Drill/Impact Combo?

[Rhyno37]

Hey guys, after my last thread I took your guy's advice and started looking into Drill/Impact driver combos. After doing some research online and going in store to handle them, I've narrowed it down to three combos.

First is the DeWalt DCK280C2. This was my favorite one as far as ergonomics go. It felt the lightest and most nimble (perfect for around the house), and fit my hand quite well. I also favor hard cases over soft cases. At this point I'm going to buy this one, unless you guys can convince me otherwise. I didn't read about any battery problems. Only problem I could find was chuck wobble, but it seems all drills/impacts and this price range suffer from it.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UPt27Sf7Kwg

Second is the Makita LCT200W. As far as ergos goes, it was my least favorite. It felt a bit beefy, but most importantly, it kind of hurt the area between my thumb and pointer. Reviews seem to be the best on this combo.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UPt24yf7Kwg

Last is the Milwaukee 2697-22CT. This combo had good ergos, but was the heaviest of the group (not a big deal). I do like the metal chuck as opposed to the plastic wrapped ones. There's one big problem with this combo though, almost every review and forum I read complains about the M18 batteries being horrible as far as not keeping charge and dying prematurely.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UPt1Qif7Kwg

After my input, do you guys have anything to add or stop me before I buy the Dewalt? How does each companies warranty/customer service compare?

How long is Dewalts warranty on it's batteries? I see it has a 1 year service free and 3 year limited warranty but didn't know about the batteries.

And what is the difference in the dewalt combo from home depot (DCK280C2) and the one from lowes (DCK280C2-4)? Or is there one?

I appreciate all the help guys!

 

[dodge610]

You do know there running a special on the husky combo you can get the combo for 20.00 if an HD has any around you sku 527621 check it out then hit check inventory a lot of the guys here bought them I got one seems to be pretty powerful for around the garage.

 

[padronanniversary]

Get what you feel comfortable with. Makita also makes a impact/drill all in one.

I went brushless on Milwaukee and love it from the my previous dealt. The m18 drill (compact) busted it chuck after drilling out some grade 8 bolts. Went and bought the fuel and night and day difference. Got the drill warranties in 1 week

 

[Snapped-off]

I wouldn't get the white Makita stuff. My experience is the batteries just don't last. (Both the time you get out of a charge and the life of the battery)

The blue/green should be good though.

 

[shampoop]

I don't have a lot of experience with drills, but at work we just replaced all of our old dewalt stuff with new milwaukee 18v fuel stuff. The chuck is the drill is absolutely the bees knees. I don't know if this feature is common on new drills or not, but the chuck has this "ratcheting action" when you go to tighten the screw that feels like it gives you a gearing reduction for tightening it and basically somehow magically makes it super easy to tighten bits in there and I mean TIGHT, no more spinning when drilling into metal with medium to large sized bits. I also love the battery gauge on the batteries, and the included attatchable handle. The handle is so nice to have when using a hole saw in metal. The bit always ends up biting in towards the end and tries to rip your arm off, the handle completely solves that.

 

[Dieselbutterfly]

i believe you mean milwaukee fuel,not makita

 

[shoturtle]

The op milwaukee kit is not the fuel. It is the regular brush motor one. For the consumer level any of the three will work well. Get the one that is most comfortable. Mikita white will use the milkita blue green batteries and stuff. So I would not worry to much, they all come with slim pack. And if you really want to run them for a long time, you will have to add a fat pack battery anyway.

 

[IHI]

I'm putting my flame suit on so fire away after you read my schpeel LOL.

When I first started my residential construction business in 93 I bought all yellow tools because, well, that's what all the big guys had. I got a yrs of use and all my batteries were shot...hmm. Okay, upgraded to the 18V stuff, was the big stuff back then since buying new battiers for the 12v cost as much as a new tool and seemed stupid to me. Well, got a year on those 18 volt batteries and they were all shot too, of course, dewalt changed battery style again so I could'nt just buy new tools and use old batteries since they would'nt intermingle so bought a 3rd round of yellow stuff. Well, once again, a year later battieres were all shot.

