Sorry 😉

I’ve finally killed my old Dewalt cordless drill – it’s lasted about a decade, that’s pretty good going. Problem is i’ve got a bunch of other things which use the same 18V batteries. So should I get another Dewalt, or is there an advantage to getting a Li-Ion powered drill? Or even get a different brand?

It only gets used in the workshop, portability isn’t a big deal.

If the batteries are still good, then a “naked” one should be cheapo enough.

LiIon are great – light, quick to charge, don’t slow down as battery goes dead but it doesn’t sound as this is really important for you.

Mind you, Makita 18v LiIon are often on offer at Screwfix etc. You can’t go wrong with them.

depends what you do with it. newer Li drills are lighter and the bat lasts longer (more Ah for the same weight) plus Li charges faster. The Li battery does die suddenly though. newer tech drills also more expensive. pays your money and makes your choice. I have both in the workshop and have no preference in that environment.
buy a bare drill since you have the batteries, assuming they are still good.

+1 on Makita if you’re buying new. Try FFX.co.uk for price too, also for bare tools for your current batteries.

Renovating my house and my cheap makita 453 has been doing sterling general service. Though I will probably add a SDS and maybe an impact driver at some point too, sometimes you just need a bit more grunt…

Bosch fan myself but………..

Dewalt 18V Li-ion batteries fit their older machines too*, even though they are a different shape going from oval to square. There is a slight difference in the mount so that you can not use older batteries on newer machines. So if your old batteries are getting tired it make make sense to buy a new Dewalt Li-ion.

* Best to double check before purchase but I have used Li-ion batteries in an old Dewalt machine.

Cool, cheers – if I’m not missing out on any wonderful improvements I’ll just get the same again. I think there are two types of Dewalt battery – the older push-in type come in NiCd, NiMH and Li-Ion so are interchangeable, the newer slide-on Li-ion batteries aren’t. I think.

Nail and head.

If you’ve got existing kit that uses dewalt nicad /nimh then dewalt also does li-ion batteries and a duel chemistry charger (that charges nicad and li-ion) that can be used with that older kit – worth a look around for deals. The batteries are interchangeable in the tools but you can only charge the li-ion ones in the duel chemistry charger.

You get the advantage of lighter batteries if thats helpful but the charge isn’t that fast compared to dedicated li-ion chargers, but you do get the advantage of being able to part-charge and use.

If you were going for a refresh of the whole kit then Makitas suite of 18v li-ion is probably the best in terms or range. Their angle grinder is superb – a much better fettling tool than a corded grinder- lighter, less torq-y and easier to precisely control. The most cost effective way to put a package together is to get a good deal on drill an batteries and then look for the rest of the tools you want as bare, or bare+ one battery. The latter can be the cheapest way to acquire additional batteries.

Do you know what is wrong with the old drill ? All Dewalt stuff that I have bought came with a spare parts diagram/list – it might well be repairable.

If you were going for a refresh of the whole kit then Makitas suite of 18v li-ion is probably the best in terms or range. Their angle grinder is superb – a much better fettling tool than a corded grinder- lighter, less torq-y and easier to precisely control

That does sound very tempting – I use corded angle grinders quite a bit, the tangling cables quickly get annoying.

Do you know what is wrong with the old drill ? All Dewalt stuff that I have bought came with a spare parts diagram/list – it might well be repairable.

The motor has been getting slowly rougher for years – I squirt GT85 in there whenever it smells too burny. The chuck has now started sticking, and the bolt head is rounded off so I can’t easily replace it again. Really, I’m sure it’s all fixable but not sure it’s worth the effort.

I use corded angle grinders quite a bit, the tangling cables quickly get annoying.

The only slight caveat is that while they take standard disks (115mm) the thread on the spindle is different to normal grinders so you can’t fit something like a cup-brush. This is probably on purpose – to dissuade you from putting too much load on the motor.

Not a big deal, I’ve got a Bosch sander thingy which takes pop-on wire brushes. I found cup brushes too harsh for what I do. Is the battery life sensible nowadays? That was the downside last time I looked at cordless angle grinders.

you get 3amp hr batteries as standard, and you get a good usable charge from them, and 4amp/hr ones are available too. Its the advent of 3amp/hr batteries that have made things like cordless grinders and circular saws credible. If you’re doing lots of cutting you’ll struggle but trimming and fettling their fine – I find they work really will with flap wheels when you’re doing tidying up, the slower axel speed means they’re less prone to biting into surfaces that you’re trying to smooth. If you’re out in the field you’d want the 4hr batteries but if you’re always near a charger then the 3hrs are better as although they have a shorter charge life – they charge much, much faster than the 4amp/hr for some reason. The 3amp/hr batteries get to 80% charged really quick (the makita charger has a light to indicate 80%) and you’d have to be hammering the grinder not to have the charging battery up to 80% before you ran the other down.

If you are wanting to use the 4amp/hr batteries make sure the tools you buy have a yellow battery plate (the plastic plate that the terminals are in) – 4hr batteries won’t fit on to older spec tools with a black battery plate.

Brilliant, thanks for all your help 😉

Makita just released 5Ah batteries. My experience on 4ah charge times the same – much longer charge time than claimed by Makita.