Drill, Hammer, Rotary: Review - Ozito 900w
Well, I've had my Ozito for a few weeks and done a series of jobs with it. I bought it at Bunnings for $69 and I must say I was reluctant to part with the dollars, as I have a "thing" about Ozito (Ozwinner will vouch for that!).
My previous experience with the brand was an exploding 6" grinder - nope, I am not kidding - so it was very hard to stretch the trust again. This tool has been used to help with a renovation; removing tiles, drilling dynabolt holes and removing tile cement etc, plus some holes in brick.
Standard Drill Function
I have not used it for the standard drill function as I have a bunch of other lighter drills for that. However, the company provides a chuck on an SDS shaft that is easy to plug in. I look forward to the next time I have a job for the 3" hole saw :cool: .
Rotary Hammer Function
Now, I have not used a rotary hammer before so I can't compare to other brands. What I can compare to is the previous generation of concrete drills (the hammer drills). This is the common electric drill with a hammer function. When you finish drilling a hole with them you typically have had your dentures float free of your gums and lost your hearing for 20-30 mins.
Using a hammer drill (I have probably used 20-30 different brand/models of hammer drills over the years) it usually takes about a minute of teeth gritting, ear deafening effort to get a hole in brick or concrete using an 8-10mm bit.
The Ozito unit took about 4 minutes to drill eight 8mm x 90mm holes; including moving from hole to hole and setting up accurately, taking my time. The heavier mass of the rotary drill helped to keep it in place when starting the hole and, although noisy, was quieter in operation than drills used previously. One thing in particular I like about the rotary hammer, and perhaps standard to SDS drill bits, was the floating feeling the drill has when cutting. It did not shake the eyes out of their sockets like some I've used, in fact, there was very little feedback at all really.
Hammer (percussion) Function
I removed a bunch of tiles using just the hammer function. At first it took a little bit of getting used to because the spade bit kept turning and the grip kept rolling around the drill. Eventually I woke up to the fact the twist grip actually locked the handle, and not the depth rod like on my old Pentagon-Kress hammer drill; so that issue went away. The spade bit did turn slowly but I found that to be an advantage once I got used to it. By not locking in place, I found I could get the drill at different angles when near walls etc. It is a bit like getting used to using a heavy floor polisher or sander (I'm sure more than a few guys here have been taken for a round-walk by one of those).
Where's the grease, and what's it for?
First, the grease is not for the bits or the rubber cap. It is for the eccentric cam under the dust housing, refer to pic one. I have included a series of photos with some tips:
Replace around 50 hours of use.
Step 1 - Turn the top lever to hammer/drill (dressed to the left as you look from the handle, or pointing right as viewed from the chuck, see picture two. Also loosen the two upper handle retaining screws to make it easier to free the top housing, see picture three.
Step 2 - Remove the six machine screws holding the dust housing, being careful not to lose either the washer or spring washer fitted to each.
Step 3 - Carefully remove the housing and lift it clear, making sure the dust seal does not stick to the main body and break, see pic four (noting the thin black line of the dust seal between the red lead and the wooden taper of the pencil). You can avoid this risk by lifting only a mm or two and running a pencil around the joints to ensure there are no snags.
Step 4 - remove old grease and grit, then repack using the contents of the 50cc supplied container.
Step 5 - Wipe the seal clean on the housing and give it a light smear of the (clean) sticky stuff. Reseat the top housing being very careful that the lever mechanism engages correctly back in its hole (see pic five), otherwise it will sit off-center of the hole and BE CRUSHED when you tighten the screws. Watch the lever when tightening the screws and ensure a gap doesn't appear at the base. If a gap appears that means you have not seated the top correctly and the lever will be very hard to move. Also ensure during this process that the seal does not drop free and get crushed as the screws are tightened. Tighten the screws from the lever end first, working your way back until all six are seated - do not overtighten.
Step 6 - Hang on, did you tighten the two screws you loosened on the handle? Better do them too. Check the lever can move freely and that the housing is seated evenly. If at any point you had to force things, there is likely to be something wrong.
Step 7 - plug in and test.
Summary
A good tool for the price and value for money. It won't last forever yet is showing no signs of collapse yet. It does all it is supposed to do and has a good warranty to boot. It gets a (reluctant) thumbs-up from me :2tsup:
(This as the literary equivalent of eating my hat - happy now Al? :wink: )
