Hand Drill

[Keith Nuttle]

My lot has expanded and now has a small tool shed with no electricity, consequently my needs for drill has changed.

Currently I have a corded drill that does great as long as there is a plug in. With the small tool shed, and repairs around the exterior of the house, it seems that time for a battery powered drill has come.

I am looking for a about 3/8 drill, with a battery that will last. The "Last" is important, as it would spend a lot of time sitting unused on the shelf. I would like to get one with long battery life that will not loose significant charge sitting on the shelf, That I could use today and Six months later I could pick it up go out to the tool shed and drill a couple of holes.

Can any one make a recommendation?

[Puckdropper]

Keith Nuttle wrote in news:ljp0es$osa$ [e-mail]:

I love my Makitas. I bought the LCT300W kit, drill, impact driver, flashlight. I didn't think I needed the flashlight, but it sure is nice! They use Lithium Ion batteries, which do not have the self-discharge issues of NiMH.

As long as they're NOT left on the charger, they'll last a month or better on the shelf. (For some reason, batteries left on the charger after they're done charging seem to discharge.) I've got a bit of a collection of batteries since I started replacing the dieing originals with new ones.

It's worth buying the drill and impact driver kits. They're usually just a little more than only the drill or only the driver, and impact drivers are a great way to drive screws.

Puckdropper

[-MIKE-]

Anything with lithium-ion and a smart charger. I have a 2 Ridgids and 1 Bosch and none of them lose power on the shelf for weeks.

[woodchucker]

I would recommend the little hitachi combo pack from Lowes. About 120 for a small drill and impact driver. The LION batteries last a long time. its light so it's not going to be a strong drill if you want strong, you need a 1/2 chuck. In that respect, any of the LION drills will suffice. The LION's have a long shelf life, they don't lose their charge much.

[JAS]

Might look at this:

[G. Ross]

Great if all your drill bits have a hex shank.

[jloomis]

Makita 18 volt driver drill kit......best deal, good tool, long lasting.......I liked them so much I bought 2 sets..... john

My lot has expanded and now has a small tool shed with no electricity, consequently my needs for drill has changed.

Currently I have a corded drill that does great as long as there is a plug in. With the small tool shed, and repairs around the exterior of the house, it seems that time for a battery powered drill has come.

I am looking for a about 3/8 drill, with a battery that will last. The "Last" is important, as it would spend a lot of time sitting unused on the shelf. I would like to get one with long battery life that will not loose significant charge sitting on the shelf, That I could use today and Six months later I could pick it up go out to the tool shed and drill a couple of holes.

Can any one make a recommendation?

[Leon]

As mentioned by others, Li-Ion batteries is what you want. IIRC all of them have smart chargers as these type batteries are quite unique in the way they are manufactured. Any way the brand that I am currently using is Festool. They all have a 3 year warranty. Mine typically will hold a charge for at least 4~6 months unused and fully charged. Probably longer but that is the longest that I have let a battery sit idle.

Panasonic is another premium builder of drills and especially their batteries.

Most bang for your buck would be Ridgid, it would be hard to beat their warranty and could very well be the last drill you need to buy. That said I always passed on them as they were, in the past, pretty heavy and or unbalanced so that they felt heavy. I use my drills for longer periods of time so feel is important to me. If you are not doing marathon drilling the Ridgid might be your best choice.

[-MIKE-]

I can recommend the newer Ridgids if you're on a budget. They are absolutely unbeatable for the price and lifetime warranty on everything including batteries.

[Leon]

OH, and Makita! I was very happy with my Makita drill/Driver and my Impact Driver. If I switched from Festool to another brand it would probably be back to Makita.

[Baxter]

Keith Nuttle wrote in news:ljp0es$osa$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

I like the Ryobi _lithium_ drill. Also available at HD

[Greg Guarino]

I have three of the Ryobi "blue" (originally NiCad) drills**. This past Christmas HD had a two-pack of the highest capacity Li-Ion batteries on sale for $100. They are normally $100 each. Ryobi labels these as having

4x the "run-time" of their older NiCads.

I charged them when I bought them, back in late December. My free time has been limited since then, and I have probably used the batteries less than I might have normally, but they are still on that first charge.

This is not particularly an endorsement of Ryobi, although I've had good luck with the drills, at least. But Li-Ion batteries do seem to hold a charge for a long time.

**I have three of the drills because - back when NiCad was all there was - there would occasionally be a promotional sale that made a drill PLUS a battery the same price as the battery alone. Having said that, having more than one cordless is sometimes a very handy thing; why change bits when you can just grab another drill?

[woodchucker]

I hope you picked up a lion charger. Nicad chargers do not properly charge lions, but lion chargers generally can charge nicads.

[Greg Guarino]

I did. I bought it in a kit with a lower-capacity Li-Ion battery. That one holds a charge for a long time too.

[Morgans]

"Greg Guarino" wrote

I have used the Ryobi, and the extended capacity (4400mah I think) is needed for much serious work. Good tools.

That said, the Cobalt (Lowes) batteries are cheaper at around 84 bucks for the 4400. I bought a couple to tear apart and stick into B&D NiCad battery cases to power my extensive set of firestorm tools. I love it. Works great and saved me literally thousand dollars or more. And yes, I use the cobalt lithium ion charger.