Cordless drill questions

[JDgreen227]

I looked around for quite some time after I bought a house 7 years ago. I found the supposedly best of the best-Makita, DeWalt way to expensive, and the Ryobi the cheapest not only in price but reliability. I ended up going with the Craftsman kit which consisted of the DrillHammer Drill, Saws All, Light, two Dia Hard 19.2 volt battery backs and rapid charger. I have countless hours on them, especially the drill-had the saws all replaced once under warranty because the trigger stopped working. & years later and I'm still using the origional batteries! Paid $140 for the whole kit and couldnt be happier.

My dad has the Dewaltt kit, paid almost $300 4 years ago and has already purchasd two battery xr replacements at a wopping 120 bucks each. My crafstmen outruns and out torcs his dewalt enay day-even with my origional batteries and his new.

My craftsman drill is also lighter and I like the grip better than his DeWalt.

We had the Ryobi here at work and both batteries were dead within wo years.

I saved a ton of money going with the Craftsmen.
Just my experience...

Agree 100% about the 19.2 volt Craftsman cordless being the best bang for the buck. Have all these cordless tools and everything has been run really hard at times, no problems at all, also have about 24 batteries and only 2 or 3 have failed to take a charge and I got free warranty replacments.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I think the batteries last longer when they are used and recharged on a regular basis. Often times when I see a bad battery I also see a new looking drill that got used every other month, I use my drill multiple times a week. The drills look beat after a couple years but the batteries last at least 5 years. One other option is to buy replacement cells at radio shack and replace the offenders but then the next one will die, it's just as cheap per cell to have Batteries Plus rebuild the whole thing. I've also had luck with zapping dead batteries back to life with my car charger, usually the cells short out and this will bring them back for a bit. Obviously best with batteries in the 12v range.

We have found the cold is the worst enemy of the batteries. We keep 6 DeWalt 18volt drills in the truck year round but winter time is harsh on them because of the cold temp. The rest of the tools and batteries stay inside where its warm unless needed for a job. Since the barn isn't heated that means they stay in my basement/house thats in slow remodeling phase. Those batteries hold up a lot better but for the most part we have been happy with the batteries. We usually get at least 2 years for each battery before they start getting weak but thats being used daily on multiple discharge/charge cycles. Its common to have at least two chargers going on our job sites as the saws kill the batteries a lot faster then the drill unless were drilling a lot of holes.

 

[KubotainNH]

We have found the cold is the worst enemy of the batteries. We keep 6 DeWalt 18volt drills in the truck year round but winter time is harsh on them because of the cold temp. The rest of the tools and batteries stay inside where its warm unless needed for a job. Since the barn isn't heated that means they stay in my basement/house thats in slow remodeling phase. Those batteries hold up a lot better but for the most part we have been happy with the batteries. We usually get at least 2 years for each battery before they start getting weak but thats being used daily on multiple discharge/charge cycles. Its common to have at least two chargers going on our job sites as the saws kill the batteries a lot faster then the drill unless were drilling a lot of holes.

Mine rarely see the cold so I cannot say much on that but it sounds like you use the tools at a pro level. Getting 2 years under those conditions seems good to me. My point is if you put one in a box with a drained battery for 3 months it may not take a charge when you want it. That is often the life of the normal home owner. Most folks on TBN are not normal home owners

 

[beppington]

Never thought I'd hear anybody say they liked Ryobi, much less recomend it over something like Makita. I'm sort of wondering if this was meant to be a joke?

I have Ryobi, like them & recommend them. Have 4 drills, sawzall, jig saw, 2 circular saws, chainsaw, grinder, leaf blower, shop vac & 2 flashlights.

Not a pro but I use the heck out of the drills. Screwed the top rail fence boards on to 3,400' of fence with no problems whatsoever. Built a picnic table with them. Built an 8' long bench with them. Nearly everything I build now I screw together, instead of nailing, since they work so well.

I can't justify paying significantly more for the others when I'm perfectly happy with my Ryobi's.

