battery drill

[dutchman]

A mate called and said I could buy a nice battery drill/screwdriver on his account (he borrowed mine 6 years ago and never returned it).

I was thinking 14,4V NimH. Preferably Metabo or Makita.
NimH is more suited for me I guess, since I only use it occasionally and Li-ion batteries are dead after five years, used or not.
18V would be nice, but too expensive I think…. What would you recommend?

 

[rusty69bus]

18v think of it as interest payment............

 

[Mikey D]

i know you said you didnt want lithium ion but its the way to go im afraid .
My mate has just got one of the new makitas 18 volt 3 speed gear box , light as a feather ,esp compared to Ni mh batteries . im seriously impressed with it .

ok more expensive than ni mh but last longer between charges ,fast charging and the power doesnt fade away its full power or nothing and needs charging

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/25754/Power-Tools/Cordless-Drills/Makita-BHP451RFE-18V-Combi-Drill

that the one he has got , theres a similar one with just one battery on offer about £150 i think .

Mind you i dont suppose screwfix deliver to holland

ive got a milwaukee 18 volt ni mh and its not been too reliable a switch gone ,after 6 months , so got a replacement drill foc .

one battery has gone bad on the new drill after 3 months , oh and i droped it from 6' onto concrete and now the chuck spindle is bent (cant blame that on the drill tho )

Definatly a makita Lithium ion for me next time .

cheers mike

 

[Gas mark 5]

Our ancient hitachi finaly died after a long and productive life, i found a makita from axminster that was 14.4v, 2 speed gearbox and came with 3 nicad batteries (i know, ancient, but they do for me!) cost about £50 i think? had it for about a year and it is absolutly brilliant! batteries charge in less than an hour and seem to last for ages

just the batteries by themselves cost about £20 pounds so i thought that 3+drill for £50 wasn't bad going

I'm not very up to date with all the advancments in drills though so what i've said might be complete nonsense

 

[Hitch]

I got an 18V Hitachi with 3 x 3.3ah NiMh batts, the highest capacity ones available.Gave £230 for it, very nice to use and plenty of torque in low gear.

Ive had it a couple of years, trouble free. LiIon was very expensive when i got it, couldnt justify it. Dont think theres many major benifits to the LiIon over the NiMh, except for weight. If you have limp wrists it might be a problem, otherwise dont worry!

 

[knoba]

What do you intend to use the drill for? I have a 18v NiCd dewalt that I use for metal / wood / masonry and other general odd jobbing. It's a good all-rounder with a decent Rohm chuck on it and comes in a carry case. I'm glad I paid the extra to get a good battery drill because I always seem to require so much from it. When the NiCd's finally go I'll be replacing them with NimH batteries. I've no experience with Li-ion.

 

[dutchman]

The price you name are absolutely stunning. I have to pay about 30% more in the Netherlands. The makita mentioned by Mikey D will cost me 400 Quid or 465Euro!! A bit too much I guess for the metal / wood odd jobbing I do.
Think I'll go 18V NimH, if me mate accepts the 8% annual interest charge . Maybe this Metabo http://www.mzs-electronics.nl:80/in...=Snoerloos gereedschap&catid=533&product=4983
Restoring a wooden deck and beams on a sailing boat will be the first test.

 

[hareng]

Maybe cheaper to pay full whack over here and import, like we used to from the USA. Or drive over to Belgium.

Highly recommend this one due to very high torque and Rohm chuck, equivalent to a spindle lock one hand tighten, two batteries, charger and case.
Drills masonary like no tomorrow far better than a 550W mains jobby, a little heavy though.
http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=8299
Was quite dear 4 years ago when they first came out and same price as Bosch 24V.

Metabo usually very dear for what they are over here, dont know the model and would have to compare specs including torque figures- You may find a 14.4V with similar?

 

[hareng]

Rip off Britain look at this $219 http://www.powertoolsinc.com/cart/index.php?p=product&id=682&parent=67 different charger 110v though.
Just buy a legit charger for your voltage, not that expensive.

 

[Mikey D]

Well hitch ,i would suggest you try out a lthium ion machine ,
seriously there is a BIG difference in performance over Ni mh

literally half the weight of ni mh
those makitas have a 20 min charge time !!
they dont fade out gradually ,they have full power then suddenly die when discharged .
looking at those screwfix prices the prices are now comparable to ni mh (they used to be alot more expensive)
i think you need to move with the times
Limp wrist ......yea ok whotever