Nimh Battery Bunnings

[Kerby Reynolds]

Ibought a $60 240v Hammer Drill from Bunnings and it is the worst drill i have ever had. The hammer part shakes the masonry bits loose evert 3 sec, so it takes forever to drill anything. Its got heaps of power, but not much torque.

I also have a cheap GMC cordless ($80) and its not bad, its not a hammer drill, but I have drilled into brick (soft) no worries. Its 14.4v and goes ok, but isn't very torquey. It won't unscrew 100mm batten screws from pine etc.

Then I got given a Makita 18v cordless tool set from my boss worth over $1200, in that I got a cordless hammer drill which runs rings around the other two drills. Its worth about $400 on its own. This drill drills through concrete like butter, and can break your wrist screwing things.

1. Battery power and life. 18v L-ion batteries recharge in 20mins and last for hours. 14.4 NMH batteries take 3 hours to charge and last for 20mins. 18v will out power 240v appliances of similar size, 14.4v won't

2. Steel drive line vs plastic. Cheap drills are light because the have plastic drive gears and parts, these are not strong and will fail just not work. Steel drive lines are heavy and will never fail.

Personally I'd prefer to spend slightly more for an entry level decent drill that drills + screws well. Maktec has been suggested in the past. My maktec gear is stil purring along and was reasonably priced.

I've got a mate with the Bosch who reckons it's average at best. A normal screwdriver and your arm has more torque. They're good for doing up screws that don't require guts such as building computers etc. A tradie I know swears by his that he uses to adjust long adjustment screws that would wear out your arm but aren't very hard to turn.

i doubt the ozito will handle drilling concrete..

the cordless might be ok for hanging up pictures and stuff, and as you said glorified screwdriver, but dont expect it to last long. if ur always using it.

Got a cheap one (Hammer drill, corded though) to do 4 holes in a slab I needed to do, Worked fine. I wouldn't get a battery one though not enough power. If you need a battery one fork out and get a good brand, anything else is a waste of money

I'm thinking I might as well forget about it for now. My current drill is too big for me to reach a bracket above my wall cabinet. I guess I'll just have to remove the cabinet first, drill hole against the wall, then put it back and manually screw in the fixing screw. Not looking forward tho'...

If you get a cheap drill, the touque it has just strips the heads of any cheap screw. It takes so long to get any tight screws in or out, the drill bit just jumps out. The batteries are always running flat and seem to spend forever charging them up. Ozito is a one shot drill, so its o.k. if you only have a small job to do and then you can throw it away as well as GMC or any other cheap drills. I have had 3 cheap ones and was continually charging the batteries so when I did wnt to use the drill it was ready to go.

If your going to buy a drill think of how much use you will get out of it or how often you are likely to use it and what for .

I cocked up a plastering job and needed to sand it down but i have a sander (Makita) that would be damaged by using it to sand down plaster ,solution el cheapo sander $30 it did the job and at the end it only cost me thirty bucks to fix whereas to replace the Makita $200 + .

When i buy a tool i try to think of how much use it will get and buy according to my need if its a one off the el cheapo but constant use Metabo or Makita .

Thanks!

edit:

Don't go the ozito, I bought an ozito battery screwdriver and it was crap. I've used ozito before, I bought a belt sander and orbital sanders, as well as a heavy duty sds drill that's been good. But I regret ever buying their battery screwdriver, it's rubbish.

I'm in air conditioning, and they often have a lot of screws (and some have a hell of a lot of screws), that need to be removed to get the covers off, so I've used battery screwdrivers everyday for years. I've bought a lot, broke a lot, lost a lot, so I've owned lots of different brands.

I've owned some of the bigger ones, like the makita and others that have a handle that goes straight or locks in a 45 deg. But they were usless to me as a/cs are often in tight areas that need these smaller fixed grip ones. Although these larger ones have torque settings often and if size isn't an issue it's probably better to get a larger on with torque settings and larger battery.

The B&D one has lasted the longest (longer than the bosch or large makita etc), and a charging cradle rather than just a wall plug transformer and lead.

If you want a small battery screwdriver, go the B&D.

Actually, that's not too bad then! Are the warranties the standard 1 year? That said, make sure you read the conditions carefully, because I think they specify that heavy duty and trade/commercial use isn't covered, but for the average person that should be ok.

