Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm looking for one around 14-18 volts. There a lot of models to choose from, just curious about which model others like? I would kind of like to spend no more than $100

My old 16 volt Craftsman been used and (I shouldn't say it but) abused and works as good as new.  Does a good job boring cement blocks, mixing paints, cleaning drains and also use it mounted for buffing with rouge and have run some Dremel tools in it.  Does a good job in hardwoods as well.  It's pretty powerful and the batteries last along time.  Had a smaller Ryobi that ground it's gears up in a short time and wasn't worth fixing..  although the Ryobi had a level built in that was handy. 

Would like to supplement it with a cordless impact drill - suggestions welcome.

While there are a LOT of drills in that price range, how much you use it is key. Once in a while, homeowners can get away with a Sears, or any basic model.

 For a few dollars more, you can get a Dewalt or Makita. I bought a MAKITA, with fancy Metal Hydride Batteiries. One charge per hundred deck screws, gota love it. It will easily last 10-15years. My first BOSCH drill went 10 years.

For top quality, I would recommend a Hilti Drill but, way too expensive for homeowner use. This Black & Decker is a good drill at a good price, not a bad way to go for the $. I have one that has never failed me but I'm not drilling into concrete or steel beams either.

Sears Black & Decker 14.4 volt Firestorm with 2 batteries, charger case and bits for $89.00

Dewalt 18Volt !  - Kris

I have a 12 volt Makita that I used and abused for about 7 years doing lots of drywall and also home repairs.  Although if I was hanging anything more than 3 sheets I would use my screw gun,  I used the heck out of it for patching.  I really liked the balance of the "T" handle, and the weight of the drill allowed me to work with it all day on either my stilts or ladders without my arm falling off. 

I could also put it in my tool belt without the battery weight tipping it out which was a plus.  The batteries or charger have now failed me, so the charge doesn't last very long.  I paid $125 for it in the late 90's but it has earned me $1000's.  Going against the grain of "higher volts is always better", the lighter weight served a good purpose.   My wife thinks I threw it out but I really have it hidden in my shed. 

Today I am now sitting just feet away from my new 18 Volt DeWalt cordless drill and circular saw combination kit.  Santa Paid about $159 for this at the Orange Box during one of DeWalts pre Christmas specials, but said that I was worth it.  (He obviously didn't discuss anything with my wife, but if Santa said so I figured I would let him run with it.)

The Dewalt 18 volt drill has plenty of power for just about anything you need to do.  (Although I am the type person that will pull out the corded tools if the job requires, rather than beat the batteries "to infinity and beyond" just for the sake of not pulling out a corded tool when the corded would be better.)  The saw that came with it looks nice, cuts slow, but is useful for trimming a board here and there, but it is no match for my Milwakee Worm Drive that will rip through wet 2x12 PT.

The battery on the DeWalt makes it far heavier than my Makita, but I am not intending on using the DeWalt  for the durations that I did with the Makita.  Hence, I opted for more power (higher voltage) at the cost of more weight.

Either one can run a spade bit through a 4x4, although if I was "putting in a fence" I would opt for bigger voltages, regardless of brand, because you do not hold/run it constantly and higher voltages USUALLY mean higher/longer power. (see This Old House - March 2005 issue. (Don't look at their prices because I don't know of anybody that charges that much))

As I said previously, I have both Makita and DeWalt, and I like the operation of each.  Although the Makita has "easily replaceable brushes" (I think, but I may be thinking about my screw gun and confusing the two)" , I wouldn't use that as a buying point.  In 7 years of drywall I never once replaced the brushes, or even took the thing apart to clean them. 

Unfortunately, neither of these fits into your under $100 category, although both companies make great equipment and if you find a sale you might get close to your price.  I have used a Craftsman 18 or 19 volt before (although didn't own it) and for the occasional stuff that seemed fine too.  It withstood the "ladder drop test" and kept working.  I think that Sears has sales rather frequently where you could get one in your range.

