which cordless drill

[jon r]

So, im slowly getting my gear together to go out and become a tiler, doing lots of homework on which brands are good, and those that are not!
Im now after some info on which cordless drill to get, i know you have your dewalt's and your ryobi's, but is it essential to buy expensive? and if so what sort of volts are we talking?
Thanks for your time guys, your advice is fantastic as always

 

[kilty55]

hi jon personally the drill is not used to extremes for tiling prep so i buy mid range ones which normally have beebn lasting about 2 years each

not spent huge money on dear drills yet so cant comment on life expectancy mate i guess it depends what you rhappy to use
18v mate

 

[Rookery]

I bought a Makita 14.4v combi with 2 x ni cad 1.3 batteries a year or so ago as it was on offer at £75. It doesnt get a huge amount of use but I wish I had spent a bit more and got an 18v with longer life batteries. Its still a good tool tho.

 

[jon r]

so do you use these drills for hole cutting aswell? Also there are combination, impact, percussion. Which brand hole cutting set is good?

 

[Gazzer]

I have a dewalt , its fairly new but I dont think its as good as the old Makita I had...and still have. Battery life doesnt seem as good but I gave it a try. Next time it will be another Makita.

14volt is minimum in my book. I would not bother with the Ryobi.

 

[Two-Trowels]

I recently bought this one from Screwfix as my pair of older Ni-Cad drills had more or less given up - comes with 2 x 1.5Ah Li0Ion batteries too, been very good so far and a decent price - read the reviews.

Hitachi DV18DCL2 18V 1.5Ah Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill | NoLinksToThis

 

[Concrete guy]

I have the 18v Makita Lithium tools. They are very powerful.

But and this is a big BUT, the batteries are a bit hit an miss. Some last for ages, some are dead within a few months.

The drill driver has so much torque it feels like a mains power tool. I used to be a Dewalt fan but found their cordless product wanting recently.

 

[Aston]

makita 18v lithium ion all day long ;0)

 

[gez777]

I recently bought this one from Screwfix as my pair of older Ni-Cad drills had more or less given up - comes with 2 x 1.5Ah Li0Ion batteries too, been very good so far and a decent price - read the reviews.

Hitachi DV18DCL2 18V 1.5Ah Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill | NoLinksToThis

I'll second the above. Bought one as I had to replace a chipboard floor in my bathroom with WBP Ply - and fit 40+ noggins.
It easily drove in the 200+ 4" screws I used to fix these. Great drill, loads of power and a quick 1hr charge so the old battery
will be ready before you've used up the other.

 

[macten]

I have the 18v Makita Lithium tools. They are very powerful.

But and this is a big BUT, the batteries are a bit hit an miss. Some last for ages, some are dead within a few months.

The drill driver has so much torque it feels like a mains power tool. I used to be a Dewalt fan but found their cordless product wanting recently.

The new lithium dewalts have learnt from makitas 18v lithium problems and cut off if overloaded, too hot or too cold.
I know 2 friends with the makita 18v lithiums that lasted 7 weeks light use and 6 months heavy use - very expensive to replace so I will be going for dewalt next.
Have makita 18v nicad at the moment and still going strong after 5 years heavy use but the chuck is getting knackered so will be buying next year.