Recommended battery operated drills

[tattie]

I wouldn't go past Makita as almost every tool in my van bar my smaller SDS drill (Bosch) is Makita and I have tried a few makes in the last 42 years as a joiner.

Festool is good but unless you are going to be using it 5 days a week, week in week out they are pricey.

Cheers

 

[Sampo]

I went with Bosch Professional (blue one) about 8 years ago and it has done everything from wood to fire bricks to concrete around the house. the only upgrade is a large capacity battery which does last almost 3 times compared to the standard one it came with. Also its swappable between the other Bosch tools I have from the same range which helps. Believe the 18v ones could be even better. I guess it all depends on how much you abuse it and what you put it against. Most of the ones mentioned should work fine for DIY around the house and an odd professional job.

Anyone have any experience with the cheaper Lidl SilverCrest ones? Does it give a good run for the money?

 

[tozzybum]

I use Bosch 18v now had it over 5 years ,used to swear by makita till one failed badly.
Work is all Dewalt 18v and they get spanked daily .
So any bosch/ Dewalt or Milwalkee will see you right imho

 

[Game1]

Festool are not made with any Asian parts of labour. They are entirely engineered and manufactured in Europe (Germany and Czech Republic) and now for the American market, at a plant in the US. Reassuringly expensive. One of the very rare products which you can buy with confidence knowing it contains no Chinese parts.

I love festool have plenty of it but the one thing I didn’t rate was the drills and the new impact wasn’t even close to my dewalt one

 

[foxdropper]

All the subbies I employ use makita bar one .All my kit is makita .The lad that has Milwaukee had his makita kit stolen and the Milwaukee kit has a app that tracks the kit wherever it is .Pity makita dont do same .
We buy the tool bodies seperate online and batteries at screw fix as they do a good deal on multiple buys .
Double fast chargers are the way to go .

 

[foxdropper]

Copy batteries are a waste of money and dangerous .I’ve seen two fizz and blow on fast charge .

 

[nick.308]

The drill and driver twin packs are good so you can use one for drilling your hole and the other for screwing saving time changing bits. The drivers generate some serious torque to drive big screws in that the drill can't compete with.

 

[Pedro]

Makita are popular for a reason. I've got two and they just work. To an extent, they will drill into concrete, but you are wise to keep your corded drill for the heavier stuff. Which model (and they, like other manufacturers do ring the changes frequently, upping the power output a tad and so on) depends on what you're going to use it for and how often. A brushless one will last longer but cost more. But the non-brushless ones are quite good enough for a normal DIY-er. You can buy the drill itself without a box and without a battery quite cheaply. Obviously you then need a charger and you can choose the battery of choice. But again, even the smaller batteries AH-wise last a reasonable time before charging is needed and even then, have a cuppa and a couple of biscuits and it'll be ready to go again. So anyway, probably the cheapest way to go initially is to buy a complete drill set, including charger and battery. You can then add another battery of choice later if you need one.

One thing about batteries: Obviously you can get genuine Makita ones which are good. There's cheaper ones though, but by all accounts they're a bit of a lottery. Some are okay, some fail after five minutes but all tend not to have the AH potential they claim.

nick.308 makes a good point about the drill and driver sets. The impact drivers seriously punch above their weight.

 

[foxdropper]

The double battery makita drills are the way to go for concrete drilling away from power .We use them daily ,

 

[Devon Stalker]

Dewalt all the way, but once you choose a brand, stick with it would be my advice. Check out the Toolden online as their prices are good.

 

[User00035]

For about fifteen years now I've used Makita. If you go onto any construction site it will be blue boxes everywhere. But that's cordless. If I'm buying 240 (or 110 - but mains anyway) I tend to buy Bosch professional. Used to like Hitachi but they've disappeared now and become something else and they're manufactured all over the place including China, so that's me out.

 

[gixer1]

Milwaukee, knocks the socks off the others. Have a look on you tube for the and vids and the milwaukees always seem to come on top, even against Hilti which is more expensive.

I have had a few of each and now have stuck on Milwaukee just about everything except for first fix nail gun (Dewalt)

The milwaukee equipment has taken some punishment over the years and keeps going.