My grandfather who was also a contractor (just windows and siding though) was still using the SAME Ryobi cordless tools as he had been for years..WTF?? At this stage of the game, I went color blind and bought 3 of Ryobi's 18V kits so we would have 3 sets of tools, batteries and nobody had to wait to use a tool...3 Ryobi 18Vkits for less than the price of 1 dewalt kit.
I closed my business in 2010 and the funniest part, other than replacing 4 nicad batteries over the years of daily use, and then I bought 3 lit-ion batteries when ryobi came out with them (those 3 lit ions replaced and out performed the 9 nicad batteries the kits came with) these tools, ALL of them are still working as good today as they did when I bought them.

I know tools are like trucks, everybody has a preference in brand, and on jobsites all my subs laughed at my blue barbie tools, until yrs later and they were on their second, third set of dewalt or milwaukee stuff they would joke and say maybe we shoulda bought the cheap **** LOL. Another factor I like about the Ryobi's, over ALL THIS TIME, they kept battery design exactly the same so the batteries they sell now still fit in my old antique tools; so if for some reason these lith ion ones take a ****, I can go and buy a replacment and keep going. Keep in mind these "cheap" tools got used daily for years and years, wear and tear it would take a typical homeowner decades to replicate.

Anyhow, flame away, maybe the 3 kits I bought were flukes, but I have 2 friends I bought these kits for as thank you gifts for helping out a time or two and theirs are still going and once in awhile we do joke about the junk that won die.

 

[firebox40dash5]

I wouldn't get the white Makita stuff. My experience is the batteries just don't last. (Both the time you get out of a charge and the life of the battery)

The blue/green should be good though.

I've had exactly the opposite experience. My compact batteries are 2 for 2. The large batteries are 1 for 5, and the one that's still alive is older than all but 1 of the dead ones. Yeah, I know, don't ask me.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Home Depot's Ridgid combo is $179, and promises free replacement batteries for the rest of your life. I haven't seen how that works out yet, since I'm still alive and the two sets I bought are pretty new. But it was hard for me to rationalize any incremental performance improvement as being more worthwhile when the lifespan of Li-Ion batteries, used or not, is a little more than three years.

I don't like throwing tools in the trash. And three years pass pretty quickly these days.

 

[k-os]

Home Depot's Ridgid combo is $179, and promises free replacement batteries for the rest of your life. I haven't seen how that works out yet, since I'm still alive and the two sets I bought are pretty new. But it was hard for me to rationalize any incremental performance improvement as being more worthwhile when the lifespan of Li-Ion batteries, used or not, is a little more than three years.

I don't like throwing tools in the trash. And three years pass pretty quickly these days.

Where do you see it for $179? I just bought the Ridgid Combo pack last night and it was $199.

 

[signcrafter]

Where do you see it for $179? I just bought the Ridgid Combo pack last night and it was $199.

I bought one yesterday also and it was 199. HD has the ridgid and makita kits for 199.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Sorry. I see the price has gone up. I bought mine a few months back.

 

[k-os]

Sorry. I see the price has gone up. I bought mine a few months back.

No problem. Just wanted to make sure I didn't pay more than I should have.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I like DeWalt and one of the nice features of that kit s that the drill has a 2 speed transmission. This is a really good idea, because larger bits (over about 3/8) should run at a slower speed and more torque is a good thing.

Nothing wrong with that set for a homeowner.

 

[kc-steve]

Interesting read. I am just a home hobby guy so I don't have the experience nor the hard use for any cordless drill.

But after first seeing Black & Decker batteries die after 7 years without much use I did a little research and found a website where they did a drill test to see how many screws each model would drive before the battery died. I can't find that site today but I ended up buying an 18v Makita lithion and was surprised at how fast the batteries recharge. It has only taken me no more than 15 minutes to charge them. But like I said, I haven't used them enough to even drain the batteries. Every 3 months or so I try to plug them in to recharge but usually they are fine. Another nice thing about lithion is they don't have the "memory charge" like the NiCads.

But I have been going back to buying used corded drills at garage sales.

Steve

 

[shampoop]

i believe you mean milwaukee fuel,not makita

yep

 

[Jack Olsen]

Here's a pretty recent review of the most common ones.

