Hi

Need a new cordless drill – needs to be cordless as will be used, in the short term at least, away from a power source building a treehouse and other garden based projects.

So what gives – 12v, 14v, 18v – guessing the higher the better but obviously a price trade off.

Want more than one battery as my current, very cheap, cordless drill only has one and it is annoying when it runs out mid project.

What about other things to consider?

Any good deals out there then? Looked at Screwfix and other usual DIY outlets and also on Ebay. Want quality DeWalt etc but happy to compromise on brand if others advise different.

Ta.

The Ryobi One+ stuff is good for the money. Had my 3 speed hammer drill a few years and it’s had pretty heavy use. New Lithium batteries are a nice improvement – just got their compact drill/driver which is very nimble.

I got as De Walt from Screwfix on some special. Worth asking the branch manager if they are having any offers in the next few weeks or if he can sort you a deal

Ta.

That was one I was starting to look into, looks like decent kit.

Batteries are the key.

Voltage indicates how powerful a drill will be but it’s the battery type that is the key to a good drill. Look for Li-ion batteries with a high Ah figure, 3 or above is good, 1.3 Ah is typical DIY rubbish (e.g. Black and Decker), won’t last five minutes for any serious usage.

I got a Hitachi last year, around £ 250, been very good.

Buy cheap, buy twice, especially for big stuff like treehouses. DeWalt is OK but not special. Best brands IMO are Hitachi, Makita and Bosch blue.

Absolutely definitely get Li-Ion batteries. Lighter, last longer charge quicker and don’t suffer from memory effect. Don’t worry too much about spare batteries because they charge empty to full in 30 mins.

This one :

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=hitachi+18v+cordless&x=24&y=17

It will do everything you want it to, it’s good quality, and it’s silly cheap.

Yep, the one ernie has posted – 90 squid for 18V LiIon – you can’t argue with that.

The batteries aren’t the longest lasting in the world but they charge so quickly, you’d struggle to ever be without. That’s a ****’ bargain.

EDIT: I have an almost identical jobbie – but just with bigger batteries and a few other features and it cost me well over £200 😯

Ernie, I need some door advice…any chance I could email you? You don’t appear to have one in your profile (but there’s one in mine).

Dunno about the voltages, but definitely get the most powerful one you can. I bought a mid-range Draper thing and anything more than pilot holes in wood and I have to get the plug in one out.

Don’t worry too much about spare batteries because they charge empty to full in 30 mins.

Personally I’d never buy a cordless drill with only 1 battery; however fast the charge time there’s nothing worse than standing around twiddling your thumbs (or having to move on to something else) because the battery’s gone flat…

Yep will do later Deadly, I’m about to pop out.

The Hitachi comes with two batteries – I’m sure there’s a better deal out there somewhere but you’d spend ages looking. 🙂

Personally I’d never buy a cordless drill with only 1 battery; however fast the charge time there’s nothing worse than standing around twiddling your thumbs (or having to move on to something else) because the battery’s gone flat…

Generally I’d agree. The problem is that for most good LIon drill batteries cost around £70 so it really pushes the price up. Best to have a range of power tools that use the same battery so you can swap around.

My Makita will charge in 20 mins, 10 min half charge will last for ages so it is easy to live with. I wouldn’t be in that much of a rush doing DIY.

Best brands IMO are Hitachi, Makita and Bosch blue.

2nd that and add AEG for a slightly lower cost option

I’ve bought lots of DeWalt stuff and it’s always been good. My drill (18v for £100 from Screwfix) has had a fair bit of punishment (two extentions to house) and is still going strong. It is capable of going trhough masonary, although if you want something for that either mains or three batteries would be better as would SDS.

Sorry can’t send you a like to the drill I have as Screwfix website doesn’t seem to be working.

The problem is that for most good LIon drill batteries cost around £70 so it really pushes the price up.

Definitely – that’s why some of the ‘bargains’ out there aren’t always what they seem. Typically it’s cheaper to buy a kit with 2 batteries than swallowing the price of an extra one later.

My Makita will charge in 20 mins, 10 min half charge will last for ages so it is easy to live with. I wouldn’t be in that much of a rush doing DIY.

Depends how relaxed your DIY is 😀

Cool

Some good advice guys – and girls?

Will have a good look round now for bargains….

Don’t suppose any of you have a slide and a sack full of climbing holds for the slidey down and climby up part of the build do you…..

Have you looked at panasonic drills? I have a 14.4v 3ah li ion drill/driver which I’ve used pretty much everyday for the last couple of years. It’s brilliant, lightweight and bags of power. 3 work mates have had the makita equivilant and all have had problems. Not cheap but can find the older 15.6v ni-mh ones on eBay for not bad money. These have even more power, 3.5ah.

