Cordless Drill. Surprise!!

[earthworm77]

I've had a Ryobi 18v for 20 years...used it for everything from building 2x4 shelving in the garage to stirring thin set mortar for a shower rebuild. We go through a lot of batteries. Mostly because my wife uses the same batteries for her weedwhacker. We found that the cheap knockoffs from Amazon work just as good as the brand name ones from HD.

I bought the 125.00 18v 4 tool set on sale for 99.00 to do work at my cabin with the intention of just leaving it up there 2 summers ago........nope, they have been so good I took them home, I also got the 13" trimmer, jet blower, impact gun, inflator and vacuum and 2- 4mah batteries. All cheap on ebay.
Ryobi has been really good so far. I prefer it over my hitachi stuff.

[Backlash Ar]

There's a reason for this old adage: You get what you pay for! (Be sure to get a drill with a 1/2" chuck)

[Milehibird]

I used Ryobi's at first when I started installing cable over a decade ago. After going through 3 sets of batteries in about 6 months worth of work, I splurged and bought a Makita. A decade later, they still worked flawless (then the impact and batteries were stolen). There's nothing that will convince me to use anything but Makita.

[mrlawler1]

Very interesting.... Wonder about longevity.....

[RazorCat]

This is the same kit I bought from Lowe's. They had a deal for a free bare tool and a third battery around the holidays, but they seem to frequently have just the bare tool offer going on. (the third battery I got is a 4.0aH unit - very handy with high draw devices like the reciprocating saw)

http://www.dewalt.com/en-us/products...o-kit/dck283d2

Thank you sir. Looking to upgrade my drill/driver, and keep the old one to the lakehouse. My other DeWalt tools (saws) still run like new.

[WWDIII]

The Porter Cable is bad to the bone. I've had Dewalts, Ryobi, Hitachi etc, even Harbor Freight. Porter Cable seem to be the way to go. You can buy off brand batteries on ebay for cheap that fit a Porter Cable too.

[mzack]

Put the 6.0 battery in that little milwaukee, and I bet it does close to 1000 screws. There is no comparison between the larger batteries and those tiny ones.

[Blazer1]

I sell tools for a living. Millions of dollars a year of Dewalt, Porter Cable, Makita, Milwaukee, Metabo and Panasonic. This report by CR has so many flaws in it, that it's not even worth responding to. Other than to state just that.

[Chadsc]

I sell tools for a living. Millions of dollars a year of Dewalt, Porter Cable, Makita, Milwaukee, Metabo and Panasonic. This report by CR has so many flaws in it, that it's not even worth responding to. Other than to state just that.

Agreed. I dont care who does a bench test or what company reviews what. Look what is on jobsites for people that use those tools for their livelihood. Im a makita man myself and wont use anything else. Buy a new 18v set every 2 years.

[cubswin]

Assume that is new out of the box. I have had a great harbor freight and a Rural king drill. New they were as good or better than any out there. Two months later with a few dozen charges in them and they wouldn't drive 2 dozen screws, 6 months the plastic is cracking. Black & Decker will give you about the same results.

Had a black and decker for about 5 years, still working just fine for jobs around the house.

[Neilslure]

I used to work in a shop building exterior door units... from basic to fancy 30-50 a day. I used a 20V brushless Dewalt driving a bunch of hinge screws, truss plate screws and 3 inch deck screws all day every day. I would change batteries about two or three times a week. We also had a 18V Milwaukee that would drive hundreds of screws installing glass inserts and some hinges... it would last almost all week on a single charge, a tad heavier than the Dewalt but it was a quality tool for sure. I am now doing field service and a Dewalt impact is my primary drill now, not using it constantly but alot more than the average DIY person would and I get a few weeks out of a battery in most cases.

[Clif Kincaid]

Agreed. I dont care who does a bench test or what company reviews what. Look what is on jobsites for people that use those tools for their livelihood. Im a makita man myself and wont use anything else. Buy a new 18v set every 2 years.

Truth....And for me its Dewalt 20v..I have added the Milwaukee hole hawg with a 9.0ah battery. And I fricking love that thing for everyday past first day rough in on houses.

[Hickory Legend]

I have used most brands around the house and find Milwaukee hold the best charge for my minimum use. I use it hard for around a week and nothing for a few weeks or months . The Milwaukee is always ready to go!!!

[acheter]

Makita beats all of them ( except the Milwaukee that cost twice as much)

[1781ccT]

Thank you sir. Looking to upgrade my drill/driver, and keep the old one to the lakehouse. My other DeWalt tools (saws) still run like new.

FYI - Rural King has a "budget" line of DeWalt brushless tools on sale for $179 (DCK277C2).

Be warned, though, the tools come with 1.3ah batteries instead of 2.0ah batts in the combo at Lowes/HD. It also comes with a slow charger. But, it's $100 less than the regular combo

[haftafish22]

Not sure if it was said, didn’t read all the post, but who puts screws in with a drill these days? Pick up an impact and you will leave a drill for, well, drilling.

[Justfishing]

The drills vary. They range from 12 to 20 volt. They include nicad and lithium. Given the variance of battery size and type the results are not surprising.

There are other variables to consider. Brush or brushless motor. Quality of the clutches and other parts are not reflected in the number of screws that one drives. I don't think it tells you anything other than larger lithium batteries drive more screws.

[Justfishing]

This is not a side by side field test. It's an estimation based on math. I have a 20v dewalt and it's main use is mixing thinset and grout in a 5 gallon bucket. This is VERY hard on a drill. I have burned up many 1/2" corded drills through the years. Some cheap, some not. None have done the job like my dewalt cordless. I've been using it nearly 2 years and it is still going strong.

I recently tiled a large bath. Burned up a 1/2 corded.

[g352nv]

I have two of the Milwaukee's in the report. I can tell you these are AMAZING for the size and batter voltage. I use them 80% of the time. I also have the Porter-cable's. I have three of these, drill, and two impacts. The drill is crap burned one up. The red battery one is AMAZING! I took out a set of seats like nothing. The power was pretty awesome. The black battery one is OK but the red battery one kills it.

[g352nv]

Not sure if it was said, didn’t read all the post, but who puts screws in with a drill these days? Pick up an impact and you will leave a drill for, well, drilling.

I do screws bolt and nuts. Great for working on lift kits ect.