Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cordless drill questions

I bought the Rigid drill because of the battery warranty. I have replaced them once and they should be replaced again. One thing I've noticed is the lith.. batteries wont charge in cold weather when the NiCad would. Has anyone else noticed this.

The Ryobi's ability to interchange batteries with all the other tools is what sold me. I use them quite a bit and haven't had any problem. I just bought the impact driver set with 2 extra batteries and I should be running for quite a while.

If you use them as everyday tools and don't need the convenience factor of the other tools I'll second the Milwaukee or Rigid brands.

We hashed this over a couple of weeks ago as reported. If you are a casual user, the Ryobis or Craftsmans are the best value. If you are a tradesman, the more expensive brands will hold up longer and are more powerful. Milwaukee makes some nice tools. I have magnum hole shooters and they are the best corded drill motors around. Their cordless stuff is good too, but I don't think it is appreciatively better than some of the other stuff.

Batteries are the biggest expense. The best value right now is the Rigid (Home Depot brand) as they have lifetime warrantys- even on the batteries.

I have gone through 6 batteries on my impact driver- which I use 10x more than my 1/2 cordless drill. I got the batteries replaced under warranty (3 year at the time) now, they are life time.

The lithium-ion batteries are very light, hold their charge to the end but have some quirks- the cold weather charging is a new one to me!

I would like to have a new lithium battery as I pack my driver into the woods to install trail cameras!

Been thrashing a dewalt set for about 5 years at work and home. No complaints. One of the batteries is starting to not hold a charge as long as it used to but thats it so far. Also helps that everybody on the crew has dewalt.

THe biggest thing I noticed is if your using them alot, 4 batteries is about the minimum. Mainly so the batteries have time to cool down before they are put on the charger.

If it's a Ni-Cd battery, putting it through a couple of quick charge/discharge cycles seems to help the memory effect.

I use my cordless tools 5 days a week, all year long, as an electrician. My personal preference is Milwaukee (best clutch/ gear assembly IMHO). Makita would be second, DeWalt third.

As mentioned before, I'll reiterate that Li batteries don't like the cold, nor the heat. Use them above freezing, below 105-110*F, and they will treat you fine. Letting them cool down/ warm up before putting on the charger goes a long way also.

Seems like 2 years is what I get out of a battery from the three brands I mentioned.

Something to consider is other tool compatibility. Ie, if you want to get a cordless router also, DeWalt then will be the way to go.

Now, SawZall's are a totally different story....

I manage a skilled trades dept. that builds equipment and installs at outlying locations. These guys are hard on tools and use them daily. Have not been impressed the last couple of years with Milwaukees lasting and have switched to Dewalts which have been pretty good. In all honesty the nicad 18 volt drills that is Menards house brand have been tougher than nails Russ

My experience was that if you don't use the drill at least about every third day, the batteries were going to pout and die of neglect. I went back to a corded drill. (Of course, the battery technology may have improved since I gave up on them, but I'm not going to spend the money to find out.)

I use mine hard for 3 days and then maybe go 3 weeks without. I don't think that hurts the newer batteries at all. I am surprised to hear the negative things about lithium and cold as they are the only ones that really work in my camera when it is cold; AA lithium that is.

That's the bonus to lithium is that they will hold a charge much longer than NiCD and NiMH batteries, the other being weight savings for the same capacity. But they are much harder to charge properly and of all 3 battery types NiCD's can be "abused" much harder.

Do any of you guys run Panasonic's?..... They even whoop the milwaukee.........

When my Ryobi took a dump after years of use I started looking for a new drill. Read some reviews in the woodworking magazines and they all seemed to praise a newcomer on the scene as the do-all be-all drill. I went down to my local dealer (a small locally owned place that stocks only top quality products and sells them at very reasonable prices). Had my mind set on this new wonder drill. Talked to the manager of the shop and he showed me a Milwaukee, same power, that was $20 less. He said the difference is in the bells and whistles. Inside the new drill had plastic gears. Milwaukee all metal. I have used that thing without mercy for several years and it keeps ticking. Can't beat Milwaukee.

Don,
when I was an apprentice, we used Panasonic. Good cordless drills, but very hard to find, and pricey. I have been told that all the big names have their battery cells produced by Panasonic.

Much as I use the Milwaukee Sawzall, for years and years,
without any problems. The 18 volt Ryobi Torque IV is on sale
for $69. Think I'm going to HomeyD this weekend and get one.