My Hell Cheap Yellow Ozito $39.00 is now only 5 months and counting & I have only used it a handfull of times & probably only need to use it a handfull more within the next 19 months? If it breaks I will take a 5 minute drive and get a replacement, Heck for that price I'll buy another :)

I started thinking of getting one while putting up IKEA (Billy) bookshelves and they need a bracket to hold it against the wall on top. Only after I bought the height extensions did I realise I now need to drill yet another hole (taking off the first ones I did...) but the amount of room at the top of this height extension and the ceiling is too small for my hammer drill. I will have to mark the spot, take the height extension off, drill hole then mount it up afterwards, and then screw the bracket in place. Maybe the small cordless screwdrivers would do, dunno. Certainly if I were to look at a real cordless drill, I would need to spend a bit more money, but they would be too large for this job anyway. I think what I'd like is a small cordless drill, as the cordless screwdrivers might be too weak.

If you get a cheap cordless, get one with 2 batteries.

The problem I found was the cheap "dumb" charger was over-charging/heating the batteries and killing them. You either need a slow charge (12 hrs+), or a smart-charger, and this was neither.

I have a super-cheapie drill, but I only need to work on something maybe once or twice a year, so it's not worth it for me to blow a couple of hundred bucks. Eventually it'll die or burn out and I'll just get another cheapie for another 5-10 years.

The 18V Ozito cordless drill is actually pretty good, and would more than meet your needs. The proviso is that (as will all cheap rechargeable devices), you always turn off the battery charger as soon as the battery starts to warm... NiCad batteries are endothermic whilst charging, and exothermic when charged. Otherwise battery life will be curtailed, and replacement batteries are not economic.

I got an Ozito 22v or 24v from Bunnings (3yr warranty i think) for around $100. Came with two batteries too. A charge lasts ages too, i haven't charged it in months and use it for hammer drilling into masonry, drilling through steel etc (at least 10 different occasions and only now does it need charging)

Bought a cheap hammer drill from bunnings a few years ago (maybe 60 bucks don't really remember). Has been fine. Only ever use it twice a year at most. For home use the cheapies are fine and if it breaks or gets stolen in a few years just get another one. No big issue.

Ok, a bump to this thread as my 11 year old makita cordless drill (non hammer) is pissing me off. I've not done much install, so the drill was just for drilling out rivets and making 5mm holes, so it's done the job for now. But the batteries are old, replacement batteries are $90 ea or if I DIY the job $64 each for a set of 8 3300mh sub c NiMh batteries. I was going to DIY and I already have the battery compartment craked open clean and neat, but I hate the short shelf life NiMh has.

So what's a good trade specced long battery life, high torque and happy to hole saw sheet metal or drill 10mm holes in steel drill to get? Battery shelf life is important (time to self discharge) as I don't use it every day, more like once a week and it

s not always expected that I need it, so I can't plan for when I should charge it. Also important is low prices for replacement batteries, quick charging without shortening battery life and the drill being light and not too big physically.

Also I have a 20 y/o two speed mains hammer drill that's kicking along nicely, just a PITA getting power to the outdoors of a house sometimes. What would be the price difference between a great drill like I want, and a great drill that had a hammer fuction for small holes in masonary? I'd get out my mains powered hammer drill or SDS drill for 10mm or larger holes, but I'm talking about 5/6mm holes that I have to do for indoor a/c split systems, pipe covers, clamps and isolator mounting etc.

Panasonic but you need to open the wallet up a fair bit for one. I have had one for 7-8 odd years & we also use them constantly at work & they are bloody unstoppable. Ive seen them with smoke pouring out of them but they just keep on going. Great speed control also.

Funny how once that used to be Nicad, NiMh was the new whizz bang stuff, i have 2 cheapish Li-ion tools, and they do seem to be a good improvement yet again, what ever replaces it one day will probably be amazing, maybe small self contained nuclear power plants.

From what I've been reading, Li-ion batteries die after 3 years, whether you use them or not. Li-ion discharge slowly so are good if you need them on the odd occaision and forget to charge them the night before.

Guys I might point out that this is a terrible approach environmentally, we are trashing resources and creating waste like this. Please spend a little more and buy something lasting then look after it. Better for all concerned...including our kids' world.

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