18v Cordless Drill Advice

[Mark A]

Hi chaps,

This question has been asked a few times in the past; however things are moving so quickly regarding cordless technology that suggestions and feedback posted relatively recently is soon out of date.

My Dewalt combi drill and Sparky impact driver are both ready for retirement so what do the collective recommend?

For the time being I can get by with just a drill, and intend to buy subsequent tools body-only. I can envisage a circular saw and impact driver would be next on my list.

My budget is around £250 for the drill but could be increased if it's really worth it. For that I'd hope to for a brushless motor and at least 3ah batteries.

Over to you!

 

[No skills]

Almost any of the 'pro' brand 18v will do what you want for the money. For brushless maybe dewalt or makita or milwaukee.
Was you old dewalt combi one of the older nicad/nimh models?
If so then the current crop of drills will be a nice surprise in terms of weight and size.
Make sure you know what your buying, most manufacturers do a compact combi and a full size one, seen plenty of people buy new drills then moan there not as good as the old ones - then see that they have dropped from a top spec combi to a compact one that's less powerful.

 

[No skills]

Oh yeah, unless your after particularly light batteries then 4ah is the rigour these days, metabo do a new 3.1ah (which I have and can't find much difference between them and 4ah) - they are very light, metabos brushless drill is excellent but there's no brushless impact yet

Fwiw

 

[AJB Temple]

I have the current Milwaukee Fuel drill and separate drive. 5Ah batteries that last exceptionally well on a charge. I bought this set because various reviews rate it as the best pro drill out there currently. I am extremely pleased with it but obviously have nothing to compare against as my other battery drills are previous generation (or older). I think the impact driver (never had one before) is indispensable. Also their bit sets are cheap and tough as old boots.

 

[shed9]

Milwaukee seems to be a favorite with the FOG members with some preferring them to the their beloved Festool.

Had a similar situation myself in the last year (ish), I went with a Fein twin kit of drill-driver and impact and was given an additional brushless drill (ascm18qx) for long term review. Have to say they have been outstanding kit and I notice their prices have come down quite a lot.

 

[Mark A]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

I've read so many mixed reviews of all popular brands it's become difficult to separate the good from the bad.

Milwaukee and Fein are contenders; although the latter currently does not have a circular saw in their range, which is disappointing.

Panasonic receive positive reviews... as does Hilti, come to think of it; though the cost is likely prohibitive.

Makita seems to be an odd one - there are those who rate their cordless stuff highly and others who have had bad experiences and couldn't disagree more. I suspect most of them have inadvertently bought one of the cheaper drills aimed at the DIY/light trade market and confused them with the top-of-the range models Makita also produce. Suspect being the key word there!

Keep 'em coming!

Mark

 

[shed9]

I looked at Panasonic myself and I agree they seem to be rated quite highly, their batteries in particular are figured as the best you can get.

I can't imagine Fein doing circular saws any time soon due to their ties with Festool (the Venturo for example).

Just to add, I won't touch Makita anymore as I was one of the people affected by the battery issues. I had fairly high end drills but the batteries were just useless and lasted about two to three months. I know some people have had different experiences but never again with Makita cordless for me.

 

[Wuffles]

Anyone mentioned Metabo yet? Definitely worth a look.

 

[No skills]

Yeah but no brushless impact yet. I suspect it will be soon though as I've just brought the brushed one
Also hitachi have released a brushless impact driver so there's the possibility of a reworked one in metabo colour.

 

[Mark A]

No Skills - I've always considered Hitachi to be a inferior brand to the other mainstream powertool manufacturers, so it's interesting that you suggest there's a connection.

The opinion so far:

Milwaukee - good
Metabo - good
Panasonic - good
Makita - varies

Time for a bit of research methinks!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Mark A]

Hmm... apparently Hitachi bought out Metabo last year. Is that good or bad?

 

[AJB Temple]

If you go to Japan and look around workshops and trade sites you will see Hitachi kit everywhere. I think the brand lost its way over here a decade or so ago (as did Ryobi - which went down market and stayed there ) but is having a resurgence. I have a Hitachi angle grinder and it is very well made. Not cordless though.

 

[johnny]

i cannot praise my Makita drills highly enough. I have two of them as I find it saves an incredible amount of time having a pilot countersink bit in one and a cross head bit in the other .
I paid around £190 for the Anniversary model (white body drill ) a couple of years ago which came in a nice aluminium case with 3Ah battery and charger. I then bought an additional Anniversary drill with spare battery .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Makita-DHP456RMWX-Li-Ion-Cordless-Battery/dp/B00G4609NM
The drills have seen some fairly robust use including building a 5m workshop, replacing my entire kitchen , fencing, general house maintenance and even as a power driver on my cars and bikes .
The only thing that I have noticed is that one of the drills has a slightly worn bearing which is easily sourced and replaced from ebay.

