CORDLESS DRILLS

[WARRENRN1]

i posted a note earlier asking if anyone had the owner's manual for the cordless drill because the batteries seem to be losing power too quickly and not recharging sufficiently. i was told to buy a new drill, it would be cheaper.... i was told how to split the battery paks to get to the nicad batteries...

i did check into the cost of battery replacements.... yep...they are expensive and cost nearly as much as if i do go out and buy a new drill. i have a number of corded drills, but the cordless is handy to have in the shop and to do misc. household chores.

i am a hobbyist....i don't make my living from construction and furniture making. so i ask this question because i do not know the difference..... exactly what is the difference between a 9.6V, 12V, 14.4V and an 18V cordless drill, besides, obviously the cost? i drill holes, screw in screws.... what makes one much better than the others... as for heavy duty drilling, i will shag an extension cord and bring out the heavy duty corded job for that....

what is the general consensus of the HF cordless drills....... i have bought a number of items from HF and have not had any problem with their merchandise... Drill Master ??? Chicago Electric ??? i am leaning towards the craftsman 12V cordless...

sorry to be a bother..... but that is the purpose behind this NG, isn't it?

thanx in advance....

[Jack-of-all-trades - JOAT]

Sat, Aug 2, 2003, 9:48pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (WARRENRN1) wants to know: exactly what is the difference between a 9.6V, 12V, 14.4V and an

18V

What is more power?

JOAT Everything happens for a reason, except possibly football.

- Lu-Tze

Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT Web Page Update 23 Jul 2003. Some tunes I like.

[Fred McClellan]

The higher voltage drills/drivers make more torque.

I use the 9.6V Makita line because it'll do the job I need done and it's small enough to get inside the equipment I work on, mostly. That's not true for the higher voltage units because of the handle size; the bulge on the bottom can be a show-stopper if you're trying to get inside an oven or reach-in refrigerator/freezer or ice maker.

I use the Makita every day at work, and write off a couple thousand dollars in tool purchases each year.

I 'recycle' my older Makitas to the model building shed where they live on for a few more years; I've got four of the things now, and they're all 9.6V.

As for Crapsman, I'll never buy another Sears product. Never, ever. Cheers, Fred McClellan the dash plumber at mindspring dot com

[MSH]

For those tight spaces where drilling is not involved, a cordless screwdriver is indispensable. About $20. I have an old Makita set too, the flashlights still get used but the batteries are dying one by one.

MH

[Leon]

Snip

so i ask this question because i do not know the difference.....

The biggest difference between these very similar voiltage drills is that the higher voltage drills will give you a longer run time between charges. In addition some higher voltage drills will offer marginally more torque. I say marginal because that little bit of extra power costs much more than a

9.6 or 12 volt version. If you need the extra power compliment your 9.6 or 12 volt model with a 120 volt model. I personally have 4, 9.6 volt drills and appreciate the light weight of their batteries. The larger volt models can get pretty heavy.

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]

[Preston Andreas]

Check out

and see if a rebuilt battery might help. I sent one of mine in (18v Dewalt) and it worked great when I got it back. Click on "Cordless Power Tools" for a list of batteries, and check out the FAQ on "When is a Battery Bad".

merchandise...

[dave martin]

I'll second the above. In particular the Makita 9.6 angle drill is a joy to use (as is the 3 1/2" circle saw - minus guard).

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I can't wait. If they come out with one, I'll replace the battery with a cord and I won't have to worry about recharging it. I bet that will impress the neighbors. Ed

[bay area dave]

bigger isn't always more powerful. Check out an impact driver like the Makita DWDE9616 (hope I remembered the model number correctly...) 12 volts, small size and more than 800 " lbs of torque.

dave

Edw> > screwdriver is indispensable. About $20. I have an old Makita set too, the

[clutch]

And at the 18v level, more weight.

