Thread: New Cordless Drill - Advice needed

Originally Posted by oxblood8

Hi Guys,

I am in the market for a replacement cordless drill for my GMC 24v that seems to have bit the dust. I think its the charger cradle that is no longer working. Got the transformer tested at Dick Smith and it was fine but yeah as soon as I go to charge a battery, no good.

Anyway I think it is time to buy a decent drill. I am a bit of a DIY man I guess, and would use the drill sparingly. Something that I didnt like with the GMC was that it was always flat whenever I would go to use it and would take a long time to charge. I was at my local Dahlsens Hardware store this weekend and noticed the current catalogue had an 18v Makita for half price, down to $249. Not sure what the model number is but here is a pic from the catalogue.



From the above usage that I have described, just wondering what would best suit my needs, NiCd or Lithium. I checked out the charge time on the Makita and it was around the 45 minute mark which i thought wasnt bad.

My budget would probably be a max of $250. Should I go for this Makita or is there something else out there in my price range more suited?

Any help would be fantastic.

Thats a not bad price for the makita, the model that you are looking at is not compatible with the new lithium batteries. Using the drill sparingly might prematurely cause your nicd batteries to fail so in the long term the lithium batteries will be the better bet.

If you wanted to go to the lithium range of industrial cordlesses you can pick up the Hitachi 18v drill/drivers for around the $270+gst or the impact versions for around the $300+gst. This battery platform also allows you the option to buy bare units of other tools in that range like a recipro saw,circular saw,rotary hammer etc

SOmewhere in the dusty recesses of my memory, I seem to recall that Li-Ion Batteries will discharge over time if left, where NiCds don't. If this is true, then the Li-Ions may be more inclined to be flat when you come to use them. OTOH I could be wrong about this. Also, you need to be a bit more careful using NiCd due to the memory effect.

Peter

ps - just did a quick google, and it looks like the Li-Ion batteries are slightly better than NiCd at self discharge - so they would be the way to go.

Oxblood,

What's the model no. ?

You can go to www.1buy.com.au and search there. They have a huge range of Li-Ion batteries for Makita.

The only other thing you have to look at is the charger to see if it is compatible with Li-Ion batteries.

Thanks for the replies guys. Not sure what the model number is, I should have written it down the other day. Might head back out there after work and check it out, will see what Li-ion options they have aswell.

Definitely go for Li-Ion, I splashed out on a Bosch Li-Ion cordless drill and its fantastic, I'd never buy another power tool with NiCd or NiMH batteries again.

Originally Posted by petersemple

SOmewhere in the dusty recesses of my memory, I seem to recall that Li-Ion Batteries will discharge over time if left, where NiCds don't. If this is true, then the Li-Ions may be more inclined to be flat when you come to use them. OTOH I could be wrong about this. Also, you need to be a bit more careful using NiCd due to the memory effect.

Peter

ps - just did a quick google, and it looks like the Li-Ion batteries are slightly better than NiCd at self discharge - so they would be the way to go.

hi peter, i have spent tens of thousands of dollars on cordless tools over the last 19 years. i would have to disagree with your statement above.

ni-cd battery technology was invented near the end of world war 2. it is a useless technology and i would advise anyone not to waste their hard earned cash on it. i really dont know why the tool companies still produce it.

nickel metal hydrid or ni-mh is only slightly better than ni-cd, so i would advise to stay away from it too. i have bought 4 combi tool kits in the past, after 2 years the batteries are rubbish. the drill, saw, recipro and torch are perfect but i had to spend $150 per battery, i would never buy ni-cd or ni-mh batteries again.

i have left lithium batteries in a tool cupboard by accident for 2 years, i forgot that i had bought these 4 extra batteries!
anyway, i put them straight in the drill, and they still had full charge. you get on average, 1500 cycles with lithium-ion batteries. that means you drain the battery once and you charge it once, this action equals one cycle. with ni-cd and ni-mh you get approx 500 cycles per battery.

the average diy person might not think this is a big deal, but i am always impressed when i use a battery that i know has been sitting for a couple of months unused and it works perfectly, i never have to recharge the battery, this saves me time and money.

i would recommend anyone to save that little bit extra and buy the lithium ion cordless tools.

p.s. stay away from red batteries, they are usually the evil ni-cd batteries.

regards, justin.

Sorry to throw the spanner in the works but these drills / impact drivers are excellent value IMHO.
Though old technology there is nothing wrong w NiCd providing it is disposed of correctly.
I have found it to be long lasting if the batteries are recharged + looked after.

In my experience, the type of battery charger is as important, if not more important than the type of battery

I've had a 9.6V (NiCd) Metabo and rapid charger for more than 15 years
If the battery's flat when I go to use it, it only takes the time it takes to make and drink a cuppa to charge it

Hey guys,

Have been having a further look today at drills and came across an AEG 18v Cordless Lithium for $250 (down from $280). Tossing up between this one and also the Hitachi 18v which i can get for $299.

Anyone have any opinions either way?

Hi all,

Just my experience but thought it may be worth mentioning. I like DeWalt tools, not to the point of claiming they are better than any other make but they are higher end tools. I have a junk mail cattledog beside me offering a Li-ion 18V hammer drill for the bargin price of $700. I bought that same drill about 6 months ago for $230US (when the exchange rate was more favorable in fairness). I paid a bit in shipping and I needed a 230/110V transformer. But I got 2 Li-ion batteries with it and they are great.

One reason I like DeWalt is their battery platform is common across their range. You can use their old xp and xpr (NiMH) batteries in the Nano (Li ion) range and the other way round with a few exceptions. That's great for me with other tools that can be bought without batteries at a fraction of Oz prices. For example the worklight was $81 in Bunnies last time I saw it. I got one on Amazon for $9US The same cattledog has a DeWalt 6 piece Nano kit for $1829. I have 5 of those pieces, some with the older xpr tool but which still take the Nano battery. I have to use a transformer with my charger but I paid about ~$750 for the lot including shipping.

There are similar savings to be had on other makes of tool.as well and generally my experience of ebay / US internet companies has been good. I can't help thinking if DeWalt loose enough buisness in Oz because people are getting it from the states they might get the message that we want more reasonable prices. As for warantee, I'll take my chances. When you can buy 2 tools for the price of one then on the rare occasion I'll replace it. Haven't needed to yet tho.

On batteries I bought a Ryobi combi pack with two Li ion batteries a drill and a torch. It was great and the batteries were way better than the old tech ryobi batteries. But my 2 yo stuffed my charger at the worst moment and the batteries were left discharged for a couple of months. When I got a new charger they only trickle charge. Could be the new charger is duff or the batteries have suffered.