Stuart was right! Cordless Plunge Drill must be going!...

Dear Folks,

A few weeks ago I was in the local "Big B" (think along the lines of something like the hardware equivalent of "The Golden Arch's", complete with much of the same "Baggage" that goes with the mental image...) and I did one of those habitual "check-thingys" that you do whenever you're in there, which in this particular case was to see whether Triton have woken up from brain-lock yet and fitted a Lithium battery to the bottom of the otherwise Bluddy-Brilliant Cordless Plunge Drill...

Well, I didn't actually see any Plunge Drills there at all on that particular occasion, but I thought that might actually costitute something promising like, for example, that they might actually be wanting to clear the Ni-Cad version out completely before bringing the Li-Ion model in. (Hey, humans are optimistic by nature aren't they? :B). Heck, I wanted to believe it so much that I even suggested as much shortly after in the course of a post in a thread down in "Hand Tools - Powered" on the subject of Impact Drill's v's Rotary Hammers.

Okay, fast-forward a bit to early last week. I was at another "Big B", and whilst in the Tool Shop I grabbed a copy of the little A5-sized glossy-covered Triton 2007 Product Catalogue that they had there in a pile. Trouble is, I gave it to my uncle to hang on to while I drove home, and he put it in the glovebox, and I forgot about it by the time we got home.

Now a couple of days ago I was reading that fairly recent thread regarding the batteries for the Plunge Drill when Stuart - in one of the responses - just nonchalantly "slid-in" the Earth-Shattering-For-Me news that the drill in question was being discontinued, apparently for no particularly good reason... The oft-discussed-by-psychologists phenomenom of "Denial" then kicked in and made me, by way of "Coping Mechanism", say to myself "No Stuart-Big-Fella - You've got it wrong this time! The LiIon's coming! Just wait and see - Triton aren't that stupid... :wink: They're smart. You'll see..."

Well, we finally come to today... I get the little 2007 catalogue out of my uncle's glovebox, and start flicking through it:
Variable-speed Drill Press (where is the Drooling-like-Homer-over-the-Venus-De-Milo-Gummy-Bear Smiley?..) - Awesome!...
Scheppach Wetstone Sharpener in disguise, and for less than half-price of the Scheppach - Awesome!...
Now, where's the Plunge Drill?... Where is He now?... Here Boy! Whistle! Whistle! You-hoo! You-hoo! Cooeee!..

Hang on... I flick through the catalogue fully (from front to back this time...) Still no Plunge Drill... I flick through again. Again no Plunge Drill, let alone a Lithium-powered one...

Slowly the realisation sinks in... "Good Lord... Stuart was right... :oo::oo::oo:(to the theme from Psycho)", then "The Horror... The Horror..."

So I put this rhetorical question to you all - why on earth would Triton scrap something as truly unique and useful as this drill, when all it needed was a different type of battery? They started out with a good philosophy of penetrating the powertool market with novel, unique, useful features. Now they just seem to be trying to sell two of everything - a big one and a little one. So where's the little (or even bigger!) Plunge Drill? Nope, they've gotten rid of the line altogether. Weird, hey! I mean, did we really need another 100mm Angle Grinder in addition to the five hundred or so brands and models that are already out there on the market? Apparently yes, we did...:yes:. Did we need even just one brand and model of Plunge Drill in a market where there aren't any others out there at all? Apparently no, we didn't...:no:

Now before any wise guys can shoot back with "If they're so good, why don't you already have one?", I'll get in first by saying that from what I've gleaned over the years, NiCad and NiMH are eventually going to let anyone other than a Tradie down. I personally just wouldn't use it enough for it to work well for me in NiCad guise. If they did a corded version, I'd be in already. If they did a Li-Ion version, I'd be in when I couldn't get by without a cordless any more (by then the battery cost would have dropped, too).

It's a bit like Ryobi in the US dropping the BT3100 Table Saw just this year. No sign of a replacement. It had a cult following over there, just like the Workcentre has over here... Go figure...

Regards,
Batpig.

Why hang out for a Li-Ion battery? They have a fixed lifespan, not dependent on use - about three years, and it's time for the bin for them...which is a bigger drawback than Nicad or NiMh, I reckon!

Unless you can get brand new (haven't been sitting in storage for three years) batteries, you are out of luck!

You may not be able to repack as there is circuitry that monitors charge state, and if it decides that the battery is past its best, it may not reset with a new battery and refuse to charge.

If you are in the market for one, better grab it now, if you can still find one that is!

I know Eagle is still active on these forums... can you provide any insight as to the reasons for the drill's cancellation?