I also bought a couple of Makita torches which use the same battery and they are in use every day. All four batteries have lasted over two years and I suspect that most failures are due to heavy handed use in the construction industry where drills tend to get banged down on their batteries resulting in frequent battery failures. Two of my batteries are cheap generic copies costing shirt buttons and they have performed and lasted equally well as the Makita branded batteries.

 

[Shed hermit]

I've got the 18v Hitachi kit 2 years ago and it does everything I need. Looked at metabo but couldn't justify the extra money at the time. Now have drill driver, impact driver, jigsaw, circular, torch, angle grinder. All with 18v 5ah batteries which are a little longer to charge that some now but still very pleased with it.
Would I buy again? Don't know as would look around at what is now on offer. Like a couple of the aeg bits I have so would look closely at the panasonic group (aeg, rigid(us), milwalki, and panasonic) as seems well put together.
I work a bit on site so tend to steer clear of makita as everyone has them so potential for things to sprout legs no matter how well marked!
If your in no hurry then and fancy a day out head down to westpoint show ground exeter in couple of weeks time for the toolfair show. Really good for comparing kit as most of the manufacturers will be there and there is usually some pretty good deals.

 

[Petey83]

Festool PDC quad drive 18/4.........

i'll get my coat

 

[shed9]

All four batteries have lasted over two years and I suspect that most failures are due to heavy handed use in the construction industry where drills tend to get banged down on their batteries resulting in frequent battery failures.

The battery issue with Makita was across the board, heavy industry to light hobby use.

I suspect it was a batch / manufacture issue as some people never had problems whereas some had nothing but problems. They lost a lot of life time users over that issue and that is a shame as I also suspect they have resolved this completely now.

 

[Wuffles]

Festool PDC quad drive 18/4.........

i'll get my coat

In the Christmas half price sale in 2014 yes.

 

[Petey83]

Festool PDC quad drive 18/4.........

i'll get my coat

In the Christmas half price sale in 2014 yes.

i got a decent price on it thanks to a bit of discount. Great drill so far and compliments the CXS i have butr at its full RRP it is way to expnsive considering you can get the top line Makita brushless Drill / Driver and Impact Driver with a couple of batteries for the same money.

 

[No skills]

If you go to Japan and look around workshops and trade sites you will see Hitachi kit everywhere. I think the brand lost its way over here a decade or so ago (as did Ryobi - which went down market and stayed there ) but is having a resurgence. I have a Hitachi angle grinder and it is very well made. Not cordless though.

Japan does seem to be hitachi/Panasonic/makita users.
The last good 9" angle grinder I used was hitachi, better than the bosch and makita.

Hitachi seems to have made improvements in their cordless in recent years and they have always had some things they were good at. Don't know if it's relevant but the few good bits of hitachi I have used were marked hitachi koki (sp?) made in Japan.

I'm invested in metabo 18v now and will continue to replace my old stuff with it as and when I can, their range is smaller than some of the others though.

I'm a festool fan but I think the drills are over rated, the only reason I've kept my T18 is that it's the most comfortable drill driver I've used, and I've been through a few...

 

[Wuffles]

If you go to Japan and look around workshops and trade sites you will see Hitachi kit everywhere. I think the brand lost its way over here a decade or so ago (as did Ryobi - which went down market and stayed there ) but is having a resurgence. I have a Hitachi angle grinder and it is very well made. Not cordless though.

Japan does seem to be hitachi/Panasonic/makita users.
The last good 9" angle grinder I used was hitachi, better than the bosch and makita.

Hitachi seems to have made improvements in their cordless in recent years and they have always had some things they were good at. Don't know if it's relevant but the few good bits of hitachi I have used were marked hitachi koki (sp?) made in Japan.

I'm invested in metabo 18v now and will continue to replace my old stuff with it as and when I can, their range is smaller than some of the others though.

I'm a festool fan but I think the drills are over rated, the only reason I've kept my T18 is that it's the most comfortable drill driver I've used, and I've been through a few...

I got a PDC in the half price sale, then a T18 when the "get a voucher when you buy a bare tool" came around a couple of months later.

I also have a Metabo 10v I use for most things, mostly because it doesn't live in a systainer on a shelf.

If I weren't invested in Festool, I'd be going Metabo 18v as everything else I have of theirs is top notch, especially their variable speed grinders (die and angle) which are very highly thought of in industry from what I understand.