Cordless drill/driver/impact for dummies!

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1Fast340 said:
Ok looking to get a cordless drill/driver/impact and to be honest there are so many for sale in different versions that i dont have a clue on where to start since i newer looked at these things before but now that my old drill is getting tired i figure i might step into the new world.


For general use in my home,garage and of course to work on my car,what do i look for and what do i look for?
10,12,14,18V
What brands are good?
Looking mainly at AEG, Metabo and Bosh but also the lower end Makita and Dewalt units since im not made out of money.
What kind of features are good in reality?


I have figured out that it probably pays to get one that includes battery(s) and charger and figure i may add a impact for heavier work later on so it would be a nice bonus to be able to run it on the same battery but dont know if this is a dumb direction to take.
There are units available with kits including a bunch of bits and drills do they tend to be worth considering?
Im also aware that the there may be differences betwen the Swedish and American marketunits but probably not much.
I have figured out that i probably dont want one of the supercheap ones.

Yes i am this clueless on this topic so feel free to give me the most basic advice!

Thanks in advance.
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I have a set of Makita 18v power tools.

I love that set and the impact gun is absolutely worth its weight in gold. I like having a larger Amp/hour battery for longer jobs and a smaller amp/hour battery for any time I need to work overhead.

Makita has a number of 36V tool options which are powered by 2 of the 18V battery packs.

Only downside is that if you let a makita battery sit longer term without being charged, you can kill it permanently.
 
I just learnt that the American brand Ridgid is pretty much the same as AEG over here that could be usefull to know :)

And nope no Husqvarna powertools that im aware of.
 
I have a Hitachi 1/4 impact driver I bought from Lowes about 7 or 8 years ago. I got it because I like green. It's taken everything I have thrown at it.
 
I started using 18v 3.0 amp Makita tools about 12 years ago as a tech for a general contractor. By the time I retired in 2015, all of my coworkers
had switched and they are now they are the company specified standard for the 20 preloaded tech trucks on the road. if under heavy use with multiple charges each day, get several spare batteries to allow cool down to extend battery life.
 
I use a 20MAX Dewalt 1/4 impact. At 117 ft/lbs its a little light but plenty strong for any nut breaking up to 5/8 on the motor or under the car. ITs pretty short too so not hard to handle. We had to start using these impacts as the drills we had were torquing wrists and causing injuries! Has a nice LED light on it too. Charges very fast too. make sure you get a battery with it as they sell them bare too for the guys who already have the batteries.
 
Bosch, Milwaukee, Portercable and many more. I've been a carpenter and custom cabinet builder for 45 years, can't go wrong with older brand names. I'm 60 and still have a Makita circler saw I bought when I was 15, changed the brushes three times and still works like a champ, but I think there quality has gone down the past few years. Now that I think of it most of my tools are 30 to 45 years old. Buy good brand names and you'er stuff will be passed down to your children. Sorry got a little carried away there!

Jeff
 
jeffnmo said:
Bosch, Milwaukee, Portercable and many more. I've been a carpenter and custom cabinet builder for 45 years, can't go wrong with older brand names. I'm 60 and still have a Makita circler saw I bought when I was 15, changed the brushes three times and still works like a champ, but I think there quality has gone down the past few years. Now that I think of it most of my tools are 30 to 45 years old. Buy good brand names and you'er stuff will be passed down to your children. Sorry got a little carried away there!

Jeff
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Jeff, I agree: older hand tools (and corded power tools) are usually better quality. But when it comes to battery technology you cant beat the high capacity of LiPo packs nowadays. The 12V Makita I used 10 years ago and the 18V DeWalt I used 2 years ago were twice the size of this LiPo 20V Dewalt and had half the power or runtime. Heck , I got 4 old $$ DeWalt NiCad/NiMH battery packs that dont even take a charge anymore. Sure I can rebuild them but for what? Ill keep my new LiPo packs and my 50% lighter impact.
 
1Fast340 said:
Ok looking to get a cordless drill/driver/impact and to be honest there are so many for sale in different versions that i dont have a clue on where to start since i newer looked at these things before but now that my old drill is getting tired i figure i might step into the new world.


For general use in my home,garage and of course to work on my car,what do i look for and what do i look for?
10,12,14,18V
What brands are good?
Looking mainly at AEG, Metabo and Bosh but also the lower end Makita and Dewalt units since im not made out of money.
What kind of features are good in reality?


