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michael c

Plumbers Arms member
Plumber
Gas Engineer
Jan 7, 2013
609
89
28
sunderland
hi guys, has anyone used one of the newer ranges of the cordless sds hammer drills. I need to get a decent one as will hopefully be used on plenty of installs. I have been using a makita 24v nicad variant from my employer but it seems all you can get now is 18v li-ion or 36v. Are the new 18 v as good as their old 24v counter parts or do i need to fork out for a 36v unit?

Thanks in advance
 
I've got the 18v Mikita with interchangeable chuck, it suites me and anything bigger I'll plug a drill in however it does get through batteries if you use it for a prolonged period, the 36v are better on battery life but they are silly money and if you use them for long periods they do start to feel heavy, the Milwaukee mentioned above is the daddy as far as I'm concerned but you might need to re mortgage to buy one,

To places I buy my power tools from are its London or Axminster tool centre take a look at there websites and go from there
 
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thanks guys checked the milwaukee out best i have found is £570 so far which is similar money to the 36v drills out there
 
hi guys, has anyone used one of the newer ranges of the cordless sds hammer drills. I need to get a decent one as will hopefully be used on plenty of installs. I have been using a makita 24v nicad variant from my employer but it seems all you can get now is 18v li-ion or 36v. Are the new 18 v as good as their old 24v counter parts or do i need to fork out for a 36v unit?

Thanks in advance

what you wanna use it for? size of holes? drilling wood? overhead?
 
what you wanna use it for? size of holes? drilling wood? overhead?

Use will be drilling outside, upto 28mm, and hanging rads and boilers (dont like having cables everywhere for customers to trip)
I have a hilti sds max for heavier drilling and intend on a makita 18v combi drill for wood and smaller holes.
 
if your drilling 28mm holes with a cordless you will want a 36v tbh. tho i would not want to be drilling many 28mm holes with a £500-£600 drill thats not really designed for that size.

i have 5 cordless sds drills and i still cant decide which one i like best, it depends on the job.
 
When we say 28mm hole we actually mean clearance for 28mm right? For gas sleeving etc. I use a 32mm bit, wouldn't dream of caining a cordless on that, done it before and killed them. I got a nice £500 240v makita just for holes like that. Then I use and 18v cordless hammer for brown plugs etc.
 
thanks guys checked the milwaukee out best i have found is £570 so far which is similar money to the 36v drills out there
The milwaukee 28v sds is pricey and can manage 28mm easy,Pound for pound more impact than any 36v. Will even do 2" core holes. Ive had mine for nearly 5 years and never had to change brushes. its paid for itself..The lion batteries dont like cold weather though.
 
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meant 28mm to allow for 22mm gas pipe with sleeving, wouldnt dream of larger and to be honest it would be more occasional at that size i.e need to drill out in at top of ladder. Other than that large holes would be done with the hilti where possible. I have so much to bloody buy starting a tool box from scratch :willy_nilly:
so any donations welcome lads haha
 
Why from scratch?

Im looking at losing job due to my disability mate but i thought i would be with them a lot longer (disability came on after i got job and rapidally progressed, levelled out now though) so havent had a chance to buy anything myself yet.
 
The milwaukee 28v is pricey and can manage 28mm easy,Pound for pound more impact than any 36v. Will even do 2" core holes. Ive had mine for nearly 5 years and never had to change brushes. its paid for itself..The lion batteries dont like cold weather though.


its a good drill, about on par with the bosch imo. the older milwaukee v28 batterys lose power/ charge capacity quick, the m28 batts are def better from my experience.

the v/m 28 combi drill kicks arse, ive got three and ive only used one cordless combi drill i thought was better and that is no longer made.

i dont think the 28v plattform makes them much money, which is a shame and i hope they dont stop developing it.

an m28 fuel combi drill would make me ***** !! :ack2:
 
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the wife will kill me haha but think i will go for that mate as stands to save me 250 quid or so over buying the drill and the makita 18v i was about to buy
 
I use my Bosch 36V for drilling 30mm holes for a 28mm sleeve. Any bigger than that and I fire up the core bits. I'll use it to diamond core up to 2" in brick and 5" in blockwork. I have used to core a 5" hole through brickwork but it flattened both batteries. Was better than standing round scratching my balls while the sparky ponced around with the leccy.
 
its a good drill, about on par with the bosch imo. the older milwaukee v28 batterys lose power/ charge capacity quick, the m28 batts are def better from my experience.

I hear ya, two of the lads i work with have the bosch 36v sd, Both have needed repairs but not my milwaulkee. my batteries are on there last legs though. Think they only garenteed the older batteries for about 5yrs. have the new versions got a better garentee..?
 
I've used both the bosch and the milwaukee, and the milwaukee is better, else I wouldn't have bought it.

Michael - don't forget to make an offer, he will sell for less than £540. You can thank me by buying me a pint lol
 
its a good drill, about on par with the bosch imo. the older milwaukee v28 batterys lose power/ charge capacity quick, the m28 batts are def better from my experience.

I hear ya, two of the lads i work with have the bosch 36v sd, Both have needed repairs but not my milwaulkee. my batteries are on there last legs though. Think they only garenteed the older batteries for about 5yrs. have the new versions got a better garentee..?

the batterys have a 2 year warrantee i think and the tools 5. Same as before on the v28 from memory.

the m28 batts have better cells and to me seem better. Better reviews also on the net.

bosch batts are poor from my experiences.
 
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I'll probably jinx them now but I'm on my second 36V on the same set of batteries. First drill died after 5 years of hard use and I've had my current one two years. The indicator lights have failed on one of the batteries but it's still working.
 

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