Thread: Curious as to what cordless drill / impact drivers chippies are using on site.

i have makita (japan) 18volts Li-Ion
it's the ducks nuts

I just bought a pair of Hitachi 18V li-ion, can't be more happier.

See this recent discussion https://www.woodworkforums.com/f13/makita-vs-hitachi-90664

Ecsk,

Yeah read that discussion.

Lumber, what model is that.

In terms of sales people. Sydney Tools flogged their hitachi combo, FK Tools flogged Panasonic (though, I don't know its popularity amongst chippies) or the Makita, Total Tools were clueless to say the least.

Makita's & Pana's

can't remember off the top of me head but 2 years ago it was >$500

makiat lxt,

we have burned a few out but overall they are great they just swap them over for us,

hitahci are good aswell and a few hundread chepaer.

Makita 18V LXT and very happy. My boss has the older model Makita 24V drill and 14.4V driver as well but the LXT is way better!!!!

there are alot of factors which define an impact driver in quality & suitability to your needs.
What is the majority of the work you will be doing with the unit? have you got any existing cordless tools with batteries that are ok so you can buy something that uses the same platform, what other tools did you want to expand in the range in the future? and of coarse what budget did you have?...these questions will help us find the most suitable cordless impact driver to suite your requirements

If you want to try before you buy pop into our store & try them out for yourself....

Cheers,


Team VEK TOOLS
www.vektools.com.au

Yep got 2 of the 18 VoltLi Ion Hitachi drills. One with hammer.

Seem to work well. My only gripe with them is the light is very easy to switch on accidently in the carry bag. Light is run by a separate watch style battery.

Also picked up a "skins" cordless grinder to suit. Hitachi could not have been better when I put the grinder in for a warranty claim.

My opinion from own experiences (especially with NiCads--- I killed a heap of them on my Bosch in one summer) is to bung them in an esky when not being used out on site with a ice brick wrapped in newspaper. Can get damned hot in the ute. If u can try and cool em down a bit before charging.

Stick with the Makita's, they take a flogging and still manage to keep working. I have found that if you are using a tool all day (cordless drill, for example), you want something that is as light as possible without sacrificing power and quality.

Please don't take this as an advertisement for Makita as i own Dewalt, Hitachi and AEG (and the cheaper brands) tools also, which are quite good in their own right/application.

I believe the main problem with cordless tools is not the tool itself but the technology behind the batteries, which i am sure is no surprise to anyone. As soon as this can be sorted out i.e. (longer lasting, lighter etc.) we will all be better off.

Just my two cents worth.

Panasonic is what I am currently using. Build quality seems good and oodles of grunt. Past experience, makita = 14 - 18 months, hitachi = 24 - 26 months, panasonic = yet to find out. I work as a contractor driving 10 - 16 tek screws all day. 2000 a day is not out of the question. 900 before smoko has been done many times.

Originally Posted by Enfield Guy

Panasonic is what I am currently using. Build quality seems good and oodles of grunt. Past experience, makita = 14 - 18 months, hitachi = 24 - 26 months, panasonic = yet to find out. I work as a contractor driving 10 - 16 tek screws all day. 2000 a day is not out of the question. 900 before smoko has been done many times.

Had 2 7.2 volt for the last 15 years or more,still running.I was into furniture so the size was plenty.Even did my basement with them only having to rely on a drill for the big screws.Now I have a DeWalt 9.6 and 14.4 the batteries are also interchangeable,"don't know if it's wrong but it works"the 9.6 charger also does the 14.4.

Just an aside to this issue: It's interesting to see Enfield Guy's statistics. Imagine the extra cost of building if hand tools were used!!

Chippies have never been big users of cordless drills.

You will find most sparkies have more use for them than chippies do. You will also find that the majority of them use Panasonics. They have by far the best battery cells and outlast every other drill in every test I have ever read.

I own two Makita and one Hitachi impact driver. I've had the Makita 9.6V impact since about 97. It's still a top drill but battery life is not as long as it could be. I have a number of batteries so it's not such an big issue for what I do.

If I were buying cordless drills tomorrow, I would be buying the Panasonics. Just don't expect to find them at Bunnings.

If you buy a Makita or Hitachi, you will not be dissappointed with their performance, but if you are buying a quality drill then for the money I'd go for the Panasonic.