sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Best Cordless Drills?

What cordless drills do you guys use and why those particular ones?

I primarily use two: an 18V Firestorm (left over from my hotel maintenance days) for most moderate work. Pros: it's cheap and rugged, gets most jobs done. Cons: it's a bit portly and a bit awkward, and the battery run time isn't great on heavier drilling loads. My other drill is a 3.6V Firestorm two-speed that is perfect for wallplates/jacks and rack screws. Pros: light and fast, smallish, and fits into my tool bag. Cons: none

Also, has anyone here had any first-hand experience with the 36V cordless hammer drills?

Jack

I think Ive had the all the brands over the years. My current drill is a Milwaukee 18v. This has been a great drill for heavy work but a bit to big for some things so I got a baby Milwaukee think its 2.2v good for phones and switches and wall plates.

Hammer drills? Give me a 110vac drill, most of this work is to heavy for a battery. I can't imagine bolting down a row of racks and having to stop and wait for a battery to recharge.

I won a Ryobi combo kit as a door prize and must say that I'm impressed. It is the "One+" 18 volt system and it does an awesome job. The set that I got in this package included a 3/8" drill, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw and a flashlight. It included two batteries, a charger and a canvas tote bag. From what I've been told, the whole set can be purchased at HD for under $200.00. I'm impressed, especially since they offer plenty of other compatible tools that work with this battery system. For a day's worth of routine drilling, two batteries manage to do the job. The tools, battery pack included, are relatively lightweight.

I have a friend who owns a Dewalt 36 volt set, including a 1/2" hammer drill. After using it, the only thing I found to be missing was the power cord. That hammer drill ran just like the real thing. Even with the battery pack installed, the tools don't seem to weigh much more than a corded version of the same tool. VERRRY expensive for the combo kit that he bought (nearly $700.00 for five pieces), but I must say that for a full-time tradesman, it is worth the money to go 36 volts.

I've used Craftsman drills in the past with minimal results, the batteries did not last very long. For a while I borrowed my uncle's Dewalt 18V and was very impressed. I ended up buying my own Dewalt drill and it's been great. It doesn't have the hammer drill function but otherwise I love it. It cost around $230-250 at Home Depot.
https://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=16338

18v Milwaukee for the 1/2 hammer drill, 1/4 impact driver, and the combo kit with cutoff saw, reciprocal saw, 3/8 hammer drill, and flash light.

12v for the drill driver...light but sturdy. Had it for over a decade.

Skil battery screwdrivers from the hardware store that do the faceplates, etc., that are cheap and throw away. I wear out about two a year...or lose them....

:rofl:

I've got a Ryobi 18v One+ like Ed mentioned (nice kit you got there Ed). Mine has a 1/2" Drill with selectable torque clutch, circular saw, recip saw, flashlight, and dustbuster. I've since bought a 1/4" impact for it.

I've had great luck with my set. I've used the 1/2" drill to drill sheetmetal, block, brick, footers. Even used it as an oil pump primer in a Ford 302 a while back (ran it for 20 minutes while checking for leaks). The impact makes really quick work of piloting tapcons or driving screws in old wood studs (it's also lighter having a 1/4" hex quick-release chuck).

They make a hammer drill but I'm in the same boat with Zap. Usually when I am in need of a hammer drill it's cause I have to install a set of racks.

The one nice thing about the ryobi is the batteries are inexspensive, they last, and they make Car chargers for the batteries. They also have about 30 different things you can plug into them like weedwhackers, hedge trimmers, electric caulk guns, staplers, etc.

18v 1/2" Dewalt I buy 1 or 2 every Christmas when they go on sale. $99 for drill, charger and 2 batteries is hard to beat.

Another Ryobi fan here my 18 volt set is about 4 years old and still running strong (they replaced my 14 volt set that lasted 6+years). I do have the 18volt hammer drill and it works great . I let somebody borrow it on a job site and when he returned it he said "I cant believe this is a ryobi , tons of power"

like James said the batteries are cheap , another nice feature is the older nicad tools are compatible with LiOn batteries .

I bought a 12 volt Ryobi LiOn drill to use as a screw gun and I love it . its compact and light with plenty of torque great for face plates backboards and light drilling

Like Zap said Ive been through them all Makita, Dewalt ,mulwuakee etc before trying the Ryobi

I've had a bunch of them over the years. For now, I won't buy anything but Rigid. Very good performance and they now come with a lifetime warranty, including batteries.

We have several of the 18V cordless hammer drills. They work very well.

I have a Ryobi at home, it has been good to me; but the battery is on the fritz now, but it is about 4 years old. I used to volunteer at the zoo here and they always used Dewalt and I think those are better, but they were out of my price range when I was buying.

Steve