Cordless Drill/Drivers...what's hot?

[Pat Barry]

Time for the weekly cordless drill and impact driver thread. What's hot these days? I'm generally happy with my Makita (BDF452 and matching impact driver), but one of the batteries is completely dead, and I can't imagine spending $70 each on new batteries....seems crazy when the entire kit was about $200 new. Anyhow, the drill chuck always had a bit of runout anyway, and so many people have had battery issues over the years, I'm thinking it's time to cut my losses.

I'm checking out some Milwaukee stuff. What do we think? Any other suggestions or comments? I don't want my drills to turn into disposable products, like everything else these days.

Check Amazon. You can get replacement batteries 1/2 the price you stated.

[Paul Incognito]

I had the 18v Makita impact and hammer drill. When they got stolen I replaced them with Milwaukee 18v Fuel and consider it to be a big step up. That's what lives in the truck.
For the shop I still have the Makita 18v black and white drill and impact. One battery is next to useless. When I get tired enough of it I'll replace them with Milwaukee as well.
My 2 cents.
Paul

[John Coloccia]

There are outfits that will refurbish your dead batteries with fresh cells a la Mr. Langman. Some cells are easier to open than others. I had some outfit from PA (name escapes me and I can't locate 'em online right now) refresh my Festool batteries. They are often cheaper than new batteries and can further often upgrade the cells with longer life batteries so you can go longer between charges. Some can upgrade from NiCd to LiNi to give even better performance.

Here's the problem with these packs:

http://www.recellyourbattery.com/makita-18v

It's the disabling of the battery that is the real problem. As far as I know, it's impossible to fix once the battery is flagged as bad. I've been out of the shop a while because of the twins and a change in my business, and now I have a dead pack. It's kind of dumb, so given that I don't have a lot into it at the moment, there's no reason for me to really do anything other than change brands to something that doesn't have this sort of pathological problem. When I was in the shop everyday, these batteries performed pretty flawlessly everyday for a good long while, and the drill and driver itself are really nice, other than a very slight wobble from the chuck. My old Hitachi was much better, but the Makita's is no worse than any other ones I've seen lately. I'm not sure if anyone really makes anything as nice as my old Hitachi anymore. Unfortunately, it has a bad gear box and is stuck in high all the time (slips out of low) or else I'd simply refurbish those cells and go back to using that.

[David Davies]

Hard to beat the lifetime warranty on Ridgid drills at Home Depot - as long as you register the tool in time.
Dave

[Matt Krusen]

The Milwaukee Fuel line is pretty beastly. Regardless of brand, brushless is the way to go. And if you're looking for a 12v and don't mind the cost then the Festool CXS really is great.

[Mark Blatter]

"I'll probably hang on to these and see if any of the aftermarket, no-name batteries work OK. They're only $35 each, so I don't mind trying one out just to see. You may be right about the small batteries being the weak link, but I have to say that I didn't really do anything particularly special to take care of them, and I got quite a good bit of use out of them. I'm more concerned about buying new batteries because SO many people have complained about them. I'm worried I'll get a dud and end up just throwing away $70. If it wasn't for their terrible reputation, I'd even consider just buying another battery, but it's too risky when I can just jump ship for just a bit more $$$"

I have an old Dewalt 12V that I have just loved. Light yet can do just about anything I ask of it. The battery pack died on my so I recently ordered one off Amazon for $26. Seems OK, though I haven't used it in the drill yet. My daughter has it at her aptment but I will get it back some day.

I did buy a new Millwaukie about five months ago and have been using it some. It is the M18v though I have no idea if it is the Fuel others mentioned. I got it Big Orange for $200 along with two batteries, the hammer, plus a third battery. It such a good deal I couldn't pass it up.

What I don't like about it is the positioning of the LED light. It sets just perfectly so that the area around the screw is lit, but the screw head is in the shadow of the driver bit. In same ways it is actually worse then no light at all.

I still have, and use every once in a while, a Makita I bought in 1992. Batteries are weak, but I plan on opening up the packs some day and putting in new batteries. It is rated as a 9.6V and while a bit heavy, still runs great.

[Greg R Bradley]

My experience with Makita LXT batteries is excellent. Some of them date back to the time when several companies didn't even have Lithium cordless tools at all. I've had one fail very early, one at a year or so, and one fail at 5 years or so. The other 25 or so batteries are still in use. Some of them are used and recharged more than 100 times per year.

We did have two light duty drills with plastic chucks that wobbled, replaced at no charge. Never a problem with the metal chucks.

I don't care for Makitas 12v max stuff but their AVT rotary & demo hammers are fabulous.

I think Milwaukee cordless has finally caught up with Makita depending on which tools you need. I've always liked their corded drills and recently bought another of their 4000rpm 1/4" drills to have at home in addition to the two at work.

We don't buy batteries, just buy more kits when on sale or when they have their third battery free with a kit promos.

[Edward Oleen]

I've been using DeWalt, mostly 12V for small drill and driver, and have been happy with them. I also have DeWalt 20V tools and those have been working fine, also. I hear good things about Milwaukee tools but no experience with them.

The thing I like about the DeWalt 12V tools is that they're light while still having sufficient power. Previously I had the DeWalt 18V tools and the weight of those was starting to get to me. The DeWalt 20V tools are lighter than the 18V tools but the 12V are even better.

Mike

I strongly second the motion. I've tried tools from various manufacturers over the years, and I've settled on the colors Yellow and Black.

My big stuff is PowerMatic. The "small stuff" - actually the "not-so-big" stuff is DeWalt.

