My wired Bosch drill is giving up so time for a new drill and cordless Li-ion seems the way to go.  I want it for general DIY jobs, hammer action as well for drilling in to concrete/bricks etc.  My budget is around £100 and looking for recommendations please.

I replaced my Bosch, when the chuck sheared off, with Hitachi, got it in an offer at Screwfix with both cordless hammer and drill/ driver, two batteries. Been really pleased with it.

So long as you buy a decent one it might be more important to look at what else you might buy and shares batteries and how much replacement batteries are.

(Impact driver etc.)

If you want to drill bricks with any regularity get a cheap corded RDS ..(as well).

Hitachi are very good value for money and for DIY use would last a life time. For Hammer drilling try to get something with batteries that have a high amp hour like 3 or more. Batteries that have a low AH like 1-1.5 are quick to drain when worked hard. This probably wouldn’t be a problem if you just want to put up shelves and the like.

Thanks for the amp advice – I was wondering on 1.5 Ah versus 3.0 and what the difference was.

The makita Makita DHP453Z has been around donkeys years now… and I’ve had mine for for most of those- for a base-spec model they last really well. I think I bought mine 8 years ago and I used to be lucky to get 2 or 3 years out of the old metal-geared MXT range prior to that

Not as compact and bijoux as the newer brushless models but you should get a deal with a decent fast charger for around £100.

– such as here https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dhp453sye-18v-1-5ah-li-ion-lxt-cordless-combi-drill/99631 – not an amazing battery capacity but quick to charge

For a bit more they do the same model with a bigger battery and an accessory kit

I was wondering on 1.5 Ah versus 3.0 and what the difference was.

It basically the quantity of charge the hold – the bigger the number the better genrally – but, with a good charger you don’t have to worry too much about charge time.

Compared to older types of battery you don’t have to worry about full charges / discharges. With the right chargers batteries charge very fast and get about 80% of the charge in very quickly indeed – 10 mins should give you plenty of working power. So even if you do have to stop because of a flat battery you don’t have to stop for longer than it takes to make a cuppa.

Thats only the case where the charger is actually fast though – charge times aren’t aways clearly stated and some Li-ion chargers take hours rather than 20mins and at the budget end its where corners get cut – even though theres only about £3 or £4 difference between the fastest chargers and the slowest ones.

For home use you’d actually get on fine with just one 1.5amp hr as you’re generally doing more prep and figuring out than actual drilling and driving – so just pop it on charge while you think about stuff, but a 3amp hr battery should easily see you through the day in all but the most intensive situations – bigger batteries that that only really give a benefit for more power hungry tools like circular saws and grinders

I just bought an Argos ‘Guild’ 18v brushless drill. (no giggling at the back).

Yes it is a silly colour, yes it is from Argos.

However – it is a rebrand of many other makes (Erbaur, Work, Titan, Einhell, Ozitio, JCB etc from Screwfix, Wickes and more). Steel chuck, brushless, 3 yr warranty, batteries are from Samsung and are all available as aftermarket.

I’ve used it a fair bit this month, much more powerful and heavier than the sh*tty Ryobi I had before, Feels much more solid. Charger is quicker.

Exact drill is for sale upto £120 elsewhere.

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6218889

For home use you’d actually get on fine with just one 1.5amp hr as you’re generally doing more prep and figuring out than actual drilling and driving – so just pop it on charge while you think about stuff, but a 3amp hr battery should easily see you through the day in all but the most intensive situations – bigger batteries that that only really give a benefit for more power hungry tools like circular saws and grinders

Drilling bricks is pretty power hungry…..

Between the drill and impact driver I have 4x 1.3A batteries… however if I’m drilling bricks I take out the corded drill… which also does chasing etc.

I bought the drill/impact driver together then added 2x batteries… and this means its easy having one on charge, one charged and 2 in use… Its bloody annoying when you get up half a curtain rail etc. Being Li ion they also keep the charge so you don’t wake up Sunday thinking… I should have plugged the charger in last night after washing the bike.

Looking back though… what I really should have done is splash out on a whole set with jigsaw, circular etc. (and even then resort to corded for big jobs)….as these are usually discounted highest.

Buy a corded sds drill, it’s last forever.

The batteries on your cordless will last a couple of years max.

I know it’s not what you asked but if you’re doing brick work then another vote here for a SDS drill.  My old li-ion Makita combi barely touches the bricks the garage is made out of, but a 60 quid corded SDS from Screwfix slices through it like butter.

A Makita lxt. Don’t think you will get the brushless in budget but the brushed one is ok. Proper fast charger. There is a massive range of tools that use the same battery. I’ve got a few now and they are all good

The batteries on your cordless will last a couple of years max.

Nonsense.

Looking at this kind of thing myself. Doing a full house refurb (slowly!) here and looking at replacing a few old tools with an 18v ‘system’.

Don’t be shy about buying 2 smaller batteries rather than 1 big mother. A good charger should get a 1.5mha battery back up to full charge in the time it takes you to use up the other one and sets with two smaller batteries tend to be a bit cheaper.

This also gives an option of buying a ‘bare’ second tool (circular saw, impact driver etc) and having a battery available.

IME I’ve had good service from dewalt, so going for their 18v xv range this time.

Oh, agree totally with corded sds drill for heavy work as well.

I have the makita lxt (non brushless) 1.5ah.

