Cordless Drills, Battery Life and Cost

[tractorbeast 27]

I would like to let everyone know of my recent experience with my cordless drills. I own both Dewalt and Rigid 18 volt drills. My Dewalt, I left outside, by mistake in the rain for a week or so, sitting on top of my wheelhorse, on the cover. I was in the folds of the cover -did I see it -NOOO. So I assumed it lost. I bought a Rigid cordless, with a lifetime warranty. As of late 2012, the batteries are covered for lifetime replacement by the Home Depot in your nearest town. They replace them right at the store(Make sure u register your drill, charger and batteries online)Not the best cordless, made by Ryobi, BUT they replaced both of my Lithium 18 volt batteries for free after 2.5 years of use. I paid $100 for a rebuild of two Dewalt 18 volt NiCd batteries, which I needed because I also have a cordless Sawzall by Dewalt. Just a FYI, to the members. I have been happy with both company products, Except for my stupid butt for losing one in my own yard.

[posifour11 723]

Good to know. I've had a ryobi set for a couple of years and am happy with them.

Thanks for the heads up

[Kelly 1,029]

All my cordless tools are Dewalt 18v, 2 drills, sawsall, sheet metal shears, 3/8" impact wrench, and a 1/2" impact wrench, and I have corded Dewalt tools, VERY happy with all of them.

[coldone 35]

Nice to know about the rigids. I have been a little let down by Dewalt cordless at least with the homeowner grade stuff. I had an 14.4V drill and trimsaw package I purchased in 2005. The batteries lasted a several years of home owner use. They started to get very weak and the repalcements were almost as expensive as a new drill by itself. I did not have as much use for it so I struggled with the 2 batteries I had. This past christmas they put the same drill on sale for $80, a single replacement battery was $65. So now I have a new drill.

Now as far as the XPR series, I have had one at work for the past 5 years 18V ocassional use. It has held up fine but the kicker is that I had left it in a freezer that I had been rebuilding. I got the freezer back up and running and forgot about having it in there, so as part of my QC the freezer ran for a week before I took it back to the customer. Before I took the freezer off the truck I checked the interior one more time and found my drill still sitting in there. I pulled it out and threw it in the truck so i could complete the delivery. I got back in the truck and the drill was still frosty so I waited until the next day to try it out and it worked fine, the battery still had a good charge left on it. So I am happy with the XRP series of drills.

The freezer was in test mode for that week, so it was running at max cooling -86C (-123F)

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,294]

I have no experience with DeWalt stuff but I have used Milwaukee cordless stuff commercially and had good luck with them. I never had a lifetime warantee to fall back on tho.

Mike.............

[meadowfield 2,570]

All the dewalt batteries in cordless drills ahave failed after around 2-3 years of light use and constant charging. Whilst the drills are well made the ni-cads have been very poor. On the other hand I have 2 makita 12V cordless drills that are almost 10 years old and still running the same 3 batteries :)

[squonk 41,010]

I bought a 18V Dewalt drill / saw combo about 10 yrs. ago. Light use. I now have an impact driver and a flashlight to go with it. I still have one battery from the kit working. I went to Lowes the day after black Friday and bought 2 new batteries for $129.00.

[Martin 2,131]

back home i did office interiors as well as multi story construction for 15 or so years, nothing but makita ( the decent stuff- not the smaller home handyman models) , it was the most reliable for the amount of abuse that the guys dished out.....

since ive been here though, ive had good success with milwaukee 18 V cordless drills. there was a problem with the 18 v batteries must be 5+ years ago and they did a recall, got all my old ones replaced and they are still going strong. i use the drills mostly but i really abused a cordless sawsall when i was tearing out old lumber for the building material for my garage, it held up for about a month, but that thing worked from charged to flat, swapped batteries and go again, until it gave up the ghost and i went corded. i was a little disappointed at first until i really thought about what sort of use it got. in normal use it probably did many lifetimes work.......

we use dewalt at work 18 v xrp stuff, and it does well, especially since most of the year they are in 120+ degrees environments. heat is one of the biggest killers of battery life. biggest complaint with them is the keyless chucks screw up from abuse......

[rmaynard 15,407]

I personally swear by Makita. I have an impact driver, 1/2" drill driver/potato masher, reciprocating saw, and 6" trim saw. They all use interchangeable 18 volt lithium-ion batteries. The batteries that they share have been going strong for over 10 years. My DeWalt 14.4 volt cordless drill has gone through 5 batteries in 10 years.

Edited January 28, 2013 by rmaynard

[6wheeler 603]

I've had my Makita's for 10 years and have replaced the battery one time . otherwise they have been good. My brother is a home remodeling contractor and he swears by his Panasonic drills and cordless saws. He gets free replacement batteries if needed as well. 2 of his Panasonic chargers have been replaced once for free also. He says they are more compact than most drills and seem to have quite a bit more power. He has a couple of Makita's and a Dewalt that need clutch work(he doesn't throw any power tool away). He also has a Hilti saw and drill that work very good too. As he says, "these are way out of the average homeowners budget" But, they work excellent for what he needs for the big jobs.

[baerpath 517]

Just curious, got a Craftsman impact and drill both with 19,2 lithium battery's. Seem good took the lug nuts off a D250 that we had put on with a air impact 4yrs ago with out much effort. Any thoughts about them for the long term?

[CRE1992 135]

Just a quick FYI Rigid is no made by Ryobi, it is actually made/owned by Dewalt. I am 20 years old and have been working with cordless tools for as long as I can remember. When I was 11 or 12 I had my own set of 19.2V craftsman, then I moved to dewalt XPR series. When they wore out I got Milwaukee 18V Fuel brushless impact and drill/driver. this past Decemeber. Why you might ask? Well Milwaukee is a great brand. The batteries have a button you press and it tells you how much battery life is left. Great for when your working on a ladder or a lift. I also have a Milwaukee M12V in a little impact and hammer drill. They also make a ton of tools that use those batteries. I am a firm believer of great tools. Milkwaukee and Dewalt for electric tools. And Klein for screw drivers and other electrical hand tools.

[decksetter 50]

The batteries have a button you press and it tells you how much battery life is left.

I had a skil set 10 years ago that did that. Didn't make the batteries last any longer.

The more I use the dewalt lithium set I have for work, the more I like it.

I had an 18v lithium Hitachi, it got too cold and I apparently didn't let it warm up enough before I used it. It started smoking and never worked again. They didn't respond to my multiple emails about their "10 year warranty" either.

[Lars 526]

I use battery tools every day in my job as a craftsman / roofer and has been doing it for 14 years...Them are used in all kinds of weather and it is really put to the test and we have tried different brands ..

DeWalt XPR, Makita, Milwaukee, Panasonic, Hilti, Hitachi etc etc

All have impressive performance as long as you buy pro tools .. I now use Hitachi 18V 3 Amp and 14.4V 3 Amp've had them 3 years now and not replaced the battery yet .. Repairs on one gearbox for 18 volts. thats all.

But all of them are very good tools as long as u dont save on the $$ when u buy tools..!!