Anyone have experience with a battery powered impact driver or drill? I need to drill 1/2" holes with an auger bit about 12" deep for bolting toghether my foundation beams. I'm looking for something that holds a charge and with a couple of batteries will last most of the day. There is no way to charge a battery out at my cabin site.
I've been drilling by hand (with a bit and brace); however, I would like something a little quicker. I've heard some fairly positive feedbak on the Panasonic impact driver. Anyone care to offer an opinion?
I don't know the Panasonic, but I'm pretty impressed by my Rigid. It won't last very long running on highspeed/impact through concrete but it holds up well under low speed high torque general boring. I did fairly well starting each morning with two fully charged batteries but ultimately switched to using the high speed side of a Boss boring machine for all my ½ & ¾" holes in the main timbers.
I have the Milwaukee 28v set with the impact driver for changing the tires on the van and the 1/2" hammer drill both work great. The batteries last a long time as long as it's not really cold out.
kfhines
I would be tempted to go with an engine drill for that many large deep holes. I love my rechargable drills, but the batteries have a real tough time putting out that much power over a days time. Check out a Tanaka engine drill. I have one and it is not fast, but it has enough torque to drill most any size hole through anything.
Quote from: kfhines on February 12, 2009, 07:04:38 AM
I have the Milwaukee 28v set with the impact driver for changing the tires on the van and the 1/2" hammer drill both work great. The batteries last a long time as long as it's not really cold out.
kfhines
+1.
I don't have the impact driver, but I have the rest of the set (drill, sawzall, circular saw, and flashlight). The batteries last longer than any other cordless drill that I've owned, and we've used it to bore many 1" holes through utility poles.
The sawzall seems to draw the batteries down pretty quickly, but the other tools last a long time on a charge.
BB Tom,
I looked up engine drills. I sort of like this idea as, then, I am not held hostage to a battery. What model Tanaka do you use? I see on prices between about 300 something and 550. Looks like the difference is a bit more horse power and a reverse lever.
I'm thinking reverse is worth every penny extra. ;) Echo and Stihl also make gas powered drills. Here (http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?PageNo=1&SKW=drill&catID=) is the search results for "drill" at Bailey's Online. There are gas drills on all three pages of the search.
I think I'd buy a small generator that could be used at your cabin, then use a plug-in drill.
I'm with witterbound. I'm sure you could find other uses for the generator once you had it as well.
Hi,
I'm pretty sure an impact driver is only used for driving fastners and can't be used for dilling.
You want a drill and for hole that big I would say a corded drill.
THere are some big Lithium Ion drills that will do what you want (milwakee28 volt and Bosch 32 volt come to mind), but I still think you will have to bring some extra charged batteries if you want all day performance and swapping an expensive lithium ion battery in one after another will be hard on the drill itself.
I think you will be ahead buying a generator (as these big volt kits arn't cheap) and using a holehawg as has already been suggested.
I think that your best bang for the buck would be a generator and a corded drill. An impact driver can be used to drill holes, but you have to have a bit with the 1/4"hex shank and it needs to be impact rated- most long drill bits do not fit that category. A corded drill in the category you are looking for would be similar to the 36V Dewalt drill. It runs around $500 with 2 batteries. My little brother uses the 36V Impact putting grain bins together and will use 3-4 batteries per day (10 working hours). A 5000 watt generator will run around $650, and will have more uses further down the road when you are working on other projects. I would get the biggest generator you can afford, then you can always use it for backup power, or anywhere you dont want to drag an extension cord to.
Just my 2 cents
Charles
The Reverse lever would be nice, but the smallest one (TED-210) is what I have and it has more torque than any electric drill I know of but no reverse lever. I used it for tapping maple trees, and drilling holes in locust posts, used it with a 2" auger bit to drill a hole under stumps for dynamite. Never had a problem with it running out of torque.
I like the generator/drill idea also.
The one time I found my 18v hammer drill really handy was when drilling bolt holes into the basement floor through 2" of standing water. Not somewhere I wanted my corded drill and extension cords. ;)
For about 50 bucks you can buy a small inverter that will plug into the cigarette lighter in your pickup. This will run your battery charger all day so you can just keep recharging. I use it for this type thing all the time. But I agree that the best use of your money would be a small generator and corded tools. If you have the cordless already though....
