Drill / Driver for Home Use
Discussion
Looking for a replacement drill & driver for home use.
Current set are a Macallister cheapo cordless set I got from B&Q about 10 years ago.
Batteries now last about 5 min each and the drill would struggle to get through a rice pudding skin.
Not looking to blow the bank but want something reasonably decent.
Happy to look at both corded and cordless.
Recommendations?
Current set are a Macallister cheapo cordless set I got from B&Q about 10 years ago.
Batteries now last about 5 min each and the drill would struggle to get through a rice pudding skin.
Not looking to blow the bank but want something reasonably decent.
Happy to look at both corded and cordless.
Recommendations?
I'd be looking at a drill & impact driver cordless set - something like -
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcz298s2t-gb-18v...
Impact drivers are awesome screwdrivers - you'll never use a drill for screws again.
Similar set with bigger batteries if you're doing a lot - or the batteries can be upgraded at a later date
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcz298s2t-gb-18v...
Impact drivers are awesome screwdrivers - you'll never use a drill for screws again.
Similar set with bigger batteries if you're doing a lot - or the batteries can be upgraded at a later date
I went for one of these - Bosch PSB 1800 LI-2 Cordless Combi Drill - except it was the 2AH battery version:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordless-Combi-Lith...
I went round & round the forums, review websites etc. and eventually settled on this as a decent, economic all-rounder for occasional DIY home use. Comfortable in hand, tolerable chuck wobble, two batteries are handy (lasting absolutely ages) & does most tasks well, only struggling a little bit on the toughest of solid masonry (but gets there in the end).
What I discovered in the course of my research was:
- Everyone has their pet favourites, and swears by what they see the local builders using etc. etc.
- Everything seems to be made in the Far East anyway, so lifetime-lasting German tools is a thing of the past, unless you pay
- Regardless of make & cost, most drills I saw reviewed online (that have an impact function) seem to suffer from a degree of outrun/chuck wobble, but then these are handheld drills, not precision implements
Obviously if you have other cordless tools, it's handy to build a set that can all use common battery packs.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordless-Combi-Lith...
I went round & round the forums, review websites etc. and eventually settled on this as a decent, economic all-rounder for occasional DIY home use. Comfortable in hand, tolerable chuck wobble, two batteries are handy (lasting absolutely ages) & does most tasks well, only struggling a little bit on the toughest of solid masonry (but gets there in the end).
What I discovered in the course of my research was:
- Everyone has their pet favourites, and swears by what they see the local builders using etc. etc.
- Everything seems to be made in the Far East anyway, so lifetime-lasting German tools is a thing of the past, unless you pay
- Regardless of make & cost, most drills I saw reviewed online (that have an impact function) seem to suffer from a degree of outrun/chuck wobble, but then these are handheld drills, not precision implements
Obviously if you have other cordless tools, it's handy to build a set that can all use common battery packs.
BaldOldMan said:
I'd be looking at a drill & impact driver cordless set - something like -
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcz298s2t-gb-18v...
Impact drivers are awesome screwdrivers - you'll never use a drill for screws again.
Similar set with bigger batteries if you're doing a lot - or the batteries can be upgraded at a later date
The stuff Screwfix sell is the cheap rubbish lines, but they charge proper kit prices for them. They get away with it because they sell to trades that need to replace a broken drill immediately, not wait for something good to come in the post.https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcz298s2t-gb-18v...
Impact drivers are awesome screwdrivers - you'll never use a drill for screws again.
Similar set with bigger batteries if you're doing a lot - or the batteries can be upgraded at a later date
The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
paulrockliffe said:
The stuff Screwfix sell is the cheap rubbish lines, but they charge proper kit prices for them. They get away with it because they sell to trades that need to replace a broken drill immediately, not wait for something good to come in the post.
The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
I've just bought a top of the range Makita LXT Brushless angle grinder (body only) from Screwfix The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
For occasional and diy use i would suggest avoiding the branded stuff as the batteries are mega expensive to replace. You cant go wrong really with the erbauer stuff from screwfix.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-edd18-li-2-ecd1...
Thats an 18v combi, 18v impct and 2 batteries for £130 quid. Metal chucks, bushless motors and batteries are cheap to replace if needs be. Very good kit for the money. I use them day in day out renovating houses and are every bit as good as the dewalt and makita clobber.
As above you need to have an impact driver they are awesome, it will effortlessly drive huge screws into timber and not strip the head of the bit or the screw in the process.
Finally make sure you have decent drill bits, s
t bits will make the most expensive tools look pants.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-edd18-li-2-ecd1...
Thats an 18v combi, 18v impct and 2 batteries for £130 quid. Metal chucks, bushless motors and batteries are cheap to replace if needs be. Very good kit for the money. I use them day in day out renovating houses and are every bit as good as the dewalt and makita clobber.
