My 14 month old (and therefore just out of warranty) Hitachi cordless drill (with which I am otherwise very happy) has broke (the keyless chuck is jammed). It's the third one I've had in ~20 years - I broke the first one, the batteries (NiCad) died on the second. I have thrown myself on the charity of Hitachi's warranty programme, but assuming they won't play ball, should I;
- Buy a body-only Hitachi (assuming I can get one), since I have 2 good batteries already?
Just get a new chuck. I can't imagine they are a bespoke fitting. I have a pair of Hitachi drills from when screwfux had them on offer and very pleased with them and older than yours with (as yet) no chuck problems.
I'd suggest that as long as you have not abused it, you could say that 14 months is far too short for the life of the part involved quite legitimately even under the currently watered down consumer law we got invia the back door. Brian
He can argue that but the seller* can ask him for a copy of his report from an independent expert which shows the faulty is due to a defect present when it was sold (rather than eg his misuse). I'm not saying they would, but the "goods must last a reasonable time" point is not a knock-out punch.
*I say seller because the manufacturer has only given a 1 year warranty. Anything else in law is between buyer and seller.
[top posted for Brian]
Sometimes not a bad idea anyway, since two drills (or better, a drill and an impact driver) are more useful than one (less bit swapping etc)...
keyless chucks have a bit of a reputation for jamming - and its not something specific to any brand they have all had issues with this (the better tools all tend to buy in from the same set of a chuck manufacturers anyway)
The chuck should be replaceable - even if you have to get a Hitachi service centre to do it.
Well it has to be said the modern LXT stuff is nicely executed[1] - well made, good ergonomics, and in particular things like the forced air cooling built into the chargers is good (if a bit noisy).
(it talks to the battery, and not only cools it during charge, but will also run a cool down cycle on a battery first if its too hot to charge - so all the old advice about not charging a hot battery goes out of the window, now the best thing to do with a battery you have been working really hard is to slap it on the charger ASAP).
[1] I recently replaced and consolidated some of my cordless tools. My original 18V NiMH Makita Combi and ID were due a second set of replacement batteries (about £150 - £200 for three). Not bad for getting on for 14 years of use - but everything new has gone LiIon, so it did not seem such a good idea to keep putting money into the older system if one also wanted to add new tools. I had a couple of DeWalt 14.4 tools (angle drill and small circular saw), and it was a pain not being able to share batts etc (not to mention the DeWalt 14.4 batteries were not really up to much performance from the circular saw). So I flogged the dewalt kit. Bought a Drill + ID combo pack, and separate angle drill and circular saw plus some extra batts.
All in all I have been impressed with it (and I am pretty fussy about my cordless tools!). The Mak angle drill is brutal compared to the DeWalt - even though the dewalt had a dual speed gearbox, the Makita wipes the floor with it; faster, more torque, smaller, better chuck. The circular saw is plenty powerful enough, and can do 2" plus depth of cut. Nice feel in the hand etc and good endurance from the battery.
You are paying for a lot of battery and a charger for just one Makita tool.
I am now all Makita and will over time extend the range of cordless tools I have. But I already have 5 batteries and 2 chargers (one of them is the double charger) so it's bare bones I now only have to pay for.
Surely you can find a reason to buy something like this
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That is not a recommendation of the shop just a suggestion of what you can have when you buy the packages.
Sorry but I wasn't saying anything about what is a "reasonable lifespan". I was trying simply to avoid the common misunderstanding that if something can reasonably be expected to last (say) 2 years then the consumer is *automatically* entitled to a repair or replacement it if it goes wrong within 2 years - overlooking the fact that after 6 months the burden is on the consumer to prove the item was faulty when bought.
Or that... depends a bit on what their warranty department come up with (although based on other web reports, they are not overly generous in that department)
They can't restrict your rights by issuing a warranty. Claim a free repair. Read the Consumer Protection Act. 14 months is well within the normal life of such an item.
My Hitachi chuck also lasted about 18 months :( Never again. The NiCad batteries all died horribly too.
Its predecessor I got with supermarket points in Belgium lasted nearly a decade of hard use before the magic smoke came out (aka swarf went in).
I bit the bullet and went with Makita - third time lucky. Wait until there is a bargain offer deal on unless you are absolutely desperate. There are cheaper models with lower Ah too.
I did exactly this a (tool) generation ago and bought a Makita combi drill and then an impact screwdriver using 14.4 Nicads. I have had to buy three or four (third party) replacement batteries (not too expensive) but the drills are still going strong. Very pleased with lack of trouble from keyless chuck.
If you are not a professional decker you probably don't need 4AH batteries as long as you have one spare (they charge in an hour or so), and the lighter weight will be an advantage in a lot of jobs.
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