Battery Drill

[chrisb691]

I have owned various (cheap) battery drills over the years, and most of them have been utter crap. About 3 years ago, I bought a Triton plungedrill, and was very happy with it in respect to it's ability for perpendicular drilling. Apart from it's weight. it's major drawback for me was my usage pattern. I only use the things periodically, and everytime I picked it up it was flat. Last year one battery died, and the other now takes 7 hrs to change.

Just before Christmas, I was lucky enough to win $200 of Bunnings cards from a forum draw (thanks again ubeaut and donors), and in december bought a Ryobi 14.4vt lithium drill. I got around to looking at it in January, and was surprised to find that both batteries already had a usable charge in them. But I fully charged both batteries, and put the drill away.

Since then I have used the drill periodically, and, up to today, have not changed the battery. Today the battery finally went flat during a job, so I slipped the other one in and kept going, having put the first battery on charge. 3/4 of an hr later I had finished, and the first battery was ready to use again.

I do not know what sort of lifetime I will get from the batteries, and only time will tell. However, I am extremely happy with the drill's performance, and particularly how it is handling my type of irregular intermittent use. It is quite small, very light, and has more than enough grunt for what I use it for, which is generally odd jobs.

For others with the same usage patterns, I am quite happy to commend these drills to you.

[MCD]

Those Lithium-Ion batteries are something else aren't they!
I just bought a Makita BDF452 with the LXT batteries. Granted mine is 18v but still - the power!?!
Thanks for your honest review.

-Jim

[greybeard]

Yes it's a great pity that my wonderful Triton drill doesn't have lithium batteries as I have the same problrm of being flat when I go to use it

[3RU]

They don't like lithium batteries on aeroplanes. Maybe that is not a problem. - Hi

Dave

[artme]

All of my 240V drills packed it in, except for the 1050 Watt Ozito.Trouble with it is using it in confined and awkward places.

The other day I had to finish a job and the big Ozito just wasn't suitable so I bit the bullet and bought what the pocket could not really afford- an 18V Li-Ion One Plus One Ryobi.

No more cords to get tangled in, job done quickly and efficiently!! Used it since for a few outdoor jobs where previously it would have taken two extension leads and all that that entails.

I am more than happy with this drill!

[itsposs]

I went the step up and brought the AEG kit, Whilst doing so i lernt a little more "Millwakie sells Aeg as its lesser brand and Aeg sells Ryobi". But either way I am loving the Lithium-Ion batteries.

[Beetle Shirt]

I have an AEG 18V Li-ion I bought about a year ago to assemble my shed. Handles tek screws easily, has more than enough power, and it *always* has a charge when I want to use it. When the battery is running low it pauses for a second or so to let you know it's on its way out, so you grab the other battery and slap the first in the charger. Leave it a couple of months and grab it again, and it still has a good charge. It's a wonderful change from the old NiMH batteries that were always flat when you wanted to use it!
The only reason I've used the corded drill in the last year is because the cordless was too far away (down the road). I'd call it an essential tool.

[chrisb691]

Okay, so I am now some months down the track with this drill and I am happy as a pig in poo. Does everything I want, and it's always there ready for work. Big thumbs up to Ryobi.

[Buzza]

Over the last five years or so, I found that I had a collection of battery operated tools that all had dicky batteries. I found that I had four batteries that would take a bit of a charge, and would also fit into my best of the battery drills, although not tightly. I charged all of the batteries, and used plastic sticky tape to hold them into the drill that they were not meant for. I managed to build a chook house in this way, changing batteries frequently. The drill was a 14V and the some of the batteries were a lot more than 14V but it does not hurt the drill apparently. Anyhow, they were near their "Use By Date". When it came time to shift house, I threw the lot out in the dumpster.

Now that I am finally settled into the new place, I find that I have nothing to do or make, and so I am debating on whether to get a new battery drill or just use the leads for the electric drill. I knew about theLiOn batteries, but wasn't prepared to trust them, until now that is.

When most of us sum up just how many battery drills we have owned over the last thirty five years or so, I reckon we have blown a lot of money on them. Most never returning what we would have paid out to buy them for, due to periodical use.

Anyhow, I find that #1 son who lives just three K's away, has one of these LiOn battery drills with two batteries. We are both periodical users so I go and nick it out of his shed when he is at his day job.