Hammerdrill recommendation

[rick carpenter]

I'm looking for a battery-powered hammerdrill. I won't be using it for any kind of pro/paid work, just at the most for residential work and residential rebuilds. So I'm looking generally at cement 30-50 years old or slightly older. What in-lbs or UWO (thanks for nuthin DeWalt!) rating do I need? I'm looking to spend under $200.

Milwaukee makes an M12, but that seems almost silly. But is it? It's 350 in-lbs in a nothing-to-sneeze-at M12 line of tools... and I already have some M12 stuff. Or I can go to 18v in several mfrs.

 

[Millwrong]

Hammer drill (twist chuck), or rotary hammer (SDS)? Big difference. As well, if you could fill us in on the diameter and number of holes you intend to drill per day, it'd be easier to make a recommendation. That being said, I've never been left happy with having to drill holes in concrete with a battery powered tool.....

 

[tlpatter]

Milwaukee M18 fuel in either flavor. Got both at work and when used with a 9.0 battery you can drill quite a few holes before it runs dead. Beats pulling out the corded Milwaukee.

 

[signcrafter]

What are you going to use it for? Size and type of holes? I have the M18 fuel hammer drill and also two of the m12 fuel hammer drills. Also have several corded hammer drills. The m12 does decent at 3/16" tapcons and stuff like that. Not fast but not slow. The m18 does better with tapcons and other anchors. Now if I have a bunch of holes to drill or bigger holes I pull out the corded sds. In the near future I will be getting an m18 sds to take over most of those tasks.

 

[6PTsocket]

I'm looking for a battery-powered hammerdrill. I won't be using it for any kind of pro/paid work, just at the most for residential work and residential rebuilds. So I'm looking generally at cement 30-50 years old or slightly older. What in-lbs or UWO (thanks for nuthin DeWalt!) rating do I need? I'm looking to spend under $200.

Milwaukee makes an M12, but that seems almost silly. But is it? It's 350 in-lbs in a nothing-to-sneeze-at M12 line of tools... and I already have some M12 stuff. Or I can go to 18v in several mfrs.

I'm not sure you can directly relate drilling torque to how well the hammer function works. Old concrete can be very rough going. With a corded Milwaukee pistol grip, I had to stop and shatter stones with a hammer and star drill in an old concrete garage wall.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Reese]

For anything more than a handful of small diameter holes in concrete I would recommend a corded rotary hammer. I tried using a cordless 18v hammer drill to drill holes to install a handrail, it was misery. I bought a cheap used Makita corded rotary hammer and promptly got rid of the hammer drill bits for the Dewalt. The difference is night and day.

If I were using one all the time I would pop for either a Dewalt or Milwaukee cordless rotary hammer, but they go for more than your $200 budget.

 

[reptilezs]

i would get a sds drill for concrete. for masonry block or brick a hammer drill is ok

 

[kctyphoon]

What size holes is the big question, and how deep? If it's just something for like 1/4" plastic anchors, or the occasional 3/8" - a hammer drill will be fine. If you want the ability to drill through 18" of concrete - that's another story.

Most of our rotary hammers at work are cordless now. But if you need to drill 50 3/4" holes, probably not ideal for that.. I can drill trough about 24" - 30" of HARD concrete with a 7/8" bit using a cordless sds plus on a 5.0 battery.. not much left to a battery after that, but typically I only need one hole for what I do.

 

[engineer2]

Makita XPH07 is a sweet drill for occasional hammer-drilled holes.
As said, if you need to do lots of holes or holes 3/4" or bigger, a corded SDS is the way to go. Bosch makes nice ones.

 

[ItsNemo]

Short of little 3/16" and smaller holes, I usually use my SDS drill first. You can get a decent SDS plus that will do up to 1" holes for that $200 price tag with a handful of smaller bits (1/4", 3/8", 1/2" sizes in a set).

You said battery powered though, do you already have other cordless tools? If so, what brand/voltage? Some of the brushless cordless hammer drills are fairly decent depending on what you're trying to do.

 

[Scenicruiser]

Makita XPH07 is a sweet drill for occasional hammer-drilled holes.

Have to agree with this...i also have a corded roto-hammer. Has to be pretty serious before I get out the extension cord. XPH07 "hauls the mail" in in concrete, stone, and hard porcelain tile. If it ever dies I will buy another. All my holes are 1/4", though

 

[ambenz]

You don't have to buy a SDS drill either if you only plan on drilling a hole or two thru concrete in your lifetime.
I rented a SDS drill to send a gas line out of the house to the detached garage.
Went thru my concrete foundation real nice!
Check your local hardware rental center.
I'd be surprised if it costed me $10 to rent.

 

[BMack37]

The M12 hammer drill use is very limited...An older M18 brushed drill will outperform the M12.

