new drill

[nodeward]

so im gonna get myself a decent li-ion combi drill, im tired of batteries dyeing all the time. im looking at dewalt, makita and hitachi. They are all 18v, li-ion, come with a couple of batteries and around the £100 mark. i have used each of the brands in the past and all have seemed decent enough but i have less experience with the brand new stuff, i have heard people say the newer dewalt stuff isnt the same quality as it used to be.
anyone have any experiences good or bad, or alternative suggestions? its just for a home so dont want to go too mad but would like to get something that will last a couple of years

 

[gav0994]

Its worth having a look at the AEG 18vLi-ion combi drill also. Been using one now for over 2 years on a fairly regular basis mostly drilling in metal and cannot fault it. B&Q usually have them on offer with either 1.5Ah or 3Ah batteries.

 

[Premiershipman]

Well I have actually just replaced my dewalt drill that was about 13 years old and still going - just the batteries being NiCad didnt last that long !

I bought a new dewalt li-ion drill - was about £280 mind, but its brilliant. Batteries last a good while between charges and its a really nice drill to work with as they have cut down on the bulk and improved the ergonomics of it.

Cant remember the model but it was something like this -
http://www.toolstop.co.uk/dewalt-dc...-2-speed-combi-drill-2-x-4ah-batteries-p66884

 

[matt1978]

I bought a Metabo LTX just before Xmas. It was on a special

SB 18 LTX Impulse £245+vat

Comes with 2 x 18v 5.2 ah.

I had a Makita before that for about 5 yrs, that was also good but the Metabo is in a different league.

 

[nodeward]

the problem is really i cant seem to see much difference between the decent brands all seem pretty much the same, the only reviews i seem to find are all good ones!
as its just for at home and wont get used everyday as long as its got a decent warranty i cant see any a problem with any of them, so i might just have a look and pick the one i like the look of!

 

[Rocketman]

I could do with getting a LI-ion one too. My old NiCad Makita drives me up the wall on recharging.

 

[MCKDAVID]

big fan of makitas, had good solid reliable service from mine, 18v Li-on, batteries are on their last legs now so will be looking at replacing it over the year I think.. mind you I'll be honest I don't use it properly, being a lazy tart I use it all the time for a daft wee job in the workshop, where there's power all over. I think that was what finally killed the batteries. I've now bought a cheap electric drill and lengthened the lead so it covers the whole bench. The idea being I'll leave it set up permanently so if I need a drill for anything I just pick it up, instead of using the battery gun. Keep it for jobs when it's more appropriate being portable....

Thinking that's a better option for the life expectancy of the battery drill, it will still get plenty of other uses so the batteries will still be kept being turning over.

 

[Wallace]

Can you not just replace or rebuild the batteries rather than buy a new drill?

 

[PhillipM]

Never had an issue with the Makita's being used regular for small jobs, it's flattening the batteries down to finish odd jobs instead of bunging them straight on the charger that kills 'em, not so much the odd use.

 

[ukracer]

AT your buget the Makita as sold on special by places such as B and Q is unbeatable. usually drill and a extra battery with charger for £99

 

[nodeward]

yeh saw the makita in b&q the other day on special i nearly bought it then decided to have a look at what else was available and thats where my problems started!

i looked at replacing or rebuilding the batteries but it just didnt seem worth it when you think ill have to do it again in a year or twos time especially with what you can get for the money at the minute

cheers for the input guys, i reckon ill have a look at the weekend if the makita is still on special ill go for that

 

[madkayaker]

Run makita at work and tbh bit disappointed with it. Nowhere near the balls of my old 14.4v deawalt (the three speed metal gearbox hammer one) and there is three of us useing not heavily but most days will do a little bit and in 18-24 months we have killed three battery's. I have as personal kit a compact Bosch 18v and love it but that's only getting used at weekends etc so not full time. When I get it if you registered etc they gave you a 3ah battery so have that and two 1.5ah. Only thing I don't like is the L boxx looks dogs dangles but isn't surviving very well

 

[Hitch]

For the £100 mark, you are obviously looking at the budget versions of the big brands.
The prices for these kits is kept low partly because of the batteries- you'll probably be looking at around 1.5ah batteries, holding half as much charge as a 3ah one. So youll charge them twice as often, if both versions have the same or similar no of cycles for its life expectancy, the lower a/h batteries theoretically wont last as long.
Other things like plastic chucks and gears keep the costs down.
What i'm saying, is just because you are buying a well regarded brand, don't expect the earth.
A friend bought a cheapy Hitachi drill, sub £100, back along after using mine for a few days we were working together. He then kept moaning that the batteries didn't last as long as he'd expected..... Difference being his was £100, mine was £300.

Just for the record, i'm still using a couple of Hitachi Nicads in my impact driver that are 8 years old and still take a good charge.

 

[ukracer]

What i'm saying, is just because you are buying a well regarded brand, don't expect the earth.
A friend bought a cheapy Hitachi drill, sub £100, back along after using mine for a few days we were working together. He then kept moaning that the batteries didn't last as long as he'd expected..... Difference being his was £100, mine was £300.

I think hitch hits the Nail on the head as it were. The Makita Offer drill has stayed the same for years. I now have 3 and 6 batteries and 3 chargers I can use one for drilling, one for screws and one for counter sinking etc. I can grab any battery and it fits.

If I was working with them daily I would be wanting metal 3 speed gear boxes that would be able to hammer almost like a corded drill.

BUT that would require an initial outlay of £300 and only get me one drill so I would need to change bits and drills more often....so hitch is spot on!

 

[Hitch]

Out of interest, what drills are you currently using nodeward?

 

[nodeward]

got a bosch at the minute, not bad but only 14v so not got a lot of poke and like i say the batteries are completely dead now.

like i say im not expecting the earth for the money im going to be spending as long as its capable of drilling a few holes and banging in a couple of screws at the weekends ill be happy, got a corded hammer drill for anything that needs a bit of extra grunt.

im am naturally tight and want to get the most for my money i guess or more importantly dont want to be in the same position in the next year

 

[Wallace]

The good thing about a 240v drill is the batteries never die, I still have the Bosch I bought in 1981 as an apprentice. The chuck key is such a chore though.......

 

[ukracer]

got a bosch at the minute, not bad but only 14v so not got a lot of poke and like i say the batteries are completely dead now.

like i say im not expecting the earth for the money im going to be spending as long as its capable of drilling a few holes and banging in a couple of screws at the weekends ill be happy, got a corded hammer drill for anything that needs a bit of extra grunt.

im am naturally tight and want to get the most for my money i guess or more importantly dont want to be in the same position in the next year

I have had those makitas (first one) 6 years ago and 5 years ago second one.