Thread: Which Cordless Drill?

the quality depends on the seriousness of the work you do, for a tradie , Millwalkie,
for home handyman, the Bosch, or AEG are the top 2 , AEG would be my preference

Jeff
vk4

I might have told you before, but my vote is with the AEG
Matt

My SIL had been using the Ryobi (version without impact drilling) for over a year now and can't be happier with it. I've borrowed it for a big fencing project a couple of months back and was very impressed.
I got the one you mentioned for my birthday last week from my family on the strength of my comments at the time. Very happy with it already.
I've drilled a few 14mm holes with it last night in cast iron (carefully) without any issues and used it to cut some M8 threads in mild steel as well. No problem.
My only question remains: how long will the Li batteries last before they need replacing - at $65 each pack...?
Anyone know what their life span is?
Joe

My suggestion out of those 3 would be AEG, we are the AEG national service centre & get very few in for warranty, there are metabo & dewalt models also close to that price range which one with 3 year warranty also on batteries & charger

I would say Metabo, Bosh professional series and Makita in order, but really it's hard to find problems with them.
You spend a bit more than other brands but it'll pay you back in the years of use and battery duration.

I've had a 14.4 Ryobi for about three years and has served me well but one battery has died so on Sunday I went to Bunnings to get an another battery but they didn't have any so I thought I would buy a $49 Ozito. When I got it home I tried it out and it had a bent shaft so I took it back and tried four different drills and the all had bent shafts so I definitely would not buy an Ozito.

From the list you've provided it would be a choice between the AEG and the Ryobi. The Ryobi has a hammer function, more torque and higher speed, but the AEG is smaller and more compact.

Which one you choose really depends on what you are intending to use it for. For me personally, I would pick the Ryobi..........to add to the 3 other cordless drills I own

But if it was the only drill I could own then the AEG just nudges ahead due to the brand reputation. Ryobi's reputation is getting better and better but they still produce some utter rubbish. AEG tools can look dated and clunky but they never lack for power or accuracy.

I would avoid green Bosch. This range is for DIYers and is generally of a lower power and feature. All my cordless drills are Bosch, two of them green one blue (professional series). One green (14V) is only ever used for drilling pilot holes.The other green is a 12V which very rarely ever comes out of its box......it was a knock down sell at Bunnies and I only bought it because I wanted the battery! The blue (12V) does all the real work as it has a one-handed chuck and a two speed gearbox.

I bought the Bosch for just under $200 at my local mitre 10 about 2 months ago. Very pleased with it. plenty of grunt and good battery life.


I am not a pro just a quite busy amateur. I use it every day.

My 12 year old Makita's 9.6V Nicd batteries recently gave up holding a charge. The old 9.6V format was much the same size as the current more powerful Li-ion ranges. Since I really don't need any more power in a cordless than the old 9.6V gave me, I thought it was going to be an easy choice to make between one of a number of currently available 12V Li-ion drills.

However I started reading about batteries....

It doesn't appear that li-ion batteries are going to last anywhere near as long as 12 years. It also appears that there isnt going to be much choice on the shelf soon for anything other than li-ion. Then last week Bunnies put the 18V nicd model with 13mm chuck on sale for $149 and while I was looking at it and positivley disliking the weight and size, I noticed the local store had also discounted their last couple of 14.4V makitas with 10mm chucks to $99. I now have a new 14.4V model and although its a bit more bulky than the old 9.6 it will probably last another 10 years for my style of use.

Rather than just junking the old drill I also spent some time cracking the battery cases open. Now I've got them apart reasonable cleanly, I've decide to invest in a 16 pack of new nicd sub c's off ebay for $22 and I'm going to try a DIY repack of the old 9.6 battery packs to.

If none of that had happened I was going to give the 12V Milwaukee drill, impact driver and torch combo kit for $289 from United tools a go.

Originally Posted by Barry_White

I've had a 14.4 Ryobi for about three years and has served me well but one battery has died so on Sunday I went to Bunnings to get an another battery but they didn't have any so I thought I would buy a $49 Ozito. When I got it home I tried it out and it had a bent shaft so I took it back and tried four different drills and the all had bent shafts so I definitely would not buy an Ozito.

Anything Ozito = cheap and extremely nasty. That said, ALDI tools will be even worse.

Originally Posted by AxelVK

Anything Ozito = cheap and extremely nasty. That said, ALDI tools will be even worse.

There is a distinction between cheap and expensive drills/goods.

If you buy CHEAP eg Ozito (or Aldi), you shouldn't say it's rubbish because that product is made and marketed to suit light work and hobby oriented people.
I could still use it for a heavy job but I should be aware that I can break it or shorten its life.
To the other hand, an expensive (the ones for a reason) are aimed for professional/heavy use, these drills MUST be able to perform for the purpose and be of good quality/duration.

I guess you could buy a cheap Ozito for around $100 (or less) whereas the equivalent professional drill AEG, Makita, Bosh etc. etc would cost nearly three time more, for a reason.
By the way, I used a mini Ozito drill at workplace for light/casual tasks and besides it looked like "rubbish" it still did the job, of course you shouldn't abuse it.

I have an OZITO ,ORBITAL SANDER, which replaces a BOSCH PEX125, the Bosch failed when the shaft sheared and was not worth repairing , 2 years old!!

The OZITO , is not as well balanced , but for my needs is adequate, and a 1/3 the price of the Bosch and with a 3year warranty.

I have just brought a 600/1200Watt inverter and 12Volt electric Scissor jack both with 12 month warranty's.

The Jack performs well ( I have 2 bad shoulders) , so changing a tyre can be an issue.

I also have a Aldi 3way camping fridge, now 3 years old and works perfectly, keeps all the drinks cold, and meat placed in the top frozen for 3-4 days.

I buy tools with-in a price range to fit my application, I have a Chinese Band Saw (14years old ), wood Lathe(mc900), Carba Tec 6" joiner, AEG Power Plane (25years old),8"bench Grinder( 24 Years old) all these have been worked hard and are still going strong.



Jeff
vk4

One of the guys in our local woodworker's guild swears by buying cheap and nasty tools. He takes them home and lets them run for a few hours solid. If it dies, he gets a refund, if it survives that he reckons he'll get his money's worth out of it.

I usually overspend...

I purchased a Rockwell li-on drill about two years ago from Super cheap Auto,it cost $119 its given me good service until the charger crapped itself,new one? $62 ,no thanks,so purchased an Ozito 18v cordless for $29,used the charger from it for the Rockwell,takes a bit longer to charge, but hey $29 is better than $62 and Ive got a spare drill.