I need a new cordless drill driver

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Rob711

Feeling the Heat
Oct 19, 2017
455
Long Island, ny
I had a Milwaukee 18 volt. Was a drill and a impact driver. Turn out when you leave them out in the rain things happen.

Probably going with same thing but the newest version. Brushless. Whatever that does for me.

I’m a homeowner who builds stuff. I also like that Milwaukee doesn’t, or haven’t changed there batteries. Meaning they work on a lot of tools.
Looking for suggestions.
 
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I have some Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi and Dewalt cordless. I think that for a homeowner Ryobi has the best bang for the buck.The batteries have not changed (other than Ni Cad to Lithium) and the amount of Tools that are available are unbelievable.

I think Ridgid has the best Guarantee of any of them, LIFETIME on the tool AND batteries.

Many manufacturers are going brushless. it will give you more power, longer battery life and no brushes to wear out.

There are still a lot of sales going from black friday on tool bundles Ryobi & Ridgid had great prices on 5 piece sets.Milwaukee had some specials going too.
 
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when i was looking i would have went ridgid but had no were local to buy and was in a bit of a hurry.. Cant beat that warranty and i think the battery are covered as well if memory serves me right
 
Yes, both tool & battery are covered, but you have to register them online. In the US, Home depot has a lock on local sales not sure about Canadian sales.
 
I've had DeWalt and Makita and they're great but as Greg said, its hard to beat the Ryobi stuff they're selling at HD.
I actually like my Ryobi impact driver better than than my DeWalt though it is heavier.
You can't beat Ryobi battery prices. I've found its hit and miss with their tools - some are great, some not so much.
I did not like their first circular and recip saws much. Some of their other stuff is top notch (or at least great for the money): flashlights, lanterns, their new circular saw, drills, nail drivers, etc.
Batteries, it seems, are the key. DeWalt ticked me off when they changed theirs so I stopped buying them.
 
I've had DeWalt and Makita and they're great but as Greg said, its hard to beat the Ryobi stuff they're selling at HD.
I actually like my Ryobi impact driver better than than my DeWalt though it is heavier.
You can't beat Ryobi battery prices. I've found its hit and miss with their tools - some are great, some not so much.
I did not like their first circular and recip saws much. Some of their other stuff is top notch (or at least great for the money): flashlights, lanterns, their new circular saw, drills, nail drivers, etc.
Batteries, it seems, are the key. DeWalt ticked me off when they changed theirs so I stopped buying them.

Dewalt at least offers an adapter to run the new batteries on the old tools.

Anymore I don't think you can go too wrong with any of the major brands, just pick what you like the best.
 
i got a small gennny and extension cords- got tired of flipping bad battery paks.
 
Dewalt at least offers an adapter to run the new batteries on the old tools.

Anymore I don't think you can go too wrong with any of the major brands, just pick what you like the best.

Sometimes you can.. before i got the makita i got the dewalt drill and driver combo.. Loved the feel and size charged everything up according to directions and got all of 5 2 inch screws out of each battery.. When i took it back they gave me the excuse that i had bought the home owners series and not the professional.. I knew better about that story it was just old stock with bad battery's but i changed it out for my makita set.. Even my dewalt skill saw the deck is out of alignment by almost 1/4 inch.. not bad since i know whats wrong with it but no one else can cut a strait line..
 
I've had a brushless Makita set for three or four years now and it has been bullet proof. The battery will last forever too since it is brushless. I'm not easy on stuff either.
 
I think Santa will bring me a Milwaukee set. Loved my old one, just have to remember it’s not water proof! Thanks for replies.
 
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A few years ago my family bought me a Bosch set for Father's Day/Birthday. I've been very pleased, although the drill does slow down when I'm using it to mix mortar or grout. They also gave me a Bosch (corded) jig saw, which is great. Since then I've bought a Bosch reciprocating saw - not sure how I managed without one for so long!

I'm about to get an angle grinder. Any advice there? Corded or cordless? If I go cordless, I'll probably stick with Bosch so the batteries interchange. If I go corded, what do people like?

Thanks!
 
I have 2 corded Bosch grinders at the shop I use the 4 1/2" for 95% of what I do. The 9" will tear through about anything but it is heavy.
Both are great grinders. I haven't bought a cordless yet so I really don't know that much about any of them, but I would probably build on my Ryobi line.
 
