Thread: Impact driver or cordless drill

Originally Posted by Dr - 307

I had the same dilemma.
I bought the Pana Combo Kit - Cordless drill and Impact driver. Comes with 2 batteries and 1 charger but I bought an extra battery so I now have three which solves any flat battery issues. They are light weight and very comfortable to use. I still have a Makita power drill for bigger drilling jobs.
I was sceptical of 14.4v but the more I spoke to people the more I was convinced and Panasonic are the best batteries around who supply other brands. The charge up is ultra quick also with 1/2 charge = 30 mins and full charge from dead = 50 mins. Most importantly for me they are lightweight and ergonomically fantastic even for my big hands. I wouldn't want to be using an 18v Makita or Hitachi all day......my forearms are big enough already.
And by the way they are brushless motors.....need I say more.
And they are black & white in color.......one needs to stay loyal if you catch my drift .

Cheers,
Dr - 307.

G'day I was just wondering where you bought the panasonic combo kit?

Thanks.

US special is here http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=63002 $US 374 plus shipping. The United Tools stores have the combo for $AUS 680 at present and batteries for about $130 vs $235 normal price. ApparentlyPanasonic do a special annually. Gas Weld has them to but have moved them. The Canberra store moved 90 units according to the serving chap when I was in theri on Monday. The Aussi ones do not have a light and it comes in two plastic cases.

The one from the US, can the charger have the power plug changed to work in Aus, or is it not a universial input supply voltage.
United tools have another combo kit, in Victoria, that has an extra drill. A cordless hammer drill, so three drill/drivers and a torch, 2 batteries for $999. Still a bit pricie for me, but maybe this is a good price.
Does anyone reconmend another Lithim Ion powered drill/driver?

Originally Posted by shed108

The one from the US, can the charger have the power plug changed to work in Aus, or is it not a universial input supply voltage.

The US model number is EY0L80B. The plate says input voltage 110-120V 50-60Hz but that is in a US shopping site. My Australian one has a plate that says it is a EY0L80 and the plate says input voltage 220 - 240V 50-60Hz. They look identical except for the plate and plug. However I will not be the first to plug the US one in to see if it works.

Damn. Today I had to buy a fourth driver - and just two weeks after buying the Makita 7.2v LI-ion. Love all my other Makitas, loved the tiny size, the high grunt for low volts, loved the slimness, the changeable handle and even the groovy case. Didn't love the high price, but hey, Makita and me are good buddies, so I forgive him. BUT the thing drove me CRAZY. Assembling cabinets, the slightest resistance and the impact kicks in, skipping out of the slot or driving so hard n fast, it over inters before the (non-adjustable) torque stops it. And for the size it 's a noisy bugger when that attatatat fires up. If only it had a no-impact option, it would probably rock. Now I've grabbed the $59 Ryobi 4v that Bunnings stock off and on in it's various incarnations. The switch (not the motor) crapped out on the one I bought a few months ago and Bunnings couldn't replace it because of the come-and-go special of this machine. I like this new version better so I'm kinda glad the last one died. So, now, I have a gutless though handy little 3.6v, a clumsier 7.2v, the infamous Makita (which'll be good for cladding and small roofing jobs and will last fovever probably) and I reckon this Ryobi cheapy will be Goldilocks' porridge.
Guess I've got my bases covered but I coulda done this a whoooole lot cheaper.

Buzzy, your post reminds me why I bought the 14.4v Panasonic from the States.
It has 2 modes:
1) Normal drill/driver with 20 clutch settings
2) Impact driver with, as you describe, no clutch settings but excellent penetration into almost anything.

And I was lucky enough to sell the US voltage charger on Ebay and buy a 240v charger for the same money!

Originally Posted by henlan77

Buzzy, your post reminds me why I bought the 14.4v Panasonic from the States.
It has 2 modes:
1) Normal drill/driver with 20 clutch settings
2) Impact driver with, as you describe, no clutch settings but excellent penetration into almost anything.

And I was lucky enough to sell the US voltage charger on Ebay and buy a 240v charger for the same money!

Thanks for the tip. I haven't looked at Panasonic for years. I had an electricians driver decades ago that cost $430. I remember because that was more money than anything I had ever bought at the time. My car had cost less. I couldn't believe I'd spent that much on .. well...a screwdriver! But it was great, although I think it spoilt my expectations for drivers for the rest of my life. And broke my heart. It was stolen..years later, but that made it worse. I was very attached. Not even a new one would have been the same, and once bitten I thought I'll never spend so much on something so, um, portable. Let's see someone slip my dropsaw in their pocket!. When you say 'lucky', are the US chargers hard to come by? If not I'll definitely check those out. I've already thrown so much dough at finding a favourite, why stop now. When you think about it, it's the one tool you'd use nearly every project, while some I've bought gather (saw)dust most of the year. Cheers Henlan.

I am still not convinced about impact drivers, at least not the Ozito ones....they quote these really high torque values but my 18 volt Ryobi drill has more go in it. The first one was a $219 dud... so I bought another one...can't drive a batten screw into pine without a pilot hole and can't do as many screws as a cordless drill. I must check out a panasonic or something decent.

Chipman

Originally Posted by buzzy

When you say 'lucky', are the US chargers hard to come by?

Well I had no use for the 110v US charger, so sold it and bought the 240v version. I just figured it was lucky that someone wanted the 110v version here in Australia!

As Pusser said in an earlier post, the US model number is EY0L80B and the Oz one is EY0L80. Maybe an electronics expert can pull one apart and tell is if it works on both voltages.