Stu has said "for no good reason" but that is not valid. Is it as simple as lack of sales? Too many warranty returns (design fault)? New model on the way? Chinese manufacturer went out of business? (actually, only one of those reasons is good)

If it is lack of sales, then this, combined with Bunnings winding back on stocks, does not bode well for the future of Triton.

Whether "for no good reason" is valid or not is academic. It is what I'm prepared to say on an open forum. It wasn't to do with sales, warranty or its design.

There will be a new drill at some stage in Triton orange, but I don't think it will include innovative ideas such as the plunge mechanism, which is the thing that really set this drill apart from the pack.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stuart

Whether "for no good reason" is valid or not is academic. It is what I'm prepared to say on an open forum. It wasn't to do with sales, warranty or its design.

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I was just saying I found it hard to believe that an efficiently run company like GMC would discontinue an item without a sound business reason, even if that "good reason" is as impersonal as something like profit margin.

It sounds like you know the reason, but for some reason are choosing not to reveal. That's fine, although a bit cloak and dagger. I thought maybe Eagle would be more forthcoming. Otherwise, which product might next be victim of random cancellation?

I dropped the drill (figuratively) in Japan quite a while ago.

Personally, I have found it fantastic on a few jobs, however I would not recommend it as a first drill. Probably as a third drill.

This means that it is only really suitable for fairly heavy users. Found that the heavy users however were not happy with NiCd batteries, due mainly to the long charge time, compared to NiMH.

One of the problems with selling battery powered tools is that the battery has a shelf life. If you are not turning them over quicky, you run the risk of selling product that has a short life. This is something I do not want to do.

The size and weight of the drill were also issues in the Japanese market.

Drills are one of the most competitive sectors in power tools. If the Plunge drill was turning over as fast as I had initially planned, it would most likely still be on the market here in Japan and elsewhere.

It is a pity, however I see a lot of great tools that either never make it to market, or do not last long for reasons other than the design or usefulness of the product.

Steve

I am finding that I like cordless drills less nowadays. For a home user/hobbyist they just do not provide value for money. Batteries last a year or so then die. The only one still going is the Festool, gone the way of the Dodo are Makitas, DeWalts and even a couple of Metabos.

I finally realised that whenever a portable plays up I go back to the tailed variety - which are over 20 years old in some cases and have NEVER failed to do what I ask, for at least half the price. I have a really old Pentagon Kress Hammer drill that will spin me in a circle if it bites in.

I can just about hear them smirking away in the cupboard when a new cordless comes in the shop - "wonder how long this one will last?" they say.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John G

I know Eagle is still active on these forums... can you provide any insight as to the reasons for the drill's cancellation?

Stu has said "for no good reason" but that is not valid. Is it as simple as lack of sales? Too many warranty returns (design fault)? New model on the way? Chinese manufacturer went out of business? (actually, only one of those reasons is good)

If it is lack of sales, then this, combined with Bunnings winding back on stocks, does not bode well for the future of Triton.

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Hi John G,

We deleted this drill because we were having problems with dealing with the manufacturer, this actually affected other products too, but we have been able to cover those. We had hoped to have the new model in before we ran out of the old one but unfortunately this hasnt happened. The new Cordless Drill is still some way away, probably qtr 2 2008.

Hope this helps.
Eagle

Sorry to be reviving such an old thread, but I can't seem to find anything recent in relation to Triton plunge drills - and more importantly - the revival of their Ni-Cd batteries.
i have two plunge drill kits, having bought my first so long ago that Ni-Mh and Li-ion batteries were only dreamed of. My second I bought when Mitre5X2 in Dubbo had them on special when Triton was supposedly going out of business. I have done so much work with both of them and especially love the plunge for accurate doweling. Anyway - long story, short version - as we know these Ni-Cd batteries eventually self-destruct from the inside UNLESS you know how to 'revive' them.
I haven't used the drills for around three years, and as you may guess, the batteries would not charge - or if they did - would not hold a charge.
I did some research and spoke with my brother, who is an electrical engineer, and have successfully - in a matter of half an hour - brought my four Ni-Cd battery packs back to life.
All it took was to run two Bosch 18V 6.0AH batteries in series (36V) and give the Ni-Cd packs a dozen, five second zaps each. Immediately, from dead flat, they were registering 19 or 20 volts plus.
Back into the drills and back into the workshop.
No need to re-pack and no need to dispose of your Ni-Cds.
Hope this helps others.

Thanks for that. Just tried it on 2 dead GMC 14.4V batteries. One came to life, the other didn't - no signs of visible life.