Power tools

BlueC

Depends on the floor tiles. We had some which were impossible to remove even with an SDS... I've no idea how they were stuck down but they wouldn't shift or even crack.

I bought the cheapo B&Q SDS drill... seems good enough but that Titan is probably better.

For a battery drill/driver one of the main things is the quality and power of the battery. For home use I would always recommend Li-Ion batteries as they charge quicker, are much lighter, and don't discharge when not being used so if its for occasional use then you know it will have some juice when you need it. I'd also go with 18v and at least 3Ah batteries (or a set with 2 batteries). Screwfix often have some good deals on.

I have a Hitachi similar to this. It's a great drill for the money but it did need the chuck replacing under warranty (I have abused it though!)

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dv18dsfl-jc-18v-1-5ah-li-lon-cordless-combi-drill/43195

BlueC

Actually this is the exact one I have, not sure what the difference is to be honest but as you can see for £99 it gets good reviews. I think the one above is a newer model as it uses Hitachi's new style batteries.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dv18dcl2-18v-1-5ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/64945#

ian103

Before I make my purchase, can someone advise what a battery power impact driver is used for? I'm looking for a battery tool to build a timber stud partition (screwing timber to timber and drilling into masonry / concrete, construct a raised decking area, plus general diy. So I know I require a drill / driver but some of the kits include an impact driver.

Ive come to the conclusion it needs to be 18v. Not a 14 and 10.8v tool as my original post.

jbainbridge

I'm sure if i'm wrong someone will correct me ...

The impact driver hammers the rotation force helping to drive a screw in using its thread - therefore ideal for building a deck.

For drilling into concrete a battery hammer drill will be hard work. Do consider a mains hammer drill (even a cheap one). If it's something you will do a lot of consider a SDS.

ian103

I'm feeling very confused now - I have a 240v hammer drill which is ok, plus I intend to buy the Titan SDS as I have tiles to break up plus some concrete footing to chip out. My battery drills are kna*kered and I was going to buy the dewalt set from screwfix but its a 14.4v drill and 10.4v impact driver, which from earlier posts is not powerful enough. I've got out £270 max to spend on the sds and the battery tools. The SDS is sorted at £70 in Screwfix. So I guess an 18v drill is best but what about the impact driver, is a 10v tool man enough?

mehera

Hi Ian,

It is really confusing huh?

The Titan is a great tool and I have actually used this on building sites ect - it is a real beast of a tool!!!

It will also eat up any masonry drilling you have to do!

An impact driver is used to power huge screws into timber (3" or more!) and a normal drill/driver would just stall as they do not have the torque to do this . . ..

I usually recommend trade guys to start off with a good SDS and a good 18 volt combi drill (hammer).

However for your applications do you really need the combi drill?

A good one is not cheap and a bad one is not worth having - your Titan is man enough for all masonry drilling you may have (although a bit flipping heavy!)

I have some real nice 10 volt drills in my kit and they are almost as good as the 18 volt stuff!

The Dewalt looks good enough - although a bit pricey! How much are you going to use the impact driver? Can you justify spending that much?

This is a nice option and still a good brand - although it is not a hammer drill:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erp408kit-10-8v-1-3ah-li-ion-twin-pack-drill-impact-driver/35255

Or another cheaper SDS:
http://http://www.screwfix.com/p/240v-2-3kg-sds-plus-drill-14-4v-drill-driver-twin-pack/29217

Or a good impact by itself:
http://http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-cdi108l6-10-8v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver/84723

Bare in mind that the Dewalt you are looking at is the 'DIY' version with small batterys. These will give out on you quick time if you are doing any serious work!

Otherwise for the real pro gear you may have to look at the £300-400 range for a proper impact driver/combi drill set!!!!!

ian103

Cheers, too much choice, too many brands etc. I now understand what I need for the tasks in hand. I'll take a look at what you have suggested.

With regard to how much it will be used - not very much once the stud wall is built and the decking installed, so I take your point that I may be spending too much. [no point me spending £300+ for me]

I know what you mean about a bad battery drill - I already have a bad one and it was a total waste of money. Hence my questions.

mehera

A good 18 volt combi drill may have the 'cahonas' to screwdrive into decking - depending on the size of screw used of course!

Some of the poor power tool deprived guys on the last site I was on even had one with hammer on to 'simulate' an impact driver!

I think that may be a little abusive to the drill but it depends again on the quality . . .

This is a very nice (but cheap!) combi drill with a proper spec battery:
http://http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri492com-18v-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/62600

You could do a lot with one of these - 35Nm of torque is plenty for your applications!

A smaller drill/driver (like a 10 volt) used for screw driving will struggle to drive the bigger screws for sure.

The main thing that bugs me is that cordless drills are not suitable as a long term investment - even the manufacturers state that the batterys are only suitable for 4 years even if the last longer!

The other way out is just to get a fairly competent corded hammer drill for £40 which can probably handle the drilling tasks any 18 volt would - of course it is no good for driving screws however . .. .

Myser

Costco currently have a good offer on a Hitachi 18V combi cordless drill for £99.99 delivered:

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/cos_8,cos_8.1,cos_8.1.1/154054