cordless drill / impact recomendations

[DS_park]

Ridgid, Milwaukee, Dewalt, or ??? seeking recommendations.

My 18 year old 9.6v Dewalt 3/8 cordless drill still works but I am down to one CE import battery and its time for a new tool. (Have used up 2 sets of batteries since new)

I can currently buy a kit with 1 drill, 1 impact driver, 2 batteries, and 1 charger from the local Orange box hardware store. Ridgid and Milwaukee are 18v, Dewalt is 20v. The spread is US $30 between them.

Had the Milwaukee set under my arm last weekend when I overheard the sales person was touting Ridgids lifetime warranty on batteries. Went back yesterday and saw the Dewalt set. Have to say the fit finish and trigger action is nicer on the D and M than the R.

Anyone have recommendations or experience?

[Sparky_NY]

Ridgid tools have become extremely popular these days with professionals. The quality is excellent but the real selling point is the lifetime warranty INCLUDING BATTERIES ! The batteries being lifetime warranty is what sets them apart from the others. As we all know, the batteries usually go bad before the tool does and replacement batteries are extremely costly so we often just buy a new tool at that point.

I'm fortunate to be in Anderson, SC which is the home of TTI inc, the maker of Rigdid and Ryobi power tools (and others). They have factory sales and there are extreme bargains. I bought the ryobi 18V lithium drill/impact with charger and one battery for $45 at that sale and have worked it hard with no complaints.

[Axkiker]

I prefer Milwaukee personally but its been years since I have really compared specs etc. There are several guys on youtube that have comparison videos of the different brands. Seems I saw one recently that had 5 types and they tested each one of them until failure. Real tool review has a lot and I think AVE has one on lithium battery comparisons.

[boslab]

I replaced my cordless with Milwaukee, I haven't been disappointed, I drilled about 40 18mm holes with the sds hammer drill earlier today, I have even stuck a 120mm core bit in and gone through 4" dense concrete block, I had a hitachhi sds but be warned the damn batteries keep coming out, I nearly brained one guy as I was up on a ladder, not good, plus hitachi batteries go flat on thier own, as do makita, at least the Milwaukee stay charged overnight!
I bought thier angle grinder and circular saw too, only complaint is the saw keeps falling over, it's not sure which way is up, cuts well, I put a festool blade on and it leaves a relatively splinter free cut
(If you don't mind loosing a bit of depth of cut you can add a zero clearance sub base by plunging through a peice of HDPE or similar sheet fixed to the base with a bit of double sided, no splintering at all)
The reciprocating saw is great as is the planer and jigsaw, big problem is it adds up to a hefty price, in my case as I'm working with them justified, corded kit is fast disappearing for most applications except the heaviest, I'd never owned an impact driver, I'm concerned that the amount of torque can take fasteners to near failure with ease, care needed I reckon, Milwaukee for me (I'm guessing made in China btw, but no complaints worth worrying about)
Mark

[MattiJ]

plus hitachi batteries go flat on thier own, as do makita, at least the Milwaukee stay charged overnight!
Mark

Are you talking about recent lithium batteries or ancient NiCd/Nimh batteries?

I have 10.8v and 18v LXT lithium powered Makita tools and I haven't notice self-discharge even on longer breaks(like 1-3 months)

Milwaukee has lately improved its reputation over here and what I have heard the M12 and M18 series are mostly considered decent tools.

Ridgid battery warranty sounds very good but I would double-check the small print. Maybe the model line will turn to obsolete when time is ready..

[MichaelP]

The batteries being lifetime warranty is what sets them apart from the others. As we all know, the batteries usually go bad before the tool does and replacement batteries are extremely costly so we often just buy a new tool at that point.

In theory it sounds attractive. But my experience with Ridgid support is not as rosy as it sounds. And if the particular battery is no longer made, forget about the warranty.

[boslab]

The hitachi is Nimh, not new tech even though the drill is about 18m old, battery hitting the floor doesn't help, they fall out if your not careful the later ones have a rubber harness to address the problem, sloppy really.
Hitachi corded are very good, I'm using a 25 year old angle grinder that's brilliant, powerful and light.
Mark

[enginuity]

I have an 18V Dewalt with the NiMH battery packs. Tool is made in Mexico and the battery packs are made in Japan. Absolutely rock solid and would recommend it. The tool is over 4 years old now, I use it fair bit and the battery packs are still very good.

[reggie_obe]

In theory it sounds attractive. But my experience with Ridgid support is not as rosy as it sounds. And if the particular battery is no longer made, forget about the warranty.

