What drill to get?

[ChemicalChaos]

Hi all,

I have a Bosch GSR SD 9.6v drill driver, from around 1994 - one of these:



It is really on its last legs, the motor is knackered and the battery lasts about 5 minutes on a charge. I want to buy a replacement, and the one that seems the closest successor in B&Q is the PSR 18:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordless-Drill-Drive...

However, this is a green (home) Bosch and my GSR is a blue (professional) Bosch. Do they still make blue Bosch, and if so, what is the modern equivalent please?

[minivanman]

Thoroughly impressed by this wee beastie http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-professional-gsb10...
Its handled everything I've thrown at it for DIY
or the 18v for more oomph is this
http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-18v-lids-profe...

[Murph7355]

Do a search over the last few months - has been asked before (some of my posts will be on the topic which might help the search).

I bought a newer blue Bosch one and it's great.

[Bodo]

I have this GSB10 thing as well. Very powerful for its size, and comes with LiIon batteries. If unused for a while, they're still full after six months.

[anonymous-user]

I guess it entirely depends on what you want it for?

I have one of these for home use: http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-xr-dcd785c2sf-gb-...

Comes with 2 x 18v Li-ion batteries etc.

It is excellent for the money and the 2 batteries make it great for big jobs.
There is a cheaper kit which is the same but with one battery.
I've used 30cm long bits on it to go through solid brick and concrete and it was no problem.

But for work we have mostly moved onto Milwaukee stuff. It seems the US of A have seriously upped their game in the world of power tools as we swear by them and so do a lot of tradesmen:

http://www.milwaukeepowertools.co.uk/combi-drills

[gtidriver]

I've had the makita 10.8v and the batteries are both dead. My Bosch 10.8v drill Is rubbish as the chuck won't grip anymore, I've moved on to the new 10.8v dewalt drills now. So far so good. I've got most of the makita 18v lithium range which are not that bad ive had 8 batteries and only two work now. When these go ill bin the makita st and go Milwaukee.

[steveo3002]

be aware the "new" li-on batterys dont show signs going flat they just work and then stop dead , so something with 2x batterys in the box would be well worth looking for

something 18v + for around £100 will be plenty powerfull for diy use

[dirty_dog]

I got one of these at work http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-18v-li-18v-4ah...

Was so pleased I've got another at home too. 4aH battery is great

[Andrew[MG]]

Why just get a drill when you can get a drill and 101 bits and pieces? http://www.toolfinder.co.uk/power-tools/power-dril...

[onomatopoeia]

I have a Makita LXT drill (and various other power tools from that range) and it puts up with all the abuse I have given it over the last couple of years. Likewise the circular sawm and the batteries are still fine.

A colleague has some rechargeable Dewalt stuff that he's very happy with.

[Stu R]

I just bought a dewalt 20v, it feels like it could make light work of a channel tunnel successor. Would recommend.

[ChemicalChaos]

Hmm, so the consensus seems to be to go for another brand? I'll check it out and do some research.

I can't say I'm sold on the lithium drills though, as the batteries give you no warning of going flat and they are also very expensive.

Whichever drill I get, if it lasts another 20 years then I'll be happy! The old one was a sample given to dad by Jewsons in the hope of securing a trade contract with his company at the time..... I wonder if he could negotiate something similar again for his current company?

[Spare tyre]

very spooky, i had exactly the same drill and near same experiance as you

i looked around and got a "worx" drill from argos/homebase - im told that its a re stickered bosch, dunno if its true

but its li-ion and has a three year warranty, and comes with two batteries

if it was crap i would have simply taken it back, but it doesnt seem to shabby at all. Certainly many times greater than the one it replaced

also has a nice little light to help you see what you are drilling / screwing

[bakerstreet]

We had a Bosch Li-Ion cordless drill at our office for site work and it was utter crap. Very heavy and poorly balanced. It was part of the pro range too. None of us wanted to use it. We also had an old Dewalt, which was actually much better

Personally I'd go for Makita stuff./ I still see lots of trades people using them , so that must be worth something. I recently bought a combi drill with hammer action for £140 from ITS tools and that included a battery, charger and case. Its a short body drill too. You can get cheaper, but they tend to be the older longer body models with a new handle attached to them so they can take the Li-Ion batteries.

I bought a second 3.0Ah battery on Ebay for £30 including delivery and its been fine. I also have an old 12v drill driver and impact driver. Both are about 5 years old and show no signs of giving up. 12V isn't much cop for the impact driver. About 12 screws and its done. I paid £95 for the 12v drill driver, charger and work light. That was a lot of money, but its lasted really well

[Craikeybaby]

I've had a Bosch PSR18 for the last few years and it is crap. The battery is dead now, so I'll be replacing it with a Makita LXT.

[hairyben]

everybodys all like lithium this and lithium that, but if you want the drill to last half a long as your 20 year old number I'd been looking at nickel based batts.

Or if the drill you got is otherwise fine pull the battery case apart and replace the cells...

[Pheo]

I'm using an erbauer set from screwfix. 19.8v, two lion bats, impact driver 90nm) and a drill/driver. I have a mains hammer drill to fall back on but not needed it once.

Best thing is the fast recharge - 30mins for afoul charge. Plus they're small so super easy to handle

[bakerstreet]

Pheo said:

I'm using an erbauer set from screwfix. 19.8v, two lion bats, impact driver 90nm) and a drill/driver. I have a mains hammer drill to fall back on but not needed it once.

Best thing is the fast recharge - 30mins for afoul charge. Plus they're small so super easy to handle

Agreed on the fast charge. My Makita charges in something like 30 minutes, which is really useful. My old Ni-Cad is three hours.