As above you need to have an impact driver they are awesome, it will effortlessly drive huge screws into timber and not strip the head of the bit or the screw in the process.
Finally make sure you have decent drill bits, s
t bits will make the most expensive tools look pants.Edited by dazwalsh on Wednesday 10th July 11:52
dickymint said:
paulrockliffe said:
The stuff Screwfix sell is the cheap rubbish lines, but they charge proper kit prices for them. They get away with it because they sell to trades that need to replace a broken drill immediately, not wait for something good to come in the post.
The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
I've just bought a top of the range Makita LXT Brushless angle grinder (body only) from Screwfix The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
toasty said:
dickymint said:
paulrockliffe said:
The stuff Screwfix sell is the cheap rubbish lines, but they charge proper kit prices for them. They get away with it because they sell to trades that need to replace a broken drill immediately, not wait for something good to come in the post.
The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
I've just bought a top of the range Makita LXT Brushless angle grinder (body only) from Screwfix The one you've linked to has a plastic chuck, these start to wobble almost immediately. For similar money you'll get the metal-chucked version that has a proper motor in it at somewhere like ffx.co.uk.
All of the Bosch stuff is either blue in colour, or cheap rubbish. To be fair, the one linked is cheap, so it may be value for money. But if you tackle any moderate sized job you'll wish you'd spent more.
No point saving £20 or so going for a rebranded china thing, stick with the manufacturers that design their own stuff rather than picking out of an Aliexpress catalogue. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee.
Luckily there were no neighbours watching when the Screwfix box was handed to me
Joking aside - If you know what you want and you know your product line/range there's nought wrong with any supplier.
Dan_1981 said:
Screwfix actually have a couple in their sale right now.....
two things I would say about the Dewalt drill you linked to from Amazon earlier...........1.5 Ah batteries = poor these days
Replaceable carbon brushes = joke marketing for old school as I cannot remember the days when brushes weren't made of Carbon
or replaceable!!
dickymint said:
Dan_1981 said:
Screwfix actually have a couple in their sale right now.....
two things I would say about the Dewalt drill you linked to from Amazon earlier...........1.5 Ah batteries = poor these days
Replaceable carbon brushes = joke marketing for old school as I cannot remember the days when brushes weren't made of Carbon
or replaceable!!
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd778l2t-sfgb-1...
Or
https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m18bpp2ab-402...
Dan_1981 said:
So this might be a abetter bet?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd778l2t-sfgb-1...
Or
https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m18bpp2ab-402...
That Dewalt will be more than enough to tackle anything household/DIY. I bought a Dewalt a couple of years ago very similar to that one for £100 as only came with one battery and it has been absolutely fine for anything I've thrown at it including drilling through brick, hardwood, concrete and all sorts. Mine only has a 1.5ah battery but has never ran out of charge during a single day so a 3ah should be grand. Unless you're needing it for work day in day out I'm sure almost any lithium ion 18v combi drill would do the job. A twinpack with an impact driver would be a decent idea if you're doing lots of driving screws for stuff like decking but not essential. If you think you might be buying more tools down the line probably best to invest in one platform and stick with it. Something like Dewalt will do most tools quite well for a reasonable price whereas something like Erbauer will probably be more than enough for around the house and will be maybe a third cheaper. https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd778l2t-sfgb-1...
Or
https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m18bpp2ab-402...
I bought the green bosch drill driver in the 3rd post about 4 years ago on offer for about £50 or something when I started doing up my house.
I later bought an impact driver from the same range body only which the 2nd battery from the kit lives on.
Both have taken an absolute ham fisted DIY beating and still going strong, albeit scraped around and splattered with plaster/paint etc.
I'd probably want something more expensive if I was a tradesman using it all day every day and my livelihood depended on it not breaking, but for DIY, it's fine.
btw I think both say Made in Hungary (not china) on them.
I later bought an impact driver from the same range body only which the 2nd battery from the kit lives on.
Both have taken an absolute ham fisted DIY beating and still going strong, albeit scraped around and splattered with plaster/paint etc.
I'd probably want something more expensive if I was a tradesman using it all day every day and my livelihood depended on it not breaking, but for DIY, it's fine.
btw I think both say Made in Hungary (not china) on them.
Edited by Nealio on Thursday 11th July 12:51
TheAngryDog said:
I am in the same boat and I am non the wiser.
I want something that will do decking screws and occasionally drill into walls / brick. As a total DIY noob could someone point me in the right direction, please?
Pretty much any 18v Lithium Ion combi drill with a hammer function will be fine just for DIY use but if you're doing a lot of driving long screws then an impact driver can make life much easier for you.I want something that will do decking screws and occasionally drill into walls / brick. As a total DIY noob could someone point me in the right direction, please?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eid18-li-ecd18-...
Something like that twin pack should see you through basically any task. The Erbauer stuff is pretty decent and their tools are generally a bit cheaper than Dewalt and Makita.
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