compact LI-Ion cordless tools and called them 12v. This is advertising nonsense as Li-Ion technology has a cell voltage potential of 3.6v per cell. You can make a 3.6v tool with one cell, or 7.2 with two, 10.8 with three, 14.4, 18, etc. You can't make 12 volts! If Milwaukee is reasonable in using no-load voltage then we are all driving cars with 13.2 volt batteries in them instead of 12 volts. Actually, Lead-Acid has a potential of 2.1v per cell so a 6 cell car battery is actually 12.6 volts.

If anyone cares, zinc-carbon or alkaline cells like a flashlight battery are 1.5volts per cell. NiCad and NiMh are both 1.2v so they actually could make a 12v tool by using 10 cells.

It seems like Bosch, etc. were forced to rename their 10.8 volt series, that each have 3 cells, to 12volts so that people wouldn't think that Milwaukee's 12volt series were better. I could see why certain users would choose Milwaukee since they have tools in the series that others don't have. I have some very old Milwaukee tools that are excellent but I don't feel that the new stuff is close to Bosch or Makita for quality.

Between business and personal, I have Bosch 10.8v and 36v Li-Ion Tools and Makita 18v Li-Ion tools. They are all excellent. The 10.8v tools get the most use. The 36v Hammer Drill with the slim pack battery is easier to use than the 24v NiCad Bosch and 1/2' corded drill it replaced. The 36v Rotary Hammer is so powerful and battery life is so good that I will sell my Bosch 11236VS SDS+ Rotary Hammer.
 
I was confused by this as well. In fact, Bosch nearly lost me as a customer because I was frustrated I couldn't add on to my 10.8V driver. If I had to buy new, I was going to buy Milwaukee. I actually would still do that if I was starting over because of the larger assortment of tools, but I'm happy with what I've got (now up to a driver, I-driver, impactor, and drill--plus I've got another driver coming from a rebate.)
 
This PS-30 drill is very nice to use. It is longer than some of the other 10.8/12v units, making it a bit closer to "normal" than some of the ultra compact drivers.

The Bosch "refurbished" that I have bought at Bosch events were indistinguishable from new.
 
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