I'd never recommend buying a specific tool to jump into a battery platform. Look at the whole platform, what suits your needs and future needs? Then buy into the platform that suits you best. I wouldn't hesitate to say that Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, Kobalt 24V, Ridgid or Ryobi are good buys...all the lineups have distinct advantages and disadvantages.

If you're going to be going into solid concrete, I'd say you want a SDS or to rent a SDS. A hammer drill is more for cinder block. People used to push it harder but now that SDS is readily available...it's like comparing drilling a hole into wood with a hand drill to an electric drill. Of course there are battery powered SDS and they are extremely useful but you don't sound like the customer for one...unless you don't mind having an expensive rarely used tool.

 

[rick carpenter]

Occasional use to 5/16" max, in cement for closet flanges etc but mostly brick & mortar and cinder block. I'd get a lot more use out of a cordless 1/2" hammer drill/driver than a rotary hammer. Plus, I'll have access to corded rotary hammers for larger dia holes.

I already have an M12 impact driver and drill.

 

[finn]

An SDS rotary hammer drill will walk all over a regular chuck style hammer drill.

If it’s for occasional use, corded is much more budget friendly.

Otherwise, get a bare tool compatible with whatever battery platform you already have.

SDS drills are manufacturer rated by recommended hole size, and price escalates rapidly with max hole diameter.

 

[PoorOwner]

I burned up my m18 hammer drill using 5/8” bit.
An hour of sweat that SDS finished in 2 minutes.

Apparently the chuck is messed up as well as per the repair summary.

Stucco, small holes not too deep it works ok though.

They do make m12 and m18 SDS

 

[HaroRider]

I have the 18V Milwaukee hammer drill.Its good for plastic anchor holes and the like. I would even say its ok for the occasional bigger hole needed. Thats about its limits though.

 

[MagKarl]

HF roto hammer and pocket the rest of your budget for the next tool needed.

 

[ItsNemo]

You don't have to buy a SDS drill either if you only plan on drilling a hole or two thru concrete in your lifetime.
I rented a SDS drill to send a gas line out of the house to the detached garage.
Went thru my concrete foundation real nice!
Check your local hardware rental center.
I'd be surprised if it costed me $10 to rent.

For the price they're worth just buying...the time it takes to go out and rent one, on their schedule and the cost of rental and such is just too much. I bought one years back to do one hole, and since then I've used it to:

- Run compressed air out to garage
- Run electrical out to garage
- Install threaded rod for saddles for deck piers
- Install ledger to the house for deck
- Run compressed air out to new garage
- Install lift anchor bolts
- Install unit heater vent (drill lots of little holes in a circle, then use hammer only function to punch it out)
- Install exhaust fan vent
- Run electrical conduit to outside
- Install dozens of 1/4" tapcons for anchoring bottom plate in basement
- Few neighbors/friends projects

Easily cheaper than renting...I used it way more than I thought I would.

 

[MoonRise]

Bosch. Done.

If you were really serious about drilling into masonry, then I'd say Hilti.

And +7 on considering an SDS (probably SDS Plus, usually only need to go to the SDS MAX for 'big' stuff) rotary hammer.

Even a hammer-drill sort of ***** drilling into 'hard' concrete even with little 5/16" bits. Yeah, it works. But you have to work at it. A rotary hammer SDS machine goes so much faster and easier.

$200 price point can usually get you a decent (corded) Bosch Bulldog SDS-Plus rotary hammer good for up to right around 1" drilling capacity in concrete.

A plus to the SDS rotary hammer machines is that you can also get scraper or chisel type bits and use them in hammer-only mode. For things like removing old tile or (carefully) repointing old brick work by removing the surface layer of old mortar.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/concrete-23074-c/

Insist on battery powered and a hammer-drill type tool? Maybe this one:

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/hammer-drill-3-jaw-chuck--hds182-02l-51528-p/

Bosch SDS-Plus rotary hammers:

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/rotary-hammer-sds-plus--23097-c/

Maybe this one? 4 5-star reviews on the Bosch site. Check the one someone posted about trying to use a hammer-drill to put 1/2" holes into 50 year old concrete for a handrail project.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/rotary-hammer-sds-plus--gbh2-28l-147058-p/

 

[SteveCh]

My Bosch 1" rotary hammer [SDS] was something like $170 a couple years ago. As someone else mentioned, I have used it for a number of tasks I never anticipated. I even resorted to using it to bust out a granite chunk in the garden, using a chisel [SDS of course]. That one took some time, but it did the job without my having to drive 50 miles to rent a jack hammer. It will drill a 3/8 hole for a Tapcon in a half minute. And I've drilled holes in stone in only a bit longer time.

However, it is a corded drill.

 

[rstang50]

I used an m12 sds to anchor conveyor. We use mostly 3/8” anchors with a 12” bit. It does a great job and you don’t have the cord. It’s also fairly light. Be sure to wear a mask to protect yourself from the silica dust.

