Cordless drill, advice on which make and model is best.

azul

my two ten year old 14.4 V Makita cordless drills are redundant as the batteries are dead. I've replaced the batteries a couple of times over the years and have beed sold duds once which was a pain. I would love to buy a new drill but I'm so out of touch now I wouldn't know where to start so I would appreciate any advice as to which make and model to go for. I just need it as a screw gun, no hammer. Preferably 18 V. Thanks in advance

I hope I'm in the correct forum.

hipdoobloon

azul wrote: »

All my two ten year old 14.4 V Makita cordless drills are redundant as the batteries are dead. I've replaced the batteries a couple of times over the years and have beed sold duds once which was a pain. I would love to buy a drill but I'm so out of touch now I wouldn't know where to start so I would appreciate any advice as to which make and model to go for. I just need it as a screw gun, no hammer. Preferably 18 V. Thanks in advance

I hope I'm in the correct forum.

My advice would personally be either Panasonic or Hilti , I have a Panasonic 14.4 volt with 3ah lithium battery's for the last 4 years and not a bit of trouble from day 1 with drill or battery's and it gets used daily and as far as Hilti is concerned there's a 2 year warranty on there tools and battery's but I find there screw guns a little heavy compared 2 Panasonic .

2 stroke

For regular use I recomend panasonic, for ocasional use aldi.

Kerrydude1981

I was checking out the Stanley Fatmax 18V drill in Argos.

Anyone bought one of these?

recipio

By 'screw gun' you mean you just want to drive screws and not actually drill holes. ? The big evolution in 10 years has been the development of impact drivers which take a hex shank only. I have the Panasonic 14.4 volt as well and its great - nice and light which is a factor if you're using it all day long. Makita and Milwaukee are good models also.
The clutch on these kicks in when the screw slows down and they drive almost anything home but I always prefer to pre-drill a pilot hole anyway. They are not cheap but mine is ten years old and still perfect.

gutteruu

My Makita packed up after less than a year and spoke to 2 other people whose makitas gave up. Wonder are the newer makitas a bit duff ? B&Q selling the hitachi 18v for 109 this week.

peter bermingham

Being using festool for years now find them very good but your looking €650 for a 18v cordless

monkeynuz

+1 Festool

I have the 12v loop handle one (not the new cheap version) and it is terrific, perfect for prolonged use also the 12v is more than enough for most things. The build quality is in line with the price.

Btw Milwaukee tools afaik are rebranded atlas copco from about eight years ago because I had an ac drill and two years later the Milwaukee range came out and was identical to the ac. It wasn't a bad machine while it lasted tbh.

recipio

The nickel hydride batteries all pack up in the end but I've a Lithium powered Makita for 4 years now which is perfect. The new induction ( brushless ) motors look fantastic and Makita get pretty good reviews.Its an area where paying a premium price is good economics at the end of the day.

Suckler

Picked up a Makita BHP456 18V Li-ion batteries. Very happy with it.

slpower01

I picked up a dewalt impact gun and drill for £150 with 2 -10.8v -1.5 amp batteries from screwfix England.

I have found these to be more than adequate and use them for heavy site use... they do look like toys but they charge fast, hold a charge and because I predrill everything (using my trusty lidl 10.8v lithium drill) I can drive 100mm screws in all day long.

I don't use the dewalt drill too often as I have the lidl so both batteries go in the impact gun but on occasion I have stuck an auger bit
in it to drill out lock mortices in solid timber doors and it didn't struggle at all which my old 18v dewalt used to.

Effects

I got a combi pack 18v drill and impact driver by DeWalt two years ago. Great set. Think it cost me €400 for both. Lithium ion batteries which are great compared to older battery types. I've also used the 10.5v set they have, great drills and cheaper in price too. They are so light but still have good power.

2 stroke

I'm in the market for a new cordless screwdriver myself, something for working in tight & akward areas. I've been looking at the festool with ecentric chuck, seems ideal except for the price. Anyond recomend anything cheaper.
I have panasonic and lidl/aldi for regular work

monkeynuz

2 stroke wrote: »

I'm in the market for a new cordless screwdriver myself, something for working in tight & akward areas. I've been looking at the festool with ecentric chuck, seems ideal except for the price. Anyond recomend anything cheaper.
I have panasonic and lidl/aldi for regular work

Go festool last forever and won't let you down great feel in the hand but don't but the cheap one go for the loop handle c12 or something.

Captain Chaos

Got a new DeWalt 18V drill last year, it's quality and with two 4 mAh batteries. Have to keep an eye on it in work as the lads are always taking it. Batteries last a good while between charges. It was €280 though but well worth it.

zega

Forgive my ignorance but whats the difference between an impact driver and a normal screwgun?

5T3PH3N

An impact will drive screws where a driver will slip the clutch or cam out. Impact won't cam out (bit slip out of the screw head) and make a mess of the screw head. Though if you use cheap screws the head will snap off or if the bits are cheap they will shatter.
They're pretty loud though, it's like a load of midgets in the chuck hitting it with little hammers to rotate it;) They're usually a fair bit shorter too so they can get into awkward places.
Have a look at YouTube, there will be a clearer explanation there.

zega

5T3PH3N wrote: »

An impact will drive screws where a driver will slip the clutch or cam out. Impact won't cam out (bit slip out of the screw head) and make a mess of the screw head. Though if you use cheap screws the head will snap off or if the bits are cheap they will shatter.
They're pretty loud though, it's like a load of midgets in the chuck hitting it with little hammers to rotate it;) They're usually a fair bit shorter too so they can get into awkward places.
Have a look at YouTube, there will be a clearer explanation there.

Thanks stephen