cordless drill

[Ed Edelenbos]

Ok, so one of batteries for my Ryobi 14.4 battery is dying. One died a couple years ago and I replaced it then. I've had the drill for around 5 or

6 years and done mostly home projects with it. I've been (overall) happy with the battery life (ie time between charges) and power. I can order a replacement battery for around $50 or I can upgrade. This is my 2nd generation of Ryobi and I've been pretty happy with their stuff. Of course in 5 or 6 years, technology has advanced a bunch and there are new names in the market.

What are the suggestions for 18v (or 19.2v???) drills? I'm not really interested in saws and all the other stuff, just a decent drill.

[evodawg]

Makita 18 volt Ion. Very light and powerful, has a handy light that does come in handy and it charges really fast. Here's a link to it. I have the hammer drill which is handy if ever you need to drill through concrete. It's only a few dollars more and worth having and doesn't really add any weight to the drill. I also have a Dewalt 18 which is a little more on the heavy side and heavier duty. I use these drill everyday and really like the Makita Do not buy a Porter Cable. They're JUNK!!!

[Dr. Deb]

I have two HF 18V that I have been using for several years and they do everything I could ask. If I need anything heavier I drag out my corded Royi 4.4Amp

But then I am a hobbist.

Deb

[Leon]

I would not consider any drill over 12 or so volts unless it has a lithium ion battery. Those standard large voltage batteries get kinda heavy pretty quick. I some how or another was awarded a Bosch 19 volt impact driver and it is ok, it basically weighs as much as my 12 volt Makita impact driver. IOW not too heavy but it is a 50/50 toss up as to which one I go for. Basically Lithium Ion battery drills tend to not loose their charge while setting for periods of time and typically hold a charge longer while working. And are suppose to be able to be recharged 2x as many times in a life time. IIRC the Bosch Lithium Ion battery is rated as 1.2 amp. the Makita 12 volt NiCH battery is rated at 2.6 amps. The higher voltage drills will typically hold a charge longer.

[Chris Friesen]

Ryobi is still okay if you were satisfied with them before.

A good mid-to-upper level brand is Makita. Their compact 18V ones are reasonably priced and recharge fast. I really like the handles on most Makita drills.

Panasonic makes little-known but excellent cordless drills and impact drivers. Their 15.6V did better than most other 18V ones in tests. They're aimed mostly at tradesmen though so they're not as widely distributed and tend not to go on sale.

At the very top end is Festool. Crazy expensive but they have a bunch of specialized attachments that can be lifesavers when they're needed.

Chris

[keithw86]

There are places that rebuild battery packs for a lot less than you can buy them new for. That said, I'm not a fan of Ryobi.

I have a couple of the larger Dewalt 18V and a 12V Dewalt (two of the three were significantly cheaper than the included batteries). The larger ones are OK but they're, well, large. I later bought a Bosch

12V Li-Ion, which I use for most things along with its "Impactor" brother. I also have an older PC, which I've gone through a couple of sets of batteries on (and had rebuilt) and an old Makita that I only keep around because it takes the same batteries as my right angle drill and 3-3/4" saw. I haven't used them in a couple of years though. I also bought an 18V HF, which I promptly threw in the corner, never to be seen again. Of all of the above, the only ones I really like are the Bosch. If I didn't have the big, clunky, Dewalts I'd buy an 18V Bosch.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Considering all the posts below, typically the best deal on a name brand is to get a combo pack of drill and driver drill. It will only come with one battery for each and only one charger but you pay about

1.2x the cost of the sum of the two if bought separately. Just a tip. I have Makita. Have been bullet proof. Would buy Bosch anyth> Ok, so one of batteries for my Ryobi 14.4 battery is dying. =A0One died a

[SonomaProducts.com]

[Sonny]

I bought a 19.2 V Porter Cable in 2005 or 2006. The batteries have recently gotten bad and have thought to send them here:

would cost me about $100 to recharge, plus postage, compared to $200 for new ones.

