Best Cordless Drill for £150?

[Lee_Shaw]

I'm in the plant business and on the boat I use a 10.8v Li-ion Durofix 2 speed drill driver. I use this tool for a few reasons mainly because:-

- They're Li-ion which is a far better prospect for power tools than any of the other technologies.

-They're small/light, so it can fit into gaps that a larger tool can't, and the tool, the 12v charger, 3 batteries and a torch fit inside one tupperware box.

- They have a 15 minute charge time.

- There is an accesorry that charges the batteries from a 12v cigar socket (in 15 mins)

- Extra batteries are cheap which isn't always the case with li-ion.

They're about your budget, just under in my shop in fact.

The only down side is that they're not as powerful as larger tools and the batteries are only 1.5 Ah, which is mitigated IMO by them being Li-ion and charge in 15 minutes. I drill out stainles up to 3mm with mine but any thicker would be too much for the little fella I reckon. It all depends if it's for odd jobs or a major refit, probably too small for the latter.

Sorry for the bullet point style speil but I'm in the business.

 

[Lee_Shaw]

linky = http://www.conceptdistribution.co.uk/index_main.html

PS they also do a 10.8v impact driver, which is very good but not so versataile as the drill/driver.

Edit PPS they are a "detuned" 12v motor apparently which is why the 12v charger is so efficient/small.

 

[Lee_Shaw]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess I need to consider Ni-Mh or Li-Ion cos I think the cheapie Ni-Cd batteries are ultimately the main issue here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nicd was never a suitable battery technology for power tools, IMO neither was Nimh due to the memory and the fade down. Li-ion is the best we've had so far and I would spend the extra and go for a Li-ion every time. If I was after a 14 or 18volt for a refit I would go for , Hitachi, Makita or Bosch, in that order.

 

[Alfie168]

At work we use all the usual suspects, Bosch, Ryobi, Makita and De Walt. If you abuse them they will break, but we get pretty good service out of them all.

Following on from one posting, I don't think DeWalt are Chinese in build, they are the 'professional' end of Black and Decker and I know they have a plant in Idstein in Germany.

Prices have come down so much, I don't think its worth going for the real cheapy stuff. The difference is the quality of the gear materials and clutches and overall assembly, at which the Japanese still excel IMHO. We tried an Erbauer and it didn't last.

I have an eight year old 14 Volt DeWalt in my van. Its taken some stick, but keeps on going. The original battery also powers a rip saw, and I'm amazed it has lasted as long as it has frankly. I've never had a problem with the chuck.

Tim