Cordless drill recommendations

[begreen]

I have to agree. I've to the the 1/2" top of the line Makita cordless. It was pricey but I don't regret it. This baby takes a killing and keeps on drilling. Lots of power for auger drilling and locksets.

 

[greg13]

Go for the battery.
Dewalt is a yellow Black& Decker
Makita is a Japanese Dewalt. I have a few, nothing great about them.
Porter Cable USED to build a great tool, Not sure what they have done but the price has dropped and I would guess the quality has too.
Ridgid (Home Depot) is built by the same company that used to build the old bullet proof Craftsman tools. I have a miter saw that I love.
Ryobi Is an inexpensive line, I've had good luck with them.

 

[rwhite]

Go for the battery.
Dewalt is a yellow Black& Decker
Makita is a Japanese Dewalt. I have a few, nothing great about them.
Porter Cable USED to build a great tool, Not sure what they have done but the price has dropped and I would guess the quality has too.
Ridgid (Home Depot) is built by the same company that used to build the old bullet proof Craftsman tools. I have a miter saw that I love.
Ryobi Is an inexpensive line, I've had good luck with them.

I think this is where I may land while I save my pennies for the next Milwaukee. Warranties are nice if you don't need them but they suck when you have to use them. Even though it's not a L-ion model the one I have has been a workhorse for 10+ years and only one of the 2 original batteries have recently died and I dropped it off a roof and busted the case and all the connections. . Although the other may soon go "Old Deets don't give up on a garment just cause it got a bit of age". Hate throwing away a good tool. In the mean time I'll search for another battery.

 

[sportbikerider78]

What do you use them for?

This is my lineup and I love them all.
I have the drill and impact.


I got this light duty drill for sheetrock screws and other smaller jobs. I love it.


Next on my list is the smaller impact. Also awesome. I bought one for the techs at work and we all love it.

 

[ChipTam]

I have been very happy with Bosch 18V units.

Same here!

 

[greg13]

Check Ebay for batteries.
I am going to try one of the rebuild kits for my 14.4 Snap on. $100 + off of the truck vs $35 for the kit.

 

[Zkx14]

Ryobi Is an inexpensive line, I've had good luck with them.

Ryobi drill I use at work is decent for power and not bad for battery life. My biggest complaint is the drill chuck. Drop bits frequently. Never happens with my Milwaukee or Craftsman. I recently bought a Li battery for my old 19.2 Craftsman tools and was pretty impressed with them. For a relatively cheap line they have done a lot of jobs and I have yet to kill one other than the batteries and chargers

 

[sportbikerider78]

I bought a Ryobi jigsaw. Great little saw.

 

[semipro]

I've been through Makita's and DeWalts which were great units but replacement battery costs basically made them obsolete.
Noticing that the new Ryobi One+ line at HD had killer deals on batteries I decided to try them out and bought an impact driver because that's the tool I use the most.
IMO, the Ryobi impact driver outperforms my Dewalt at half the price. I was so impressed with it I invested in other tools in the Ryobi line and remain impressed.
I can buy two large capacity (4AH) Li-Ion battery packs for $85 now at HD.
The higher end brands tools may actually last longer but if the batteries are what determine life-cycle why be concerned with tool life as long as they perform well.

 

[bholler]

The higher end brands tools may actually last longer but if the batteries are what determine life-cycle why be concerned with tool life as long as they perform well.

Because we typically kill the tools before the batteries. we are still running some 7 year old M18 batteries. The drill from that set has been rebuilt twice free of charge and the impact driver three times free also but has now been replaced with a fuel one in my van. Like i said we are hard on tools. They are always full of dirt from chimneys. They get wet and more than once they have come off of roofs. And yes they will fix one that fell off a roof and broke in half. We also love the grinder sawzall and circular saw. Have had no issues with them but they dont get used as hard. But it really depends on what you are using them for and how much they get abused.

 

[Retired Guy]

Are any batteries interchangeable between brands?

 

[bholler]

Are any batteries interchangeable between brands?

nope

 

[sportbikerider78]

If you get in a pinch with batteries, take the battery pack apart. Although the package is proprietary, many times the individual batteries inside are universal. You can often buy them from www.batterymart.com...solder a few batteries in a few mins..and boom..your custom battery pack is good as new.

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[maple1]

I got some more feedback here over the weekend, another source. Comparing Makita, Dewalt & Milwaukee.

The opinion there was, over time the Makita would slow down, the Dewalt would start wobbling the chuck a little bit, but the Milwaukee would stay solid. This would be under heavy use. He was talking Milwaukee Fuel model. Anybody experience those things? And for those with or familiar with Milwaukee - what's the difference between the Fuel model drill, and the one that isn't the Fuel model? And I think I've only seen their batteries in one size - 1.5 Amp Hour. I think. Do they not have anything bigger?

 

[semipro]

If you get in a pinch with batteries, take the battery pack apart. Although the package is proprietary, many times the individual batteries inside are universal. You can often buy them from www.batterymart.com...solder a few batteries in a few mins..and boom..your custom battery pack is good as new.

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While I've done this for Ni-Cads I'm hesitant with Li-Ion due to the heat-explosion potential.
Once I experienced Li-ion batteries I've found it hard to go back to Ni-Cads.

 

[iron]

my first drill was a dewalt 18v from ~2000. beat the crap out of it. lasted 'til 2014.

now, i'm using ridgid b/c of the lifetime warranty. yes, do register your product within 90 days of purchase. all your ridgid tools that you buy and register are saved to an online acct you create, so no looking for receipts 10 years down the road.

make sure you get an impact driver. game changer.

 

[rwhite]

If you get in a pinch with batteries, take the battery pack apart. Although the package is proprietary, many times the individual batteries inside are universal. You can often buy them from www.batterymart.com...solder a few batteries in a few mins..and boom..your custom battery pack is good as new.

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Had I known that when I grenaded the battery off a roof I could have probably fixed it. Only cracked the case a bit bit broke all the terminals loose from battery (which need some high heat to solder BTW). Anyhow there are some compatible batteries for the old NIcad models but they are only $10 cheaper that OEM. I'll just keep searching for a good deal and keep the one I got while I save money for a new Milwaukee. I know there are other good models out there but this brand has served me well in every piece of equipment I ever had.

 

[maple1]

Well, got some red goodness on its way. Milwaukee Fuel M18, gen 2. 5 ah batteries, should be good for a few holes. Also found out they've got even bigger batteries due in stores anytime now, 6ah & 9ah. Holy juice pack, Batman.

 

[Zkx14]

That is a lot of juice. Would like to see how big the 6 and 9 packs are. I'm sure you will get long runs out of 5's. Had to go check... My original Milwalkee batts are only 2.6ah. I have put a lot of hours on them and still good back ups. Replacements I got about a year ago are 3ah.

 

[jeffesonm]

I bought a Bosch 18v drill/impact driver set off Amazon a few years back... $200 +/- and came with a third battery. I have been pretty mean to these tools and they have held up. Batteries still in great shape and the third means I always have a spare charged. They have been dropped, left out in the rain, who knows what, and still work great.

 

[St. Coemgen]

To be transparent, I have not owned the other brands listed here, but I have used and always been happy with Makita products.

My latest purchase was a li-ion Makita cordless "light" drill. Very happy with it. The smaller li-ion batteries do make a difference. I have only to date used at a max of a 10 bit carbide drill on red brick, and this worked without problems. But not being an impact drill I doubt it will work on concrete. But there are Makita impact drills available. Overall, you get what you pay for.

Makita

• St. Coemgen
• Feb 5, 2016

Cordless drill