Best Cordless Drill for professionals

dbagman

Im a tradesman myself looking to buy a decent sds hammer drill.The guy Im working for has an 18v makita and claims its just as good as a 36v drill.He had his van cleaned out last year and had a 36v makita taken and replaced it with the 18v model so he has a good reference point between the 2 drills. What Im wondering is would any brand 18v drill be up to the job of drilling studs and joyces aswell as masonary in the way youd expect a mains drill to? Im more focused on cordless for the convenience involved. Well that and by the time you factor in buying leads and traffos a mains drill isnt running a whole lot cheaper than an 18v sds. The 36v drills are pricey but feel for what Id need it for it might be the better option.Any advice greatly appreciated.

mfceiling

dbagman wrote: »

Im a tradesman myself looking to buy a decent sds hammer drill.The guy Im working for has an 18v makita and claims its just as good as a 36v drill.He had his van cleaned out last year and had a 36v makita taken and replaced it with the 18v model so he has a good reference point between the 2 drills. What Im wondering is would any brand 18v drill be up to the job of drilling studs and joyces aswell as masonary in the way youd expect a mains drill to? Im more focused on cordless for the convenience involved. Well that and by the time you factor in buying leads and traffos a mains drill isnt running a whole lot cheaper than an 18v sds. The 36v drills are pricey but feel for what Id need it for it might be the better option.Any advice greatly appreciated.

I've a 22v hilti sds. Can drill about 70-75 8mm holes about 60mm deep into block on a single battery.

The new dewalt gear is supposed to be decent plus all the batteries are interchangeable...get a few batteries then you only need the tool bodies.

Bonzo Delaney

dbagman wrote: »

Im a tradesman myself looking to buy a decent sds hammer drill.The guy Im working for has an 18v makita and claims its just as good as a 36v drill.He had his van cleaned out last year and had a 36v makita taken and replaced it with the 18v model so he has a good reference point between the 2 drills. What Im wondering is would any brand 18v drill be up to the job of drilling studs and joyces aswell as masonary in the way youd expect a mains drill to? Im more focused on cordless for the convenience involved. Well that and by the time you factor in buying leads and traffos a mains drill isnt running a whole lot cheaper than an 18v sds. The 36v drills are pricey but feel for what Id need it for it might be the better option.Any advice greatly appreciated.

I think the old 36v makita was a 3 ah while the newer 18v are 4ah which would make a good difference
I've a 36v hilti which is 3.9 ah about 8 yr old and will still drill 6 mm & 8 mm holes all day in block no problem obviously not constantly but I've often nearly finished a house of door frames on a single battery so doing the maths avg hse say 15 door frames 6-8 fixers a door about 90 6mm holes. Had a hitachi 24v 3 ah also done a good bit of work too for about 6 yrs till the batteries gave up the ghost
Keep an eye on the ah's that's where the meat is. Would recommend Hilti

tedimc

+1 for the 36V Hilti.

I also have a 6ah battery, but its a lot heavier and the 3.9 lasts a decent length anyway.

I'm not sure - but I would suspect that you would notice the difference in the speed of drilling each hole. 18V & 22V would drill 5-10mm holes no problem, but may take slightly longer than the bigger drills. Obviously this would add up over the length of a full day's drilling.

JonathonS

If you plan to buy a battery model make sure it has a brushless motor. It makes a big difference to battery life.