Best Battery Drill?

[J-sews]

My old Makita rechargeable drill isn't doing so well. It's about ten years old, one of the original kind with the "stick" type 7.2 volt battery in the handle. The drill itself has served me well, but the batteries don't hold a charge very well any more. I'm ready to get a more modern one.

The only heavy-duty work I have coming up is an addition to our back deck this summer. Other than that I will mostly use the new drill for fix-ups around the house. Do you guys have any recommendations on which brand of battery drill is the best? And which voltage I should go with?

~Bob

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well, if you got ten years out of the Makita, that sounds like a pretty good choice.  My old Craftsman (about 7 years old) is still going strong and I've always felt that Craftsman is a great brand for the money.

Ryobi also has a pretty good rep.  I doubt you could go wrong with any of these brands.

Def

[Anthony]

I use a Ryobi at work (20 volt I think) and it's powerful and sturdy (has hit the floor more than once.

At home I have a Craftsman 18 volt, and it's just as good, although it hasn't been worked as har as the Ryobi yet.

[mkphc]

drilling or driving?
Milwakee 28v drill
De-walt 12v impact driver

[bobofish]

Craftsman has been slipping in quality these days....the powertools are all made in China, possibly by the same company that owns RIDGID. Not what they used to be.

Something to think about is that RIDGID powertools (sold by Home Depot) are offering something like a lifetime warranty these days. If you register the tool you buy within 90 days, you get two years of warranty and service, and then a lifetime of free service. That includes free batteries.

So apparently you send in the battery whenever it's going south, and they send you a brand new one. You can't beat that with a stick, because 90% of the time the problems people have are with their batteries if they're just DIY people.

If you've got the scratch though, Hilti is top notch, and has a lifetime warranty on materials and workmanship. Bosch makes great tools and good batteries, and Makita and Milwaukee are top notch as well. I have a Dewalt XRP that is impressive, but I can't help kicking myself because I could have gotten the RIDGID battery exchange if I had known about it.

I've been going trhough the same buying search recently as well, it's not easy these days...

I'd say go for RIDGID. All the damn tools are made in China these days anyway (except Hilti and some of Bosch) so why bother paying more when you can get free service and batteries? If you're a guy that needs your tools everyday, then service costs you money, but if you only need the thing on the weekend, free service scratches my dog's belly just fine.

[bobofish]

By the way, I forgot to mention that of all the crazy places to have a tool company, Hilti is from Liechtenstein.

I used to think that the only things that came out of Liechtenstein, if not steers and queers, were stamps and high stakes embezzlements. Apparently add to that super high quality powertools as well. And maybe some cheese too.

[J-sews]

I like the sounds of that lifetime battery deal bobofish! (To be honest, it sounds too good to be true!?)

And thanks for all the feedback so far guys. What do you find is the best compromise for weight -vs- voltage? Usually I am in favor of "more is better" but some of the 18 volt drills (and up) look like they would be somewhat big and clumsy.

Drilling holes and driving 3" long deck screws into treated lumber might not be enough to justify the extra weight?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Mine is a 13.4 I think and it handled the deck I built a few years ago just fine.  One of the great things about it is that the batteries take longer to kill than they do to charge, and I have two of them so there's little to no downtime.

The only time I came up against something it couldn't handle was when I was installing a security system in a restaurant and I had to cut a 3" hole through a stainless steel counter top.  Of course, an 18V drill that another guy had wouldn't go through it all that well either and we had to bring in a corded drill to finish the job.

In 7 years, that's not a bad average.

Def

[eodtech]

Craftsman has been slipping in quality these days...

Something to think about is that RIDGID powertools (sold by Home Depot) are offering something like a lifetime warranty these days. If you register the tool you buy within 90 days, you get two years of warranty and service, and then a lifetime of free service. That includes free batteries.

I'd say go for RIDGID.

I agree 100%, no more Craftsman.

I bought a RIDGID drill 3 years ago this month ( it was the display model at Homer's and I paid 1/2 price for it - $70 ) and just last week went to the local repair shop with the two batteries that came with it and they replaced them free of charge.

As for the "pencil" type screwdriver / drills I buy them at Harbor Freight  on sale for $10 and when the battery dies in 18 months or so I just toss it and buy a new one.

I also have a right angle DeWalt  18v battery drill that I use a lot, and it's also a real work horse, of course batteries are expensive.

[NutSAK]

My Dewalt 18V drill has served me well for the past 5 years.  The original batteries will still hold a decent charge.

[J-sews]

Ha! Here's an unlikely option for me; I asked the maintenance guy at work which battery drill was the best. A little while later, he emailed me this picture of NASA's "Pistol Grip Tool" in action assembling the Space Station. I'm told they paid something close to $1million for each drill kit! 

Well, I guess I did ask him which drill was the best............

[Anthony]

Ahh, but would it work on earth?  Maybe it's designed for zero gravity conditions..

[Grant Lamontagne]

At a million dollars each it best work everywhere and make you breakfast!

Reminds me of the story about how the US spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would write in space while the Russians just used a pencil!

Def

[NutSAK]

Ahh, but would it work on earth?  Maybe it's designed for zero gravity conditions..

The Astronaut in the picture isn't using it in zero gravity.   

EDIT:  I suppose he is.

zero gravity n. The condition of apparent weightlessness occurring when the centrifugal force on a body exactly counterbalances the gravitational.

[J-sews]

......Reminds me of the story about how the US spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would write in space while the Russians just used a pencil!

Def

 

Yep, here is a picture of the Cosmonaut version:

[665ae]

......Reminds me of the story about how the US spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would write in space while the Russians just used a pencil!

Def

 

Yep, here is a picture of the Cosmonaut version:

I love that

Reminds me of the story about how the US spent millions of dollars making a space pen.  It had to be able to write upside down, in zero gravity, underwater, etc.  The Russians... they just used a pencil.

[Splat]

Bosch. Bosch. Bosch. I've broke Dewalt, Makita, and one other one...think it was a Milwaukee maybe.. but the Dewalt surprised me. I've had the same Bosch 14.4v cordless drill for about 3 years now with nary a problem except one. The charger went but I fixed it myself. I recommend Bosch cordless to my friends and associates now. My enemies, I recommend Dewalt.