Can a cordless drill do as much as a corded drill?
My 18v cordless drill struggles through masonry. I'm wanting to get a new drill and am wondering if this lack of umph has anything to do with my drill being cordless, or if it's too low a voltage for this work.
I prefer cordless drills but which would be best for me?
Comments
You know even a corded hammer drill will struggle with concrete ... cordless are fine for most brick, block , and render but as soon as you try to drill concrete they just have not the power ,that's when you need a SDS drill -cordless or corded will fly through concrete
I'm a pro user and dont use corded hammer drills any more nearly all my tools are cordless makita with lithium battery's
For this tool, a corded Milwaukee or Bosch, then a Ryobi and DeWalt in that order. Black and Decker and Craftsman might work for a homeowner with just some projects once a year. I bought a used Bosch roto-hammer at a pawn shop about 5 years ago and I would expect that there are many around like that with the downturn in the construction business. A hammer drill is fine for a few light duty holes now and then but the serious use needs a roto-hammer. Other consideration is the type of work you will be doing and how often would you need the power of a roto-hammer vs a hammer drill. What ever you get in a hammer drill, it should be a VSR and at least a 3/8" chuck, and should include a depth stop and have a chuck key if it needs one.
A cordless 18V drill will be OK for most tasks if it is one of the better made ones. These are priced from £40 to over £250 so guess how much you would need to pay for a good one. Most people let themselves down by using cheap drill bits. It is worth investing in some cobalt tipped bits if you do a lot of drilling in hard masonry.
I have two cordless drills, a DeWalt and a Makita but for drilling concrete and masonry I bought a reasonably priced regular-chuck DeWalt corded hammer drill. It was under $125 and works so much better than any cordless -- it drills into concrete like a fork into a stick of butter. It also develops better torque than either cordless if I am doing something like making large hole-saw cuts in framing lumber. And it doesn't lose power in the middle of the job (though I have spare batteries to rotate into the cordless units, it is still a pain to have to swap mid-project).
I worked for many years in industrial electrical construction and probably drilled tens of thousands of holes in concrete with dozens of different drills. The SDS drop in bit hammer drills (especially those manufactured by Hilti) are absolutely the best for masonry but it's hard to justify that expense for residential ocassional use. Either a Bosch or a DeWalt 120v hammer drill with standard chuck should work for you.
Mains Drill
Once the cordless is a bit old the battery loses its capacity and eventually a full charge may not be enough for drilling tough surfaces. I prefer corded drills as it avoids this problem. Basically you know that you can pull an unlimited amount of power no matter what.
My bosch 18v cordless with a hammer drill does everything I need it too. including drilling into concrete and mixing mortar, If I am going to use it for an extended amount of time I break out the corded drill though, It's lighter and no batteries to go dead.
Put it like this with a cordless drill you will run out of power, with a corded drill unless there is a power cut you will have all the power you need for as long as you want,but the strength of either depends on size of motor in watts please be advised that an sds drill is not a type/make of drill but a type of chuck >>http://search.bt.com/result?p=sds+chuck
Cordless tools are primarily for convenience. A corded drill, I like Milwaukee, will run all day long. I like 18V DeWalt for convenience. I had bought a 18V Skill and it was so weak I threw it away.
I'm in the construction trade, and all I use are cordless drills. For concrete I use a cordless hammer drill.