Wes

[Ernie Jurick]

Warren, the battery may have setttled into a light recharge condition where it's not deep charging anymore. Have you tried draining it completely before recharging? Not just to the point where it won't turn the drill, but completely, by attaching a light load across the terminals (light bulb, maybe) and draining it so it doesn't movbe the needle on a voltmeter. I had a Braun flashgun that would stop holding a charge after a couple of months. The drain-completely technique always restored it. It doesn't cost anything to try, either. Good luck.

-- Ernie

[Trent©]

The lower voltage drills often come with only a 1-speed gear box...which means you can only drill at slow speed. These are pretty much useless for drilling. If you want a drill that you will 'drill' with...lol...make sure it has at least a 2-speed gear box.

The smaller voltage drills are lighter...and, again...usually just a slow speed. These are great for driving screws...or for very light drilling.

If you get a good quality drill, you won't need the corded drill.

I have a Ryobi 9.6v. for driving screws...and a Porter-Cable 14v. for drilling.

If yer gettin' only 1 drill...go for something larger...and a better reputation for quality. Consider Makita, PC, DeWalt, etc.

But you can get a 2nd drill at Harbor Freight for about $15.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

[Tim Douglass]

Hardly. There isn't a cordless drill made that will do as good a job as a corded one when it comes to heavy duty drilling. You don't see many plumbers or electricians trying to make holes through framing lumber with a cordless drill.

Relative to driving screws - we recently had a deck built on the parsonage by volunteer labor. They put the deck planks down with 3" square drive deck screws. It seems to me that there were 2 14v drills and an 18v one involved. Almost none of the screws were driven flush, let alone countersunk, the drills just didn't have the umph to do it. When one went dead and I pulled out my Milwaukee hole shooter for them to finish with they were amazed at how easily it ran the screws in. Sometimes you just can't get enough from a battery to do the job at hand.

Tim Douglass

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]

[Steve Wolfe]

I ran a good bit of cable, running 6/3 from my main panel to the garage, then 12/2 all over the garage, with just my lil' ol' cordless, a Ryobi 14.4 All of the holes were with cheap 3/4" or 1" spade bits. The battery did eventually die, but (a) it did a LOT before it did, and (b) that's why you have a second (or third) battery.

My Ryobi, on "high-speed, low-torque" setting has enough oomph to snap off screw heads from a standstill. Countersinking isn't a problem. I went over to a friend's house a couple of months ago, and drilled 3" screws into his kitchen floor joists all night long without a problem. And I have a hard time believing that any of the other good names wouldn't do just as well.

steve

[bay area dave]

Tim,

had they used cordless impact drivers, they could have run the screws all the way thru the boards. My Makita 12V impact driver has over 800 "/lbs of torque. That'll drive any deck screw you can throw at it. Otherwise, I agree that a corded drill has more power than your typical cordless. But there's no clutch OR electric brake. That makes using the hole shooter a genuine PITA.

dave

Tim Douglass wrote:

[Trent©]

I'd said 'you'...meaning the OP....where he posted...

So I think my statement to him was pretty accurate.

That said...I've seen many contractors with cordless drills.

Also, you'd need to define 'heavy duty drilling', Tim. Do you mean extended time?...or degree of difficulty? See Dave's (yeah...that one! lol) post on impact driver.

3/8"?...or 1/2"? What brands?

More than likely, it was the clutch setting. Once you've got the screw going, it doesn't take a whole heck of a lot more to bury it flush.

If those guys were using 14's to do that job, Tim, I'd wonder about them. I wouldn't consider that a drill that an all-day professional would use.

Torque has little to do with the kind of electricity...nor with the voltage actually. Torque is mainly a feature of the engineering...although you'll often find the higher torque with the higher voltage...mainly because of the current draw

You can get the same torque from a 9.6v. as you can from an 18v. They just don't build them that way.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

[Leon]

PREsisely...

I always use the 120 volt variety drill when building decks. Way faster and the screws do go in al they way.

[user]

You might check to see if there is a Sears Surplus near you. I was at one near me this week which had 15.7 V units with charger and two batteries for $60. They had other configurations as well.

I consider myself a hobbyist, but I also figured out that my drill is the single most used tool in my shop. I don't skimp here.

Mark from Pasadena, MD

WARRENRN1 wrote: