Question about cordless drills

[Jeraden]

So I want to buy a cordless drill, but I'm always hopelessly confused when I just go to the store to shop for them. Some cordless drills are like $30 and some go up to $100 or maybe even beyond. They also vary in voltage, like there are 12V drills, 18V drills, 24V drills etc. So I was thinking maybe the price/quality was related to the voltage, but I see 18V drills that are super-cheap and 18V drills that are super expensive. So that isn't it. What difference does voltage make on a cordless drill anyways?

What makes a $100 18V drill better than a $30 18V drill? They look pretty much identical on the shelf and there is no real indication on the shelf or the box of what justifies the price difference. And its not like you can go testing them out on the shelf to see which one drills better. How does one even shop for these things?

 

[Abel007]

Brandname is the price difference. DeWalt is known for their quality. 18v is the power the drill will have to drill through stuff. The more the merrier but for home projects an 18v will do ANYTHING you need it to.

 

[MrBond]

A $100 cordless drill will be of better quality than a $30 drill. More power generally means longer use between recharges. A more expensive drill will have extras like a case, charger, and an extra battery. You really should have two batteries if you plan on using the drill for an extended period of time, otherwise you'll be taking charging breaks.

I've always been a fan of DeWalt drills. They're expensive, but worth the price. Batteries are expensive (~$60/ea), you should definatly figure that into the cost of buying a drill. Batteries can be rebuilt, but I don't know too much about that. If someone could chime in with info that'd be awesome, since I've got 4 batteries that need rebuilt.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: MrBond
A $100 cordless drill will be of better quality than a $30 drill. More power generally means longer use between recharges. A more expensive drill will have extras like a case, charger, and an extra battery. You really should have two batteries if you plan on using the drill for an extended period of time, otherwise you'll be taking charging breaks.

I've always been a fan of DeWalt drills. They're expensive, but worth the price. Batteries are expensive (~$60/ea), you should definatly figure that into the cost of buying a drill. Batteries can be rebuilt, but I don't know too much about that. If someone could chime in with info that'd be awesome, since I've got 4 batteries that need rebuilt.

I think you buy new cells to put in the enclosure - not cheap, but cheaper than getting an entirely new battery for the drill.

found this (forum post about replacing 18v dewalt battery): http://www.epanorama.net/phpBB2/viewtop...4&sid=ccb8d76c23ad91064f8663f8c68459ae

quote from this :"The size you need is an industrial size - Sub-C - and you'll probably have
to get them from an electronics supplier. Tagged cells are easier to
solder to without risk of damage - the originals will be spot welded. You
might find a supplier who will weld them for you.

It can be cheaper to buy another maker's battery which is on special offer
and rob it of its cells. "

these are options.

 

[kitkat22]

It is definitely worth the money to get a good quality drill. Chargers recharge faster, more features, and just better quality. I have a Makita 9.6, my bro-in-law a durabuilt 14.4. I would take mine any day of the week. Just yesterday we found out the durabuilt only had a 1/4" chuck. Brand new the battery only lasts for minutes and recharging takes forever. DeWalt and RIGID are, in my opinion, exceptional.

 

[PottedMeat]

If you're not going to be using it very much, just go with the cheaper one - I went with a cheap $9.99 on sale Harbor Freight one http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d...it says 36.99 but was on sale for $10.

It does all the stuff i need around the house, and seems to keep a charge for as long as i've used it. Being 9.99 I took it apart ( what do i have to lose ) - and found it was built pretty well for a harborfreight product, non-flimsy plastic/ a low rdson fairchild mosfet mounted on a heatsink and a decent quality pwm trigger ( i think ). The batteries though looked cheap - between C and 1/3AA sized brown paper clad i think NiCad batteries in the base.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
If you're not going to be using it very much, just go with the cheaper one - I went with a cheap $9.99 on sale Harbor Freight one http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d...it says 36.99 but was on sale for $10.

It does all the stuff i need around the house, and seems to keep a charge for as long as i've used it. Being 9.99 I took it apart ( what do i have to lose ) - and found it was built pretty well for a harborfreight product, non-flimsy plastic/ a low rdson fairchild mosfet mounted on a heatsink and a decent quality pwm trigger ( i think ). The batteries though looked cheap - between C and 1/3AA sized brown paper clad i think NiCad batteries in the base.

Same here. I went with a cheapie 18v and am completely satisifed. Keep in mind I don't do drilling work for a living, though do numerous hobbies and home improvement so maybe I use it once a week or so. No problem whatsoever and has more than enough power for the jobs I've done. Put the money into a good drill bit set is where I say is really important.

 

[MichaelD]

I have a 10 year old Craftsman Industrial 9V drill. I had to replace the battery a couple of years ago (after 8 years of moderately heavy use!), but it holds a charge for a long time and will drill thru anything. It's been around the world (literally) with me and has been dropped countless times. It still works perfectly.

Buy a brand name, don't cheap out.

 

[theknight571]

I have a 14.4 Craftsman Drill and "Trim" saw set. (The Trim saw is a small circular saw).

It has been more than enough for home use.

I've used it to build a deck, refit a boat, and other misc around the house projects, without issue.

My set is going on 4-5 years old now, and the batteries need replacing, one won't charge at all, and the other just doesn't seem to hold the "power" (drill seems week even at full charge) like it used to.


Edit.... I was unable to get the link to the Sears site to work right... so I took it out. 🙂

 

[49erinnc]

DeWalt FTW

I've used several cordless drills and DeWalt has definitely been superior. I have had the same DeWalt drill since around 1996 and it's still going strong. And I can't even count how many times I've dropped it off a 6' ladder on to concrete. Never cracked or suffered any type of mechanical damage from doing so. Battery life is super strong. I've had the same two batteries for 10 years and they're just now in need of being rebuilt/replaced.

If you plan on using it a lot, don't settle for a cheap brand. I have a lot of tools but my cordless drill is probably the one I use the most and couldn't part with.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I had a cheap 12V Royobi and the chuck on it sucked. I could never get it to hold a drill bit tight enough to drill through most things without slipping. Eventually the chuck broke and I had to replace it which fixed the slipping bit problem. About a year later the charger pack blew up and I couldn't recharge the batteries anymore. I only got about 4 years out of that drill.

I replaced that drill with an 18V DeWalt. Great chuck (never had a drill bit slip), loads of power and I've never had a problem with it in the 3+ years I've owned it so far.

 

[drnickriviera]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
If you're not going to be using it very much, just go with the cheaper one - I went with a cheap $9.99 on sale Harbor Freight one http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d...it says 36.99 but was on sale for $10.

It does all the stuff i need around the house, and seems to keep a charge for as long as i've used it. Being 9.99 I took it apart ( what do i have to lose ) - and found it was built pretty well for a harborfreight product, non-flimsy plastic/ a low rdson fairchild mosfet mounted on a heatsink and a decent quality pwm trigger ( i think ). The batteries though looked cheap - between C and 1/3AA sized brown paper clad i think NiCad batteries in the base.

One thing I notice about that drill is it doesn't have a 2 speed gearbox. All of my drills have a high speed and a high torque range. I don't see how it's possible to use one without 2 ranges.