Makita, hilti and dewalt used to be the norm, then milwaukee came across the pond and more and more people are changing to it for good reason.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[The Singing Stalker]

When buying cordless there are a few things to consider. Are you going to you it for domestic or industrial use.
if domestic then buy something like Rhyobi. Be aware that Rhyobi have now stopped selling through dealers and are now concentrating on direct and the likes of Amazon. any dealers who have stock are just getting rid. also, the Ryob warranty is for domestic use only. Yes I have read the t's and c's.

if professional the look at either Bosch or Makita, in all honesty, I wouldn’t look at Dewalt. When I went through a project I dismissed Milwaukee because they were too expensive. I think if you are using them all day every day then yes, they would be something to consider. But for the majority then Bosch or makita will serve you well.
I think Makita have a bigger range of product than Bosch but you can check that out by looking at the websites if of interest.

I went with Makita in the end for no real reason and you could probably choose Bosch to no detriment and in the 4 or 5 year we have had a handful of issues. Now take it from me I am looking out for out 600 engineers so I have a reasonably spend and it is. not one or twos off. So Makita have preformed really well and warranty work where needed has been great.

Such is life.

 

[375 mag]

Makita, dewalt or milwaukee don't think it matters which make you get, 18v with 5ah batteries. Screwfix and toolstation have excellent deals on. The drills last for ever its the batteries that eventually die. But the price you pay these days when they do eventually die just buy another.

 

[Cootmeurer]

With the tradesmen I worked with we used makita, dewalt, and Milwaukee - nothing else. Each of us had a favorite, but honestly, the best reason for picking blue yellow or red was so that you could each other’s tools apart.

I am using only 20V tools,right now, gave all my 18v to my son. Maybe in a few years he will get the 20V while I move up to 24 or 28 or whatever is the next big leap.

I do know this, the new stuff is as good or better than corded tools. I remember back in the late 80s when I talked the university into buying me one of the first cordless drills. I managed the university research greenhouses and part of that task was climbing up on the roof to replace panes (a job I hated and feared and wanted to be done with as quick as possible). The old drills were good for maybe 10 minutes. These new ones are good for hours.

 

[User00047]

I’ve been using Festool, Bosch and Makita 18v cordless tools, almost every day of my life for the past 20 years and the bodies average about 12months if I look after them.
You can say what you like about a brand but it’s the individual model of machine you buy that really makes the difference.
Festool is generally very pricey but excellent.
My current Makita DHP482 drill/driver burnt out in 3 months and the replacement overheats very quickly but was cheap enough with the 2x 5ah li batteries at £200 from Toolstation.

Best value for money recently is from Bosch GSB 18V-60C…. I have two and these have both lasted more than 18 months so far.
I also recommend the excellent Bosch PROCORE 18v lithium battery range. Well worth the extra money if you’re a professional using these tools all day.
Shop around for a deal though.
FFX have some good offers sometimes.

Cootmeurer…The next big thing is Makita XGT 40volt! I haven’t bothered with it yet as it means new batteries and chargers all round but I will be onto that in the next few months I’m sure.

 

[User00047]

 

[foxdropper]

@gixer1
The high seat trade must be taking off mate .That kit isn’t cheap .Do you have the find my kit app on your phone .

 

[Skogsmannen]

Not pro stuff but I can't fault the Ryobi one+ stuff so far. Mine get mostly infrequent but quite heavy use ( mostly drill and impact drive) and have lasted well - at least 10 years so far for some of it.

I've been tempted by the erbauer brushless stuff when its on offer a time or two though.

 

[gixer1]

@gixer1
The high seat trade must be taking off mate .That kit isn’t cheap .Do you have the find my kit app on your phone .

Nope. Never bothered with the OneKey thing, I just keep a close eye on my tools. And it depends how you look at it - if you buy some of the others you will end up buying twice vs the milwaukee stuff I find.

They literally dunk them in buckets of water and sand on some of the testing videos and although that’s a bit extreme, if you ever lay a tool down in the rain it will get moisture in it, and if you’ve ever drilled into masonry etc there will be fine particles of grit etc in your drill.

I was trying to find a vid a mate sent me of his makita cordless smoking and popping. He changed to milwaukee and has been happy since.

Not saying the others aren’t good but I have just found all the design aspects of the Milwaukee’s to be good. The main problem was dealer support in the U.K. but that was 5 years ago, now they are more popular so the support is much better - I just hope they don’t dilute the brand and start building crap!

Regards,
Gixer