Me? Indecisive? I'm not sure!

[Dil]

I need to replace my old DeWalt combi drill (knackered Nicads and wobbly chuck) and have narrowed it to a choice of 2 - according to budget largely.
Another DeWalt (DCD709M2T) or a Bosch (GSB18V-55). There are quite a few similarities, but the differences are: DW torque is 65Nm, Bosch is 55Nm; DW charge time 60minutes, Bosch 36 minutes; DW batteries 2x4.0Ah, Bosch 2x 2.0Ah. There is a a DeWalt with 2.0Ah batteries, but its not brushless, torque 42Nm and charge time 90 minutes. The big difference is price - DW £149.99, Bosch £99.99. Is it worth another £50 for the bigger capacity batteries and slightly higher torque? As regards usage - mostly light diy, with occasional abuse on projects. All advice appreciated!

 

[Daniel2]

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for.
And, in today's money, £50 is not that much, really.

 

[Jones]

The extra cost is probably all in the batteries. 4 Ah often gives me a full day of site work in a drill / driver so I would have the bigger battery. You might need a 4Ah if you buy some more power hungry tools in the future which you can get bare for a good price. Not really helping the indecision I know.

 

[baldkev]

I'd go dewalt out of those 2. I have the 65nm dewalt as a spare spare drill and its not powerful.... i have a makita 458 as my 1st spare drill and thats better, but the 481 ( my main drill ) is streets ahead. And now tyeres a 486, which is a bit better again. But basically as above, the more you spend the better the kit.

 

[D_W]

What you really need to know isn't brushless or not or really battery capacity - what you need to know is if you charge each of these 100 cycles and use them over a couple of years, which one isn't going to work at some point because it just isn't that great.

And I don't know the answer to that.

i had one brand of stuff that was supposedly pro grade and the drill and one of the batteries quit in less than three years. The warranty was difficult to adhere to and inconvenient, so I never filed or tried to follow up (found out too late probably, anyway).

Replaced it with cheaper stuff (ryobi lithium) and nothing ryobi has ever ceased to work.

will say if you intend to add more tools than just a drill, you'll probably appreciate 4AH batteries for those (like larger impact wrench or portable leaf blowers, etc). the small batteries can't deliver the current to make those things work right.

 

[Ollie78]

I am not sure about brushed or brushless mattering all that much in use and all the batteries use the same cells inside really.
I know that a metal chuck and metal gearbox do matter for longevity. I won`t make the mistake of buying a plastic geared drill again.

Ollie

 

[Stigmorgan]

Personally I'd choose the DW, as previously said the cost difference in the two will likely be down to the batteries more than anything else, charge time will also be down to the battery size, also if you do expand your cordless range to something power hungry like a circular saw you will 100% need the more powerful battery, a 2Ah battery won't last 5 minutes in a saw.

 

[Dil]

Thanks for your replies! Good points about future purchases of power hungry tools and buying "bare". (Not this weather maybe!!)

 

[baldkev]

What is the max size drill bits you will use? I have ( for instance ) used an 80mm holesaw in the dewalt and if i didnt stop when it got hot, i could have easily burnt it out..... thats where brushless excells, more power and no brush holders to melt etc... my dewalt batteries seem good ( 3 years so far )
I have 3 makita li on batteries (3ah ) that are about 11 years old and although definately not the same capacity if charge now, still work.

 

[RichardG]

Also consider the Dewalt DCD796, slightly more powerful than the 709 but nice and compact which is useful.

 

[againstthegrain]

Black Friday deals might give you another option, too. Worth checking if you can bear the surfing...

 

[Ollie78]

This is a very good drill. Just been spammed an ffx black Friday thingy. Makita DHP458Z 18v LXT Combi Drill Bare Unit
It's the older model but still good.

Ollie

 

[Spectric]

As regards usage - mostly light diy, with occasional abuse on projects.

Firstly don't bother with brushless, you are not a heavy user and will not see the benefit. As for batteries. again you do not need high capacity so get a better drill with lower capacity batteries. I have always stuck with Makita and they have never let me down, that one Ollie78 mentions is a sound drill but you need a battery and charger.