drill driver

[andyoak]

hi


my screw gun has given the goast up today

any tips on what and what not to buy

modles and makes / middle of the price range

cheers

[dirtydeeds]

three choices makita, makita and makita

huge range from dead cheap to ultra sonic

if you havent had an impact driver, buy one

[Stree]

Had makitas, still got 2 makitas,, ( one new) and they ARE good....
But my everyday favourite, best I ever had, is a Panasonic.

[sainty]

Could you elaborate on this a little bit DD

dirtydeeds said:

if you havent had an impact driver, buy one

I know everyone swears by them but i've seen sparkies using them fix back boxes thinking that they are the business. What do you use it for? Don't they produce too much torque for day to day use? (unless daily use is 1st fix i suppose)

[andyoak]

So you all think Makita over say dewalt!!

Do Makita do a DIY range or is it all top notch. Wouldn't want to get something thinking it was the dogs and then end up with a hobby range thing.

model numbers!!

cheers

Andy

[andyoak]

Sorry to be a pest but need more help, there's bloody hundreds to pick from.

Whats all this li-ion battery thing about and is it worth paying the extra for.

Axminster have a deal on with three items for about 200 quid drill , combi and impact driver but it,s only 1.3ah. What ya think?

[dom]

Hi andyoak.
Are you hobby and will you be using the drill a lot or just once a week
LI-ION are a battery which holds it's full charge for longer even when not in use they also have a better weight to size ratio.
If you are hobbyist don't go for the impact driver until you have more experience with drill drivers. They pack a punch.
I wouldn't go for Axminsters unless you only use them rarely.
I wouldn't buy a dual functionality one either, unless you want to spend a lot of money.
Makita's are good, but unless you're buying for life they're not cheap.
Screwfix have an offer on at the moment for a 12v drill driver and mains hammer drill for £99.99.
If you're just starting out go for something like that until you're sure of what you want

[andyoak]

Hi Dom

I build oak furniture for a living so will be using the thing every day. My last one was a Ck unit which has served well in the last five years. When I purchased that one if I remember right it was a few hundred quid but that was the last time I looked into what was available and as you know things progress. This li-ion battery thing was not even on the market then so I know very little about it. The last one was only 2.0ah and if I had a dozen pockets to drill in oak then it wasn't very happy near the end. If you are saying that this li-ion battery holds it charge better and longer when not in use do I need to bother with it. I never do site work and always have one battery in use and one on charge so the thing is not stood for long periords with out use.
As for combi's I don't have much call for the hammer so I might as well save my money on that bit.
The way I look at something like this it is quite a big purchase pound for pound when you compare it to other things in the shop and needs to be right first time. I don't want to spend 250 quid only to have to do it again in six months or so.

[dom]

In that case I'd go for a Li Ion( they hold their full charge, pretty much, right till they need re-charging) I understand you don't do site work but they are a lighter tool and as said the charge stays full to the end.
Higher ah, as I understand it means more power.
BUT they are more expensive.
As everyone else has said, you can't go far wrong with Makita.
I prefer Metabo but that's personal.
Festool aren't worth the extra money

[gazza]

dom said:

Higher ah, as I understand it means more power.

Voltage = power ie 12volts wont do half what an 18 volt will, power torque ect, but both can have 3 ah batteries

Ah = Amp Hours ie how long the batteries will last for, but there is no point having an 18 volt or 24 volt machine with only 1.3 ah batteries.
any amount of work, and half your day would be spent charging and changing batteries

Andyoak,
I have Panasonic drill drivers, 15.6 volt, come with two 3.5 ah batteries and a 45 min charger. They have been proven in many tests to be the best in their class. They retail around £200. i use these for driving big timber lock/tite landscape screws on any decking frames i am building as nothing can touch them for sheer torque. they would break your wrist if not carefull

I also have the dewalt 18 volt drills and impact drivers.
The drills for use and abuse are superb, mine get alot of abuse daily
For everyday general screwdriving i use the impact drivers and find them very good, nice and compact. the only downside is that they shatter bits quite regularly, but the ease of swapping over as they use the same batteries is a godsend.
You cant go wrong with either of these - Panasonic or Dewalt.
HTH
Cheers,
Gazza.

[Stree]

My Panasonic is 15.6Volt and has 3.5 amp hour NiMH batteries. cost me £279 a while back but probably a lot cheaper now as Gazza says..
Have 2 makitas as backup.......
PS there is a version of the Panasonic that Gazza and I have that has a square drive instead of a chuck, its used for car wheel nuts.That sort of torque.

[9fingers]

gazza said:

dom said:

Higher ah, as I understand it means more power.

Voltage = power ie 12volts wont do half what an 18 volt will, power torque ect, but both can have 3 ah batteries

Ah = Amp Hours ie how long the batteries will last for, but there is no point having an 18 volt or 24 volt machine with only 1.3 ah batteries.
any amount of work, and half your day would be spent charging and changing batteries


HTH
Cheers,
Gazza.

Just to put a few basics straight.

We are interested in the power of the drill/battery and how long it will work for.

Power (in Watts) = volts x amps

A 3 amp hour battery will deliver 3 amps for an hour ( or 1 amp for 3 hours etc)

A 12 volt 3amp hour battery has 36 watt hours available so will a 6v 6 amp hour battery or 18v 2 amp hour one.

The losses in a drill and its battery are proportional to the current squared so for a given power we want the current as low as possible which means the voltage needs to be as high as possible. It is no accident that mains voltage drills deliver lots of performance.

42 volts is the highest voltage permitted under the low voltage directive (Euro rules on electrical devices) hence a few manufacturers offering up to 42 volt tools

So for best capability, pick tool brand of known quality with the highest watt hour capacity (NOT the highest amp hour) running at the highest voltage.

Hope this helps a bit more with the science!

Bob