 

[k0ua]

I have 3 ryobi . the 1/2 inch drill/hammer drill is inexpensive and works very well, has a great metal locking keyless chuck, and a ton of torque. I have only had it maybe 1 1/2 years but so far it is a keeper. I have an old 9.6 volt ryobi this is well over 20 years old, still going, has been thru a few battery packs. the chuck is about worn slick, but I use it all the time. The chuck never was a great chuck, as it is a cheap plastic one and would never tighten up extremely tight. But have I ever gotten my moneys worth out of that drill.:thumbsup: I also have the 1/4 inch 18volt impact. It is also very good quality for what it is, Now it isnt going to drive 5/8 lag bolts into white oak or anything like that but it is powerful and quick. So I have had pretty good luck with Ryobi, Yes I know they are a low end product but they are not bad.

James K0UA

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Mine rarely see the cold so I cannot say much on that but it sounds like you use the tools at a pro level. Getting 2 years under those conditions seems good to me. My point is if you put one in a box with a drained battery for 3 months it may not take a charge when you want it. That is often the life of the normal home owner. Most folks on TBN are not normal home owners

I understand, just sharing the different experience. :thumbsup:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have 3 ryobi . the 1/2 inch drill/hammer drill is inexpensive and works very well, has a great metal locking keyless chuck, and a ton of torque. I have only had it maybe 1 1/2 years but so far it is a keeper. I have an old 9.6 volt ryobi this is well over 20 years old, still going, has been thru a few battery packs. the chuck is about worn slick, but I use it all the time. The chuck never was a great chuck, as it is a cheap plastic one and would never tighten up extremely tight. But have I ever gotten my moneys worth out of that drill.:thumbsup: I also have the 1/4 inch 18volt impact. It is also very good quality for what it is, Now it isnt going to drive 5/8 lag bolts into white oak or anything like that but it is powerful and quick. So I have had pretty good luck with Ryobi, Yes I know they are a low end product but they are not bad.

James K0UA

I have friends who are happy with Ryobi products. Their all homeowners and that is what Ryobi is designed for. I have never used them though but would consider them if I wasn't in an industry that puts these things through their paces.

 

[andrec999]

I bought the Makita 18 v. xlt 3.0 Amp.Lith. The blue kit ,when it was on sale at Home Depot, always had Sears 19.2 before, and was very satisfied.

But after a test done by Popular Mechanic in wich the Makita came on top of all the other brands as far as strenght and durabilaty between charges, I went with Makita.

But after about 11 months of use ,the two batteries wouldn't charge any more , went to Home Depot they told me to go to the Makita repair shop .

After testing them , they changed the two batteries for two new ones . It seemed very odd to me that both bat. would go at the same time , but they told me it happens sometime , only to find out ,after the battery was dead and tried to recharge it , that it was the charger that was finish and they had to replaced it too.
I did not argue with them ,as they gave me two new batt. and a new charger,
but it gave me a very bad feeling about the toughfness of the Makita tools.

 

[rbcsaver]

I'm a Dewalt 18V fan. except for the circular saw which has always been under powered.
My batteries haven't always lasted, mostly from my too frequent charging. I did buy some new 18 volt lithiums. I always try to buy USA made, although very hard. I have always loved
and routinely buy Craftsman hand tools. Their power tools are crapolla. I would suggest buying the Dewalt 18 or 24 V series, in lithium when available.
regards,
Steve

 

[dntfxr]

I have always loved
and routinely buy Craftsman hand tools. Their power tools are crapolla.

I have always agreed but their 19.2 volt drills are the exception IME.

 

[mx842]

I have a stack of cordless drills of all shapes and sizes from 9V on up. Every time I would buy a new drill soon after they would come up with something better. I don't know how many cordless drills I have bought over the years but they all seemed to have one thing in common, the drill motors were too much for the power supply and you needed to have at least 6 batteries and 3 or 4 chargers to get by til lunch time. Then after charging them 8 or 10 times you needed to replace them.

Then came the 18V models. These seemed to be a great improvement over the earlier drills and the batteries did hold up a lot better but you still need to have a couple extra batteries if you had a lot of screwing to do like screwing down medal roofing or drilling a lot of holes. I had a 18V dewalt almost a year that was still on the original batteries and it had really been used hard. That one grew wings and flew away so I was in the market for a new one.