 

[dnschmidt]

I don't like hammer drills. I like rotary hammers. Hammer drills are a compromise and I don't like to compromise. It's the German in me.

 

[rick carpenter]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I ended up with the Ryobi 18v brushless hammerdrill/drill which has been positively reviewed here.

 

[txvwnut]

I just saw this thread and will add I have the 12v Milwaukee hammer drill and it is quite impressive. I use the 4.0 batteries in it and it will run my line boring bar just as good as my Milwaukee magnum hole shooter and puts holes in masonry just as good as my two corded hammer drills. I also have Ryobi 18v stuff and the only tool I’m not happy with is the circular saw.

 

[driftpin]

I agree a rotary hammer would be much-better for all-round use. My advice is to forget anything battery-powered, they don't have the longevity to keep working, maybe a hammer drill to hang a shelf, or some moly anchors or a handful of plastic anchor shields. Any aspirations of doing dozens of holes 1/4" or larger, and of being able to use it to break-up an old pour, or to drill in stone, use a rotary hammer.

I bought a HFT rotary hammer and impact drill for <$100 on sale. It's an SDS-MAX, and the extra capacity is an asset for heavier work. I've used it to break-up poured slabs in several bathrooms, to drill 5/8" holes to anchor sill plates to a slab for a single-car garage, and miscellaneous other jobs that a hammer drill, which I also have, would be hard-pressed to complete.

I watched the guys who were hired to do the sill-plate fastening to a slab try to use DeWalt battery-powered tools. They couldn't drill consecutive holes, and they couldn't run-down the hex nuts on the wedge-its repeatedly. After watching them do it half-assed I fired them, and did it myself. I did it much-quicker w/my HFT SDS-MAX than they attempted, and I did it right.

I bought the HFT drill set and the set of paddle bits, needle bits etc. and also bought a Bosch wide paddle bit for when I broke the wide HFT paddle bit. Some people run-down the quality of the HFT drill bits for rotary hammer use, but they have drilled OK when I've used them.

The Harbor Freight SDS-MAX tool I have has been superceded, but mine is still working whenever I need it. I always fill the grease vault when I put it away, that way it's ready for the next use. The tool paid for itself the second day I used it, compared to rental fees at the Big Orange Box Store.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have two rotary hammers, a Bosch bulldog which is awesome and a big big Bosch don't remember the number but is sdsmax and good for 1" and bigger. I also have a Milwaukee fuel 2704 which is an awesome hammer drill.

Since my house that I have been building is all icf/ concrete I have a lot of holes to drill. I thought I would use the fuel to drill all the 1/4" holes to attach the electrical boxes with tapcons to the wall. After the first one I said F$&k that and streatched a cord and got the bull dog out. Talking 20 seconds for the bulldog vs a min and half for the fuel for the two holes. It will be even worse with old concrete. The other thing is dust and vibration is bad with the hammer drill and minimal with 1/4" and 5/16" sds bits in the bulldog. Get a rotary hammer.

O, it's been my experience that hammer drills are constantly tearing up chucks. I know my fuel I thought I would never get the bit out and had to use a vise to get it open. As a drill it been awsome even with 3 and 4" hole saws.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Occasional use to 5/16" max, in cement for closet flanges etc but mostly brick & mortar and cinder block. I'd get a lot more use out of a cordless 1/2" hammer drill/driver than a rotary hammer. Plus, I'll have access to corded rotary hammers for larger dia holes.

I already have an M12 impact driver and drill.

Cordless is ok for cinder block. I have a Bosch and would buy a corded SDS again. It was cheap and I have used it much more than I ever dreamed I would.

 

[gnxtc2]

I'm an electrical contractor and have the following:
- Hilti
- Bosch
- Milwaukee

Here's my take:

Hands down is the Hilti. The Hilti is the Snap On of rotary hammer and chipping guns. You have to go to Hilti to buy Hilti. At one time, Home Depot sold Hilti but not any more. Hilti support is awesome. The Hilti rotary hammer is so smooth, doesn't beat up the body.

Bosch comes in right behind the Hilti. Used a Bosch Bulldog for years. The good thing about Bosch is they're readily available. I use Bosch SDS bits in my Hilti when I need a bit quick. But the Hilti bits are superior ones to have.

The Milwaukee rotary hammer is at the bottom. We called the Milwaukee the "Screamer". Milwaukee makes good tools but they can't make a rotary hammer. I own and use the M28, M18 and M12 line exclusively. All my M18 and M28 drills are hammer drills. Use them to do a quick install of a plastic 10/12 anchor which takes a 1/4 bit or a TapCon (3/16 bit). If that shield needs to go into brick, better break out the Bosch or Hilti. Hammer drills

Billy T.
[email protected]