Battery drills

[GaryM]

My current Dewalt DC988 18V cordless drill is now getting a little tired and due for replacement.
I've been looking at the 18V Makita drills with 3Ahr batteries. A good replacement for my Dewalt?

Any model recommendations? There seems to be a lot of options in that respect. I require combi so hammer, normal drilling and maybe torque control.

 

[AP Electrical]

I tried one of them milwakee combi's out at elex and now i'm trying to sell a kidney to raise funds to replace my dewalt for milwakee.

regards Alex

 

[roukel01]

I zapped my batteries the other day with a welder, worked a treat, good as new again! Don't think you can do it with lithium though!

 

[wade88]

I zapped my batteries the other day with a welder, worked a treat, good as new again! Don't think you can do it with lithium though!

You did what mate? zapped them with a welder

 

[roukel01]

Yep, for an 18V drill set yer welder to about 110amps, zap it a few times reverse polarity then a few more times correct polarity. Brings them back to life good and proper. You Tube it to see a demo video of it done.

 

[mickys86]

I zapped a 24v Bosch batt with a 36v one reverse polarity and it bought it back to life
Only the ni-cd batteries thou

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Yep, for an 18V drill set yer welder to about 110amps, zap it a few times reverse polarity then a few more times correct polarity. Brings them back to life good and proper. You Tube it to see a demo video of it done.

It might revive your battery pack temporarily if your lucky but it will be a short term fix as one or more cells will have been pressure stressed and vented causing electrolyte depletion. Detailed information here: http://www.electriciansforums.net/electrical-tools-products/49518-ni-cd-li-ion.html

 

[Guest123]

I'd recommend the Milwaukee kit also.

There is a review in the 'reviews' section on a couple of models.

 

[rich.250]

18v 3ah Makita stuff is really good.
Had mine 2years and like new still.
And the radios are good too LOL

 

[applemac]

recommend the new milwaukee fuel drill, its a beast!

 

[GaryM]

I'll have a look at the Milwaukee drills but I'm being drawn towards the Makita LXT 202 kit which includes a BHP451Z combi drill, a BTD140Z impact driver, a fast 22 minute charger and 2 x 3Ah batteries.

The Makita BMR050 LED torch radio is really impressive and would make a great addition to the kit.

 

[firemanowl]

The new milwaukee fuel range looks the dogs......

 

[li150pacemaker]

18V Makita Li-ion excellent kit!

 

[applemac]

The new milwaukee fuel range looks the dogs......

it is i paid 299 with one battery, but they last all day due to the new fuel brushless motor and circuitry

 

[D Skelton]

I use the Makita BHP451RFE. It's a beast and it's indestructable! Great drill and has lasted me ages and is still going strong!

 

[Dan the spark]

I had the 6 piece 18v Mikita lithium ion kit until some sod robbed my van the other week. The drills are great the only problem I had was batteries packed up. Apparently the will only last a certain number of charge cycles and it's luck of the draw if they last any longer. Don't know how true this is but out of the six batteries I had 2 of them gave up after just over a year. Purchased myself one of the dewalt 10.8v kits this morning and am now thinking of jobs round the house that I can test them out on

Check out this site for info on Mikita batteries
recellyourbattery.com

 

[Guest123]

Purchased myself one of the dewalt 10.8v kits

I have one of those kits, impressed with them too so far.