My latest purchase is the DeWalt '611 router - should have bought one when it first came out. I have the 12v drill/driver and impact driver kit and it goes everywhere with me in it's little kit bag.

[Joe Jensen]

I have a bit of an addiction drills and drivers. I have owned many. I currently have a Festool T15, Festool CSX, Bosch 12V drill, Bosch 12V driver, Bosch 12V Impact Driver, Panasonic 14V Nicad Impact Driver, a Bosch corded 1/2" impact drill/driver, a Milwaukee corded drill, an "old iron" Black and Decker corded drill, and I just got a great deal on a Hilti impact driver.

I always reach for the smallest and lightest drill that will get the job done. That means I reach for the Bosch 12 tools most often. If I'm drilling larger than 3/8" or into something other than wood I reach for the bigger Festool T15. If I need to drill a lot of holes in metal I reach for a corded drill.

If starting from scratch I'd start with either the Milwaukee or Bosch 12V stuff. Not super expensive, the batteries last forever, and they are compact and light. I'd add a bigger heavier drill for the times when you need more. If money is tight I'd go with a corded larger drill as the next one.

[Chris Harry]

I recently "consolidated" to one set of cordless tools.

I had a set of 18V Ridgid NiCD tools which worked fine....the battery packs were starting to go so I had them replaced under warranty with no questions asked. But the tools were still heavy, as were the packs. Really wanted to change to lithium ion for the weight savings and the addition of newer features (my Ridgid stuff was 8 years old...X2 in their line, which is now up to X5). I also had a few first generation Bosch 10.8/12V lithion tools........they were showing their age as well, just pretty underpowered and to upgrade to the new versions would be pretty expensive.

Home Depot had the 50/100/150 off promo.....I used it to stock up on Milwaukee 12V and 18V tools. Surprisingly, after all is said and done, I use the 12V stuff the most. I bought all Fuel (brushless) because the sale allowed me to get them down to decent prices. The 12V drill (1/2" Fuel hammer drill, 3/8" non-Fuel drill) and impact driver are excellent. The 18V drill and impact are still sitting in the case, unused. I might consider selling them, but I have a feeling the extra power would come in handy someday. Another nice thing about Milwaukee is that the charger in their 18V kits also charges the 12V batteries, so now I have one charger to do everything.

[John Coloccia]

My experience with Makita LXT batteries is excellent. Some of them date back to the time when several companies didn't even have Lithium cordless tools at all. I've had one fail very early, one at a year or so, and one fail at 5 years or so. The other 25 or so batteries are still in use. Some of them are used and recharged more than 100 times per year.

We did have two light duty drills with plastic chucks that wobbled, replaced at no charge. Never a problem with the metal chucks.

I don't care for Makitas 12v max stuff but their AVT rotary & demo hammers are fabulous.

I think Milwaukee cordless has finally caught up with Makita depending on which tools you need. I've always liked their corded drills and recently bought another of their 4000rpm 1/4" drills to have at home in addition to the two at work.

We don't buy batteries, just buy more kits when on sale or when they have their third battery free with a kit promos.

That's actually what I have too...this set, except an older version of it, and I bought it new.

http://www.tylertool.com/factory-rec...FQpk7AoduScARw

I think the real key with these batteries is you just can't let them sit, like I have the last year because I've only sporadically been in the wood shop. Before that, they were great. Since this is how things will be for the next year or so, it doesn't really bode well sticking with this particular set. I do really wish they would just make reasonably priced batteries. There's nothing at all special about the batteries to make them that expensive, and nuking the entire pack at the firmware level is really overkill.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I've been running Ridgid 12V LI stuff since 2007. Signed everything up for LSA, even though it was a PITA! Only took three years for Ridgid to do what they should have done in first place. Had copies of receipt, UPC, and certificate of mailing, so they couldn't say I didn't do my part. Some of mine are old enough not to have a serial number, so they automatically register replacement batteries. Newer ones have to be registered within 90 days of replacement. Never a hassle about getting batteries replaced. Now HD about ten miles away does replacement.

[Michael W. Clark]

I have the Milwaukee M18 drill/driver and Impact set. It is great for about 90% of DIY and woodworking. I also have a small Bosch 10.8V drill and impact set that I use for mounting drawer slides or impacting 1-1/4" smaller wood screws. Both sets have been great and no complaints. The 18V drills are smaller now but still a bit large for some tasks. Maybe 12V is a good compromise if buying one?

[Jason Roehl]

I got the Bosch 18V impact/drill set a little over a year ago. It has replaced my 14.4V P-C stable (though I still have them). My go-to P-C driver was a hammer drill, and the 18V Bosch is probably 1/2 or less the weight. I couldn't see myself getting worn out using the Bosch, while I did come close on occasion with heavy use of the P-C.

My only regret is that I pulled the trigger on the Bosch before they were deeply discounted with the arrival of the brushless models (which is what I probably would have gotten, had they been widely available).

[Steve Rozmiarek]

My .02, having compared the milwaukee, bosch, makita, and dewalt, I still much prefer the dewalt. I like the 18 volt best so the same battery works for everything, and the tools and batteries really hold up well. My impressions of the others vs the dewalt, milwaukee is lower quality construction, and the batteries are weaker, bosch has decent quality, but much less powerful than the dewalt of the same volt, and the makita had a battery give up.

These threads always make me think that the current crop of cordless tools must all be pretty good, as everyone sticks up for their own brand, and no clear winner emerges.