IMO
dewalt- never tried the cordless tools but have a good few woodworking tools and i’ve never had problems
hitachi- have a jigsaw and corded sds drill both great value for the price.
Bosch- never tried any but can’t imagine they’re bad you get a 3 year warranty after all.
Makita- used a few tools, not bad. I think their drill I mentioned above couldn’t cope with the power it produces. I imagine the 18v tools are much better, lots of people have them.

The site stuff by screw fix is good. Rebadged de walt or makita or something.

That hitachi looks a bargain though.

Not cheap, but like a lot of things in life, the better things aren’t:

Milwaulkee

I bought a Makita LXT 18v 3Ah Li-ion kit just over a year ago.

Combi drill
Hammer drill
Impact driver drill
Circular saw
Angle grinder
Reciprocating saw
Jigsaw
3 x batteries
Torch

All for under £800.

It’s cracking kit and I’d recommend any of it – the combi drill puts a 24mm flat bit through joists no problem.

IMO the ‘best’ brands are:

Hilti
Festool
Milwaukee

But then they are top shelf stuff. As ^TAFKASTR^ and as a joiner I have owned the Makita 18V Li-ion tools for about 3 years and have seen constant daily use and other than 1 battery now worn-out they haven’t missed a beat and have more than enough power for professional use. I wouldn’t think twice about running a 76mm holesaw through oak with one.

I was fortunate enough to pick up US imports from Ebay though and I got 2 combi drills, trim saw, 4x 3ah batteries and 110v charger for about £350. (The batteries retail for £80 each!)

I bought a Makita LXT 18v 3Ah Li-ion kit just over a year ago.

Combi drill
Hammer drill
Impact driver drill
Circular saw
Angle grinder
Reciprocating saw
Jigsaw
3 x batteries
Torch

All for under £800.

Very relevant to the discussion.

Yes Makita is good kit – in fact most of the premium brands are all good kit. The guy’s looking for a bit of advice on a decent cheap drill, not a justification for why you bought your particular piece of kit.

Oh give over darcy. Struggling to see where he stated it had to be cheap and where have I tried to justify my purchase. I made reference to the combi drill and the rest of the kit may be of interest to others. Toolchest direct I think has reasonable prices on Makita kit iirc.

Oh give over darcy.

I will if you will 😛

not a justification for why you

I wasn’t referring to “you” especially…but sorry, I didn’t make that clear. I should have said “one” 🙂

Very long extension leads are pretty cheap, and a corded drill for fifty quid will be as good as a 200 quid cordless drill. That was my answer to this question after getting annoyed with batteries running out. It really isn’t that much hassle bringing out an extension reel each time you want to do a job.

I agree with joemarshall. I’ve never quite understood the obsession with cordless, specially if you’re not working on site. Obviously cordless has its advantages when screwing, but for drilling holes I can’t see the problem with corded.

btw Deadly, I emailed you yesterday but got no reply.

my dad gave me a makita cordless drill a couple of years ago and it hasnt missed a beat. 20min chagre and a nifty little led light when you use it which is a bonus when your trying to find your point in a dark corner of an attic or whatever. 🙂

You can interchange the batteries with other items like torches etc.

Corded/cordless – does it not depend on what you’re doing with it – if I was working up a ladder, or in confined spaces like the loft, it always felt like a bloody nuisance having this umbilical cord trailing after me.

If I was working outside and it was damp/drizzling, I think I’d rather be using an 18v cordless drill than something plugged into the 240V mains supply, even if it was on a circuit breaker.

(from the perspective of a DIY-er, not a contractor. I’m aware some folks do this for a living, although the amount of time I’m spending on DIY projects at the moment, I might as well be doing it for a living!)

btw Deadly, I emailed you yesterday but got no reply.

Didn’t get anything ernie. Never mind, (hopefully) sorted now. But I might have a question or two later this week…nightmare external door to hang. Will ask again if I need help. Cheers.

😕 So what did I do wrong ? I used the address in your profile.

darcyciaran@mac.com is the one 🙂

Makita 18V li-Ion stuff here too. Expensive initial outlay but you can get extra tools without batteries & you will never have problems getting parts.
The new 18V mitre saw looks well tasty, just trying to justify it to myself.

YGM Deadly.

Expensive initial outlay but you can get extra tools without batteries & you will never have problems getting parts.

That’s true. I bought an LXT drill on ebay dirt cheap as it didn’t work. New switch from the local stockists for £20 and its working fine.