I use Makita tools and they have a great impact driver. Impact drivers don't have adjustable chucks. They are made with a locking mechanism to accept hex bits only. I don't think it would work well for drilling large diameter holes with auger bits. I would vote for the small generator with a hole Hawg type drill or better yet a boring machine. Jim usually has some for sale.
as eric sasid--the inverters to run off the car battery--can be had in many diff wattages--the larger ones will connect directly to the battery--and you need to keep up the speed on the inverters--as they pull more power than you would think--but they mostly cost less than a gene--but then the gene--if you buy a quality one--is about forever---
Thanks. I appreciate all the feedback. I picked up Bosch 18V drill/driver for now (I need it around the shop, my Dewalt died). In the spring when I can get back to the camp with an ATV, I will get a generator, which should make life a little easier.
Actually, I used my Bosch 18v to drill 23 half inch holes in some
PT 2x and 4x lumber on a deck project last weekend. That was on
one battery. I needed 26 holes ;D but that's how cordless tools
work sometimes. I know it was 26 because I had 25 bolts and had
to go back to town for that last one. :D
Drilled and lagged up some foundation beams this weekend with the Bosch 18V. I drilled 15 holes that were 1/2" diameter and about 12 inches deep in oak beams and stumps. To finish up the job, I needed to pop in the second battery. The drill worked very well.
Jon
I have a ridgid 18V hammer drill that works really well. Just as a test, I drilled about 50 1/2" holes through 2 inch oak, and when it was done it still had juice left in the battery.
Jon,
I wouldn't recommend drilling with a dedicated impact driver. I tried that with my 18V Li-ion Milwaukee, because I was drilling holes in studs to run romex, and the impact driver is a shorter tool than the drill... more room to maneuver... but as ksu_chainsaw said above, when you use an impact driver, you need impact-rated drills... I learned this the hard way... I broke a drill bit and an extension... and then ended up going back to the tried-and-true Hole Hawg (arm-breaker).
You could always get a small solar panel and a battery and leave them at the cabin, then wire an inverter to the battery and run your charger off of that... or maybe Bosch makes a car charger for their cordless drill batteries?... I say this because you might be able to scrounge this stuff together... I've found 400W inverters at Big Lots for $15... otherwise, it would probably be cheaper to just buy another battery for your Bosch if you needed the extra run time...
-Norm.
Another thought is to check into 12 volt plug-in chargers for your Li-ion battery. I have one for my Ryobi 18v Impact Driver and it works great - runs off one of the power ports on my truck.
Now that it was mentioned I have to say the 18V drill and impact driver from Ryobi have been one of my favorite tools. I have a lot of other "higher end" brand tools, but that ryobi (18V) just keeps going, was rated well by finewoodworking, and at $40 for two batteries and an extra charger (either the drill or impact driver with a charger and 2 batteries is always under $100) I loaded up on batteries and when I got out to work on a project I never have problems with running out of juice. Built a tree mansion for my son this past summer (700+ BF of ERC just for decking, trim and rails alone), working 12+ hours a day pre-drilling and putting down decking, railing, etc and with four battery packs I never ran out of juice. The impact driver has the benefit as well of making it almost impossible to strip screws, and it was great for driving lag bolts. I do have to say though it is just below the torque level for changing tires.
Tell me about Rigid's warrentee? They say "lifetime " replacement on everything.
Ironwood
I also understand even the battery is covered with Rigid. Their tools may not be the greatest, but that warranty is interesting. I wonder though if the batteries are prorated like with an auto battery? My brother has a fairly new 18 volt Rigid Impact driver and it did not seem to hold up as long or drive as well as my older Nicad 14.4 Makita Impact. We were shooting a bunch of the 11 inch panel screws in my roof and were cycling our batteries fairly frequently. The Makita Charger would have a fresh battery ready when needed but the Rigid did not.
I have a neighbor who I don't know very well who drives a Ryobi truck and I asked him a week ago or so if I could borrow an impact driver so a friend could help me install metal roofing on my house. He didn't BUT it turns out he is also the Milwaukee and Rigid rep and he mentioned the Rigid lifetime warranty . He also had a special on an 18v Lithium Ion Milwaukee combo set impact-driver and drill for $200 bucks with a case of quality bits. Sounded good to me so I now own that set and it seems to be a winner also. Not too big or heavy but seems to have good power and run time.
Quote from: shinnlinger on August 18, 2009, 01:18:01 AMHe also had a special on an 18v Lithium Ion Milwaukee combo set impactdriver and drill for $200 bucks with a case of quality bits. Sounded good to me so I now own that set and it seems to be a winner also. NOt too big or heavy but seems to have good power and run time.
