Are SDS drills good for general DIY?

I need to do some heavy drilling into concrete and brick and am looking to buy a good quality SDS drill. It has to be light and take conventional drills bits so I can use it for general DIY jobs later. I had a demo of a Metabo BHE24 in a shop and I was very impressed, but the drill with percussion and rotataion stop is very expensive (over

220GBP) and I figure as this will be a drill for life I might as well get one with all the features. I know there's a Makita 2450X that has everything I want, but I heard using the conventional chuck mounted on the end of the SDS chuck makes it awkward to use as it makes the drill longer, heavier and it's not very precise. I've now found two Bosch models that might suit; the green PBH240re for around 130GBP with an alternative conventional chuck and some extra drill and chisel bits, or the nearly identical blue GBH2-24dfr for around 160GBP which only comes with an alternative conventional chuck.

My question then is this... can anyone tell me their experiences with any of these drills. I know there are other models available in the US that I might be able to get in the UK too. I have no experience with any make. What I'm most interested in is the drill performance with conventional bits especially drilling into wood (they all have lower rotation speeds than normal drills), and for the Bosch drills if there is any real difference between the green and blue models.

Many thanks,

Ken

Reply to
Kooky45
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I need to do some heavy drilling into concrete and brick and am looking to buy a good quality SDS drill. It has to be light and take conventional drills bits so I can use it for general DIY jobs later. I had a demo of a Metabo BHE24 in a shop and I was very impressed, but the drill with percussion and rotataion stop is very expensive (over

220GBP) and I figure as this will be a drill for life I might as well get one with all the features. I know there's a Makita 2450X that has everything I want, but I heard using the conventional chuck mounted on the end of the SDS chuck makes it awkward to use as it makes the drill longer, heavier and it's not very precise. I've now found two Bosch models that might suit; the green PBH240re for around 130GBP with an alternative conventional chuck and some extra drill and chisel bits, or the nearly identical blue GBH2-24dfr for around 160GBP which only comes with an alternative conventional chuck.

My question then is this... can anyone tell me their experiences with any of these drills. I know there are other models available in the US that I might be able to get in the UK too. I have no experience with any make. What I'm most interested in is the drill performance with conventional bits especially drilling into wood (they all have lower rotation speeds than normal drills), and for the Bosch drills if there is any real difference between the green and blue models.

Many thanks,

Ken

Reply to
Kooky45

Green Bosches are diy/home use grade, and blue ones are for pro use eg building sites. I had a green Bosch battery drill which lasted six years on site, but the batteries finally died of old age. I don't like Metabo as the one we have at work has no safety clutch for when the drill bit jams up. A mate of mine was thrown of a ladder and broke his arm when his Metabo jammed up, and I hurt my wrist a few weeks ago with one.

Garry

Reply to
garry parker

I've had a moderately priced (100 quid) Wicks SDS drill for several years ( manufactured by AEG I believe) . It's both longer and heavier than typical conventional drills, even without a normal chuck in the end of the SDS adaptor.

Another thing to bear in mind is that with a normal chuck on an SDS fitting, it can slide back and forth (turning hammer off doesn't lock it in place). I've seen an Atlas Copco (also AEG) which has a removable SDS chuck to eliminate that problem (FIXTEC?).

I've bought a chuck with an SDS fitting, but would only use it when I don't have another drill handy.

I wouldn't be without hammer or rotor stop (don't use reverse much though) Very handy with a chisel for chasing walls and fitting sockets (especially when I hit brick or concrete). I use hammer stop when drilling soft materials like breeze-block.

One problem with mine is that the air outlet tends to blow the dust about.

As mentioned in another post a safety clutch is a must (this may now be standard in the UK, but I'm not sure) I also know someone who had a bit jam while up a ladder, but he narrowly avoided falling off.

Reply to
Mel

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