Need recommendation for cordless drill

[ms fowler]

Wife has asked for "wish list" items for Christmas.
I need/ want a better cordless drill. The ones I have had in the past all had limits on the charging time. So, I'd charge them, and then remove them from the charger, and then I needed to use the, the batteries were flat, or nearly so.

I want something with a "smart charger" if that is the term. Something I can leave on the charger indefinitely without overcharging.
As rapidly as the technology progresses, I am in need of recommendations on what is currently available.

What do you all use....and like? or what have you discovered was not as good as you thought it would be?

Thanks, all.

 

[mp4]

I'm a Milwaukee fan. Their Fuel line up is touted as being just as powerful as corded tools and the warranty is longer than their standard lineup. They are spendy though...

 

[gdocktor3]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a brushless Ridgid. It's the cheapest of the big boy brands, but has all the same features and power. Ridgid also offers the lifetime warranty. I already own Ridgid, Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Makita batteries/chargers, but the Ridgid is best option and bang for buck in my case. Check out Real Tool Review on YouTube. He has very well made reviews on just about every cordless drill past and present.

 

[DerekV]

the warranty is longer than their standard lineup.

Their warranty is the same across the board, Fuel or not. IIRC 5 year tool, 3 year XC batteries, 2 year compact batteries, limited lifetime on LED "bulbs" and hand tools.

OP - what do you normally use a drill for? Picture hanging, small projects, big projects, etc.?

 

[gdocktor3]

Their warranty is the same across the board, Fuel or not. IIRC 5 year tool, 3 year XC batteries, 2 year compact batteries, limited lifetime on LED "bulbs" and hand tools.

OP - what do you normally use a drill for? Picture hanging, small projects, big projects, etc.?

To touch on the battery warranty, it must be less than 1000 charge cycles. When I first heard that on here I was in disbelief, but I mentioned it to a few of my coworkers who have Milwaukee and he confirmed it. The battery keeps count of charge cycles and after 1000 the warranty is no longer honored. Some people use the tool for an hour, battery only drops down to 75% let's say, and they slap it in charger. That just clicked off a charge on the 1000 count, for a 1/4 of a charge.

 

[DerekV]

To touch on the battery warranty, it must be less than 1000 charge cycles. When I first heard that on here I was in disbelief, but I mentioned it to a few of my coworkers who have Milwaukee and he confirmed it. The battery keeps count of charge cycles and after 1000 the warranty is no longer honored. Some people use the tool for an hour, battery only drops down to 75% let's say, and they slap it in charger. That just clicked off a charge on the 1000 count, for a 1/4 of a charge.

Wrong. That is for the old V18 batteries (see their warranty on their website). While I'm sure the M18 ones keep count, the warranty is based purely on time and not # of charges. I emailed Milwaukee and that is what they told me.

 

[bcradio]

Wrong. That is for the old V18 batteries (see their warranty on their website). While I'm sure the M18 ones keep count, the warranty is based purely on time and not # of charges. I emailed Milwaukee and that is what they told me.

Thank you for clarifying that

 

[ndnchf]

I'm in the exact same boat as ms fowler. Following along closely.

 

[gdocktor3]

I just found this about m18 batteries. Says 2000 charges. Maybe it's just for HD. Look at page 3 http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/42/42635b52-258e-41f7-95af-bfc3dfa61812.pdf

 

[DerekV]

That is only for V-series batteries and non-Red Lithium batteries (aka early M18 batteries).

 

[gdocktor3]

Gotcha

 

[IndyGarage]

Personally, I barely use my cordless drills anymore.

Once I got a good cordless impact driver, that's what I use 90% of the time. And the impact driver will drill, it just doesn't have a drill chuck in it.

I do have cordless drills, and they are convenient, but for the occasional pure drilling job I could easily haul out the corded model .

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I love my 12v Black and Decker. YOu can get one for cheap now. It's a perfect drill for smaller things, and for driving smaller screws. One advantage over an impact driver is that it has a torque clutch so it makes screwing and unscrewing damn easy.

