Power tools drill thousands of holes in their lifetime. Take a little time and find the right cordless power drill for your application and make it a happy life for you and the drill.
Everyone has their favorite color drill, yellow blue, red, teal. You know the colors and the brands. But when you consider how many holes power tools drill for you, shouldn’t you look beyond the “color”? I feel there are a few things you should consider before you pick your favorite brand or color off the shelf.
First and foremost, what will be its job? If most of your work is drilling small holes and driving small screws, you don’t need a 24 volt monster to get the job done. Sure they have massive power but they can actually slow you down by adding fatigue after an hour or two of work. Many times a 12 volt or 14 volt unit will cover most jobs you may come across. If you need to drill large hole saw holes or deep holes or even use in a hammer drill mode, you may be better off with a big dog, but still the current 18 volt power tools drill with plenty of power for most jobs. If all you do is assembly type work, consider one of the small pocket drivers, especially the light weight lithium.
Battery type. You have 3 choices to choose from. Nicad, Nimh and Lithium batteries. Nicads have been around for years and are a great choice and all the major brands have them. Nimh offers more run time in the same size package although your choices are a lot slimmer. Panasonic is the main one for the Nimh although you will find others. The premier choice, in my opinion is the Lithium battery tools. It’s hard to believe the run time you can get from such a small battery. Don’t worry about the power from such a light battery, remember, 18 volts of Nicad, Nimh or Lithium batteries will give you the same power.
How much will it be used. Remember we said power tools drill thousands of tools? Well not always. My 14 volt Bosch sees about 15 minutes of use every couple of weeks. My 12 volt Bosch saw about the same use for many years before the batteries finally go weak. If you are a homeowner, a lesser priced tool may be adequate for most of you applications. If you are a contractor, don’t skimp. A cordless drill is your right hand and makes you a good living. Buy a contractor grade tool and check the warranty. Some tools warranties are void if used in commercial application.
What do you have now. Okay. You have a favorite color tool and you have the radio, the vacuum the hat and everything. Well their is a lot to be said about loyalty. If you already have a whole shop full of Makita, why would you change and have to mix and match chargers and batteries? Valid point.
In conclusion, try to be color blind next time you pick out a cordless tool. Weight the above points and you’ll find that both you and your power tools will live happily ever after.