AEG tools - any experience

[Zaphod]

Spotted a good deal on an AEG set at Bunnings the other day. Screwdriver/drill, impact driver, circular saw, repro saw, a torch and a couple of LiIon batteries. All with a 3 years TRADE warranty. The specs seem to match those from Makita/Bosch/Hitachi et al. I found that AEG is manufactured under the same unberella as Milwaukee, DeWalt and Ryobi. I figure that, given the 3 year trade warranty it might be a decent product to seriously consider.

Any experience with the NEW AEG stuff?

[artme]

Used one of the new AEG 240V drills late last year. Belonged to the fellow building the deck here.
I was mightily impressed! Don't remember all the features but the variable speed and torque
controls were the far and away the best I've evr encountered on a 240V drill.

[petersemple]

I have a 240V AEG drill that I picked up for free on a roadside chuckout. No idea why it was there, because it still works perfectly. Built like a tank.

[Evanism]

I have the AEG ROS. A palm like unit.

The velco backing is not too flash. After about 30 or 40 sheets I had to chase down a replacement pad. It only comes as a baggie with replacement brushes included and from memory it cost me $60... which was half the cost of the tool.

A I tend to do a lot of sanding (dont we all?!!) I decided to get the festool ROS125. It has 3 different replaceable pads that just spin on/off by hand using a simple lock. The AEG used 5 (from memory) TORX screws.

Overall, I rated the AEG quite anti-consumer. The Festool is a dream and I use it daily.

I need to temper these comments in saying that the AEG isnt "BAD" it just isnt GREAT. But for $120 its the old acxiom of paying for what you get.

Ah! Yes! I also had an AEG belt sander. The model that looks like the Jawa Sand Crawler off star wars. That thing was a ferral beast. It was absolutely outstanding at reducing timber to dust. I had to give it up (sold it on the board) as I found a second hand festool one with a "cage" (terminology?) that made sanding big flat things easier.

[Mutawintji]

I use AEG and have done for years (battery drills)

My first cost about 400 about 10 years ago an still going strong ... but batteries are hard to get. (4 sets so far) 14volts

I have backed it up with a new AEG (branded milwaukee) last year ... It has pretty well the same specs as the first and cost 700. 18volts. It will easily break your wrist if it jams and has a side handle for two handed grip.

These are commercial/industrial for tradesman and not home handyman. Most sites I visit as a tech have many subbies on fitouts/etc and nearly all are using label Milwaukee ... but really AEG ... I think Milwaukee bought out AEG or vice versa.

AEG is German and probably the best you can buy. My first drill I sent in for service when I bought the new one and it needed no new parts, not even bearings ... after 10 years.

I have swung 1" drill bits with 1/2 inch shanks off the new one for over an hour .. no problem.

If you went heavy duty all day every day then this is it. But I know nothing about their home handyman DIY models.

cool bananas ... Greg :)

[bsrlee]

Yes, some of the old AEG tools were very unfriendly when it came to replacing parts - I remember one repair shop that hated them because you had to break parts to replace other parts as some bits were designed to go on and not be removeable - one model of sheet sander was particularly bad, all the screws were covered by other bits and the first set of screws you needed to remove were under a cast aluminium platten that you had to smash to get at them, then replace that platten whith another one which would need to be destroyed next time the machine needed work.

Hopefully the 'new' AEG/Milwaukee tools have interchangeable batteries & accessories rather than having ones that are almost interchangeable, having extra holes, tabs or fins added or removed to stop users swapping parts.

[Handyjack]

About 5 months ago the boss lashed out and bought some AEG 18v drills and impact drivers for the workshop. These get what is probably light use compared to what others might do with them.

Bad comments. The drill has no provision for a belt hook. The impact driver, like many other impact drivers can be too viscous with nothing like a slow driving speed unless you a real gentle with the trigger.

Good comments. The batteries have a charge indicator light (4 neons) so you have an idea of the charge of the battery when you pick the tool up. There is a separate switch for the work light so there is no need to squeeze the trigger to line the screw up with the hole.

General - Compared with other cordless drills I have used (Bosch and Makita) there is probably no great difference from my real world use apart from the comments above. They are only available through a Wesfarmers Limited store.

[d_jon3s]

I personally havn't had much to with the new AEG. However one of the maintenance guys at work has the 18v drill and driver combo and he reckons they are great tools. I have also heard very good things regarding Rigid's (which correct me if i am wrong, is the US counterpart) 18v and corded line

[r3nov8or]

I have the AEG 12V multitool/drill/impact driver combo and would certainly buy AEG tools based on this experience. For $199 I would have been happy with just a multitool but the right-angled drill and impact driver attachments are a huge value-add and get me out of tight spots regularly. The base and attachments have a quailty well built feel, are robust and feel great in the hand.

[VEK TOOLS]

We are the AEG service centre for bunnings & get very little come back under warranty. The rigid tools & aeg tools are exactly the same, that's why aeg tools we t from the blue colour housings to the orange colour. Some of the aeg tools share the same internals as some of the Milwaukee branded tools which is the sister or should we say big brother brand

[Zaphod]

We are the AEG service centre for bunnings & get very little come back under warranty. The rigid tools & aeg tools are exactly the same, that's why aeg tools we t from the blue colour housings to the orange colour. Some of the aeg tools share the same internals as some of the Milwaukee branded tools which is the sister or should we say big brother brand

Thanks for that information. It certainly makes the product an interesting alternative. Do you also service Bosch and Ryobi? Any thoughts on the reliability of those brands? Whilst I own a number of Bosch tools, they were all made in Switzerland, not Malaysia.

TIA

[MTS247]

AEG seem to have a multitude of different models that appear to be the same tool/drill. Ive seen a few different drills with both 1.5a and 3a battery. Anyone got any feed back on the drills?

[GCP310]

Big Movements as the Big Green Shed today, AEG, Ryobi, Bosch and Makita all there, redoing the powertool shelves, apparently big push on redoing the shelves with more "skins".

should be interesting to see how it ends up.

[MTS247]

I assume we've all noticed that "Ridgid" in the US are the same as AEG here but look out as there are some nice combos on ebay but the are refurbished and the chargers are 110v.

[VEK TOOLS]

Thanks for that information. It certainly makes the product an interesting alternative. Do you also service Bosch and Ryobi? Any thoughts on the reliability of those brands? Whilst I own a number of Bosch tools, they were all made in Switzerland, not Malaysia.

TIA
Yes we do service Bosch & Ryobi. Both are pretty good on return rate vs volume sold. Ryobi is hard to completely judge as a lot of it has a replacement warranty. To be honest we have higher rates of warranty repairs coming from places that don't explain or ask the right questions to find the right tool to suit the customers requirements.

[Doken]

I use small grinders to dry cut tiles which means dust, lots of it.
I had an Elu for a while which lasted three or four years, when it died I bought a Ryobi which lasted about 12 months.
I needed a new one in a hurry and went to the nearest Bunnings and bought an AEG for $60, that was almost three years ago and it's still good, no noisy bearings as yet.
I don't know why they're so cheap but I'm not complaining.
The best I ever had was a Protool but they're very pricey.