Lidl's cordless SDS is back next week at £50. (Wasn't it £70 last time?):
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They also have their 'suitcase' mains compressor again. I don't have a garage or space for a proper compressor, and have found it very useful. Used it for spraying wax inside the old car cavities. And as a source of compressed air for blasting dust etc away in my (small) workshop. It's also much faster at pumping up tyres than a 12v one. But obviously no use where you need a continuous flow of high pressure air.
I'd say so - unless they can be used in short bursts. Like the spray gun I used for the wax injection.
No air receiver. Really just like a battery one but several times more powerful. Suits my rather special requirements. Obviously, I'd prefer a full sized one - if I had the room.
For anyone who's considering getting one of these...
I just picked one up from Lidl (lots in stock) with two specific jobs in mi nd. Firstly I have a relative's fence to repair and need to fix some brack ets to a concrete post. Cordless would save dragging the mains SDS and ext ension 50 miles. Secondly, I need to fix some angle iron in a narrow old f ire place to install a register plate and the size of the mains drill will mean drilling at a wonky angle.
Out of the box, it was slightly greasy and needed a good wipe down although it's nicely finished and doesn't seem cheap with rough edges, as some budg et tools do.
There was a bright yellow label attached to the chuck showing that, unlike standard SDS chucks, you don't pull back the collar to insert the bits: jus t push, twist and they click into place. You still pull back the collar to release them, though. It takes standard SDS bits. I read somewhere that the Bosch Uneo cordless has some unique variation of SDS but haven't seen o ne in the flesh.
There's a squeeze-lock on the drill/hammer selector (a bit like those on th e lid of tablet bottles) to stop you switching modes unintentionally.
The rating plate identifies Einhell as the supplier. A quick check on Einh ell's spares website shows spare batteries available at £49.99 --- the sa me price as the drill (inc battery) at Lidl.
There's no secondary chuck included but there is an SDS to hex adaptor and three hex shank wood bits.
The battery was half charged so I tried it out on a brick and a concrete pa ver, prepared (and half-expecting) to return it if it turned out to be a ch ocolate tea-pot.
With a 6mm bit, it took about 8 seconds to drill a 25mm deep hole in a bric k, without undue effort. I thought it might struggle in the harder paver b ut it didn't - took maybe a second or two longer. I drilled another couple of 6mm/25mm holes in the paver and then tried a 10mm bit into the paver: a 25mm hole (including blowing the dust out of the hole twice) took about 30 seconds. It made short work of a similar hole in the brick.
This was done in 2nd gear (low torque, high speed, 0-900min-1, variable on the trigger).
Wrapping your hands round the body and the vent holes, you could feel a sli ght warmth after six holes.
There's a note in the instruction that the drill needs to be "run in" over ten holes before maximum drilling efficiency is reached.
Overall, after a brief test and with no proof of longevity, I'd say that it seems pretty good and better than I expected. (And there's always the thr ee year guarantee.) I think it's primary use as a cordless SDS is what mak es it attractive. I don't think it would be my first choice for other cord less drilling/screwdriving jobs.
It won't replace the Kress mains version that's stripped render, dug iron r ailings out of 4" concrete and knocked down internal walls but I think it'l l be the first choice for those jobs inside the house (where previously the mains SDS would fling brick dust across the furniture). Sod's Law, of cou rse, means there're always those random house bricks that are made of diamo nd.
Equally, whilst someone installing aerials everyday would probably want a t wo or three hundred quid cordless Bosch or Makita, for your average DIYer p utting up an alarm box I think this would be an easier and safer bet than f affing with a heavier corded drill up a ladder.
One final observation: the date of manufacture is 2013. I don't know if th at indicates they haven't sold well in the past and explains the price drop from previous years or if the Ikea model has influenced the price but I th ink fifty quid for this seems a better deal than forty for the Ikea with it s internal batteries, lower voltage, longer charge time and shorter guarant ee.
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