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Used (older) rotary hammer drill Advice

scratchedup

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Fayetteville, GA
I am looking a buying a Used (older) rotary hammer drill to buy. Occasionally I have borrowed a Hilti TE 17 that is great but it's no longer available to me. These Hilti's are on eBay for reasonable prices but seems a little risky being very old....thoughts.

Also there is a TE 16 ???
Newer TE7 ???

Very occasional use...concrete 1/2" to 7/8" holes.
 
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dnschmidt

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Phoenix, AZ
Are you looking for old or are you looking for cheap? Milwaukee, Bosch and DeWalt always have some nice rotary hammer cordless tools on special. If you're in one of their battery platforms New or Factory Reconditioned might be a better way to go and losing the cord is never a bad idea.
 

RTM

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I've got an old Bosch 11202, and it hasn't failed me since I rebuilt it. Got it for $5 at a yard sale, wasn't hammering, they wanted it gone. I took it apart, cleaned up the hammering bits with some help, and its been golden since, in homeowner use. Supposedly sold ~1985 - 1992. I've been told by those who use these a lot that the vertical motor units hit harder than other styles.

I've since spent more on bits like shovels and chisels than I did on the tool or rebuild stuff. My most frequently loaned tool. Its weight alone makes for great shoveling, ground rod driving, etc. A friend used to to drill foundation holes for anchoring. Broken up small bits of concrete with it.
 

shawhite

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As someone who uses a TE-16 a couple times a month to drill concrete utility poles. I would have no problem buying a used Hilti as long as it looks like it has been taken care of. I’ve had my Hilti for 15-20 years and have never had an issue.
 
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scratchedup

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The Hilti TE17 I used to borrow was a beast. I kinda want something that is like that...plenty of power. I do not care about newness or cordless...so if I had to say old or cheap I would say cheap but not junk and lots of power.
I love newer tools but I just can not justify the cost for sometime I will only use twice a year to drill 1 - 5 holes.
 

shawhite

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You won’t go wrong with a hilti. Here is my spare I snagged in case mine ever failed. This one has been collecting dust for a couple years now
 

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sparky 1971

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Central Iowa
I am looking a buying a Used (older) rotary hammer drill to buy. Occasionally I have borrowed a Hilti TE 17 that is great but it's no longer available to me. These Hilti's are on eBay for reasonable prices but seems a little risky being very old....thoughts.

Also there is a TE 16 ???
Newer TE7 ???

Very occasional use...concrete 1/2" to 7/8" holes.
I wouldn't have a problem buying a used Hilti as long as I could inspect it before purchase. Some of the TE-17's on ebay for $150ish are appealing, but who knows if they have had the trigger pulled for the next to the last time? For a little more than the used prices, you could buy a new Bosch Bulldog, which is IMO, the next best SDS corded hammer available today. Hilti is #1 of course. I have the previous model Bulldog rated for 7/8". I also have the Milwaukee M18 rated for 1-1/8" and while I've never used a 1-1/8" bit, using a 3/4" bit, the Bulldog will win the race every time. The only problem I have with the Bosch is that it has a cord and that is why I own the Milwaukee.

Milwaukee is the only logical choice.
I'm a Milwaukee fan boy, but have to admit that when it comes to rotary hammers, both Bosch and Hilti have Milwaukee beat, with Hilti being king of the hill.
 
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KnurledNut

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Good advice above. If I was shopping, id choose one that has a hammer-only mode.
If you go Hilti, be aware that parts are typically only available through their service centers and not sold through third party distributors. They can also be a little weird about repairing second hand tools.
 

Ilikeike

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We have a couple of Bosch at work decades old. SDS also. Solid tools.
A good used anything Hilti is the Cadillac tho
 

kngelv

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May 25, 2011
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Detroit, MI
I wouldn't have a problem buying a used Hilti as long as I could inspect it before purchase. Some of the TE-17's on ebay for $150ish are appealing, but who knows if they have had the trigger pulled for the next to the last time? For a little more than the used prices, you could buy a new Bosch Bulldog, which is IMO, the next best SDS corded hammer available today. Hilti is #1 of course. I have the previous model Bulldog rated for 7/8". I also have the Milwaukee M18 rated for 1-1/8" and while I've never used a 1-1/8" bit, using a 3/4" bit, the Bulldog will win the race every time. The only problem I have with the Bosch is that it has a cord and that is why I own the Milwaukee.


I'm a Milwaukee fan boy, but have to admit that when it comes to rotary hammers, both Bosch and Hilti have Milwaukee beat, with Hilti being king of the hill.

I would take Bosch all day long over a Milwaukee and I own plenty of Milwaukee tools. My Bosch is an 1 1/8 corded that is Made In Germany and does everything asked of it. I use a Hilti at work and it is a step up from the Bosch. We have a newer Milwaukee at work that their rep gave us to try out and it's not even close to my Bosch let alone the Hilti.

James
 

KnurledNut

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A while back, I picked up Bosch 11255’s big brother, the 1-1/8 GBH2-28L Extreme Max. Got it for next to nothing since it had a “bad chuck and wont hold bits.”
Upon closer inspection, it ended up being a broken bit which was jammed and very stuck. Disassembled the chuck which involved a little cussing to persuade the crazy retaining ring, drilled a hole in the side of the bit, and used a stubby pin punch to finally wiggle it free and drive it out.

Over a decade ago, I used a Dewalt regularly that I wanted to hate, but it ended up being put thru the ringer time and again and came out shining every use. Good unit.

Milwaukee made a pistol grip SDS+ many years ago that I really liked for smaller holes.

My current corded go-to for holes 1/2 or less is a Hilti TE-5. Compact size with plenty of punch. As others have said, Hilti is a step above. But in the same way that many of the benefits of Snap-on are lost if you dont have a driver servicing you, the greatest benefits of Hilti come from their commercial business accounts.

For much bigger stuff, I tend to step up to Spline/Round-hex.

Here’s that broken bit I extracted:
53191722322_0fe9f5ee9e_z.jpg
 
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