Electric SDS breaker drill

I got a cheap one about 1700W and 20Kg, no apparent brand on the machine. I think it is mainly the weight that breaks the concrete, the power needing to be sufficient to lift it quickly enough. It did about

You *need* the weight, for a breaker. Are the premium machines really lighter?

infrequent use means that it is not really worth the expense of buying a pr emium machine (Bosch, Makita etc.). I am therefore tempted by the many and various 1700W to 3600W machines on eBay with neverheardofitbefore brands, a ll at around £100.

mance, durability etc.). The one consistently reported downside is weight (

ion, or is 1700W plenty to break concrete, in most DIY scenarios?

We were required to have 110v tools on a site some time back so I bought a cheap battery powered sds drill from B & Q. It did the job fine.(7mm holes for wall pluge, lots of them. ) One of the batteries isn't great but hey ho it saves hauling an extension lead around if we have to do some work outsi de the shop.

I bought cheap end screwfix around £60, I have managed to break up 2 x

Do you really mean SDS in this case? The larger 20kg breakers, e.g. something like:

Normally take hex shank chisels. The next size down (usually in the 10 to 15kg class) might be SDS Max

There seem to be quite a few very similar looking machines about branded by any number of "own brand" names.

IME they do a decent enough job.

Some years ago I needed something more destructive for a particular job and picked up a similar looking 20kg class machine from a local cash and carry. It works surprisingly well. Not much finesse about it, and it might not be a good choice for daily use, but for intermittent use it does get the job done.

Only suitable for working downwards really due to the weight.

That kind of goes with the territory. With 45J of impact energy you need a certain amount of weight if you want most of that coming out of the pointy end, and not straight into you!

I would say 1700W is plenty. 3600W etc is going to be difficult to run from an extension lead.

Thanks All.

On the matter of the power, the potential difficulty in using a 3.5+KW machine with a regular extension lead was my main concern. If a 1.7KW is up to the job of dealing with most DIY breaking tasks, then I will probably stick with that.

With regard SDS, SDS Max etc.- yes, I think I used the wrong term. It's a hex shank breaker that I'm after.

Regards.

Ant.

As John says, weight is a problem if you were attacking a substantial wall or the side of a big concrete block, but you could suspend it from a tripod or A frame. For breaking a slab, you are relying on the weight and don't have to support it yourself.

But isn't the best way to do a wall (unless it is a reinforced concrete motorway or something) to stitch drill a block,[1] and then use a moderately large but easily held jackhammer to break the mortar bonds block by block?

For a "normal" wall you probably don't need a 20kg class breaker - they are really at their best for concrete slabs etc. A 10kg class SDS max machine will knock bits off a wall with ease.

My ancient DeWalt lightweight SDS had no problems breaking up a concrete path here - after all you can lean on it if weight matters.

Wonder if the OP has an SDS of any type?

If you were regularly breaking up structural concrete, you'd likely be best with the appropriate tools. Which ain't going to be at cheap DIY prices.

Nobody seems to have mentioned hire yet.

For serious concrete breaking it is sometimes better to hire a big sod off breaker for the day.

I have used budget SDS drill/breakers for small amounts but it becomes hard work after a time.

Cheers

Dave R

Also consider a decent size sledge hammer. If you can lever up a bit of path so it is unsupported by soil, a modest whack will split it.

We've just had a guy in to remove the slab from our old garage. It was a foot thick. He levered up the end with a JCB, then hit it with a sledge. Then hit it again. And again.... he's darnn fit.

Andy

I was more thinking 3 -4" of unreinforced footpath.

What was the upshot of your garage floor?

Same here. Usually pretty low grade stuff. Which my lightweight SDS managed to break up pretty easily.

He got it into bits small enough to load and take away.

In other news, today the BCO came and told us we can't start on the new one until the ground water level has dropped enough that the foundation trenches won't flood :(

Andy

Seems like you could use a decent sump pump. :-)

My basement's drying out quite nicely now, btw. Routing a hose from the sump standpipe location in the coal hole out under the front door step immediately above proved ridiculously easier than I was expecting. :-)

Murphy/Sod won't be having any more fun at my expense with heavy rainfall now, especially since my next door neighbour (detached from our property), let slip to my son that he's also been having basement flooding issues too.

It's of some comfort to know that I'm not alone[1], both in regard of the "This Basement Is A Little Wetter Than I'd Like." syndrome, and the fact that Murphy/Sod has another "Playmate" to distract his attentions away from me.

One thing to watch is flying chips and nearby glass.

Oh! Does he not realise concrete is heavier than water?