And here's a thing about prolonging the lifespan of Li-Ion batteries. You typically lose about 20% of the battery's capacity each year. The cells typically last about three years -- but if you treat them right, they can last as much as five.

But that's it -- which is why the free replacements for life thing appeals to me with the Ridgid. I'm working on the assumption I've still got more than 3-5 years of work in me.

 

[LeeG]

I have the 18v dewalt system. My batteries finally got down to where they would only hold a charge for 20 min of use, so I replaced them. The batteries I replaced had a manufacture date of 2006. I just use mine on weekends, not full time contractor use, but I was still pleased with the performance.

 

[54FordPanel]

I have both the DeWalt and the Milwaukee. I grab the Milwaukee more because I like the smaller size. I can fit it into places the DeWalt won't go.

On the side: My DeWalt batteries went bad, so I bought another set of 2. They were bad too. Turns out it was my charger that was bad.

 

[Rhyno37]

Thanks for all the insight guys. I think I'm going to try out the Dewalt. Lucky enough for me, Farm & Fleet has the set on sale for $199. I'll just go to Home Depot where it is still $229 and have them price match it and get 10% off.

 

[pipsters]

FWIW I saw a thread where folks disassembled a Ridgid and Milwaukee battery pack and they had the same Samsung cells in them. You can buy the 5 cells needed to rebuild a Ridgid lith-ion pack on ebay right now for $30 shipped, so if you ever come across an almost free battery pack that is an option. However you can't beat free replacement.

In the future I would expect the price to come down but I really don't know for sure.

 

[jake00]

I just grabbed the farm and fleet ad, Headed to the depot now

 

[jake00]

Home Depot beat the sale price by 10%

 

[slip knot]

Home Depot's Ridgid combo is $179, and promises free replacement batteries for the rest of your life. I haven't seen how that works out yet, since I'm still alive and the two sets I bought are pretty new. But it was hard for me to rationalize any incremental performance improvement as being more worthwhile when the lifespan of Li-Ion batteries, used or not, is a little more than three years.

I don't like throwing tools in the trash. And three years pass pretty quickly these days.

I've been using the rigid tools for a few years now and have had good luck with the free battery replacement. I bought three sets of drill drivers over the past few years and have had to replace the batts after @2yrs. I send them into a warranty center and @2weeks later new batts show up. I cant say they are new but they certainly wern't the batts I sent in. The only issue I have with the replacement batts is they only last @a year or so, but they get repalced for free so I can't complain much. Rigid id still using the same batt that they had 5 yrs ago too.

 

[Gregg33]

Personally I only buy Makita power and cordless tools (though some of my antique corded stuff is B&D). I own the blue 18v drill/drive combo set. I only got it before Christmas (present to myself!), so I haven't really had the chance to give either of them a good work out. But I have had great luck with their angle grinders.

For work (we install loading dock equipment) all the cordless tools my boss buys are Hilti. We beat the snot out of them and they never fail, although they are fairly pricey. I believe they are made by Panasonic. Other than cheap cords which easily pull out of the chargers, I can't say anything bad about them.

I don't hear much good about DeWalt these days, Rigid is good for their warranty. Other brands like Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Bosch, Ryobi etc I don't have much knowledge of them.

 

[BFHtime]

The Makita brushless three speed is the best, I have ever used. I have used the first blue makitas with the rubber nubs on the sides of the bottom of the battery compartment. I have tried black and decker, Milwaukee, several generations of dewalt porter cable ryobi, Panasonic. The three speed brushless lasts forever and you can use it on anything. The three speeds have different torque ratings. You could use it on wood or plastic even.

Milwaukee offers the most variety of cordless tools. I have not tried the fuel type Milwaukee.

I also have the brushless combo kit, hammer drill and impact, from Makita. I regret getting it as I like the three speed so much better. It has enough torque to pull the lugs off my car, (which are torqued properly).

Look for a deal where you get a free battery, battery can go for $80-100.

Besides the new lithium batteries, Panasonic had the best battery life.

I also really liked the hammer drill dewalt with the three speed transmission, usually just used two speeds, but the metal gears and chuck are beefy, it took great abuse, it still is a good tool. I hope that helps.

I always wanted to try Hitachi.