I really think most of these new drills are about the same but I had just bought a couple of new Bosch tools and was impressed at how well they were made so I was thinking about trying one of their 18V drill sets to see how they did. I went to Lowes and was looking at the many different brands they had on display and although I had really good service out of the last dewalt I picked up the Bosch and was headed for the check out. When I was walking down the isle to the check out, somewhere between Hardware and the electrical/lighting section I saw this dewalt display and something caught my eye and I slowed down to take a look. It was a display of their new 20V drill sets and one feel of this new smaller frame drill motor I was hooked. As the new Bosch drill set slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor my hands wrapped around the new impact driver and it was so sexy I knew I was going to have to try one of these out. With my right foot I gently tried to slide the new Bosch drill set under the counter hoping no one would see but something was in the way. I tried not to be so conspicuous with my efforts and had thoughts of just letting it stay where it was at but I had to at least try to complete this cover up and I'll assure you Tricky Dick Nixon would have been proud of my efforts. My keys slipped from my hand and as I picked them up and a few adjustments of the items under the counter my plan came to order as the blue box slid under the counter like it belonged there. I couldn't help but notice as I was getting back up that there were two other competitors drill sets hidden away next to the one I had just placed there and a sigh of relief came over me when I realized I wasn't the only person that was too lazy to haul their first choice back to it's original space once they had lay hands on this new sexy 20V ION drill.:ashamed:

I bought the whole set.....$579.00+ tax. I had looked at those little circular saws before but never thought about buying one because they looked so cheesy but this thing rocks! When I got it home that was the first thing I tried out because I had a bunch of rafters and joist to cut and I wanted to see what this bad girl could do. I cut out 36 rafters and the angles on 38 joist plus I don't know how many other cuts to 2x4's and 2x6's I made with this little saw before it was quitting time and it was about this time I realized that this was with the one battery right out of the box. I used it again the next day just to see how many cuts I could get out of this one charge and it started to get a little weak just before lunch time.

Things I found out, the little 1/4" impact needs some kind of torque setting on it to calm it down a little because it will ring off 5/16 stainless bolts like they are soft butter if you are not careful. The drill motor is light but powerful and the smaller frame makes it easy to handle. Don't look directly into the light that come in the kit unless you have on a welders mask. The sawzall is light and powerful and I love the new blade changing setup.

I am so hooked on this new 20V drill set from dewalt. Finally there is a cordless drill set that you can use as a tool was meant to be used. The 18V system was a mock improvement over the past attempts at providing cordless power tools for places you don't readily have power to. But these new 20V kits are kick azz and at least for now I am free from the electric cord that binds me.

 

[deereman75]

If I had a spart $400 and just wanted a good drill, I would consider a metabo. If you are like most of us and cant afford to spend $400 on just a cordless drill, get a makita.

 

[Branchchipper]

We converted to Bosch from Milwaukee over a year ago, and have been very pleased...

We use all 18v Li-ion fat pack batteries on two tools; the Brute Tough driver/drill and the impact driver.

The Brute Tough drill is very heavy duty, and is usually not found in big box stores (they carry the lighter-duty Compact Tough).

The charger that came with each is the fastest I've ever used, and the batts seem to keep their charge better than any brand we've had.

Bosch has some great sales, often only advertised at smaller lumber yards and tool places- we bought the Bosch Power Box jobsite radio/charger as well, and it has been used for parties (MP3 connection), general barn entertainment, and many "job sites." Very good stereo.

Past cordless tools for us (all lasted a long time):
Porter Cable 12v Magnequench (had 2) and Milwaukee 18v driver/drill (the older one, made in Germany)

 

[cdaigle430]

I'm a Dewalt 18V fan. except for the circular saw which has always been under powered.
My batteries haven't always lasted, mostly from my too frequent charging. I did buy some new 18 volt lithiums. I always try to buy USA made, although very hard. I have always loved
and routinely buy Craftsman hand tools. Their power tools are crapolla. I would suggest buying the Dewalt 18 or 24 V series, in lithium when available.
regards,
Steve

Not in my case, I saved alot of money going with Craftsmen. I'm not a professional so my tools do not earn moeny-but I use them almost as much. Why spend the extra money on something that is just slightly better? Especially since Dewalt is owned by Stanley Black and Decker which is English owned. I would never buy a Black and Decker again.

 

[JDgreen227]

Not in my case, I saved alot of money going with Craftsmen. I'm not a professional so my tools do not earn moeny-but I use them almost as much. Why spend the extra money on something that is just slightly better? Especially since Dewalt is owned by Stanley Black and Decker which is English owned. I would never buy a Black and Decker again.

