Bosch GA 2000 any good?

[Bodgitnscarper]

Im looking for a decent all rounder of a drill and I've seen these at Screwfix with lots of rave reviews. IIRC they're around a hundred beer tokens.
Just wondering if anyone on here would also recommend them?

Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Are you sure you have the right model number? Your link to SFX is kaput and AFAIK there is no model GA2000 in the Bosch range (GBH2000, GSB1600, etc do exist)

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Sorry JobAndKnock yes you are right I'm a wally! It is indeed the GBH 2000 I'm wanting reviews of.
I must have confused it with something else.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I'd say that the GHB2000 is really the baby of the family. I've seen sparkies and domestic plumbers using them where only a limited amount of first fix is required, and for that they are fine - after all the drill is lighter, smaller and more powerful (impact energy, not motor wattage which is sport of immaterial for an SDS drill) than my first heavy Bosch SDS of the early 1980s. But, at £100 there are some heavier duty, and quite frankly better models if you really look around. With an SDS it's a balancing act between weight and impact energy - the higher the impact energy (measured in Joules) the faster a tool will drill into masonry (as well as the larger the diameter the drill bit it will drive) and the better that tool will be for light chiselling, which has become a really useful "must have" in the tradesman's armoury. But, when the weight tops 3kg, though, the tool becomes much more tiresome and wearing to use above one's waist or for repeated drilling (think chemical injection DPMs, for example, where tens or even hundreds of holes are drilled in a session). This is why I personally detest that cheap Titan drill (5kg!). The GBH2000 scores well on weight, but it only generates 1.6J of impact energy - so drilling and wall chasing will be a slow task in harder materials like Accrington brick - slower even than my 18 volt cordless Makita

Against your choice I'll play devil's advocate and suggest a couple of alternatives: there's the Hitachi DH24PX currently at £90 in B&Q (230 volt). It's heavier at 2.7kg (as opposed to 2.3kg), but it has a far more respectable 2.7J impact energy rating. We've recently bought our apprentice one of these following a strong recommendation from our dry liners (who have 3 of them). I've used it and been pleasantly surprised at how powerful it is, and at least Hitachi have toned down the looks so it's no longer like holding a designer trainer in your hands (some of their tools are quite frankly garish). Secondly, there's the Bosch GBH2-24D at a penny under £100 from Screwfix which is comparable with the Hitachi (3-function, 2.8kg, 2,7J). I've had a GBH2400 (the slightly downgraded and stripped-out version of the GBH2-24) in the recent past and it was an excellent workhorse. It only went when I decided to go brushless cordless.

So all I'm doing is offering a couple of alternatives in the same price frame.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Thanks for taking the time to post that it's much appreciated. I will have a look at that.
I'm not limited to that budget so if you can recommend a top notch drill that will last then I'd give that a look too.
Thanks again.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ah. I thought you were on a budget, hence my suggestions. If you aren't on a budget then the drill to look at has to be the Bosch GBH2-28. It's the top of the range 2kg class machine and has shed loads of power for drilling and chiselling. I've worked with a couple of guys who've had them and they have nothing but praise for them. A couple of years back on one job we needed to strip out two entire shower rooms in a sports centre - we had a company GBH2-28 and it flew the tiles off the walls and it also handled a lot of the heavy floor tiles that my own GBH2400 wouldn't touch. It seemed almost as powerful as the older 4kg Makita we had on loan to us (hired) but was a lot lighter. I was impressed - but then maybe I'm easily impressed

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Brilliant. That sounds more like what Im after. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Oh just to double check, JobAndKnock, I'm seeing 2 different models with varying prices 2-28 DV (110v) for as little as £132. But also 2-28DFV and prices up to £300ish for both.
Any idea what the difference is?
Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The DV is a fixed, dedicated SDS drill, the DFV has both an SDS chuck and a conventional 3-jaw chuck which can be swapped (they have a quick release mechanism). The advantage of this over an after market chuck and SDS adaptor is that it is shorter and more accurate. Against that an SDS isn't the ideal tool to drive drill bits with, other than possibly large diameter auger bits or large diameter hole saws. I understand that in drill mode (i.e. with a chuck and adaptor or the quick change 3-jaw chuck installed, depending on moel) the SDS loses its' hammer action (to protect the conventional chuck from possible damage). The DFV is around at circa £205 or so - I suspect that with the droip in the value of Sterling that the prices are rising