I got the Makita 20v lithium 1/2" drill early on. It cost a fortune back then but has turned out to be one tough drill. It will drill out locksets as if it was plugged in. I built our wood shed which is all screwed and bolted together and our greenhouse with this tool and it still performs great.
 
I had a Milwaukee 18 volt. Was a drill and a impact driver. Turn out when you leave them out in the rain things happen.

Probably going with same thing but the newest version. Brushless. Whatever that does for me.

I’m a homeowner who builds stuff. I also like that Milwaukee doesn’t, or haven’t changed there batteries. Meaning they work on a lot of tools.
Looking for suggestions.
How old are they? If its under 5 years they are under warranty and Milwaukee will fix them. Btw ours get rained on all the time usually with no problems.
 
I've been collecting Milwaukee stuff off & on the past 3 years or so. It is very solid stuff, no question. We put their drills through hell for about 1.5 months solid mid-winter.

I'd like if they would come out with a small power centre thing for power outages. Drop in a couple 18v batteries, and it would put out some 120v thru an inverter, have an LED light & radio. That kind of thing. I have their radio, now watching for a decent buy on a light I like. Have a bunch of drills, impact drivers, a circ saw, a grinder. And the radio. Recip saw also on the watch list, naturally.

On the mention of genny & extension cords above - no way no how. These batteries last a looonnngg time.
 
I think Santa will bring me a Milwaukee set. Loved my old one, just have to remember it’s not water proof! Thanks for replies.
I have all Milwaukee but I have heard great things about Rigid as well.

I'm not brand loyal,,but I do love my Milwaukees. Never fail me and charge pretty quickly.
 
I took a peek in Santa’s workshop! It’s not the newest brushless stuff but it will do me just fine . 12D5CF45-C949-4D0A-9448-B6B1CCA4A256.jpeg
 
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i've had milwaukee for years. great power and now hand tools. i have a 18 volt drill/hammerdrill battery only last 2 years. it had 525 on torque my new 18 volt fuel drill has 725 0r 750 just as strong as any corded or stronger. i can put a 1 1/8 auger bit on it and go thru 6 2x4 nails together and have enough battery left for about half a day doing that with it.
 
Milwaukee Fuel.


I dropped my M 12 driver from the top of a garage roof truss directly on a concrete floor. Around 20’ and NOT A SINGLE SCRATCH.,!! All I can say is wow.
 
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I bought a 2 pack porter cable drill driver and regular drill with carrying bag and charger. I like the separate units for pilot holes without changing bit. Driver is plenty strong for anything house/construction related. Amazon. Going on 3 years now no issues.

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Sometimes you can.. before i got the makita i got the dewalt drill and driver combo.. Loved the feel and size charged everything up according to directions and got all of 5 2 inch screws out of each battery.. When i took it back they gave me the excuse that i had bought the home owners series and not the professional.. I knew better about that story it was just old stock with bad battery's but i changed it out for my makita set.. Even my dewalt skill saw the deck is out of alignment by almost 1/4 inch.. not bad since i know whats wrong with it but no one else can cut a strait line..

No more Dewalt for me. I got a whole set back in 07. I noticed first time I used the drill a few months later that the Chinese drill bit wobbled a bit. Nawww couldn’t be[emoji848]. Must be the cheapass bit. Well a while later I found out and I still curse it. A couple years later I was using the demo saw and the case broke in half. I know tools and wasn’t hoggging on it either. Those were the Nicad batteries XTP which didn’t hold up so great. The drill driver is still going strong though but you won’t see me buying another Dewalt. They’re ok but not up to their premium price tag even now.


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I loved the Milwaukee 18v stuff I had years ago, but more recently it’s been Bosch for me. I like them both. Once I replace one cordless tool with a different brand, I tend to switch them all to that brand, for battery interchangeability. I keep a battery on a charger on each floor of my shop, and a third in the garage at the house, so a fresh one is always near at hand.

I’ve used tons of dewalt, as that’s what all my friends seem to buy, and break. They even admit they break a lot, but then argue that it’s easy to get them repaired, which I don’t really understand. This stuff is cheap enough, and when I need it I need it today, so I’ll stick with brands that don’t fail when I need them. If someday I manage to break one, I’ll be at Lowe’s buying it’s replacement within the hour, not waiting a week or three for a repair.