Cordless Drills

What type of battery powered drills is everyone running? I ask because I have time while waiting for the 24v batteries for my Firestorm to charge :rolleyes: I have had it for a couple years and it has always been OK for what I need it for, but lately, the batteries really do not hold much of a charge. I have basically the same drill but in the 18v for work and it is great for the little **** I occasionally do onsite.

I need a drill with longer battery life, relatively lightweight, 2 speed, and one that does not burn your hands after a few minutes of use. Mainly drilling through metals.I like Milwaukee stuff, but don't even know if they have cordless tools.

Dewalt. Mine is only a 12v and has survived 3 years of Dexter abuse and I dont even know how old it actually is, it was my dad's. I had to replace the batteries about a year ago, I should have just bought a new 18 or 21 volt drill.

i qould go lithium if you are buyin new. ryobi is cheap and decent. dewalt, mil, and pc are still good stuff too.

I have a Milwaukee 18v cordless, it kicks ass. Makita's are good too.

ryobi but it runs out fast and I would rather use the corded dewalt

I have a 14.4 Hitachi Pro. the one w/ the metal chuck. Has some cool features like a little light that doubles as a belt clip. Good battery life too. lots of torque and RPMS. What I don't like about it is the placement of the low/high switch. you tend to hit it when you grab the drill and bear down on it. I use the crap out of mine. so far it's been good to me. I really like the torque of it. I think it had the best torque and RPMs in it's volt class. I think Dewalts are ok but were a little pricey for me (18 volt XRP is like $279). I think Hitachi's are around $169 for the pro model...5yr warranty too. My next one will be the Makita w/ the lithium Ion...That is a bad dude.
http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/...ls.aspx?ID=892

what I have:
http://www.hitachipowertools.com/sto...th=1,2,21,p588,
except they only have the lithium ions now..mine is ni-cad

if you've ever used a lithium ion the weight difference is huge...it's amazing so much power comes from such a light drill


edit: here is the exact one I got..you can read the specs. According to Hitachi you can buy a LI-ion battery and their chargers and drills are backwards compatible. ion batteries are from $80-100 each I think I got mine on sale at lowes for around $159
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/hita...4DMR/?ref=base

x3 on the Dewalt stuff. The 18V seems to be the drill of choice for alot of profesionals. Plenty of power, yet not too heavy for all day use. The dewalts are usually smooth running and easy to hold. While a bit more money than some, I think it is one of the brands that is worth the investment. They have plenty of accessories in the 18v variety also that the batteries will work on.

Get a DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Makita with a lithium ion battery. Milwaukee is probably the priciest, you can get DeWalts on sale between now and Christmas at Home Depot and Lowe's, Makita seems to stay the same price all the time.

dewalt is the choice of mexican professionals, w/ ryobi a close second. real professionals use festool:flipoff2:
http://www.festoolusa.com/products/cordless-drills

If you ever watch This Old House on PBS the GC on there uses one...THe first time I saw it I thought it was a 20 yr old cordless drill or something...Apparently they make some fine equipment based on reviews that I read. The design makes sense. Compact enough to get in tight spaces.

We have a rigid we got at a tool sale. cheap but has gobs of torque

I just have a craftsman 19.2v. I drill the **** out of it since I aint got a corded one and its still going strong.

dewalt 18v - it works like a champ and I love all the accessories and other tools it works with.

that place I used to work probably had 8 different brand drills ranging from crappy black and decker to dewalt.

the ridgid 1/2" chuck 18v was the best. It was also the heaviest. Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it

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Originally Posted by robertf03

that place I used to work probably had 8 different brand drills ranging from crappy black and decker to dewalt.

the ridgid 1/2" chuck 18v was the best. It was also the heaviest. Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it

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While being heavy does have it's advantages ( ;) ), it can wear you down after a good day with it...

if you have a good day with a drill you need to use a cord, or better yet a drill press

There are times when a cord is more trouble than it's worth or you are on a jobsite with no power.

