Lidl SDS drill - first look

[David]

Well, it is a bit unusual.

What it will do:

SDS hammer drill up to 10mm drill

"Normal" drilling with variable 2 speed.

Screw driving with variable 2 speed forward and reverse.

Interesting bit:

It takes SDS+ bits, and also comes with an SDS to screw driver hex bit holder, and three wood bits which fit the hex bit holder. It does not come with a normal drill chuck (as most bigger SDS drills do). [ I do happen to have a spare SDS to drill chuck adapter, though :-) ] It won't take short screw driver bits - only long ones. You would need special HSS drills with hex ends (which makes me think they may not want you drilling using HSS bits but I may be wrong).

What it won't do:

No roto stop - so no chisel operation. Then again it is so light that it would be a pretty ineffective chisel anyway.

The battery looks different to the one on the Lidl combi drill driver. Supplied by Einhell and no link to a web site to buy a second battery.

So all in all this is not a budget equivalent to the hunky builders' cordless SDS drill. It is about the same weight as a standard cordless drill but it can use SDS bits so looks useful for those tight jobs and one handed use where you can't easily use a monster mains SDS drill.

So I think it will be fine for use on lighter jobs, and I have my mains big sod off breaker/SDS drill for anything requiring brutality.

It does double up as a screw driver but doesn't have torque settings so not as useful as the combi drill drivers.

Looks like a Parsons Egg but fits my needs.

Cheers

Dave R

[fred]

In article , David writes

Thanks for the review, most useful.

Does it come with a case?

[David]

Yes, it comes with a plastic case. Quite compact.

[fred]

Sold!

Actually meant to buy one on the way past today but it didn't happen.

It will save me carrying the big one about when I'm just drilling for a few plugs.

[Roger Mills]

Does it *feel* like an SDS (as opposed to hammer) drill when drilling into concrete?

[David]

All I've done so far is stroke the green plastic.

I haven't used it in anger.

[Dave Liquorice]

That thought drifted through my mind as well. Is it a real SDS drill or just a hammer drill with an SDS chuck?

I'd look at the lidl website but a) their SEO is crap they aren't on the first page of google fed "lidl sds" b) the site is a javascript ridden heap of poo that doesn't even render properly with javascript on.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd have thought battery life would be too short for any serious chasing?

[fred]

Bought one today and made some comparisons:

Lidl Batt SDS:

Weight: 1.65kg bare Time to drill 8mm x 50 hole in moderate brick 14s Will drive 50mm x 12 screw, 4s low speed, 3s high speed (actually sounded happier working on the high speed setting) General feel: worryingly light, toy like

Old faithful cheapie mains SDS:

Weight: 4.7kg Time to drill 8mm x 50 hole in moderate brick 4s General feel: powerful but heavy

Bosch Green 750W Hammer Drill:

Weight: 2.15kg Time to drill 8mm x 50 hole in moderate brick (hammer on) 7s Not happy driving 50mm x 12 screw, 10-15s 4s low speed General feel: well made

Regular 18V Li-ion Mid Range Branded Combi not avail for test today but for just a few holes I think it would take the Lidl, a much better overall performer.

Overall impression on the Lidl:

Despite having the impact feel of an SDS, it is v slow on impact drilling (3 1/2 times mains SDS) which is its primary function. I'll give it a couple of days and see if I will take it back but right now it a disappointment. Excellent rigid case though, proper folding handle with metal clips. LED worklight.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I wouldn't expect to compare the performance of any cordless drill to a mains one. Except for very light tasks.

And if you are going to compare it to another cordless, you'd have to include the price.

It's the battery which costs in a cordless, and even Lidl can't do much about that.

[Weatherlawyer]

You mean does it come with SDS?

[Roger Mills]

No, I mean what I ask! I know it comes with an SDS chuck and takes SDS drill bits.

If you drill concrete with an ordinary hammer drill, you have to use quite a lot of pressure, and it takes a long time. If you use a decent SDS drill, it goes into concrete like it was cheese.

I'm asking which of those is a closer description of the performance of this particular tool.

[David]

It does sound disappointing.

I was expecting it to be a step up from my Makita combi drill/driver but a step down from a bigger cordless SDS or a mains SDS.

If it can't whup a Makita combi then it is not much use.

Can you please update when you have checked against your Mid Range Branded Combi?

Cheers

Dave R

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd be amazed if any combi beat any SDS other than on soft brick.

[fred]

In article , Roger Mills writes

It does appear to have an SDS 'pump', drilling is relatively slow (see my other post) and it does not appear to start pumping properly until it is at full speed in high range, but it does have that pressure free action once it gets going and the drilled holes are precise.

What you shouldn't expect is the brick splitting power of a mains SDS, I didn't check what the claimed 1 Joule impact force meant before purchase but I now find that even a basic (50quid) mains SDS offers 8 Joules impact.

Much as David has suggested, I had hoped for about half the power of a mains SDS but it seems significantly below that.

This is based on my test drilling on approx hundred year old medium hardness brick.

I'll report back later with my comparison with my Li-ion combi.

[mike]

I posted a review on Monday in a different thread for anyone who's interested:

[stuart noble]

You obviously haven't tried a 36V SDS. OMG!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

And you can buy one of those for the price of the Lidl? ;-)

Wonder just how heavy a very powerful cordless SDS is too? I can see the need for one if you're a tradesman - but it's not something I can persued myself I need, despite being a tool junkie.

[fred]

Well, I got that assumption wrong, the Hitachi 18V Combi took 22s to drill 8mm x 50 so 50% longer than the Lidl and being simple hammer action it required significant force to be applied whilst drilling in contrast to the light pressure approach of SDS. A significant point for ladder work.

As Mike points out in his recent review in the, "Lidl 18V Li-ion SDS back" thread, it is a tool that has a place in the up a ladder fixing a bell box scheme of things and having recently done floodlight fixing high on a gable with my heavy mains SDS, it is a sentiment that rings true.

Similarly, the Hitachi was at its limit driving a 2 1/2" x 12 Quicksilver screw into softwood, torgue limiting as the first part of the countersink touched the timber whereas the Lidl could bury the head without blinking if asked.

On reflection, I am still disappointed that it wasn't closer to half the mains SDS in drilling oomph but it will be a worthy addition to the toolkit so I have revised it to a keeper.

One benefit I suppose is that it doesn't have quite the brick splitting potential of the mains item, I had to abort the first test attempts on single loose facing bricks when the mains SDS just shattered them. If anything, the Lidl made holes with greater precision, clean edged and close to the intended diameter, another plus.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That does confirm what I'd guessed. It would be an incredibly poor SDS to be beaten by a hammer drill into anything vaguely hard.

You said your mains drill was 750w. Now motors do vary in efficiency, but if like was like and the Lidl had a 375w motor, it would take 20 amps from the battery which would then last about 4 minutes. (Nowhere near accurate, but I'm sure you get the drift).