Regardless of brand, I would buy at least a 14 volt.  I would also recommend that you get one with 2 batteries so you do not get shut down while waiting for a charge (that way one charges while you use the other).  I have never used a B&D so I can't give my opinion on them, although they do fit your price.  If all you are doing is hanging pictures or using it as a portable screwdriver, just about any brand will work for you.  If you plan on putting in a deck, fence, installing closets, doing drywall, doing landscaping, I would consider one of the bigger brands. 

I hope this helps and best regards,

De-Walt  (I had to do that...),

 

 

 

We have a Craftsman cordless drill. Bought it as a kit for hubby with a cordless flashlight in a case with 2 rechargeable batteries when we first got our house and needed something but didn't have the funds for anything special. They have all sorts of kits available in differing price ranges. It does the job, but it's nothing outstanding. It is big, bulky, heavy.

My father has a Makita that I would just love to buy for hubby. It is far more powerful than hubby's although same voltage. It is lightweight, small and far outperforms our Craftsman. If you aren't going to use it for much, just want something in the right price range, than check out the Craftsman. If you want something sweet that will last, looking for ease of use, check out the Makita line. A much better build, but you will pay for it. I love power tools! Guess it comes from growing up with a mechanic and handyman who felt his daughters should learn to fend for themselves.

The baddest of the bad..........

Hilti UH-240-A, 24 volt, 3 speed drill with rotory drilling mode for steel and wood and, hammer drilling mode for concrete and masonary. At  672 in lbs of torque and drilling mode speeds up to 1950 rpm's, no cordless drill on the market will touch it.

Reversing Switch	Yes
Chuck Style	1/2 in. keyless, carbide jaws
Package Quantity	1
Ordering Name	UH 240-A Universal Hammer Drill (3.0-Ah NiMH)
Maximum Torque	672 in.-lb
Speed 1 No Load	0 - 350 rpm
Speed 2 No Load	0 - 1300 rpm
Speed 3 No Load	0 - 1950 rpm
Voltage	24 V
Weight With Battery	7.9 lb

O.K. Boo-Boo Tough guy...

Now tell us how much it costs!

Walt

Becareful looking at just the voltage ratings. How many amps?

If you take some of these things apart there is a big difference in the construction and wiring. I don't have the model number of the one we use, but it is a deWalt 18V with the better gears and no hammer. It was about $279 with three batteries. It has proven pretty tough.

Rob,

The Old house article I referred to discussed just that in regard to amps, voltage, etc. and run time.  In short, lower voltages with higher amp ratings may provide more power than one with a higher voltage.

On another note, I west to Pep Boys yesterday to see if they had any "regular" gas cans.  They too only sold ones with autoshutoff / no spill ends.   I think I we will need to fire up a lathe if we want a regular spout.

Walt

Many don't have amp rating on the net, However, if you look at torque and see that the Hilti at 672 in lbs of torque compared to the closest at 500 roughly, that tells a huge tale. It's not just torque where it shines, but also high speed if needed at almost 2000 RPM's.

Walt, as I said early, it's too expensive to warrant homeowner use. With the NiMH 3.0 batteries be prepared to spend well over $500.00. But, the drill itself will last forever.

Marshall,

672 in lbs. is a lot.  I know when I was researching my first cordless 420 was considered high and ample.  Santa pretty much impulse bought for my DeWalt, although he has a lot more experience than years back and knows the general rules. 

I figured the price would be around there.  We had a Metabo division close by and their stuff is high too.

Walt 

Thanks everyone for all the input!! All these posts confirms what I suspected, choosing a cordless drill is not a simple feat. I also read the article in TOH Magazine as well as Consumer Reports articles. I was disappointed by the TOH article. Not a lot of useful info, by far this forum is the BEST place to go when researching a purchase!!