Its been great through 3 years use, first around the workshop and now heavy use through house renovation.

no degradation in battery over the years, so that is nonsense.

I’ve never had an issue with capacity on the 1.5ah, perfect for the drill, lightweight and only twenty minutes to charge – which I’ve never had to do mid job. I only brought the 5ah battery once I was using the lxt circular saw.

I use a cheap mains power drill for masonry work if I’ve got, say, more than 10 holes to drill consecutively, but for hanging curtains etc the cordless is just fine in masonry. I also have a massive sds for big stuff

If I could only have one drill it would be the cordless not the big drills. The cordless combis are much nicer to use than a mains drill, more control, lighter, good at screwing (though I now have an impact driver because I do a lot of screwing. Ahem.)

The batteries on your cordless will last a couple of years max.

Nonsense.

I’ve been using cordless drills since they came out, currently have a full set of 18v festool gear including about 10 batteries. (I fit kitchens as my job)

I’ve had dewalt 12v, makita 12v, hitachi 12v, bosch 10.8v, hilti 36v

You don’t get much more use out of the batteries after a couple of years, they’ll work, but not at 100%

A sub £100 cordless isn’t going to have great batteries to start with, so after a few years your left with a tool that struggles to do what it did when you bought it.

I’ve a 15 year old dewalt SDS that I paid £70 for, and its still going strong.

I started with a brushed Makita drill from screwfix with a couple of 1.5Ah batteries. I’ve since added a few bare tools to the workshop to supplement but the basic combi is great, I only resort to the SDS for big holes in masonry / core drills or chasing..

My main gotcha would be if you’re likely to buy other tools, buy the 3ah or bigger battery as some (sds, angle grinder etc) won’t accept the smaller Makita ones.

Jeff

(I fit kitchens as my job)

You don’t get much more use out of the batteries after a couple of years,

How many charge cycles do those batteries get over those two years…. compared to a home/DIY user such as the OP

<div class=”bbp-reply-author”>russ295
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The batteries on your cordless will last a couple of years max.

Nonsense.

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I’ve been using cordless drills since they came out, currently have a full set of 18v festool gear including about 10 batteries. (I fit kitchens as my job)

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For balance, as an avid diy’er (OP a diy’er not a kitchen fitter) I’ve had 8 years use out of an 18v dewalt hammer drill with 1.3mha batteries and I’m only really noticing deterioration in the last couple of months.

I’ve got a Makita, however if it’s just for DIY i’d think about a Worx model, mainly because of the hydroshot pressure washer!

I know that Screwfix are going to be doing Milwaukee tools soon, so there may be a few launch offers around, otherwise all the main brands are similar (in my opinion!).

It seems odd that there is never a mention of Ryobi.  One battery fits loads of tools and for a keen DIYer they seem ideal.  I think you would struggle to tell the difference between a Ryobi and Makita if they weren’t liveried.

Makita/Dewalt/Bosch might last longer (maybe), and may put more into R and D,  but for most people its hard to beat Ryobi.

One tools supplier recently told me that Lidl or Aldi stuff is Makita, that is a few years old and rebadged.

I’m with Fettlin, two small batteries are better than one big one, one on charge, one in use.

Anyway, my DeWalt DCD790D2 does bricks fine. (I live an old house and these are Victorian bricks if that makes any difference) It’s my second, I ruined the chuck on the first, and their warranty support is excellent, possible user error and they just gave me a new one, batteries, charger and everything!

Bit over the OP’s budget though, paid £150 with two 2ah batterie and fast charger but used ones on fleabay for less.

I think you would struggle to tell the difference between a Ryobi and Makita if they weren’t liveried.

Not at all. Ryobi stuff is ok and probably fine for most users (I have more than my fair share of budget minded tools) but it is easy to tell the difference.

It seems odd that there is never a mention of Ryobi

I’ve mentioned mine on here a bit. First one burst into flames on chager. Second one I had a new battery under warranty. Both batteries lasted just over a year. New batteries X2 was more than a complete new drill. 👎

I bought an 18v DeWalt XR (brushless motor, 2 X 2a batteries) at Screwfix yesterday for 99 quid, well happy with it!

Offer ends on Monday 2nd September though.

doing my own house resto here.  big fan of makita lxt stuff.  very tempted to pick up that screwfix offer mainly for the batteries.  small capacity isn’t necessarily bad I find the 5mah batteries i have quite heavy on the drill and impact driver.  the lxt sds has been plenty for what I’ve needed so far, including chiseling out concrete and ceramic fyom a fixed toilet.

only time I’ve blown through a battery is with the angle grinder.

other budget brand I’ve got a few bits from is evolution not as well made as makita but seem fit for purpose.

Lidl 20v drill £25?

Was on offer a couple of weeks ago, can’t remember how much the batteries are though

I have got a few bits and pieces of Ryobi stuff…… mostly light/infrequent use stuff like a hedge trimmer, leaf blower.  Got a circular saw from them too – seems great for DIY/home use, and buying “bare” units makes it very cost effective.  Very happy with them.

I recently needed to replace my ancient B&D cordless drill/driver, and rather than get the Ryobi, I decided spend a bit more on a Makita brushless one.  Given how long I’d had the previous one, and the use I’d got out of it – II figured I could justify the extra cost.

The Makita feels generally more solid – but honestly, the Ryobi ones seemed really well built too