I have figured out that it probably pays to get one that includes battery(s) and charger and figure i may add a impact for heavier work later on so it would be a nice bonus to be able to run it on the same battery but dont know if this is a dumb direction to take.
There are units available with kits including a bunch of bits and drills do they tend to be worth considering?
Im also aware that the there may be differences betwen the Swedish and American marketunits but probably not much.
I have figured out that i probably dont want one of the supercheap ones.

Yes i am this clueless on this topic so feel free to give me the most basic advice!

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Just noticed you are in Sweden...would think Bosch would be your go to brand, they make great tools, as a carpenter, I love their power tools, my cordless drill and impact are Makita's and they are great, and have never let me down. Milwaukee's are very good also, but if hard to get there, then they're out. Your Swedish tools are probably very very good, I'd go with them if i were you!
18v have lots of torque, if replacement batteries are easy to get and affordable, 18v is the way to go.
Good Luck!

PS: Can't imagine finding Mopar parts there in Sweden, hard to even find decent OEM parts here in the US! Hats off to ya!
 
I'll tell you something else I have been impressed with. Power Torque is an O'Reilly brand. They offer all kinda stuff. Just this year, we started carrying cordless tools by Power Torque. I caved and got the 3/8 cordless ratchet and the 3/8 cordless impact gun. I have had them both about four months and charged them only the first time I took them out of the box. I have used them a pretty good bit. So far, so good.
 
Well pishta I do agree with you about the cordless drills, once the batteries go dead go buy a new one, I found it isn't worth the price as it seems new ones don't last near the time the originals did (batteries). The only battery tools I've ever owned is cordless drills all my other tools have cords. The newest cordless drill I have is a Bosch 18 volt Lithium-ion which is quite a few years old, the best drill I've ever had and I've had a lot, now I am Retired-Disabled so I don't use my tools every day any more and I really don't keep up with the newest and latest and greatest. I could use a impact drill so I'll check out the Dewalt you mention next time I'm at Lowes. By the way that red X really hurt!:rofl:

Jeff
 
I know it won't help the OP but I use a 1/4 impact daily at work. Over the years I have went through several different brands. Usually it is the battery that fails and the cost to replace is more than buying a new tool. When my Makita gave it up after three years and I found that the replacement battery was more than a new tool I got into looking at the warranty that they actually give the tool and the battery. For a replacement I would up buying a Kobalt 24v LI set. The tools themselves carry a 5 year warranty and the batteries carry a 3 year. Both much longer than the competition. What really put it over the top is the extra batteries are only $20. I bought two extra when I got the set.
 
HMBCUDA said:
Just noticed you are in Sweden...would think Bosch would be your go to brand, they make great tools, as a carpenter, I love their power tools, my cordless drill and impact are Makita's and they are great, and have never let me down. Milwaukee's are very good also, but if hard to get there, then they're out. Your Swedish tools are probably very very good, I'd go with them if i were you!
18v have lots of torque, if replacement batteries are easy to get and affordable, 18v is the way to go.
Good Luck!

PS: Can't imagine finding Mopar parts there in Sweden, hard to even find decent OEM parts here in the US! Hats off to ya!
Click to expand...


The brands i mentioned are all easily available in two hardwarestores near where i live so no problems with availability of those atleast:)

Regarding moparparts over here its alitle weird,im sort of running into al sorts of deals on some stuff and alot of parts are fairly easily available,then there is other things that seems to be made out of unobtainum LOL
It helps that we have had an american car culture for a very long time over here and my duster for instance was sold new over here in 73:) And then we have these fine forums that opens a good link to the huge american source of knowledge!


I may not answer everything in this thread but im sure reading everything and learning things here :)
 
1Fast340 said:
The brands i mentioned are all easily available in two hardwarestores near where i live so no problems with availability of those atleast:)

Regarding moparparts over here its alitle weird,im sort of running into al sorts of deals on some stuff and alot of parts are fairly easily available,then there is other things that seems to be made out of unobtainum LOL
It helps that we have had an american car culture for a very long time over here and my duster for instance was sold new over here in 73:) And then we have these fine forums that opens a good link to the huge american source of knowledge!


