Cordless Drill with Best Batteries/Charger under $125?

[frank1492]

The drills seem to stand up, but the batteries don't. I have been told that most chargers are very cheap, unregulated, and that they overcook the batteries if you forget and leave the battery in the charger for too long. Can you recommend a drill with a decent charger that won't do this? (Or is this a non-problem?) Help much appreciated. Frank P.S. I have a Craftsman that's about 2 years old and the battery lives seem to be getting shorter and less capable of holding a charge all the time.

[Mike Dobony]

Under $125? Nope. There is DeWalt, Porter-Cable, Milwaukee, and Bosh. The Bosh might be in the ballpark.

-- Mike D.

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[mark Ransley]

All batteries lose a bit of life with each cycle. To get the most out of it use a peak charger. A peak charger measures when volts drop and energy is then converter to heat . Only run drill till it just slows, then its discharged, running more is bad. Charge only once a day and store discharged. Not dead but at 1.1 v per cell. Sears will have a peak charger and it may fit your batteries. Radio Controll hobby shops sell the good bateries and there is mailorder , They know packs , you can put in new batteries in old packs.

[blue]

Hi Frank,

I am no drill expert but my dad has had a 12V DeWalt with XR batteries and charger that have been go> The drills seem to stand up, but the batteries don't. I have

[Art Begun]

I've abused an 18 v sears unit for 8 years. Hardly using it which is bad for the batteries but they still are great shape.

[Brad]

I didn't know anybody made an 18V drill 8 years ago.

[Art Begun]

Might be 7 years then. I bought it shortly after I moved into my current house which makes it 7 years. Sometimes I count badly. Mine came in a kit with the saw and flashlight but the drill was available separately. Best prices are this time of year which is when I got it. Came with 2 batteries and both sat for years before I bothered to open the box and now use it very intermittently and both always hold a great charge after an hour in the charger.

[frank1492]

Thanks to all for yor ideas. I am considering DeWalt and Makita on the basis of your suggestions...

[Brad]

My step-father-in-law is a commercial contractor and has about 12 of every tool. He absolutely swears by his Panasonic and says that's all that anybody he knows buys now. I've used it a few times and it is clearly designed and made better than any of the others listed here with Hilti added to the list (since he has all of those, too). It's only 15.6 volt, but it compares in torque and battery to any of the 18's and less weight. It also supplies full torque at any speed which is amazing. I don't know if any of the others are doing that yet.

I believe they are closer to $200, but they are well worth it.

[CBHvac]

To the OP..if you are going to get DeWalt, get a high end Black and Decker and you got the same battery pack...and, in some cases, the same drill.

Bocsh drills are ok, I own one, but it was alot more than $125. More like

250. I have a Milwaukee, and prefer it.

The last good drill Panasonic made was about 5 years ago...the Shark. I have looked for a similar model, or, I dont know if hes got one, but they used to have one that the chuck could be offset so you could get a clean clear hole in that corner...and its gone. Problem was, they were higher than anything on the market...and the specs were no better.

Unless they have dropped drastically in price. None of the suppliers here carry them anymore. Johnstone can order them, but do not keep in stock.

>

[Stormin Mormonn]

My old boss had a couple Panasonics. I thought he was kidding when he said the batteries were 3.0 amp hours, but that's what they said on them. He really loves them.

I'm very pleased with my Makita, which has 2.0 amp hour batteries.

I'm told that DeWalts are renamed Black and Deckers, and that the Dewalts have plastic gears.

[Brad]

The new Panasonics are 3.5.

[Brad]

You obviously haven't seen the new ones then. Wasn't The Shark just a consumer model? I don't remember it.

The current Panasonic 15.6 is way ahead of every 18 out there that I have used.

[blue]

I was told that Black and Decker owns DeWalt and there may be some overlap in the specs of some of the drills, but DeWalt has the "heavy duty" line which is supposed to far surpass any Black and Decker drill. The DeWalt drill I mentioned in my other post has an "all metal transmission" which would include the gears would it not? Also, the housing around the chuck is metal as opposed to our last Porter Cable which was plastic. Like I said though, I am no drill expert but this drill fits in to the original poster's price range (at some stores, priced higher at Home Depot for example) and we've been super happy with it.

[Chris Hill]

I have a Makita with a nimh battery. These are nice because they last longer in use than nicad and they aren't the disposal problem that nicads are.

[Stormin Mormonn]

What, you charge them twice a year? That's wonderful!

[mark Ransley]

Makita only has a few models with all metal gearing as do many brands. But just saying all metal doesnt mean didly. I bought an 18v Dewalt metal gear. And the gears slapped and skipped loudly on trigger release. I returned it for a Makita. Many use Sub C low amp batteries.. C , high amp are better , and NIMH are the best

[blue]

Wow, and they are NiMh too!

or full link here: Possibly more than the OP wants to spend (and more than I spent on my DeWalt), but they look like super drills.

[Bruce]

Frank,

It was more than $125, but the DeWalt 12V cordless drill my wife gave me as a b-day present in Feb 1998 has held up extremely well. I'm still using the original two batteries that came with it and they seem as good now as they were in 1998. And I don't particularly treat them well either .... sometimes when starting a project, I'll swap the half depleted battery in the drill for the fresh one that's sitting in the charger (rather than completely draining it first). Doesn't seem to have affected the amount of charge they hold. Oh, and the battery that is not in the drill stays in the charger which is plugged in

24x7. No worries.

I don't use the drill commercially but I have used it for lots of holes and 1000's of deck screws. No complaints ... I'm happy.

- Bruce

[Brad]

FYI - you should tinyurl.com in the future. There is no annoying middle page like that. "Tinyurl" is shorter than "makeashorterlink" to boot!

They work like them, too.