The fine print... http://www.homedepot.com/c/SF_TH_PR_...Tools_Warranty

[BCRider]

Some of the top end tools from the big names MIGHT still be made in the US. But the vast majority of the rank and file stuff, hand tools like these especially, all comes out of Asia. If in doubt go read the labels on the display items.

Almost 20 years ago I opted for Ryobi when they came out with the One+ format. I didn't expect them to support this idea as long and as well as they have. But I gotta say that with the way they have stuck with the consistent backwards compatible format for batteries I'm a big fan. Can the other color companies say the same thing?

Some are on the commonality band wagon now. But time will tell if they are as committed as Ryobi is to this concept. In the meantime I'm very happily using my nearly 20 year old blue hand drill and recip. saw with the new Lithium battery packs. The ONLY thing that they have made obsolete with this change is the old charger I had for the Nicad packs which went to the recycling depot.

I'm enjoying the Ryobi One+ angle grinder so much that I'm thinking of buying another one.

The impact drivers I've got see a lot of heavy use including taking them out to the shooting club on work days to do a lot of construction work. The packs are good enough to drive a good size pile of long construction screws before they need re-charging. And with the bigger pack I've seldom run it down during a day of work and many, many dozens of long screws.

Do they have that same lifetime warranty? No. But they cost a lot less and to some extent can be considered as semi disposable. But so far I've not had to dispose of any and all the items are still running strongly despite a lot of hard but respectful use. some of them have even been tipped onto the floors over the years and still did not break. Although I did crack two battery housings. They seem to always fall battery pack first..... But even if one does break I can replace it for very little and move on. And after reading the fine print in the link from reggie's post I don't need to worry about someone at the company just deciding out of hand that I somehow breached the terms of use and label the failure as my own fault and return the faulty tool.

[Sparky_NY]

The fine print... http://www.homedepot.com/c/SF_TH_PR_...Tools_Warranty

I read the entire fine print just now and could not find anything supporting MichaelP's claim that if the particular battery is no longer made to forget the warranty. If I missed it, somebody please point it out.

By the way, TTI, also known as One World technologies, is located here in Anderson, SC. They are not just Rigdid and Makita, they also distribute Bosch, Milwaukee, Homelight and a bunch of others too. The building has logos for many of the common brands.

A couple years ago, I bought a tool with 2 18V nicad batteries and charger (Ryobi). One of the batteries was bad. Upon calling them, they shipped me 2 new high capacity lithium batteries and a charger along with a call tag to return the defective battery. They did this because they no longer have/make the NiCad batteries. I would amazed they did this ! The high cap lithium batteries sell for far more than I paid for the entire package and they told me to keep the one good NiCad battery.

[chipmaker4130]

. . . Ridgid and Milwaukee are 18v, Dewalt is 20v. . .

They're the same thing, actually. Its like the 'chinese horspower' thing. Dewalt advertises '20V MAX' making you think that's something bigger, better or special. In reality its simply the peak charge measurement when you pull the battery off the charger, and before you use it. It means absolutely nothing. It's still an 18V tool.

[BCRider]

I read the entire fine print just now and could not find anything supporting MichaelP's claim that if the particular battery is no longer made to forget the warranty. If I missed it, somebody please point it out.

Agreed. In fact they specifically say that if a replacement tool is sent that it has to be similarly registered to continue the lifetime service agreement from the original.

[Dan Dubeau]

I've got Makita 18v tools. Love them. Quite a few of my building trades buddies all have Makita, and that's what made my mind up. For average Joe homeowner I really doubt there's enough difference in any of the top brands.

I've got 12v (10.8) Hitachi at work, as well as another Makita 18v drill, and use them daily. Sometimes it's nice to use the smaller tools for deburring, tapping etc. It's not always needed or wanted to have gobs of wrist breaking torque on hand.

I'm in the middle of building a playhouse for the kids in the backyard, and I can't imagine not having an impact driver anymore. What a game changer those tools have become for driving screws.

[Sparky_NY]

I'm in the middle of building a playhouse for the kids in the backyard, and I can't imagine not having an impact driver anymore. What a game changer those tools have become for driving screws.

I certainly agree, those impact drivers are a fantastic tool. I recently built a 32x50 pole barn for a workshop and must have driven 10-20,000 screws with it. I was quite amazed when it drove 1/2x8 lag bolts through the top plate 2x12's and into the 6x6 posts and did it easily. It actually countersunk the head with the flat washer too. I did drill a 1/4 pilot hole about 4 inches in first but still!! None of that wrist breaking twist when the screw bottoms either. Also, they are not just for driving screws, they come with a 3/8 adapter for sockets.