FILFAN Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 My Bosch 36v lithium ion has been the best drill I have had though they are a but pricey and a tad bulky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davep1 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Makita every time for me (within budget constraints) - the one recommended above (screwfix 18v 1.3Ah) has been brilliant over the last 3 years of intensive use. Even survived a few drops from roofs to ground with no damage. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Makita again, screw fix had mine half price with spare battery!!! Li-Ion is the way forward! I can't believe how good it is. http://m.screwfix.com/p/makita-bhp453she-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/86305 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanspoors Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I'd have to +1 on the Dewalt front. I've got an 18v Cordless Drill and an 18v Impact driver, Li-ion XR. These have been perfect, used them on a whole house refurb including drilling an 18mm hole through a 1ft stone wall with a masonary bit a few weeks ago. I only buy Dewalt power tools now after seeing the quality after heavy usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Not saying that Bosch or DeWalt are not the best but some of don't want (or need) to spend that sort of money when we use these tools occasionally. THIS is the Makita kit I bought in Toolstore this May. I've used it twice, for a few minutes each time. £99.99 is probably the most I've ever spent on a drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FILFAN Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Norman its a man thing where power tools are concerned. Bigger is always better and who cares you only need to hang a small picture when in the back if your mind you know it would destroy 6 inches of concrete. That's why we all want 200+ bhp monster engines in a car that can only legally do 70 mph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Phil, I also have a mains SDS drill for masonry. I drilled two 25 mm holes through .5 meter of granite wall with it. If it's big you want, how's this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Bunn - Derby & Notts Joint AO Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I bought the Makita 18 volt li-ion drill from Screwfix, great bit of kit and you can buy spare non- Makita batteries from fleebay or Amazon for about £40, which is half the price of genuine ones. Once you have the makita 18volt batteries you can buy *bare* Makita tools like impact drivers, jig saws and circular saws. These come at a fraction of the complete price (tool + battery + charger). All are really good bits of kit ... IMHO. Whatever make of drill you buy I would say it should be powered by Lithium Ion batteries. (The one Norman bought is Ni-cad) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Gary, is that why it's so cheap? I found out how to regenerate Ni Cad batteries by connecting a battery charger with the polarity reversed (only at a second or so at a time). It has revitalised the batteries on the Black & Decker drill but they go flat fairly quickly. I also did the batteries on my Bulk Buy wheel nut gun and that now works a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Bunn - Derby & Notts Joint AO Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I think so Norman, Screwfix are very clever in their advertising. Ni-cad stuff is ok but Li-ion has several advantages, they are way lighter, smaller and do not go flat and seem to last better in a DIY environment (in my experience). The Makita is really well balanced and light for a 18 volt drill/driver. There have been a few reports of ways to get Ni-cads working again when they appear dead, from memory some of these involved a massive voltage for a very short time... never tried it myself. There are also some battery places that will replace the individual cells in a Ni-cad battery pack for a fraction of the price of a replacement. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E. Coyote Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Mainly, Norman, yes it is - but if you hunt around you can now get small Li-ions for about the same price (the big Li-ion's are much more expensive though). NiCad batteries are "old technology" these days - they don't have the same energy storing capacity as Li-ion (in a given volume) and also exhibit "memory effect" (which reduces the available battery capacity) to a much greater extent . From memory, the working life is shorter too. Pretty much everything seems to be going Li-ion these days, so if you want to buy into a "system" then Li-ion is probably the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 For the occasional use it'll be OK. I wasn't going to spend that much to be honest. I also have a Ryobi mains drill which I tend to use on the DIY. So, for someone who uses drill occasionally I have 2 battery drills 1 mains drill 1 pillar drill 1 SDS drill 1 Dremel and two other NiCad drills which I could resurrect by reversing polarity with a 12v battery charger. Oh, and a milling machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajpearson Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well makita it was 18v 1.3ah 2xLi-ion batteries for £99.99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 And may you be forever happy together. Sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Bunn - Derby & Notts Joint AO Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well makita it was 18v 1.3ah 2xLi-ion batteries for £99.99 That sounds very cheap....where from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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