Cordless Drill
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Cordless Drill
I have a bunch, old Makita 12v, great drill but batteries are going, going....and not available.
New, tiny Makita 12v LiIon, works well, one battery down, one.... And those are internet only from what I can find.
And a few others with worse issues.
So, Milwaukee comes to mind, and Northern Tool has a sale it appears.
M12 is a 3/8", 12v, 2 batteries, $129
M18 is a 1/2", 18v, 2 batteries, $169/199.
My concern would be the M18 being too big, unwieldly. The other concern being the M12 not being very strong, or with low battery life.
Anyone work with either of these?
How has Milwaukee been with battery design? Does it change every 6 months with older stuff hard to get?
Thanks!
New, tiny Makita 12v LiIon, works well, one battery down, one.... And those are internet only from what I can find.
And a few others with worse issues.
So, Milwaukee comes to mind, and Northern Tool has a sale it appears.
M12 is a 3/8", 12v, 2 batteries, $129
M18 is a 1/2", 18v, 2 batteries, $169/199.
My concern would be the M18 being too big, unwieldly. The other concern being the M12 not being very strong, or with low battery life.
Anyone work with either of these?
How has Milwaukee been with battery design? Does it change every 6 months with older stuff hard to get?
Thanks!
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,476
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From: Frequently frozen MN
Milwaukee is usually pretty good stuff. You might try a trip to Home Depot. At our local one, they have a lot of brands of battery tools out and powered so that you can get a feel for them. If nothing else you can see how heavy the big one really is.
I'm sure that they'd prefer that you buy them there too, but ....
hj
I'm sure that they'd prefer that you buy them there too, but ....
hj
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Brentwood,CA
The m12 Milwaukee fuel will do everything there standard m18 non fuel drills do and then some. I have both m12 and m18 and go mostly for my m12 at work. Look at home depot for the m12 fuel bundle promo with the case. You can get the 1/2" m12 fuel hammer drill with 6.0 battery for under 199.
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Bought the M18 Brushless 1/2" hammer drill + 1/4" impact, two batteries, charger....$199 at Home Depot. Fuel is quite a bit more. This same combo (brushless, not Fuel) is on Northern Tool at $299!!!
Of course, one of the batteries is no good, so back it goes for an exchange in the morning. They can't just swap me a battery, they have to take the whole thing back.
Homer, are you listening?
Of course, one of the batteries is no good, so back it goes for an exchange in the morning. They can't just swap me a battery, they have to take the whole thing back.
Homer, are you listening?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: Nixa
Have you looked into getting the batteries rebuilt? Both battery stores here offer that service, and I'm going to take one each of my Dewalt and Ryobi batteries to check it out to see if it's worth the time and money.
Quite frankly I'm tired of paying 100.00 plus for two new batteries. Especially when the last 2 pack of Dewalt batteries didn't seem to last very long.
Quite frankly I'm tired of paying 100.00 plus for two new batteries. Especially when the last 2 pack of Dewalt batteries didn't seem to last very long.
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Bought the M18 Brushless 1/2" hammer drill + 1/4" impact, two batteries, charger....$199 at Home Depot. Fuel is quite a bit more. This same combo (brushless, not Fuel) is on Northern Tool at $299!!!
Of course, one of the batteries is no good, so back it goes for an exchange in the morning. They can't just swap me a battery, they have to take the whole thing back.
Homer, are you listening?
Of course, one of the batteries is no good, so back it goes for an exchange in the morning. They can't just swap me a battery, they have to take the whole thing back.
Homer, are you listening?
I looked into the rebuilt battery, was leary as it wasn't that cheap. Maybe I'll look again, as the much vaunted Milwaukee brand seems to have some battery issues right out of the box. If I get another dud I am going to go with Makit or DeWalt. So what if they obsolete their batteries every couple years as long as the darn things work to start with!
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Did get the Milwaukee set exchanged and everything works correctly. So I thought I'd get another battery for the 12v Makita, and between the 3, I'd be all good on cordless, along with the menagerie of corded drills I have. So I find an outfit that sells a battery, and the best deal is for 2. They arrive, and both will run the drill, but the charger won't accept them! OEM is BL1014, and these are BL1013. The nice customer service lady repeatedly wants to do an "exchange", as she shows they are compatible. I can't make her understand the charger problem. So I figure what the heck, try a couple others. So I ask how do I ship the "bad" batteries back--she says to toss them! So... so I have no faith that the new ones will work. And I find a charger that specifically shows a BL1013 charging for $12 on Ebay. And then just for S&Gs I try the old bad Makita battery in the charger. It takes a charge and works!. By the end of this I will possibly have 6 batteries for that drill. I'm not sure I have that many holes to drill. This never happened when I was single.
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From: Maine, Virginia
I'm surprised that no one mentioned the Kobalt line of 24v brushless tools. A four piece kit can be had for $399. That comes with a 5 year warranty on the tool and a 3 year warranty on the battery. Hell, if you;re going to buy a Chinese made Milwaukee then a Chinese made set form Lowes with a better warranty and better service is a bargain.
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Lowes is closing my beloved OSH hardware stores. Plus the closest Lowes is harder to get to and farther away than Home Despot. Otherwise I'd be there right now. Right now I have to give the keys to the wife and go into lockdown. Between the $4 gas and all the "savings" I've been getting with 40 to 80% off stuff at OSH, I am going to be broke.
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From: Maine, Virginia
Lowes is closing my beloved OSH hardware stores. Plus the closest Lowes is harder to get to and farther away than Home Despot. Otherwise I'd be there right now. Right now I have to give the keys to the wife and go into lockdown. Between the $4 gas and all the "savings" I've been getting with 40 to 80% off stuff at OSH, I am going to be broke.
Sometimes I forget that living in the burbs is a blessing and a curse. If I were still at my home in Maine Lowes would be 45 minutes away yet here in Va, there are three Lowes with in that same time frame.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2015
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From: Washington Coast
I have to 2, 24 volt Dewalt drills and a old 18volt that the original battery I got with it died this year, I’ve had it for 10 years and I’m not sure how old it was when I got it. They shut down one of our shops years ago and I got several items as they were just gonna scrap them. I went on line and ordered a new charger and 2 batteries for the 18 and one of the 24s for less than $100.00 for each drill. Just gotta shop around. The 24 came with a new bag so now I got the bag for the 18. I do really like that old 18 volt, thing runs tremendously longer than the 24 volts and handles a paint mixer with no problem. That plus the 3 speed settings it’s great. The 24 volts are no slouch though and with it being smaller one is in the travel trailer in case.