Need help with impact drills.

[johnjohn]

Hello to all,
I haven't been looking for a drill since I bought my 1992 B&D professional drill broke.
So I haven't been up to date, and was considering an impact drill to cover most things I do around the house.
I'd like to ask a few questions I need help with:
1-why do the 1/2" sq socket head impact drill have way more power than the 1/4" hex shank models? what's the difference between them?
2-Is it really worth getting lithium ion batteries over nicd?
3-I wouldn't mind buying me a 1/2" square mount if there were an adapter to let me mount 1/4" hex shank tools/bits on it..
4-Why aren't there many reviews on impact driver models? I saw random reviews for them but nothing comparing models.
5- could someone recommend which company sells an impact drill tool set that are high quality and chinese junk that break off?

I thank you for your any help you can give me. Have a great day.

[black1]

do you want to drill or put in screws. impact driver is good for screww but not to good for drilling holes. i have both(hitachi 18v lion)
there is a magazine out in the newsagent which does tests on power tools. just seen it today.

[johnjohn]

Thanks for the quick reply.
The work i'm looking to do is drill (<10mm) holes in wood masonry. All kinds of screws. And possible be able ti remove tires from car. Anyway, I found an adapter Dewalt has for the 1/2" drives
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/dewalt/DW2298/

I just need help with my other questions.

[Ramps]

Welcome to the forums JohnJohn ... don't be shy... where's "ssd" for goodness sakes.

Like black says impact drivers aren't drills but I gather that if you're looking at hex vs 1/2" square drives you are actually looking at impact drivers.

When I was looking at purchasing a year or so ago I talked to a a couple of builder mates ... if you're serious ... Panasonic or Hitachi. I went with the Hitachi as the batteries were universal across all their tools of the same voltage (NiCad, NiMH and Lith Ion) so the batteries I got with the driver will also run the (cheaper NiCad) drill that I also bought. Excellent quality tek screws thru 5mm steel, unbelievable ... max I've gone thru is three batteries in a day and that's steel shed building ... that's why you go with Lithium batteries, most NiCads are up to about 2 AmpHour often the Li ones start at 3AH. If you're serious about using the driver for construction then yes Li Ions are worth the money ... if you're playing in the shed then prob not.

If you're changing wheels go for the 1/2" square drive otherwise the hex drive is a lot more versatile and you can still manage to sheer the head off a 12 gauge hi tensile tek screw if you try. Hard to drive a phillips head screw with a 1/2" square drive though. By the way I have comfortably tightened nuts up to 22mm with the hexdrive-square drive adapter that came with the driver.

Cheers