Looking to invest in an 18v Cordless Drill (any pointers)

[GabionWallExpert]

Looking to purchase a good 18v cordless drill and mayb an impact driver.
Any advice would be grateful

Ive looked at a few dewalt bits and they seem decent enough.

thanks

[r055c]

Although I've not used many other brands before, I can't recommend Dewalt highly enough

Have both combi and impact driver (bought separately from b and q).

I asked the same question a few years ago and the advice I got was buy what u can afford but don't buy cheap crap

[philprime]

I can highly recommend hitachi 18v cordless Screwfix always seem to have deals on.

This question has been asked many times, what do you plan on using it for is it Diy or trade what's your budget.

I trade user would want higher amp hour batteries minimum of 3ah ideally 4+ ah

[wine~o]

Few questions

Do you already have some cordless kit ?

If so the brand ?

Do you really need an impact driver ???

What budget ??

All the above is relevant to a greater/lesser extent..

However a decent quality drill/driver and impact driver for a good price http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-kc18d ... iver/2283f

Or if you need a twin pack drill driver...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-kc18d ... iver/6147f


Buuuuut bear in mind you'll be buying into that range for any future additions,

Depends to a great extent on who you are are want to do in the future.

EDIT Philprime beat me to it whilst I was looking up stuff...

[big-all]

diy or trade ??

[Bikergirl]

I agree on the Hitachi. I've just bought my second one a few months ago after 4 years hard use of the first one- the chuck was slipping. If you're going to be using it for drilling concrete or metal regularly, it's not man enough for the really hard stuff, but it copes with everything else fine. I have also bought a naked circular saw which uses the same batteries. My only gripe is that I'm having trouble sourcing a third battery for the days when I'm using the drill and the saw.
All that said, if was loaded, I'd be looking at the DeWalts.

[wine~o]

I agree on the Hitachi. I've just bought my second one a few months ago after 4 years hard use of the first one- the chuck was slipping. If you're going to be using it for drilling concrete or metal regularly, it's not man enough for the really hard stuff, but it copes with everything else fine. I have also bought a naked circular saw which uses the same batteries. My only gripe is that I'm having trouble sourcing a third battery for the days when I'm using the drill and the saw.
All that said, if was loaded, I'd be looking at the DeWalts.

Were yours the newer ones with te slide on battery ???

I've been using my Hitachi to drill 20mm holes thru' masonry without a problem........

[steviejoiner74]

To get extra hitachi batteries it's probably cheaper buying the drill with 2 batteries from screwfix.

[Bikergirl]

The old one was the clip in, the new one is the slide. It's fine on ordinary concrete, brickwork and metal, but it occasionally struggles with concrete lintels (like when I'm putting up blinds or curtain rails) or when re-hanging a gate, but I think it's just that it's an 18v battery drill and none of them would deal with that. I have a corded for those occasions.

And Stevie, yes, I thought that.

[philprime]

http://ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Hitachi% ... ry%205.0Ah

Ffx have the 5ah for £76 that's a good deal.

For concrete lintals I'd be using a sds

[Bill Darr]

Just been down this road myself - as mentioned above when you get a new drill you are (imo) essentially buying into a voltage platform and a brand.

I have used a Hitachi 18v drill for the last three years and it's been flawless but the batteries are going now as they don't last nothing like they used to so the time came to start looking for new gear.

I have decided to get as many cordless tools as I can now as I'm fed up messing about with leads and transformers etc so began looking at what was available in 18v drills with circular saw, SDS and a jigsaw to match, I still have the corded tools for more heavy duty applications - I first looked at Hitachi as my old drill has been so good but the other tools didn't do it for me, after a look on the online tool dealers I was thinking of getting Makita stuff but wanted to see it all first so I went to the FFX tool show to look at all the ranges under one roof, long story short I have decided to get the blue Bosch equipment, I have always been more than impressed with my Bosch Pro tools (got a planer, sander, SDS and two routers currently) so was happy to buy the 18v brushless combi and I am waiting delivery of the 18v circular saw - just the jigger and SDS to go

So check out the other tools you might be using with the batteries from the new drill.

[GabionWallExpert]

Few questions

Do you already have some cordless kit ?

If so the brand ?

Do you really need an impact driver ???

What budget ??

All the above is relevant to a greater/lesser extent..

However a decent quality drill/driver and impact driver for a good pricehttp://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-kc18dgl-ja-1 ... iver/2283f

Or if you need a twin pack drill driver...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-kc18d ... iver/6147f


Buuuuut bear in mind you'll be buying into that range for any future additions,

Depends to a great extent on who you are are want to do in the future.

EDIT Philprime beat me to it whilst I was looking up stuff...

Thanks for the advice,

I dont have a cordless currently, but have a budget of £300-£400
Im going to be building a mancave in the back garden this summer, so ill need something with plenty of juice.

Definitely like the look of the Hitachi & Dewalt stuff

[big-all]

trade or diy

[steviejoiner74]

A budget of 300-400 quid takes you into the proffesional cordless range and bags more power and quality. That sort of money buys you into 4/5ah batteries which make a huge difference in runtime and power.

[adonis]

I looked at the Hitachi after recommendations on this forum. in the end I picked up this one
http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dv18d ... rill/8652f as I only use it for DIY.

I find it perfect for what I do and the reviews on screwfix are good. it just depends if you need an impact or drill driver as well and you may want bigger batteries as well if you are using it for trade use.