 

[DFB]

Yup 2000 charge cycles is what it is. And that's a lot of charges. One charge every single day for the entire 5 year period is only like 1825 charges (365 x 5 ) have no fear most casual users would ever come close to exceeding that.

And as a side note with Milwaukee's RedLink Intelligence system internal battery damage thru excessive heat or power draw is probably minimal as the tool senses these conditions and shuts down. Just something to aware of...its pretty prevalent (and annoying) in the smaller M12 3/8 drills and with also running the ratchet into the stops.


Now for the OP original question this is what the Milwaukeee's operators manual reads about leaving the battery on the charger.

After charging is complete, the continuous green light will turn on and the fuel gauge will turn off.

The charger will keep the battery pack fully charged if it is left on the charger.

Maintenance and Storage Store your charger in a cool, dry place. As a general practice, it is best to unplug battery chargers and remove battery packs when not in use.

No battery pack damage will occur, however, if the charger and battery pack are left plugged in.

 

[DerekV]

Yup 2000 charge cycles is what it is. And that's a lot of charges. One charge every single day for the entire 5 year period is only like 1825 charges (365 x 5 ) have no fear most casual users would ever come close to exceeding that.



And as a side note with Milwaukee's RedLink Intelligence system internal battery damage thru excessive heat or power draw is probably minimal as the tool senses these conditions and shuts down. Just something to aware of...its pretty prevalent (and annoying) in the smaller M12 3/8 drills and with also running the ratchet into the stops.





Now for the OP original question this is what the Milwaukeee's operators manual reads about leaving the battery on the charger.



After charging is complete, the continuous green light will turn on and the fuel gauge will turn off.



The charger will keep the battery pack fully charged if it is left on the charger.



Maintenance and Storage Store your charger in a cool, dry place. As a general practice, it is best to unplug battery chargers and remove battery packs when not in use.



No battery pack damage will occur, however, if the charger and battery pack are left plugged in.

Milwaukee Red Lithium batteries are warrantied based purely on time, not the # of charges. Only older batteries value the # of charges for warranty claims. This is coming straight from Milwaukee, I have it in an email. It's also written in their warranty (albeit not very clearly). I don't know how many times I have to say it...

Charge cycles DON'T MATTER FOR WARRANTY CLAIMS! They are only considered for out of warranty claims - which is what the rep told me in the email.

Now let's help the OP pick a drill.

 

[Chevy-SS]

I've been using the Home Depot 18v Ryobi cordless tools for many years. I've upgraded them all to the newer Li-ion tools. These are some terrific tools IMHO. I have used and abused them with nary a glitch. I've now got the drill, driver, recip saw, circ saw, vibrating tool, lights (3), nailer, 1/2" impact..... and every one works like a champ.

The chargers also work great. But you need the high-end batteries for best performance.

If you look around, you can find package deals with ~5 tools, charger and battery for $200 to $300 depending on what you need/want.

 

[atikovi]

If you have other cordless tools, you probably want the same brand so you can use the same batteries and charger. With that said, I'd buy Ingersoll Rand myself. http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/am-en/products/tools/Iqv-cordless-tools Have their 1/4" and 3/8" ratchet, 1/2" impact gun, 1/4" drill driver and a light. They all work great.

 

[DFB]

Milwaukee Red Lithium batteries are warrantied based purely on time, not the # of charges. Only older batteries value the # of charges for warranty claims. This is coming straight from Milwaukee, I have it in an email. It's also written in their warranty (albeit not very clearly). I don't know how many times I have to say it...

Charge cycles DON'T MATTER FOR WARRANTY CLAIMS! They are only considered for out of warranty claims - which is what the rep told me in the email.

Now let's help the OP pick a drill.

Good


Keep saying it so we understand

It is slightly complicated to read all that fine print

 

[ez-duzit]

...I need/ want a better cordless drill. The ones I have had in the past all had limits on the charging time. So, I'd charge them, and then remove them from the charger, and then I needed to use the, the batteries were flat...