Disagree about Craftsman power tools being crapola, I have several of their corded circular saws, sanders, and drills that GO BACK TO THE EARLY 80'S and still work fine. Have none of the newer corded tools but a whole bunch of their newer cordless tools and am VERY happy with the quality...and I used to be a carpenter by trade.

And as far as Dewalt goes, you pay a HUGE PREMIUM for the name. Just like Deere...but Deere is WORTH the premium....:laughing:

 

[Soundguy]

IMHO.. you are paying a huge premium on any of the big names, and in the end, are likely getting a tool that rolled out of a factory somewhere where many people eat rice every day. ... just sayin....


soundguy

 

[Bird]

Disagree about Craftsman power tools being crapola, I have several of their corded circular saws, sanders, and drills that GO BACK TO THE EARLY 80'S and still work fine. Have none of the newer corded tools but a whole bunch of their newer cordless tools and am VERY happy with the quality...and I used to be a carpenter by trade.

And as far as Dewalt goes, you pay a HUGE PREMIUM for the name. Just like Deere...but Deere is WORTH the premium....:laughing:

Craftsman tools? I'm with you. I only have a table saw, a sabre saw, a 1/3 sheet pad sander, 6" bench grinder, half-inch hammer drill, and maybe some I've forgotten at the moment. I'd be the first to admit that I don't use my tools a great deal anymore, but they all work fine when I do.

 

[JDgreen227]

Craftsman tools? I'm with you. I only have a table saw, a sabre saw, a 1/3 sheet pad sander, 6" bench grinder, half-inch hammer drill, and maybe some I've forgotten at the moment. I'd be the first to admit that I don't use my tools a great deal anymore, but they all work fine when I do.

Yes, they built them to last back then, today they would prefer you threw your three year old crapola gadget away and purchased a new one.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Disagree about Craftsman power tools being crapola, I have several of their corded circular saws, sanders, and drills that GO BACK TO THE EARLY 80'S and still work fine. Have none of the newer corded tools but a whole bunch of their newer cordless tools and am VERY happy with the quality...and I used to be a carpenter by trade.

And as far as Dewalt goes, you pay a HUGE PREMIUM for the name. Just like Deere...but Deere is WORTH the premium....:laughing:

We bought a Craftsman circular saw for one of our workers at the same time we bought two new DeWalts. That Craftsman lasted a few years and was shot, the DeWalts are both still going strong. What I dislike about the Craftsmans is they use a short, cheap cord. Its a stiff plastic and when you set the saw down you have to always be careful so that the cord doesn't roll itself into the still moving blade. So far we haven't hit it but theres been a few close calls. The DeWalts have a soft rubber coating on the cords and when you set the saw down the cord lays down flat. The DeWalt cord is also about 4 feet longer which is great when ripping a sheet of plywood.

The Craftsman was replaced with another Craftsman and they just don't impress me. For homeowner use though I feel they would be fine but Sears has really cut corners on their tools. The old Craftsman power tools were high quality, these newer tools are no better then Ryobi in my opinion.

 

[JDgreen227]

We bought a Craftsman circular saw for one of our workers at the same time we bought two new DeWalts. That Craftsman lasted a few years and was shot, the DeWalts are both still going strong. What I dislike about the Craftsmans is they use a short, cheap cord. Its a stiff plastic and when you set the saw down you have to always be careful so that the cord doesn't roll itself into the still moving blade. So far we haven't hit it but theres been a few close calls. The DeWalts have a soft rubber coating on the cords and when you set the saw down the cord lays down flat. The DeWalt cord is also about 4 feet longer which is great when ripping a sheet of plywood.

The Craftsman was replaced with another Craftsman and they just don't impress me. For homeowner use though I feel they would be fine but Sears has really cut corners on their tools. The old Craftsman power tools were high quality, these newer tools are no better then Ryobi in my opinion.

EXACTLY...all my old Craftsman corded tools were USA made, most by Emerson Electric, my oldest corded saw was purchased back about 1977 (!!!!) and was still working great with original brushes until it was stolen three years ago...and it was a homeowner model, not a heavy duty one. When Sears began having their corded power tools made in China, they lowered the prices, then really lowered the quality.