I paid about $250 for this PC drill, 2 batteries, charger, case, which I thought was a bit much, but it has lasted 3-4 yrs and I've done a lot with it. It's heavy, though, so a lighter one would be nice.

I'll re-read these posts and may consider getting another brand and/or get another as a spare. I'm glad this topic came up.... right on time for me, too.

Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

==================================== Considering all the posts below, typically the best deal on a name brand is to get a combo pack of drill and driver drill. It will only come with one battery for each and only one charger but you pay about

1.2x the cost of the sum of the two if bought separately. =======================================

It was after Christmas and the price was right.

Bought an 18VDC DeWalt kit more than 10 years ago to replace a corded drill that got legs.

A drill, a 5-3/8" panel saw along with two batteries and a charger were in the kit.

Best purchase I ever made.

At the time, I laughed at the saw thinking it was a cute little toy.

That "cute little toy" became one of my most used tools, especially when it came time to break down sheet goods.

Times have changed; however, based on past performance, DeWalt would deserve my consideration.

It would be their order to lose.

YMMV

Lew

[evodawg]

Just don't buy a new Porter Cable, they really are junk. My tool supplier won't even carry them since Black and Decker bought them. Matter of fact will not fix the new ones cause he can't get the parts.

[RonB]

Look at Makita. I don't own the bigger drill but I have two 14.4's and they are dependable machines. My wife got me a drill/driver combo about four years ago because we thought the old (9+ year) drill was on the way out. Well, rumors of its demise were exaggerated because it is still working just as well as the newer machine........its just uglier from years of use. These machines have gotten more than normal home use with a basement finish in a previous house, a 250' cedar fence plus other normal stuff. More recently they have been though building and finishing our new home.

[Peter Huebner]

Let me put it this way: my 12V Panasonic outperforms the 19.2V made-in- China store-brand drill that someone gave me as a present by a factor of

1. Easily. The nominal voltage isn't everything. The fact that the Panasonic cost ~NZ$ 500 and the other one ~NZ$ 30 is a bit of a give-away right there.

The 12V Ryobi I had would twist it's whole casing when trying to put 3" screws into part- rotten floorjoists, was trying to tighten a springy ancient deck ... another present, that drill was. It snapped the gearbox when a hammerhand used it to put 1/4" long self-tapping screws into a tin barn we were putting up.

Seriously, I think you'd probably be amazed at just about any other branded drill by comparison with Ryobi. Hitachi, Makita, Bosch, DeWalt ... doesn't matter - unless you get a lemon, they'll all perform better.

I got a 10.6V Bosch driver last year with Li-Ion Batteries. The staying power of those batteries is amazing, they just don't seem to discharge themselves when not in use. O.t.o.h. I feel that they do not quite have the power of NiCd or NiMH batteries. This may not matter with larger size cordless drills: this unit is deliberately very small; the batteries seem tiny at less than 1/4 the volume of my 9.6V Panasonic drill's power pack.

At the top end: Panasonic, Metabo, Festool are probably way too expensive & overkill for your useage/needs if you were even remotely happy with a Ryobi's performance before.

h.t.h. -Peter

[Ed Pawlowski]

Check out the Panasonic 15.6V. Great power to weight ratio and outperforms many 18V models.

[Ed Edelenbos]

Thanks all for the responses.

Ed

[Phisherman]

I recommend a corded Milwaulkee drill. It will last a lifetime and won't run out of power. There are better brands than Ryobi. A 14 volt is about right for general purpose.

[Leon]

IMHO the PC drills were pretty much substandard 10 years ago.

[Swingman]

The only cordless I ever saw that could repeatedly drill 5/8 x 6" holes in 6000psi concrete, time after time.

[J. Clarke]

I had a corded Milwaukee and finally gave it away because I wasn't using it anymore and didn't want to see it just gathering dust.

[Ed Edelenbos]

I have plenty corded drills. With cordless drills being what they are, I hardly ever use them.

Ed