Rechargeable 24 v drill

The two Ni-Cad batteries supplied with my Bosch 24v cordless drill have finally given up the ghost after twelve years.

Looking at the price of a pair of new ones it's really a no brainer to replace them.

The question is, what new drill do I go for in the light of this forums' vast experience?

Len. P.

If you have two packs and strip them down you might find enough cells still ok to make one pack.

Don't know about other places, but there is a firm here that will either break down, and reload your battery pack for about half the price of a new battery, or will supply the cells so you can DIY, and usually you can increase the amp hour rating. I'v done it for a number of things, like my vidio camera, and cordless hedge trimmer. Ian S C

Bosch and there is a shed load of retailerers selling them including B&Q

Bob

As a tradesman using these tools daily Bosch are ok but the best by far is a Makita i have two of these and they have never failed me, i would steer clear Dewalt tho.

Hi Len, It depends on what you require the drill to do, i.e. do you need a hammer drill and cordless screwdriver with clutch etc as well.

I agree with Rob about Makita, my brother sells and repairs them. There is also another make as good as Makita but can't remember the name. Bosch are very good. I used Bosch power tools for years as an electrician but they're considered mid range nowadays.

+1 for Makita. Got the 18v drill & impact driver set & they're brutal.

My Bosch was a hammer drill plus screwdriver with clutch and reversing, I should imagine all the driver drills have reversing !

Thinking about it now, I haven't done much hammering with it I tend to use the mains drill for that.

Len. P.

I notice on surfing the net that Makita seem to plump for Li-Po batteries now, I was using NiCd cells way back in the '70's but it looks like they are on their way out although DeWalt are still using them.

Len. P.

Have a look at AEG Lithium ion drills, I use the 12 volt drills and nut drivers on a daily basis, they are superb, battery life and recharging times.

HTH

Comment about Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries being old(ish) technology is valid - they self discharge while a Lithium battery will stay charged (unused) for much longer.

I recently bought an 18v Bosch cordless with lithium batteries, cost me 80 something quid from Amazon but it was cheaper than replacing my old battery pack that got fried when my old charger expired

Been very good so far, but I think they are not the best nowadays as has been mentioned - Ok for light domestic use (I have a bench drill now for the more serious stuff...)

So I now have a Black and Decker cordless motor looking for a new use <g>

Chris

Cut the battery open carefully and replace the cells with tagged NiMh cells from Maplin or at half the price from an Ebay seller. NiMH cells can be charged with the same charger as NiCads.

Russell.

Regarding dead Ni-Cad batteries.Open up the case, locate the duff cell with a multi meter. then with the aid of a car battery Zap the duff cell observing polarity, a power supply is not man enough. I connect a lead to the neg of the drill battery pack from the car battery and then flick the car battery pos onto the pos of the duff cell or cells, I have a home made Ni-Cad charger and I carry out the former with the charger connected, and it usually jogs the duff cell back into life, not had many failure pleased to say. I have spare battery on the bench that won't start the car and use it.Oh, forgot to say you will get a bit of sparking going on so be careful not to have any petrol around. Some say they have had a cell blow open so be careful, its never happen to me and I've done quite a few.I don't think I get 100% life back but its worth a try.Ted

Len, As a bricklayer I don't think you will get better than Hilti , whether it's rechargable or 110v but be prepared to fork out a lot of dough. They might be seen as overkill for domestic use but they will last forever. Metabo are also excellent tools, but again expensive. It's like everything else, you get what you pay for.

Regards,

Raymond.

The other make i would look at and seconding raymond would be Metabo.

Sorry to put a damper on the " Bosch is Best" brigade - that's what I thought when I bought a Bosch about five years ago. Sad to say that too has succumbed to the "charge for ages then go flat quickly" disease. I think that, like so many things today, these power tools are ultimately expendable items. I'm not too sad about that as I guess it's cost me the equivalent of about £10 a year over its life - I have used and abused it and it has been a faithful friend throughout. Time for a peaceful rest at the tip methinks!

Cheers

Norman

Edited By NJH on 21/03/2013 20:34:23

At work we use Makita, Makita and Makita in that order.

I saw the chap who buys the gear using something different. He said it was his own and was from Lidl - basically he said it worked as well as the Makita, and was fine for him as it didn't need to cope with being used by blind gorillas with ten thumbs.

Neil

We have been using Hitachi battery drills at work for a number of years. The older ones came with Ni-Cads, but the latest have Li-on battery packs. The latest charger recognises the battery pack type (Ni-Cad, NiMh or Li-on) inserted & charges accordingly.

No idea of price, as I don't buy them. But they have proved very robust in industrial use & when the first one died (the overload clutch failed - they get used a lot for screwing together packing cases out of OSB ), it was replaced with another of the same make.

Edited By Chris Trice on 21/03/2013 23:33:57