Help me choose a cordless drill

[desgnr]

My choices are. Skill $89.00 Ridgid from Home Depot with LIFETIME WARRANTY $90.00 Porter Cable 18 V. with 2 batteries Ni-Cad $99.00

[desgnr]

My choices are. Skill $89.00 Ridgid from Home Depot with LIFETIME WARRANTY $90.00 Porter Cable 18 V. with 2 batteries Ni-Cad $99.00

[Colbyt]

I suspect either will be fine. Any name brand should do the job.

A couple of things to compare are the batteries and the time to recharge.

Ni-cads are good. A quick charger ( one hour to 75m) is always a better choice.

Future inter-compatibility of the batteries with other cordless tools is also something to consider.

Also if you can hold off a few weeks everyone will have a father's day sale on tools.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Unless you do heavy duty work all the time, at 14V is much more practical as it is lighter and easier to handle. PC used to be good, but I don't know how they are these days. My vote is a Panasonic 15.6V, but it is m double your budget.

[Frank]

I don't know but look at the cost and availability of replacement batteries.

[ransley]

My 18v rarely gets used its heavy.

[ransley]

Ridgid has out an 18v compact drill, its really the 12v with a 18v LiIon battery. I havnt found I need 18v, and I even use the ridgid with a 4" Auger for dilling holes for plants. Regular 18v units get tiring to work with from weight and bulk.

[Jim Yanik]

Frank wrote in news:hr1oma$825$ [e-mail]:

my choices in first-to-last order; PC Ridgid Skill

I doubt you'd find many pros using a Skill power tool.

you can get battery packs rebuilt.

[Frank]

Yes, but not that cheap from what I've seen and if you need mail back and forth, may exceed replacement cost. I'd prefer something off the shelf.

[krw]

No.

Good choice. AIUI, the warranty is on the battery, too.

PC has gone down hill in the last few years. Stay away from the two-tone black/gray tools.

You might also keep an eye out for sales and leftovers. A couple of times I found 18V Dewalts (each with two batteries and charger) for $100 at a HomeDespot. The batteries alone were worth over $100. ;-)

If you want to spend a little more, Li-Ion drills are a good choice. Li-Ion is lighter, more compact, and keeps its charge better. LiIon does have a limit (300-500) on charge cycles before they degrade.

As others have pointed out, 18V is a pretty heavy tool. You're not going to like working above your head for long periods with an 18V drill. OTOH, if you're going to sink 3" deck screws, you'll want it. Think about what you're going to use the drill for and buy for that (I have 10 cordless drills ;-).

[desgnr]

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: [e-mail] ---

[ransley]

rnal-september.org:

Have you seen the battery PC stuff at Lowes, it fells like the cheapest tool I have felt, nothing is solid, this is the black and grey PC which is all Lowes had, if the casings are crap you cant trust the insides. Im not anti PC, I have about 18-20 old USA made 120v PC tools that all still work great, but i would not buy what I see they are selling now, even a Lowes rep said they are bottom end, and thats bad as I can ruin a B&D or Skill in a day of beating it. I dont think a new battery PC would be any better than B&D. The circular saw was so light and flimsy it felt like a 10$ toy. [ which it is]

[krw]

That depends on what you want to do with the drill. Look at various drills and buy one you're comfortable with. Like I said, I have ten, some are older and seldom used others are used all the time, for different purposes. I particularly like the 10/12V Bosch line. The drill is great, as a drill, and the "Impactor" can't be beat as a driver. Both are light, neither are cheap. For big jobs I use the Dewalts. I have an older PC that's nice too, but PC is not what it used to be. I wouldn't buy PC now.

[Jim Yanik]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

ISTR other people saying the same thing about PC,but also about DeWalt since they were acquired by Black&Decker.

[krw]

I haven't noticed Dewalt[*] slipping, though I expect them to. I'm always very careful of that when I buy a new tool. I now make sure I can hold one before buying online (I'm even scared of buying Bosch unseen). [*] or Delta, though it could be argued that they slipped long ago.

[Gordon S Montgomery]

replying to desgnr, Gordon S Montgomery wrote: My personal favorite is RyobI drills. Had 3 of them forever. If ur lucky u could get one at Home Depo or somewhere else on sale. The combo kits are the cheapest way to go if u need more than the just the drill. Otherwise, I would pick Porter Cable over Skill. Plus the more batteries that come with it the better.

[clare]

Love my Bosch so far. came with 2 batteries. Lithium. good battery life, and a real nice chuck

[croy]

I had always been impressed by Milwaukie tools, until I bought a slik little driver of theirs. It came with two batteries. One battery died just inside the warranty period, and the other just outside the warranty period. If I recall correctly, the warranty period was 1 year. When I complained to the company about the second battery, they put up a fight--but eventually relented and sent me a new one--a year later, it was dead. I bought an after market battery I found on Amazon, and it has been working flawlessly for over 4 years. All the Milwauki batteries gave their final gasp in about a year each. I love the driver--it's light, powerful, and fits my hand like it was custom-made. But their batteries don't provide me any cheer.

[gfretwell]

I have had real good luck with Makita and my little black and white

18v is great. It came with the quick charger and 2 batteries for $75.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I have Panasonic and Porter-Cable, but hands down, the Panasonic is my favorite. It is 15.6 volts, light yet powerful. Most people don't need big heavy drills to hang a curtain rod. If you screw down decks all day your needs are different.