Cordless Drill Driver

Screwfix usually have a good deal on 18V Ryobi kit, watch for a managers special in the branch (not listed online). For just over £150 I picked up this kit as an in-store special deal. Next-door is an odd-job builder and has been using Ryobi kit for years. The twin kit is £80 at the moment.
 
If you just want a drill-driver for around the house don't waste £100 on one. That's way over the top for DIY use.

Nip down to somewhere like B&Q and pick one up there. You'll get one for pretty reasonable money and find it'll do all that you want it to do, unless you're using it night and day!
 
wibbly said:
If you just want a drill-driver for around the house don't waste £100 on one. That's way over the top for DIY use.

Nip down to somewhere like B&Q and pick one up there. You'll get one for pretty reasonable money and find it'll do all that you want it to do, unless you're using it night and day!
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+1!

Got a "Challenge" set from Argos about 10 years ago, think I paid about £30 quid for it. 14.4V cordless with an assortment of bits, still good now although I wouldn't want to be attacking much concrete/brickwork with it.

I have my cheap corded drill for that :)
 
I have some sort of Bosch one I bought a few months back after my old B&D's battery died and I couldn't buy a new battery...

About 100 quid, comes with TWO batteries and is pretty good.... as a screwdriver.

As a drill, the keyless chuck is pretty pants, with the drill bits falling out all the time.

I use my old corded drill for drilling jobs.... works great.
 
Russ77 said:
+1!

Got a "Challenge" set from Argos about 10 years ago, think I paid about £30 quid for it. 14.4V cordless with an assortment of bits, still good now although I wouldn't want to be attacking much concrete/brickwork with it.

I have my cheap corded drill for that :)
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I have a "Challenge" one here, been given some pretty heavy DIY abuse for over 3 years and still going strong. Think mine was about £35
 
I got a blue Bosch one from Screwfix which is a great bit of kit. It has li-on batteries which hold their charge better if you don't use it often. My ni-cad one could be put away fully charged but be run down when I wanted to use it a few weeks later. It has 2 batteries, about the £100 mark last November.
 
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I had a challenge drill but I only kept it for just over a year. The battery life was poor, it didn't have much torque and the batteries would go flat in a few weeks with no use.

I bought a ryobi with li-ion batteries and it is much better. No issues even drilling through brick or concrete.
If you are after a drill hat you won't be using that frequently get a good prosumer make like ryobi,matika, or Bosch with li-ion batteries so the drill is usable when you want to use it and you don't have to remember to put it on charge a few hours beforehand.
 
Tinkie said:
I got a blue Bosch one from Screwfix which is a great bit of kit. It has li-on batteries which hold their charge better if you don't use it often. My ni-cad one could be put away fully charged but be run down when I wanted to use it a few weeks later. It has 2 batteries, about the £100 mark last November.
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I agree about the li-on battery,more important than the drill make.:thumbs:
 
Yes, I forgot to mention that. The batteries are excellent
 
I used a range of cordless power tools in my day job as a heating engineer.
I've always sworn by Bosch Professional kit but it seems to have gone down hill over the past few years, the key less chucks don't hold bits that well and slip easily.

Ive recently just bought a pretty expensive DeWalt set and you can really tell the quality is there!

There's one on the cover of the screwfix catalogue at the moment, its a 18v Li-ion combi and its a great drill, only one battery but with it being lithium it'll hold its charge for ages!

On the other hand B&Q currently have a DeWalt 18v non Li-ion for £99 with 2 batteries this is also a great drill, one of the lads i work with has had it for years and given it ALOT of abuse and is still going strong.

Both of these DeWalts are also combi drills so will go through masonry pretty well, I'd also recommend the Bosch multi construction drill bits, they'll go through anything : Masonry, Steel, Wood, Tiles Etc.

The ryobi range is very good, its defiantly aimed at the more DIY market (no offense intended to any one at all guys) but if you can get it on a good offer its defiantly worth considering as the money you'd save would be more than worth it for the power/reliability you'd loose.

Hope Ive helped, Ben.
 
its not the voltage of the drill its the amperage of the batteries
a 3.0ah will be more powerful and last longer than a 1.3ah
 
I'd typically go for the higher power volts/amps over the battery type. However for around the home the lighter, and improved charge holding capabilities of the 14.4v li-ion just might be a better buy.
 
an 18v 1.3ah will be fine for around the home
i use mine at work as well and i use the batteries in a makita radio
i have used it for drilling tiles walls etc as well as a screw driver and found nothing that was too much for it
 
Also take into account the torque settings on the drill.
With the current XR DeWalts the 14.4v has a higher torque than the 18v.
So the higher the voltage isnt always the best option.
 
GeordieStew said:
So torn now!!

14.4V or 18V?

Li-ion or NiCad?
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There's a very big difference in weight. Maybe worth holding all types in your hand to see what you prefer.

My choice would be 14.4v & Li-ion, anything requiring more power I use a mains drill.
 
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