Dewalt 18v, but it does cost more than a 100.00. I have two batteries that charge very quickly. Great drill, never want to be without it. Spoke with some pro dry wall installers and they said they use the 18v over the 24 due to the extra weight of the 24. I'd imagine using it all day would fatigue almost anyone.

I have used the De-Walt 18v 4pc. kit for five years. It was an fairly good drill, somewhat clunky and heavy for the power it had, but good for the price. My Bocsh 14.4v had the same power as the De-walt 18v.  I perfer the Bosch 18v the most., but all overpriced for your search that you are doing for this thread.  Stay away from Millwaukee cordless tools=they are junk.  Millwaukee corded tools are great, but whoever makes their cordless stuff for them needs an enema.      

                                                                        18 degrees

I'll check in for Makita,  I got lucky and got a new M-force 12 volt at agent Orange for $100.  (Grand Opening special)

I bought an extra for my Dad.  At that time there was a $20 rebate on them, bringing my net to $80!

I like the 12V, due to the weight factor and its' slighty smaller size allows me to get in tighter spaces.  The NiMH batteries are much better than the Nicads on my old Makita.
I also like the balance.  It has enough torque for what I need, 310 in lbs.  I've used it to build a deck  etc.  Will work as fast as I can and the batts. charge very quikly.

Smitty...

You're right... many many choices... tooooo many...
Think about and describe your needs/wants...

What tasks will you use it for... and which task is most important ? Use how often ?

What are your criteria for selection...?
#1 seems price... ~$100
#2 ?
#3 ?

Some are better for heavy duty jobs...
some for tight places...
some for scews and slip clutch effectiveness... versus drilling... which is more important ?
some for weight...
some for battery use among other cordless tools...
keyless chuck ?
variable speed ?
2 speed ranges ?
reversible ?
battery type ?
recharge time ?
run time important ?
1 or 2 batteries ?
etc...


Dave...

EMMO, MY SON!!!

I take back whatever I said when I kicked you out of the house.  Please bring the new drill over right away, I have a glass of Ice Tea waiting for you along with a sandwich...

My Makita also had the NiMH batteries.  They were a relatively new product at the time when I got the drill but lasted quite a long time.

Walt

I have had a nice Ryobi for 10 years which I just replaced with an 18V DeWalt.  The Ryobi still worked fine with the orginal battery packs though running time was progressively less and less.  The newer Ryobis do not seem as well made but Consumers rated the 18V Ryobi a best buy at $110 (and a Panasonic best overall at $250).    Ryobi makes most of the Sears cordless drills too I recall.  I'm very happy with the DeWalt so far.   -Bob

I have a Skil 12 volt and haven't used more than a Skil drill.  The 12 volt appears to have a 120 volt backup that you can put in instead of a battery.  I wonder if Manufacturers have that design.  I know Skil has the 1 hour chargers now.

Black and Decker has very good product now with the competition skill, Millwaukee, etc they need to impove a lot and the price is good too only one thing battery pack are very fragile they could crack very easy in cold weater if you drop it. But globaly I prefer them to the others

I have used and owned I think all, of the above mentioned.  I am 100% partial to Milwaukee tools.  You can p/u an 18volt hammer drill driver for about $130.  Lots of deals all the time trhat you can get a nice combo package, i.e. sawzall ,drill, flashlight, etc. cheap.  Of the other choices mentioned, I would put Dewalt in 2nd place.  Other off/cheaper brands will get ya by, but treat them like a disposable lighter, they can and will break fairly easily under moderate use.  In my business I'm a heavy user, and MIL stands up better than the rest IMHO. 

Incidently, if you find MILwaukee and or Dewalt are more than you wanna spend, the next step down, that would be an adequate average homeowner use, is Porter Cable.  Alot of my installers use them w/ good results. 

Go with 18 volt but not less than 14.4. Dewalt is best overall in my opinion but if you don't really use it a lot Ryobi is probable good enough. My wife bought me one of those sets (the works) for Christmas and so far I am very happy.