Cordless drills

[lestat]

Is Hilti as expensive in the UK as it is here in the US? Last company I worked for used it exclusively for the field crews, but it was high-dollar stuff, even for the basics.

Panasonic stuff looks interesting, but I've never seen it for sale over here.

They are even more expensive over here. An 18V hammer drill with two 3.3ah batteries and a charger will cost £390 (600$) at the dealer. The sad part is they're very rare new on ebay uk and for that reason they're going for crazy prices. I've seen them sold close to £300. I've also seen used 14.4V impacts sold for £200 inc. batteries and charger. You could get it brand new for same money at Home Depot. Same overinflated prices on ebay.de

I've got a brand new SFH 18-A body from ebay US at 118$. Battery bought locally so £150 all in which is not too bad. I've got the charger free though (bought a 14V body and charger and sold the tool back for more than I paid for the kit). I also got carried away and won another brand new body for $100 on ebay US, but to my shame didn't complete the transaction and got me a non-payment strike. Point is most of the stuff can be had (much) cheaper in the US.

Panasonic is definitely cheaper than Hilti, you could be getting a new drill/impact kit + two 3.3ah batteries over here at around £300 retail. Again, hard to get bargains on ebay. Both brands have a very loyal following, you had them once you will buy again.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Hilti is good but its over priced. I have used a Panasonic home owners drill and I hated it, but I have never seen the their higher end stuff.
OP there is no best only best for your needs. I was going to buy Makita but the deWalt 20 volt just came out an it came with three 3.0 batteries. So i bought a flashlight too. I really like it, but it is heavy as my old 18 volt.

 

[nev]

Maybe it's different here in the UK...cause I have a White 10.8 set and the batteries last as long as my buddies green set.
And my green 18vold impact lasts the same as my buddies white version?????????????

 

[jmlcolorado]

Just bought the Makita Impact and hammer drill combo from tool king. It comes with a mail in thing for a free bare tool (sawzall, 6" skill saw, 4" angle grinder) and im VERY happy with it!
http://www.toolking.com/makita-lxt2...ct-driver-combo-kit-85485?CAWELAID=1410695557


I found a showdown on the 3 major brand combo kits somewhere. Think it was an auto forum. They compared Makita, DeWalt and Bosch.
Guy said he was going to test all three kits equally and would sell the ones he didnt like. Sold the dewalt and it was a toss up between the other two.

 

[B18c_tuner]

Makita ftw : )

 

[Cougar]

I'm afraid to ask.
What about Craftsman?

 

[B18c_tuner]

For home use I would think it would be ok. But why waste $50-100 on that set when you can spend a minimum of $200 for an industrial grade set?

 

[Monte]

 

[EOC_Jason]

I'm afraid to ask.
What about Craftsman?

Needed an impact driver for a good sized project (insulating a 3000 sqft roof of a metal building and needing to install a ton of angle brackets). Got the Craftsman 19.2v model and it worked great.

Ended up getting the same 19.2v drill motor the other day for another project (building a bunch of built-in office desks) just to have a spare. It has worked great too thus far, and I'm able to use the same batteries.

Like many things it all depends on price (sales?), availability, when you need it, etc... In an ideal situation one would have time to do lots of research to find out what is the best bang for the buck, but often we need something asap for a job and you end up getting what you can find (and is priced reasonably).

I can't really comment on durability / ruggedness, I'm extremely cautious with my tools. I'm not like some people that just throw everything in the back of their pickup at the end of the day.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

I wish Panasonic would publish more data on their IP56 rating of that drill. I have a hard time believing it survived - and properly operated after - a 30-minute dunk under 1m of water. Makes me wonder if they didn't do a modified version instead. IPX4, sure...IPX6? Eh...

 

[Monte]

I wish Panasonic would publish more data on their IP56 rating of that drill. I have a hard time believing it survived - and properly operated after - a 30-minute dunk under 1m of water. Makes me wonder if they didn't do a modified version instead. IPX4, sure...IPX6? Eh...

immersion in water would be IPx7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-0IW20Z_GiA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


btw. if you want to dunk it into water go for it

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eC1yn_o3qWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


without IP rating but looks like IP 67

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-bZ4yrpTcjw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[JayL]

A little bit on the heavier side but I prefer Metabo specially if I can choose one only.
Good all around in metal, wood, and concrete.
Metabo SB18LXT Made in Germany ... batteries assembled in Hungary ... charger Made in China.

 

[nyrapscalion]

I like my 4 Bosch drills, no problems at all. I have a 120V hammer/drill, 18V cordless drill/driver, 18V "screwdriver" (small handle), and 18V impact. Battery life is awesome..in fact I had a defective battery (slim pack) and I called..they sent me the thick pack for free. Battery was under warranty. Check around, deals can be had.

I did have a dewalt cordless once, first charge out of the box battery overheated & wouldn't work after that. Customer service was worthless (like b of a worthless) so that was that. I gave the drill, case battery & charger away at some point.

I also have a Bosch screwdriver with a flex head, jigsaw, sawszall, heat gun & grinder. All Bosch, no problems at all.

 

[Monte]

Hitachi now offers 4.0AH battery packs too...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oxpe2W-vJkU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[liliysdad]

Hitachi now offers 4.0AH battery packs too...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oxpe2W-vJkU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Oh...Hell.

 

[shoturtle]

I'm afraid to ask.
What about Craftsman?

their 19v stuff is good consumer grade tools. If you use it professionally I would move up a bit to bosch, hilti, milwaukee, mikita, hitachi, and dewalt.

 

[Cougar]

their 19v stuff is good consumer grade tools. If you use it professionally I would move up a bit to bosch, hilti, milwaukee, mikita, hitachi, and dewalt.

I'll use it for around the house stuff.
Went to Sears, didn't see any with a hard case.
I don't like the duffle bag.

 

[Cougar]

Reason I was looking for a new drill is my battery pack went out, can't get a new one. It's a Delta Shopmaster, nothing fancy but it's been a good drill.

Last night I tried the, freezing the battery pack for a couple hours. Then put it on the charger, got one light to come on, so left it on over night and this morning it said charge complete.
Don't know how long it will last but at least have a drill for now.
Wish I could find my other battery pack.

 

[AndysMBgarage]

immersion in water would be IPx7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-0IW20Z_GiA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


btw. if you want to dunk it into water go for it

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eC1yn_o3qWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Thanks for that.
I bought my Panasonic 18v without even realising it was so tough.

SCORE

Today I saw it advertised today with 3x 3Ah batteries and an impact driver for $499.
http://www.totaltools.com.au/panasonic-18v-tough-tool-ip56-2-piece-heavy-duty-c/w1/i1016764/
I kind of wish I'd spent a little more money now, but I'm still happy with the drill.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

Hm, looks like the Panasonic is brushless - probably why IPX6/7 isn't an issue for it. Hadn't thought about that. IP6X, eh, probably not rated for that as you actually have to put a vacuum inside of the test unit to check for dust ingress - possible on the battery, but I don't think on the drill case itself.

The caveat with the IP code (IEC 529, we do IP testing a few times a week here at the lab) is that there's no mandated requirement that the test item work after the water test; it simply cannot create a hazardous condition for the user. Panasonic could rate their equipment at IP56 and as long as it didn't create a hazard for the user, and the dust ingress didn't "interfere with satisfactory operation of the apparatus or impair safety".

But, it looks like they're not playing around with definitions and it is actually operationally-rated for IP56 and possibly IPX7. Nice.