Shinnlinger, I bought a Milwaukee 18v Li-ion kit (drill, impact driver, sawzall, light, I added a circ saw) a year and a half ago or so, and I've been very happy with it. I didn't realize HOW happy until I tried to use a Ryobi 18v Li-ion impact driver at work the other day... the Ryobi is a lighter tool, but it's not nearly as strong, either.
With the Ryobi, I was having trouble driving 3" deck screws through 3/4 inch plywood, into some pallets... it would eventually do it, but it was SLOW. With the Milwaukee impact driver, I haven't had any trouble driving screws, even 3/8" x 6" lag bolts, and it's fast. I've used it to loosen lots of stuck nuts, and even changed the pulley on my alternator with it. I will say, it's a bit heavier to lug around.
The kit has two downsides... one is the Milwaukee light, I'm not impressed. Mine has developed a symptom that it will turn on every time you try, but if you bump it even a medium bump, it will shut off. Turn it off and back on, and it will come on again. Frustrating. I need to take it apart and see what's up. The second downside is the case for the kit, my same complaint with most cases, it's not practical. It has room for a couple of bits, but not enough room for a bit case, or any long Sawzall blades... who the heck designs these things? I ended up buying a Husky bag to put everything in, it works out better and it doesn't scream "Milwaukee, steal me" when it's sitting in the back of the car / truck, either...
-Norm.
Hi Norm,
My Milwaukee kit is only the driver and the drill so I don't have a bum light but the case is actually decent as you can put BOTH tools in with the batteries on AND a bit in both chucks, which I think is a first. The tools themselves seem to be more compact than other Milwaukee products I have seen.
I think it is really Amp hours that make or break power and run time on these tools as opposed volts. I got a Panasonic 15.6 a few years back (10?)that would run circles around DeWalt 18 volts, but mine had 3.5 AMp hours where the DeWalt was only 2 amp.
ON a quasi related note why are replacement batteries so expensive for these tools? It seems that every 3 years or so the batteries on whatever tool I have starts losing its charge holding ability. Of course you can buy a new battery for $80+ a pop but my logic is why spend $160+ bucks to keep an older tool that has fallen off your roof a few times and is starting to pop out of gear when you can buy a brand new latest and greatest for only a few bucks more?
I have heard mixed results on battery rebuild operations and they aren't that much cheaper especially when you throw in shipping.
You answered your own question there, shinnlinger! :D By making the batteries so expensive, they're hoping you'll just pony up for a new tool, instead of keeping the one you have.
What is nuts here is that only 6 companies (Or is it 2?)in the world that make rechargeable batteries. The tool companies take these batteries and stick them in their plastic case. You would think that there would be a ripe aftermarket, but I have heard of only a few and it hasn't been good.
The guy that runs the local Snap-On truck offers cordless tool battery pack rebuilds... you give him your worn out battery packs, and he brings them back a couple of weeks later with new cells in them. I've heard he charges about $40 a pack... not sure if this is just for NiMh and NiCad, or if it includes Li-ion and LiFePO3, but I can find out.
Shinnlinger, you're right about just a couple of companies, Panasonic makes a vast majority of those cells, if you could just find the raw cells (hobby shops sometimes have them) then with a little soldering, you could replace your own.
-Norm.
Battery Plus, a local battery rebuild outfit said they do not rebuild the Li-ion batteries. I also found it cheeper to buy new ryobi batteries new than have them rebuilt.
Tim
What I have heard is the rebuilds are closer to $60 (Including shipping) and they can mangle the case/contact points in the process and they reloaded cells are generally the 1.5 amp hour deals vs 3 amp hour deals....
But I would think if a SNap On Rep is doing something with it might be worth a shot for $40...
The inverter would probably be the cheepest and maybe best fix to the dead bat. problem, but a slightly diffrent twist might be to buy the smallest generator that will still charge your bat. I have seen some little bitty ones. I can think of lots of usages even for those little ones in a power ottage or something....Like run the blower on the insert instead of running the big generator. ;) Tim
I have been using a small Honda generator, 1000 watts, it will charge batteries at an idle, it will sense the load and only run at the speed needed. It is not mine but I would consider one when the next need arises.
Tim
If you don't mind a cord you could use a "yard sale" cordless drill around 12-14 volts (seen some nice name brand drills cheap with dead battries) remove the batteries from battery case and soldier in some wires and hook up to a 12 V car or spill proof fire alarm backup battery, it should run a drill for a log time.