Actually what you need is a good CORDED drill. No more battery problems. My corded drills get used 100:1 over my cordless.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I've been using the Home Depot 18v Ryobi cordless tools for many years. I've upgraded them all to the newer Li-ion tools. These are some terrific tools IMHO. I have used and abused them with nary a glitch. I've now got the drill, driver, recip saw, circ saw, vibrating tool, lights (3), nailer, 1/2" impact..... and every one works like a champ.

The chargers also work great. But you need the high-end batteries for best performance.

If you look around, you can find package deals with ~5 tools, charger and battery for $200 to $300 depending on what you need/want.

I have been happy with my Ryobi stuff too. But the drills leave a little to be desired IMO. The driver is excellent as well as the circular saw. The reciprocal saw is OK but the lock for the blade doesn't always work well. But mine is an early model. They may have improved that.

The good thing is all the individual tools available. I have a caulking gun that I really like too. Jig saw is another miss but again it is an old model. It does cut and will work but not very nicely.

I have used Bosch and they are very nice too but with all the tools I have I can't really change up now.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I'm very pleased with my Makita LXT system... if I was going to replace, I'd consider Milwaukee Fuel tools.

 

[DerekV]

I'm very pleased with my Makita LXT system... if I was going to replace, I'd consider Milwaukee Fuel tools.

Funny, if I was going to replace my Milwaukee Fuel tools, I'd go with Makita

Both brands are awesome and both have a ton of tools in their lineup (18v). The new Makita 18v subcompact kit looks wicked sweet...probably fine for 98% of jobs around the house and super small/light...I wish Milwaukee had something similar (subcompact).

 

[ndnchf]

Ongoing frustration with the eternally dead batteries for my cordless drill lead me to pick up a used hand crank egg-beater style hand drill a few months ago. I have a corded 3/8" and a 1/2" drill for more serious work. But for the times I just need to drill one or two small holes in something, I used to reach for the often dead cordless. Now I've found the egg-beater to be an ideal and simple alternative to the cordless. It even has a hollow handle so I can keep a few common size bits with it. I still use the corded drills for heavy work, but the little egg-beater is really nice for many simple chores.

 

[Git]

I have been a loyal Bosch fan over the years, but I recently started buying Makita as my older Bosch tools needed new batteries.

Very impressed with Makita. I would be looking at this Home Depot Black Friday deal for a drill and impact driver set - should be $149

 

[jd_1138]

Are you a pro or DIYer? If a DIYer, the Ryobi stuff is great.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18-Volt-ONE-Drill-Driver-and-Impact-Driver-Kit-P1832/207092155?AID=11210757&PID=6147012&SID=ivlbvqc5aw0025g3001rw&cm_mmc=CJ-_-6147012-_-11210757&cj=true

$99 for an impact driver, a regular drill, 2 batteries, charger, bag. And it opens up the huge world of Ryobi tools. The multi-tool (oscillating) is very useful.

If you want something a little nicer, Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee/Ridgid/Bosch are all good choices. I'd probably pick up at least the 2 tool kit (impact and regular drill).

 

[mnoeltne]

Actually what you need is a good CORDED drill. No more battery problems. My corded drills get used 100:1 over my cordless.

While I'm sure that's the case for you, I have found that since I got a GOOD quality cordless setup I rarely use my corded drills anymore.

I purchased a Dewalt 18v cordless drill/driver a few years ago with some cash I got for Christmas, and I absolutely loved it. Since then I've bought additional tools in the same line. I really love the 1/4" hex impact driver. I use that and two of the drills quite often.

But the OP will have to make the decision of corded vs cordless. What works for one person may not work for another.

 

[exmaxima1]

I'm a Milwaukee fan. Their Fuel line up is touted as being just as powerful as corded tools and the warranty is longer than their standard lineup. They are spendy though...

+1
I don't need heavy tools for the majority of my home projects, so I bought into the M12 system: drill, Fuel impact, sawsall, and 3/8" ratchet. I love them, and they all fit into a bag if I need to transport them. Honestly, they do the job of much larger tools but don't wear you out holding them.