Cordless drills, opinions?

[cornish wood burner]

I see a hitachi with two lith ion bats for £100 in screw fix catalogue stood out as a bargain if they are any good. I need a new cordless give my Panasonic a bit of a poor review on this thread thinking it was just over 5 years old but looked this week and it 11 years old so its done good.

Don't go Hitachi Steve. One of our clan had one but it didn't last long. Not like they used to be unfortunately.

One thing with li ion batteries as Stubby said they have almost full power until they need a charge. However do not be tempted to put in that extra screw as the battery recovers a little. Worst thing you can do to a lithium ion battery apparently.

[scbk]

I think all the big makes like Dewalt, Makita, Hitatchi, Bosch etc do "diy grade" specials , usually to be sold in screwfix etc on a deal at about £100 or so.

 

 

I've got an 18v li-on Hitatchi drill, again cost about £100, it does my fine for what I need, but it was stamped on the box "made in PRC"

 

 

Whereas I've got some other proper Hitatchi powertools, made in Japan, and they are in a different league :biggrin:

[MR TREEBUS]

I think all the big makes like Dewalt, Makita, Hitatchi, Bosch etc do "diy grade" specials , usually to be sold in screwfix etc on a deal at about £100 or so.

 

 

I've got an 18v li-on Hitatchi drill, again cost about £100, it does my fine for what I need, but it was stamped on the box "made in PRC"

 

 

Whereas I've got some other proper Hitatchi powertools, made in Japan, and they are in a different league :biggrin:

 

I guess i am ok then!!

Edited July 28, 2015 by MR TREEBUS

[Stubby]

Similar shape?

 

No . Don't match the profile . Squarer so corners protrude but not wider . Not a problem though . The clips line up and they work just fine.

[gensetsteve]

Thanks everyone for the advise on Hitachi I will look closely if I decide to buy a new drill. My Panasonic works fine it's just battery life has dropped off. Shame batteries are so expensive even building your own.

[mendiplogs]

Thanks everyone for the advise on Hitachi I will look closely if I decide to buy a new drill. My Panasonic works fine it's just battery life has dropped off. Shame batteries are so expensive even building your own.

 

Hi Steve I'm told that what lets all down batteries in the end mate thanks Jon

[SteveA]

Hi Steve I'm told that what lets all down batteries in the end mate thanks Jon

 

I've found if the Milwaukee Fuel circular saw gets some heavy use and the blade gets a jam it will cut out for a while (before the battery gets overheated).... which I think is a good thing for the life of the battery.

 

The Milwaukee 18v fuel drill also cut out once, whilst I was mixing a big trug of floor levelling compound (the drill was fitted with a paddle).

 

Battery power is important but it's also a good idea to not push the batteries beyond their limit. I'm not sure if other manufacturers have a similar fail safe technology?

 

cheers, steve

[SteveA]

Info on milkwaukee batteries here: M18 B5 | Milwaukee Tools

[ally]

The newer Metabo ones do that too not sure about older models , yet some people don't like it as a feature . Probably the guys that have to replace their kit every year cos it's knackered .

[woody paul]

My brother has a Makita little 18v circular saw same batteries as the drill he has so has 3 batts 1 packed up the other day when saw got jamed, on investigating inside batt solder had melted on + wire re-soldered it and now works again.