Cordless Drills

WearyWanderer

Hi all. I'm looking to get a cordless drill for some diy around the house. Anyone have any reccommendations?

Borzoi

WearyWanderer wrote:

Anyone have any reccommendations?

Primarily it's about the features you need, then the baradn/quality/price.

From experience:
12V batterey as a minimum, 14V good, 18V great. Really this determines how powerful the drill will be.

Hammer action - for drilling masonry walls
Twist lock style chuck - easy to change bits, you don't need a chuck key.
Variable speed drive - when you use it as a screwdriver, you need to be able to adjust for very slow and fast just using the trigger

A rapid charger is dead handy if you're doing a lot of work. It's a pain in the ass to start a job, and then have to stop for half a day for the drill to recharge.

You'll get a noname model for about €30, or a Bosch/Black'n'decker for €60+

WearyWanderer

Hi Borzoi. Thanks for the response.

I'm looking for something with the hammer action, keyless chuck, variable speed (as I'll be using it alot for driving). I was looking at probably something in the 18V range alright. Any recommendations?
I was also wondering if those no names are really worth it, or will they be burned out withing 6-12months of getting them?
How do the various brand names stack up to each other? Who are the best/worst?

pipers

I use a Hilti cordless driver daily. They are expensive (€ 600 + Vat.)
I have it 9 years and its still on its original battery.

Also have a Hitachi SDS cordless drill, cost around €700 + Vat. Only a year old but happy enough.

Other good makes are De Walt, Milwaulkee.

I would personally avoid Black and decker, and no name brands.

You get what you pay for.

Samson

I agree with pipers' recommendations. Hitachi are also worth considering.
What's your budget?

deRanged

Another vote from me for a decent one instead of a cheap one.
I got a 14v hitachi recently and it's great. Got it on offer so it came with 3 batteries - so you're using one while charging another. It's got a keyless chuck, full choke and variable speed but no hammer action and cost me 280 euro I think it was. It certainly was up around the 300 mark.

The advice from all the people I talked to when I was buying it was to spend the cash on a decent one.

Borzoi

pipers wrote:

I use a Hilti cordless driver daily. They are expensive (€ 600 + Vat.)
.I would personally avoid Black and decker, and no name brands.

You get what you pay for.

Agreed. But pipers you're a tradesman, WW is looking for something for DIY use only. That sort of money makes no sense for something that gets used half a dozen times a year. (Though if I had a huge amount of cash burning a hole in my pocket I'd go Hilti all the way )

WearyWanderer

Thanks for the advice guys. So the reccomendation is that you get what you pay for?

You've mentioned Hilti and Hitachi, and I presume DeWalt would be up there too, but as Borzoi said I'm looking for something for DIY, and I'm not willing to break the bank. What are the opinions of Black & Decker, Bosch, JCB?

Samson

Tell us how much you can/are willing to spend?

WearyWanderer

Anything up to 150-200 euro if it's really needed, but the cheaper I can get away with the better.

KoNiT

WearyWanderer wrote:

Anything up to 150-200 euro if it's really needed, but the cheaper I can get away with the better.

I purchased a "pro" 18v in b&q last week for 152 euro,

hammer action
vari speed
choke
two batteries
charger
battery life indicator
two screwdriver bits.
3 year warranty

they had black & decker but it only had one battery

I'd consider it plenty for home diy, My bro's a fitter, & would fall over in a fit of laughter at it but I dont intend to use it 40 hrs a week, I hope :eek:

Ciaran500

We recently bought my dad a new drill and we were looking at the pro in B&Q but decided against it as he has now destroyed 2 Pro's gearboxs and the other Pro he has he gets about 15 min out of the battery. He does alot of DIY.

We decided on a 18v Black & Decker Firestorm and he's very happy with it so far.

Greenman

WearyWanderer wrote:

Hi all. I'm looking to get a cordless drill for some diy around the house. Anyone have any reccommendations?

In my experience, if you're only doing the odd job around the house well I'd go for a corded drill as the battery models like to be working on a fairly regular basis. Bosch are a good and reliable make but I'm a big fan of Makita!!!

WearyWanderer

Ended up buying a Royl. 2 batteries, quick charge, twin speed, hammer action 18V. 130 Euros. Hope it's worth it.