I may not answer everything in this thread but im sure reading everything and learning things here :)
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Cool, I didn't realize that american cars were popular in Sweden, or that they were even sold new there! I have not been to Europe, doesn't look like i will ever make it there at this point in life. This site is great, very knowledgeable people willing to share what they have learned over the years of working on these cars.
Enjoy your duster, take care!
 
HMBCUDA said:
Cool, I didn't realize that american cars were popular in Sweden, or that they were even sold new there! I have not been to Europe, doesn't look like i will ever make it there at this point in life. This site is great, very knowledgeable people willing to share what they have learned over the years of working on these cars.
Enjoy your duster, take care!
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Here is a link to a registry over mopar musclecars over here that i think was completed in 2007 its quite well broken down into categorys(sixpacks,convertibles,hemi and usch) and there is probably a whole lot more cars sitting in barns that are not registred aswell as cars that have been imported since then and a bunch scraped aswell,and ontop of that there are a huge amount of other and older cars:) Muscle links.

Its nice to see the world but hey you are living in America and i bet there is more to see in America than one can ever see in a lifetime anyway:)
If you would ever find the time and resources to go over here you dont need to worry much about language and such most can speak english,and there is some nice carshows in the summer with cruisenights in towns afterwards where you can see everything from racecars and musclecars to increadibly well restored 50´s cars to hotrods and clapped out wrecks full of drunks.And some nice raceevents at a few tracks if you just plan ahead. And yes Summer is the correct time of the year unless you have a big dessire to get depressed by how dark and wet the world can be.

Thanks hope you have a nice weekend!
 
halifaxhops said:
I picked up a Rigid 18v combo set last year. Tell you what It has not failed yet on anything I tried and the batteries are guaranteed forever when you register them. That sold me right there.
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That warranty sounds great until you try and warranty anything (including the batteries). I will never buy any rigid product again.
 
jeffnmo said:
Well pishta I do agree with you....by the way that red X really hurt!:rofl:

Jeff
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Just for you...undo rating...:rolleyes:

samo-za-tebe.jpg
 
Found this cordless. I think it needs a hammer for the impact feature....
upload_2018-11-3_12-14-35.png
 
1Fast340 said:
Here is a link to a registry over mopar musclecars over here that i think was completed in 2007 its quite well broken down into categorys(sixpacks,convertibles,hemi and usch) and there is probably a whole lot more cars sitting in barns that are not registred aswell as cars that have been imported since then and a bunch scraped aswell,and ontop of that there are a huge amount of other and older cars:) Muscle links.

Its nice to see the world but hey you are living in America and i bet there is more to see in America than one can ever see in a lifetime anyway:)
If you would ever find the time and resources to go over here you dont need to worry much about language and such most can speak english,and there is some nice carshows in the summer with cruisenights in towns afterwards where you can see everything from racecars and musclecars to increadibly well restored 50´s cars to hotrods and clapped out wrecks full of drunks.And some nice raceevents at a few tracks if you just plan ahead. And yes Summer is the correct time of the year unless you have a big dessire to get depressed by how dark and wet the world can be.

Thanks hope you have a nice weekend!
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Thanks, I'll check out the link! yes still much of d good ol USA i have to see! recently retired so have to do it. trying to get my car derivable again now that i have time to work on it. would be fun to do a road trip or two to some Mopar events around the country.
PS: your winters sound like our summers here in HMB! ha...no knee-deep snow though! ;)
 
Too bad you can't get the Milwaukee tools easily over there. We use nothing but them in our work. The subcontractors we hire to help us all want to use out drills, rather than their Makita's and Dewalt's or Bosch's. The Milwaukees are just heavier duty all around, which pays if you use them a lot.

Focus on 18v or 24v battery tools. Lower voltage tools are toys by comparison. The new NiMH batteries are so much better than the older NiCad's; lighter, and run longer on a charge.
 
nm9stheham said:
Too bad you can't get the Milwaukee tools easily over there. We use nothing but them in our work. The subcontractors we hire to help us all want to use out drills, rather than their Makita's and Dewalt's or Bosch's. The Milwaukees are just heavier duty all around, which pays if you use them a lot.

Focus on 18v or 24v battery tools. Lower voltage tools are toys by comparison. The new NiMH batteries are so much better than the older NiCad's; lighter, and run longer on a charge.
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I am not sure. Are you certain about the NiMH? that seems like old technology. I thought most batteries now were lithium ion
 
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