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Cordless drills!

cuervo

cuervo

Runn'n down a dream!
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Ohhhh kaay boys!!

Who's on top in the cordless drill arena now? I'm looking for a new drill, so batteries, power, recharge rate and what not is what I need.
 
I have a milwaukee cordrill drill/impact combo and it works pretty darn good. Make sure you get lithium ion batteries, thats the best these days.
 
I use dewalt. Lasts forever on a charge, and charges quickly. But you can't really go wrong on any of the big name players. Ive used them all and I wouldn't hesitate buying any of them. X2 on lithium!
 
I am a project engineer for a General contractor, and see more and more of the Makita Lithium Ion setups out there.

I bought the $99 18v compact lith ion from home depot, and LOVED it. Only comes with one battery, but charges quick, lasts a long time, and is LIGHT.

Really wanted a cordless impact, so gave the 18v drill kit to my dad, and stepped up to this.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I didn't need the hammer drill, but the non-hammer drill combo came in a lunchbox instead of a tool case - unacceptable in my book.
I LOVE it. Best tool purchase in a while.
 
dhcomp said:
I am a project engineer for a General contractor, and see more and more of the Makita Lithium Ion setups out there.

I bought the $99 18v compact lith ion from home depot, and LOVED it. Only comes with one battery, but charges quick, lasts a long time, and is LIGHT.

Really wanted a cordless impact, so gave the 18v drill kit to my dad, and stepped up to this.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I didn't need the hammer drill, but the non-hammer drill combo came in a lunchbox instead of a tool case - unacceptable in my book.
I LOVE it. Best tool purchase in a while.
Click to expand...
same thing. i saw a lot of the guys in the field using the small/lightweight makita lith-ion.
make sure you get one that has the option for the impact/hammer. its great especially on self tappers, but gotta be able to turn it off for drilling.
 
the millwakees we use at work are not the Lithium ion type but they all have crap batteries. we've had new batts that wont take a charge too. got a new charger and still nothing. so they all got pitched for dewalts.

I use bocsh at home. been dropped a million times even from the eves of my house once and still going strong. batts(lithium ion) last quite awile and charge quik
 
Hmm, that's odd. My last Milwaukee drill I had for 10 years before the batteries wouldn't hold a charge anymore. Sold the drill on eBay because it still worked. My new lithium batteries will charge in 30 minutes and last a while. I suppose you can get a bad one no matter which brand you buy. All the batteries are made in china most likely.
 
I've been doing some reading on a review sites. Seems most of them point to Milwaukee 2601-22 or the 2602-22.

Do the new ium ion suffer from over-charge failure? My last drill, not ium ion, lasted about a year before the batteries started to go bad. After doing some reading on the subject it seems it's just as bad to leave them on the charger after they fully charged as it was to not run them down all the way.
 
cuervo said:
I've been doing some reading on a review sites. Seems most of them point to Milwaukee 2601-22 or the 2602-22.

Do the new ium ion suffer from over-charge failure? My last drill, not ium ion, lasted about a year before the batteries started to go bad. After doing some reading on the subject it seems it's just as bad to leave them on the charger after they fully charged as it was to not run them down all the way.
Click to expand...
I believe this is what happened to all ours, exept the bad ones out of the box. Most of the newer stuff can be left on the charger cause it stops charging after its fully charged thats why we have the dewalts at work. We have somewhere near 100 batteries just in my dept. and 35 or more chargers. the batts stayin them, when one runs down we just go get one off a charger so we know its full. the millwakees sat like that too and I think they couldnt take it:dunno: we made the switch 4-5 years ago though so i dont know about the new stuff from them
 
I have a 18V Dewalt XRP, top of the line, like $300. I LOVE it. For as often as I use it, it charges plenty fast and the batteries last a long time, its not the lithium ion battery though.

However, Those Makitas that people talk of are awesome, neck and neck power wise with the 18V Dewalt, but half the weight. I very likely would have bought one of those had I had any experience with them before I bought the Dewalt.

How do you plan on using it? We have all Dewalt power tools at one of my jobs, and a few of the guys really beat the hell out of them and we havent had an issue with any of them... Other than a co-worker bending the chuck somehow. I have no experience with how the Makitas would take abuse like that, so I cant really comment.
 
I got the 2 piece Makita 18V LithIon hammer-drill + driver set on a roll-out promotional. Based on past experience, I HATE cordless stuff and have stayed away from them completely for the last decade or so. Took the plunge on the Makita, and I am absolutely loving it. So far it is more than powerful enough, holds a charge a LONG time, charges fast, and super light/convenient. My only complaint is it doesn't provide any storage at all for bits.
 
I use the piss out of my makita 18v 1/4 impact lithium ion...hardly ever use the drill and don't even carry it on me anymore. The 1/4 impact is lighter then the drill as well. Id rock the milwaukee combo kit as well, my buddy has it and its a great kit, beats the hell out of it in construction and it takes it. As far as bits, milwaukee has a impact driver case with all the bits id ever need.
 
Yeah if you get a little impact make sure to get the impact grade adaptors, I twisted one off and so did my brother with the little impact tool.
 
folkenheath said:
Yeah if you get a little impact make sure to get the impact grade adaptors, I twisted one off and so did my brother with the little impact tool.
Click to expand...

Like impact grade socket adapters? Never thought of that. Haven't broken mine yet....
 
Yeah, the adaptors that go from the 1/4" hex to the 3/8" or 1/2" drive for sockets. We each twisted one off with the milwaukee impacts before we bought the black "impact" grade units. I bought the Dewalt "impact ready" adaptors at Lowes, are holding up fine. Milwaukee has an entire impact kit that is pretty nice, one of my friends has it.
 
I love my makita lithium ion 18v. I would really like the impact. thats just about all you see nowdays on commercial jobs. small and light weight. I call them "clackers"

My makita holds a charge for very long periods and charges quickly. sometimes my makita will sit at home off the charger for months and when I pick it up, its ready to go! no issues and its lighter than the dewalts we use at work.
 
Once i get some 1/4" hex shank bits, i doubt i'll use my drill much for basic stuff.

The impact freaking rocks.

Considered stealing the compact 18v pack off the drill before giving it to my dad, so i'd have one small and one big battery.

The compact 18v is SO light, and comparable in performance to the Dewalt at close to half the weight.
 
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