Cordless Drill - Opinions

[Paul_GPvR]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a drill soon, just to use around the house for general DIY.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=100372&ts=17312&id=46526

What do you all think of this? This is about the very most i can to spend, does anything come close or is a better choice than this?

Thanks a lot,

 

[Daisy-Lea]

For me it depends on my walls really - if you have tough walls I would go for a drill with a cable (they tend to be a bit stronger in my opinion)

Looks ok from what I can see, I have 3 drills, 2 cordless and one cable ... the cable one gets the most use in the house I am in at the moment.

 

[JohnD]

If you have not already got a drill and are just starting on a lifetime of DIY, start with a corded hammer drill. For less money it will be more powerful and able to drills holes in walls more easily to screw cabinets or towel rails in. Get a fairly light one but look for a 12mm chuck which will be enough for most household jobs.

Later, depending on what you need to do, you might decide either that you need a big heavy one (get an SDS plus) or a light cordless one. Around your house you will almost always have power available at a nearby socket or with an extension lead, so aren't working on sites with no power. Unless you are doing a lot of work at the bottom of the garden you won't often need cordless. They are less powerful, but the more power they have, the heavier the battery will be and so it is more awkward and tiring to use.

Everybody has their own personal opinions, but in May 2006 "Which" did tests on drills, if you can borrow a copy from a friend or consult one at your library it will give you good info. Best buys were (highest scorers first):

• Bosch PSB 650 RA
  AEG Ergomax
  Milwaukee T-TEC 201
  Makita HP2071F
  Bosch PSB 1000 RCA
  Makita HP1621

Some of the others were so bad that they were listed as "don't buy"

 

[Paul_GPvR]

great advice, thanks

Just one issue, i totally agree on the cable drill as 90% of the work will be done when there is power around, however i'd like to be able to use one as an electric screwdriver, which in my past experience is essential for building kitchens etc.

hmmm, ideally i suppose i should have a decent mains drill for tough walls and a cordless one mainly used as a screwdriver.

 

[JohnD]

Don't know. I had a lot of screws to drive (pilot-drilled softwood) when counterbattening and boarding my loft floor, bloody things went flat very quickly, I had two on the go, charging one and using another, still ended up doing most of it by hand.

These were cheap DIY shed things, no doubt a big one would have done better.

 

[eggplant]

hmmm, ideally i suppose i should have a decent mains drill for tough walls and a cordless one mainly used as a screwdriver.

Ideally - but of course it depends on budget and how often they will be used, pointless spending hundreds on a couple of drills just to put up one shelf for example.

Don't know. I had a lot of screws to drive (pilot-drilled softwood) when counterbattening and boarding my loft floor, b****y things went flat very quickly, I had two on the go, charging one and using another, still ended up doing most of it by hand.

These were cheap DIY shed things, no doubt a big one would have done better.

A case of getting what you pay for I suppose, I have an 18V cordless but have 3 batteries (ok I have other 18V tools that share batteries) but the charger is 15 minutes so even with a single battery it gives you a ciggy/tea break every so often. Some chargers that come with the el cheapo cordless equipment are pretty slow...

 

[Deluks]

For your budget you could get a corded drill for around £50 from a decent company like Bosch, Makita or Hitachi, plus a cordless screwdriver for about £30, like the Bosch 3.6v IXO, decent for general driving.

Be sure the corded has hammer action and you be sorted for every diy task.

 

[AndersonC]

I am after a cordless drill/driver and have considered the similar Erbauer model to that linked above. I have a corded SDS and a corded percussion hammer so do not need a combi drill with the hammer action.

Does anyone have any recommendations for the Erbauer range of tools?
If needed I will have to push the budget up and get a Metabo/Makita.

Also, what voltage is best for these things? 12V, 14.4V or 18V?

Thanks

 

[eggplant]

basically the higher the voltage the more power - that said, an 18V dewalt will outperform a 36V b&q special (had one, got Tshirt).
Bear in mind though, the higher volatage, the heavier the tool (generally) and the battery (definately), I have a dewalt 18V and whilst it has more than enough torque, it is a bit heavy, and I would prefer a 12V for the lightness but I have several 18V tools that share the same batteries. If I ever have a few quid spare I'll get a 12V. Another thing to bear in mind is the chuck size, some of the smaler ones have 10mm chuck where the larger have 13. It really depends on what you will be using it for, obviously not brick/concrete as you have your sds for that, if you want a driver but the ability to drill the odd hole in a bit of wood or metal then go for a 12V (decent make not a cheapo) and it should be fine.

 

[skibum]

I think when you're buying a cordless drill it's a trade off between price, power and weight. The cheaper 18v makes will usually be a lump heavier than an 18v drill from one of the top manufacturers so if your budget is tight then you might want to take that into consideration if you plan on using the drill for long periods.

I've got a 14.4v DeWalt which is relatively light but has stood up to a fair amount of abuse. It seems to have the power and torque to do most of the things that I ask it to and battery life is pretty good as it came with the 2.0Ah Ni-Cad batteries rather than the 1.3Ah ones that they ship now.

Erbauer kit seems to be getting much better reviews in some of the woodworking magazines than it used to although I haven't seen a drill reviewed.

Simon