Batteries and 1/4 hex impact drivers

[ajchien]

Been looking for a 1/4 hex impact driver. My few questions are:

Is there a big difference in performance between the 18v and 12v ones, in run time or driving power?

What is the performance difference between NiCD and Li-ion?

Are any of the drivers compatible between NiCD and Li? If I bought a NiCD, could I put a Li battery on it?


I've been looking at the Makita or the Milwaukees, but Lowes has an enticing Porter cable on sale this weekend. Yet, I'm a little put off since the board thinks the porter cable is a rebadged black and decker...

Thanks!

 

[ishiboo]

Been looking for a 1/4 hex impact driver. My few questions are:

Is there a big difference in performance between the 18v and 12v ones, in run time or driving power?

What is the performance difference between NiCD and Li-ion?

Are any of the drivers compatible between NiCD and Li? If I bought a NiCD, could I put a Li battery on it?


I've been looking at the Makita or the Milwaukees, but Lowes has an enticing Porter cable on sale this weekend. Yet, I'm a little put off since the board thinks the porter cable is a rebadged black and decker...

Thanks!

1. The 18v devices are more powerful and have a longer runtime. I use my 12v impactors for assembling things, small screws, etc... I won't drive a deck screw or anything with them. They do it but it takes a while with lots of hammering, and the 18v is better suited to the purpose. (For most screws/drilling, I pick up my 36v)

2. Lithium batteries hold more, don't have a memory and are overall better performers then the NiCads. IMO, I wouldn't buy a NiCad anymore as it's seemingly "old" technology for a primary drill/driver.

3. Not that I know of. The charging technology is also very different, so I doubt they would make both batteries in the same form factor.

4. The Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt or my preference the Bosch are all very similar professional-grade drivers. IMO the Porter Cable, B&D, etc. are more consumer-grade devices which are not as strong. Nothing "wrong" with them, they seem to be a good value, but if you plan on tackling real projects with them like a deck or construction instead of a little workbench build or quick repair here and there, I'd go with one of the more professional name brands.

Lowes has free battery deals running for sure on DeWalt and Kobalt (not sure where the new Kobalts fit) right now, Bosch perhaps as well... a battery for a 18v tool is usually $80-$100 so I try to pick mine up when there's a free battery deal.

 

[GoBlue]

My vote is for the makita...by far the best i have used. I compared it directly to the Dewalt and found it better for the money

 

[blacK20]

Depends on what you need it for. In an automotive environment, I use my 12v all day long.

 

[brokenknee]

I can't comment on the other but I really like my makita with the 18 volt Lithium battery. Before I purchased it I did do some research and at the time it was a top performer.

Go to the store and pick a few up, see which feel "right" in your hand. As already stated weigh what you are going to use it for, if mainly for automotive then the 12v would be my choice. I use mine more for construction so I went with the 18v.

 

[jvitez]

+1 on grabbing each and seeing how they fit/feel. I've got medium sized hands, and it seems many contractor/construction guys are gorillas..... extra large everything, perhaps large, but nothing medium. I really want a Dewalt 12V Max impact driver. It's small, light, and fits perfectly in my hand.

I'll only buy Li-ion from now on. Having replaced the Ni-Cd batteries in my really nice, still Japanese made Hitachi 12V drill/driver a while ago for close to $100, I love the fact that Li-ion can be fine for use without charging for up to one year, with no degradation of battery life.

 

[Twiggss]

I love my Hitachi 18v Li-ion. Little ****** packs a punch.

 

[glockman]

The 12v only give 50 to 70 lbs of torque max. The 18v are much more powerful. I have a Milwaukee 12v that I use for automotive. It's lighter and fits in tighter spots. I have a Cman 19.2 for driving screws. As far as ni and li compatability, the Cman nicad will take Li batteries.

 

[Nor*Cal]

When I was working in the trades, I used the 18V lithium makita daily for years. Had the nicad version prior to that and would go with the lithium. Great tool.

There is an adapter that I might get for an older makita drill I have because buying nicad replacements are almost as expensive as a new drill. Found here.

 

[shampoop]

I got the makita 18v impact driver for automotive use. I've glad I got it over the 12v version. I don't feel like the extra size at the base compared to the 12v models really gets in the way of when you want to use it. The handle is actually smaller and fits most hands much better. Plus the extra power and run time is very nice.

The only situation where i think a 12v would work better during purely interior work.

 

[BLACK DEATH]

I say get the 18 V milwaukee set for sale at HD in stores. $199

 

[holdover]

"Are any of the drivers compatible between NiCD and Li? If I bought a NiCD, could I put a Li battery on it?"

Dewalt 18V accepts both, they are interchangable. Not sure of the other brands. The Li requires its own charger.

just bought a Dewalt driver and 1/2" drill combo with 2 nicads and charger for 169 @ HD. All my other tools are Dewalt so just added the batteries to the mix. All the name brands are good, but none are cheap.. I am sure that the Li batteries will come down in price in the future, the NiCads are not as long lasting or as light as the Li, but still work well

 

[rick carpenter]

I really like my recon Bosch 18v with two slimpack batteries. To give you an idea of battery charge life, I have used it to put up drywall all day to about 2 or 3 o'clock on one battery. In my opinion, lighter is not better. Mine has enough heft that it doesn't want to spin out of my hand or off the screw with a normal grip, but it's not too heavy for all day drywalling either.

 

[oldwheelieguy]

I recently purchased the makita lxt combo and its great, tons of power and the battery lasts a long time, under 240 bucks from home depot.

 

[gsport]

i just bought the Makita combo pack yesterday and havn't even tried it yet.... i've been reading about all the brands for about a month and waited till black friday to make my choice...

 

[osborn.ozzy]

got the cman 19.2V impact driver kit for $89.99 yesterday, have yet to try it out.