New drill. 14v or 18v?

[Maverick81]

Good evening.

When I got my first drill I went straight in for an 18v combi drill (The Hitachi 1.5ah Li-Ion to be precise). But I have an urge to spend some money so was thinking of getting a new drill/a second drill.

I am workshop/bench joinery based. Fundamentally for light-medium drilling, pilot holes and driving screws.
Ive never had a 14v....would this be sufficient? Any suggestions?

 

[MMUK]

I think Li-Ion is the way to go. As long as you're not constantly drilling 2" thick oak slabs and your drill bits are kept sharp, then a 14.4v should be fine.

You can pick up a Makita 14.4v kit on eBay for good money. In fact there's a twin pack on there now with the new 1.5Ah batteries for £180 delivered


Although, if you think you may want to expand on your cordless kit in the future, you'd be better off with the 18v. Makita have the largest range of cordless tools that use the same battery. 68 different tools so far IIRC.

 

[Maverick81]

Oh definitely Lithium....I wouldn't get a new PC and have Windows 95 installed on it.

Im not looking to expand a future cordless range especially....I just want a solid second drill to add to my arsenal. Im have a nosey at that Makita though. Cheers.

 

[MMUK]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Makita-DK343- ... 1c37d97d70

That one?

 

[Maverick81]

no good. buy 'twin pack' I thought you meant x2 batteries. I don't want/need 2 units. Thanks though. )

 

[Maverick81]

any thoughts on this....

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/ ... s-12988839

 

[MMUK]

Aye, that's the new model. Decent price too considering it's B&Q. About £20 cheaper than on eBay :shock:

I have one of those with the 3Ah battery. It's a good basic drill driver.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I read an interesting comment somewhere - The battery fails when the weakest cell fails, so it makes sense not to have cells that you don't need - if you can get away with a 12v or a 14.4v, it's a better choice than an 18v.

 

[MMUK]

I read an interesting comment somewhere - The battery fails when the weakest cell fails, so it makes sense not to have cells that you don't need - if you can get away with a 12v or a 14.4v, it's a better choice than an 18v.

But they are easy to repair and replacement cells are only about £2 each :mrgreen:

 

[tomm41pvm]

Be careful with that b and q drill. Its a cheap new model and the battery is not comparable with any of the other makita tools. I had a look at it the other day, the battery's have a different fitting on them. The one that's about £130 has the proper 1.3ah batteries.

 

[morfa]

Is there anything wrong with your drill currently? Why do you need two?

If you already have a Hitachi, why not consider something like an Impact Driver and maybe a second battery. eg:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-wh18d ... 3godPH4AmQ

If you just want a small second drill, I'd go for a 10.8v drill, for those small awkward jobs. I have one from Makita, they're selling them for £70 at Wickes at the moment.

 

[MMUK]

Be careful with that b and q drill. Its a cheap new model and the battery is not comparable with any of the other makita tools. I had a look at it the other day, the battery's have a different fitting on them. The one that's about £130 has the proper 1.3ah batteries.

Were you looking at the BHP453? They take both 1.5Ah and 3Ah batteries.

 

[tomm41pvm]

I'm not sure what the model is. But that b and q one takes a completely different battery to the usual 1.5ah or 3ah.You can see in the photos the batterys have a different fitting and the chargers are different than usual.

 

[MMUK]

Hmmm. May have to pop B&Q and rip one open now to double check. That'll please them :lol:

 

[tomm41pvm]

It surprised me when I looked at it, its almost as if makita have let b and q sell a drill carrying their badge? Just had a look on makita UK and that drill is not listed. The bhp453 is there which looks similar but is a different drill.

 

[Maverick81]

Be careful with that b and q drill. Its a cheap new model and the battery is not comparable with any of the other makita tools. I had a look at it the other day, the battery's have a different fitting on them. The one that's about £130 has the proper 1.3ah batteries.

Thanks Tom. I did see both Makita offers.....and from the advertisement cards I couldn't see a definitive difference between them. I found it very odd.
In this instance I am only looking for a second drill and not the beginning of a cordless collection.....but I would have still bought this under the assumption that the battery would work in something else should the situation ever arise where I needed it to.

My Hitachi is fine (been very pleased with it actually)....but I just wanted a second unit to save on bit changes and also a smaller more compact driver.
Following a bit of research I am now looking (as you suggest) more at a 12v or 10.8v unit for what I need. I'm looking for a unit with 2 li-ion batteries......any recommendations?