I checked Lowes for the Dewalt. $279 for the 18v XPR. Not that light, but I could deal with it. The Hitachi's were a little cheaper I am going to have to go to Home Depot to check on the Milwaukee.

I won a Makita 18V Li-Ion from a safety meeting a few months ago. Pretty badass little drill, nice and light, charges in 15-20 min. and runs for hours off a charge. I didn't use it much, so I let one of my guys in the field use and he uses the chit out of it building ladders and pier caps. Charges once or twice and day and the rest of the time he's using it.

I was just a HD and they had it on sale here for $189 with some bits.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...3+90042+500054

19.2V Dewalt, 3 yrs old, run the batteries dead countless times and they always charge right back up. I also have a corded Dewalt that I've had for 7-8 yrs and its stil going strong.

No complaints. I think Rigid makes nice stuff too.

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Originally Posted by Snatch Adams

19.2V Dewalt, 3 yrs old, run the batteries dead countless times and they always charge right back up.

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I thought that's what your suppose to do. I have to say mine has a fairly flat power curve. You can notice a drop and about three screws/ 15 secs later when drilling it's dead.

I still have not purchased a drill yet. I looked at the Milwaukee 18v compact drill at HD today.It was $199. Do these compact drills still pack a punch? I like the lightweight and small size for getting into tight spaces, but will it still have the balls to drill repeated holes through say a framerail? The batteries on it were very small and they were not lithium. The Rigid was a little more. Dewalts were around 250-300.

i have THIS DeWalt 6 piece set and got the high torque cordless impact with it as well. It is great, but i wish i had gotten corded tools first. they are extreamly convienient and great for shorter jobs. for something like drilling multiple holes through framerails in one sitting, no cordless battery will last.

there were several times i was using the grinder and drained the battery before the others were finished charging. consequently, i went out and bought a corded grinder. i havent used the others enough to have the same issue, but if i project needing to do something like drilling a bunch of holes through a frame rail, i will go buy the corded version.

I found a discontinued 18V Dewalt Drill/sawzall kit on sale at Home Depot for 199.99 about 6 months ago and haven't looked back. That stuff is unstoppable. I wouldn't sacrifice size for a good battery and dependability.

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Originally Posted by StevenAg03

i have THIS DeWalt 6 piece set and got the high torque cordless impact with it as well. It is great, but i wish i had gotten corded tools first. they are extreamly convienient and great for shorter jobs. for something like drilling multiple holes through framerails in one sitting, no cordless battery will last.

there were several times i was using the grinder and drained the battery before the others were finished charging. consequently, i went out and bought a corded grinder. i havent used the others enough to have the same issue, but if i project needing to do something like drilling a bunch of holes through a frame rail, i will go buy the corded version.

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Drilled basically (4) 1.5" holes in my frame rail before the Clayton run. A hole saw has to be one of the most taxing things you can do. Dad's got a milawaulkee 18v li-ion drill and it kicked ass. I might have changed out a pack once, but it's very seldom I ever use a corded drill anymore. Cordless grinder?? What are you, halfa fag or somethin'?! :flipoff2: Cordless sawzall on the other hand... I agree with you to a point on cordless stuff, but not on drills, unless I'm putting a wire wheel on it and going to town for awhile.

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Originally Posted by BMFScout

Drilled basically (4) 1.5" holes in my frame rail before the Clayton run. A hole saw has to be one of the most taxing things you can do. Dad's got a milawaulkee 18v li-ion drill and it kicked ass. I might have changed out a pack once, but it's very seldom I ever use a corded drill anymore. Cordless grinder?? What are you, halfa fag or somethin'?! :flipoff2: Cordless sawzall on the other hand... I agree with you to a point on cordless stuff, but not on drills, unless I'm putting a wire wheel on it and going to town for awhile.

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i love my cordless stuff, just wish i had the matching corded stuff...

Black & Decker FireStorm 24 Volt Hammer Drill

i think its bad ass

i have the matching 24v sawsall


i would still rather use a corded drill unless im somewhere where there is no power