Cordless drills

[TiggerToo]

Do you guys have any recommendations for a basic cordless drill? Requirements:

1. standard use around the house and boat
2. reasonable battery duration

 

[macd]

If you're going to use it around the house, you may want a hammer facility.
Around the boat, a 'rattle' facility is also very useful for freeing reluctant fasteners.
Or is the 'basic' you want very basic?
Sorry to fuss, but you'll get better answers if you clarify.

 

[vas]

also bear in mind that some chargers wont work on a quasi whatever inverter you may have on the boat. If you will be charging on shore power, pure sine inverter or generator ignore the above!

V.

 

[TiggerToo]

If you're going to use it around the house, you may want a hammer facility.
Around the boat, a 'rattle' facility is also very useful for freeing reluctant fasteners.
Or is the 'basic' you want very basic?
Sorry to fuss, but you'll get better answers if you clarify.

not VERY basic.... but not very fancy either....

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Here you go: http://www.axminster.co.uk/dewalt-dcd795m1-compact-brushless-combi-18v-4-0ah-508629

Bought our son one for Christmas he's very pleased with it. There are others but this represents excellent value for average use.

 

[MoodySabre]

I don't know what basic means. My Makita has been great. Doesn't do embroidery or make the coffee. I have a spare battery so have never run out of power.

 

[GrahamM376]

I like my Ryobi one+ like this. http://www.diy.com/departments/ryob...i-drill-2-batteries-llcdi18022l/196738_BQ.prd They also do one a bit cheaper which is just a drill/driver but no hammer action.

 

[RichardS]

I bought a cordless drill at Lidl about a year ago for £20-ish and it's quite compact with a cylinder battery that slides up inside the handle but a low voltage so not that powerful. However, my Son bought a Lidl cordless drill a few months ago for £30-ish and this time it's a much chunkier higher voltage unit with one of those square batteries that clips onto the bottom of the handle so that the drill can stand up on it.

If you're prepared to wait for Lidl, go for the high voltage one.

Richard

 

[duncan99210]

I bought an Argos one a couple of years ago. 18v, 2 batteries in a hard case. I've found it great for household jobs, work on the boat and so on. Good trigger mechanism which makes it easy to use as a driver as well as a drill. Cheap as chips (just over £30 iirc). Only quibble I have with it is the charger takes three/four hours to recharge a battery but I've not run into a problem with that with the two batteries.

 

[ianj99]

I have a Bosch one which came with two batteries and mains charger. Battery life is excellent as is the keyless chuck.
Sorry can't remember model no*. but it cost about £70 I think. Best cordless drill I've owned - the others - a Woolworth's own brand costing £10 and a Clarke one were adequate for small jobs.

*Its a PSR14.4 - so came with a pair of 14.4v batteries. Excellent speed control via the trigger so can be used as a screwdriver.

 

[VicS]

Do you guys have any recommendations for a basic cordless drill? Requirements:

1. standard use around the house and boat
2. reasonable battery duration

It probably depends on how much you are likely to use it/ them

If you anticipate heavy use splash the cash on one of the good makes recommended and a large capacity battery and/or a second battery

for lighter use opt for Lid'ls specials.

Consider a smaller inexpensive low power non hammer type for the boat and a powerful hammer type for home use.

Personally I have had a 9.6volt Bosch for a good few years.. Just bought a new battery for it ... For heavy stuff and hammer action I use a mains powered one.

 

[tidclacy]

Here you go: http://www.axminster.co.uk/dewalt-dcd795m1-compact-brushless-combi-18v-4-0ah-508629

Bought our son one for Christmas he's very pleased with it. There are others but this represents excellent value for average use.

Bought one recently and the difference over my previous cheapy is marked.

 

[johnalison]

I would be interested in people's experience regarding battery life. My problem is that my usage is so infrequent, often just a few times a year or even less, so that the older NiCad batteries would always have run down by the next use. I suspect that with new batteries things could be even worse, since they last best when part charged. For the time being I will keep my ancient mains-powered job and borrow my neighbour's battery one for the very occasional use near water.

 

[macd]

For the boat I have two Makitas: BF330D and TD090D, supplied as a pair. Both are tiny, which isn't particularly helpful at home, but certainly is in the nether crannies of a boat.

They're only 10.8V, but have plenty of oomph. The TD, as mentioned obliquely in post #2, is hex drive with a rattle function, which has a staggering capacity for unscrewing reluctant fasteners. A couple of years ago, when we had to remove every deck fitting for a paint job, it saved hours of toil and a heap of angst.

Not cheap, and probably over-the-top for the OP's requirements, but excellent kit. Unfortunately they're in Newcastle United colours.

 

[Iminei]

I have the same, they are excellent both on the boat & at home. I haven't needed hammer action at home since I started using multipurpose drill bits, which handle masonry with ease. A worthwhile investment IMO.

 

[ghostlymoron]

My wife bought me a Bosch when I got my first big boat years ago. It's a bit low spec by today's standards, nicad batteries, low voltage, no hammer action, but has been so useful on boat and at home that I bought my son a modern Bosch which he likes. If I was a professional user, I'd get Makita but for amateur use the Bosch is fine.
Incidentally, what is rattle action?

 

[macd]

Incidentally, what is rattle action?

Like an air-gun which you may have seen used for removing car wheels. Basically gives a rapid and strong on-off turning motion. I presume it's so-called because it sounds a bit like a rattle (baby's or old-fashioned wooden football version).

 

[Sticky Fingers]

+1 for Makita, mine's an 18V with NiCd batteries. It's been fantastic for years, but the batts now losing capacity and discharge very quickly. If buying now I'd stick with Makita but go brushless (more power in a smaller, mighter package) and go for lithium battery chemistry.

http://www.makitauk.com/brushless.html

 

[itchenseadog]

Check out Screwfix, they often have offers. For general use go for 18volt. I currently have a Bosch but Makita or DeWalt are good. I generally find that whatever the make they will only last 4 or 5 years before the batteries fail to hold their charge.

 

[DownWest]

Just got a B&Q Titan 18v, two lithium batteries + quick charger. £50. Quite surprised how good it is. Two speeds and a bit of hammer, along with the usual adjustable torque. No idea about longivaty, but very handy.