Small 10.8v Combi drill, advice needed.

[Naxie]

Hi guys, I think I need a bit of advice regards a small light combi drill.

I currently use a 14.4 Dewalt which is great but space is a premium in my Smart Car (van) and my household duties Makita has been given to Dad so the Dewalt now needs to live indoors!

It only gets used to pop 6 mm holes into internal walls and floorboards to run CAT5 / Coax so doesn't need to be heavy duty so I was originally going to pickup the 10.8v 2 ah combi drill, impact driver set on offer at the local suppliers. Now having looked into it a bit more I also see the Makita and Bosch equivalents and also read good things about the Milwaukee 12v which seem to come with an option of a 4ah cell. :shock:

Any help or opinions from anyone using this type of drill would be most appreciated.

Thanks, Ed

 

[RobinBHM]

I've got both milwaukee 18v and 12v sets. Ive just assembled a larger shed at home using just the 12volt set with 4ah batteries. Great tools, light and powerful. They are ideal for use in a workshop for screwing on cabinet fittings and the impact can drive in 120mm x 6mm screws with ease into softwood but would struggle with large screws into hardwood.

Its London do a good range of milwaukee. I find toolstation etc do good prices but look carefully at the detail as they almost always compromise on the spec, maybe offering 1x1.5ah and 1 x 3ah instead.

 

[artie]

I replaced my tired 12v Dewalt drill/driver with the newer 10.8 Li-ion also by Dewalt.

It does my job, which is driving 60mm screws into soft wood. It seams to have similar power to the old 12v.

You will probably notice a power drop from 14.4.

 

[JJ1]

I bought the little Bosch 10.8V about 10 months ago and I'm very happy with it and can certainly recommend it.

 

[Naxie]

Thank you for your replies, Toolstation seem to have a lot of the Milwaukee stuff in stock, think I'm swaying that way.......

Thanks again,

Ed

 

[petermillard]

Never used Milwaukee but heard good things about them. I have the little Bosch 10.8v combi and have been very happy with it - you can get 4.0Ah 10.8v batteries from Bosch as well, just FYI.

cheers, Pete

 

[n0legs]

Another vote for the Dewalt 10.8v.
Good solid tool, batteries last for ages, plenty of power.

 

[Titch]

Just picked up a kit from costco hitatchi impact and drill driver £101. If you have membership it's a good price.

 

[Bodgers]

I got a Dewalt 10.8 impact driver and drill driver set.

They are fantastic - particularly the impact driver.

They seem well made and operate very smoothly. As with most li-ion stuff it doesn't hold its charge over long periods (particularly when its cold) compared with Nicad. Up side is smaller, lighter form...

Got them from eBay from some seller doing refurb/returns. Came smelling new with full packaging with 3 year warranty. Can't complain.

 

[pcb1962]

As with most li-ion stuff it doesn't hold its charge over long periods (particularly when its cold) compared with Nicad.

Have you got that the right way around?
I find the complete opposite, my Li-ion batteries stay charged for weeks, the Ni-cd are always flat after a few days.

 

[Bodgers]

As with most li-ion stuff it doesn't hold its charge over long periods (particularly when its cold) compared with Nicad.

Have you got that the right way around?
I find the complete opposite, my Li-ion batteries stay charged for weeks, the Ni-cd are always flat after a few days.

I think I was meaning over a much longer period of time. Li ions are often completely spent after a couple of years, whereas nicads hold their charge after many years.

Nicads are less affected by temperature.

 

[RogerP]

Chart with all the facts about rechargeable batteries ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery

 

[petermillard]

Li ions are often completely spent after a couple of years, whereas nicads hold their charge after many years.Nicads are less affected by temperature.

That's not my experience; oldest Li-ion batts I have are from 2008 and still going strong; my 'home' drill driver is a 10.8v Bosch that only gets infrequent use, and hasn't been charged for months, whereas when I was using Nicads (DeWalt and Bosch) they'd all lose charge over a couple of weeks if left alone after charging. I do think the temperature thing is a bit over-done as well; operating range for Li-ions in power tools and consumer electronics is something like -20C to +60C (research) with some performance fall-off below -10C; I tell you, my performance falls off around those temps too :wink:

Cheers, Pete

 

[Bodgers]

Li ions are often completely spent after a couple of years, whereas nicads hold their charge after many years.Nicads are less affected by temperature.

That's not my experience; oldest Li-ion batts I have are from 2008 and still going strong; my 'home' drill driver is a 10.8v Bosch that only gets infrequent use, and hasn't been charged for months, whereas when I was using Nicads (DeWalt and Bosch) they'd all lose charge over a couple of weeks if left alone after charging. I do think the temperature thing is a bit over-done as well; operating range for Li-ions in power tools and consumer electronics is something like -20C to +60C (research) with some performance fall-off below -10C; I tell you, my performance falls off around those temps too :wink:

Cheers, Pete

I have a 10 year old nicad in a drill that performs in pretty much the same way as it did 10 years ago. I have li lion batteries that basically don't hold charge anymore after 3 years.

That Wikipedia link bears that out in the duty cycles:

Nicad = 1500
Li ion=500-1000

Main benefit of the Dewalt 10.8's for me is the size - that's li ion energy density.

Li ion's are definitely more affected by the cold in my experience too. The technology was primarily developed for laptops and consumer electronics where sub zero temps are less of a factor.

http://www.buchmann.ca/article4-page1.asp

 

[artie]

At what point do you consider batteries "done"

50% of new ? <>