Do A Cordless Drill Comparison Before You Buy

Ever since I dropped my 18 volt nicad cordless drill off the ladder and fixed it with duct tape I've been wanting to replace it with a new lithium ion (Li-ion) drill driver. My old 18 volt nicad drill driver isn't anything special. I picked it up for 20 bucks at the outlet store. But there is one feature that made it special for me, it had no problem driving screws, especially 2.5 inch long deck screws into pressure treated wood.

I  have been  looking at cordless power tool combo kits with the idea that I would replace my old nicad drill driver and maybe add some other power tools as well.  One Li-ion battery cordless drill combo kit caught my attention. It was a Hitachi cordless drill driver with two 12 volt lithium Ion batteries  combined with a 12 volt impact driver. I liked this cordless power tool kit because it only had a 12v drill/driver and a 12 volt Hitachi cordless impact driver. It didn't have other cordless power tools like saws, sanders and flashlights. I had decided I really didn't need or want any other cordless power tools. I have a corded Dewalt circular saw my father-in-law bought me, I recently replaced my old craftsman jig saw (circa 1973)  that belonged to my father with a new Craftsman orbital jig saw. So, what I really "needed" was just a new Lithium Ion cordless drill driver and a cordless Li-ion impact driver. I knew cordless power tools with Li-ion batteries are better than power tools with older nicad batteries so I went ahead and bought the 12 volt Hitachi Li-ion cordless power tool kit without doing any real cordless drill comparison.

I should have done a cordless drill comparison before making this purchase.
               
After I bought the 12 volt Hitachi cordless drill driver - cordless impact driver combo kit I started to wonder if I had bought the right replacement for my 18 volt nicad drill. I decided before I put the 12 volt Hitachi cordless drill driver to work I'd better do a cordless drill comparison and make sure I'd be happy with my purchase. Before I'd gotten too far in this cordless drill comparison I read in the latest issue of This Old House that Tom Silva uses a 12 volt Li-ion drill driver and he is happy with the power.

The first thing I learned in my cordless drill comparison were the two main reasons Lithium-ion batteries are better than Nicad batteries. Li-ion batteries are about half the weight of Nicad batteries. Specifically a 12 volt Li-ion battery is about half the weight of a 12 volt Nicad and an 18 volt Li-ion battery is about half the weight of its Nicad counterpart. Besides the weight issue, Li-ion batteries out perform the Nicad by holding a charge for a lot longer than a Nicad. A fully charged Li-ion battery can be stored for up to a year and still hold its charge. In other words its ready when you are. The most important thing I learned during the battery study in my cordless drill comparison is power wise a 12 volt Nicad battery has the same power as a 12 volt Lithium ion battery and a 18 volt nicad battery has the same power as a 18 volt Li-ion battery.

So if I'm going to do an accurate cordless drill comparison I need to compare apples to apples. Power wise a 12 volt Li-ion Hitachi cordless drill driver won't have the power found in my duct taped up 18 volt bargain brand drill. And of course the higher power (more volts) means more torque. The torque is what overcomes resistance when driving screws. As I said earlier, my 18 volt drill could easily drive 2.5 inch long deck screws into pressure treated 6x6's. I decided to give the 12 volt Hitachi cordless tools a try before I decided if I should return them. I tried to drive a 1.25 inch long deck screws into pressure treated fence boards. I tried the impact driver, I couldn't get the first screw to seat all the way flush even after drilling a pilot hole. I knew that the 12 volt tools wouldn't meet my needs. To be clear, I'm not saying the 12 volt Hitachi cordless drill driver and impact driver are bad, its just volts=power=torque and a lot of my torque needs require at least 18 volts of power.

I noticed that many cordless drills are now listed as drill drivers (i.e. 18 v Bosh cordless drill driver) instead of just a cordless drill (Bosh cordless drill). A cordless drill driver has a clutch located just behind the chuck. The clutch disengages the drill driver's drive shaft making that distinctive clicking sound once a preset level of resistance has been reached. The motor is still turning, but the driver bit isn't. By setting the clutch correctly you won't strip a screw or overdrive it once it's snug. So its important to pay attention to the clutch settings so you are able to take advantage of clutch and not strip the screws.

While doing my cordless drill comparison noticed that the clutch has numbers and a drill bit icon. The numbers are the clutch settings for driving screws and the drill bit icon for drilling. The lower the number less torque that is applied before the clutch disengages the drive shaft, the clicking takes place and the screw stops turing. While doing a cordless drill comparison I suggest you check the number of clutch settings because the more settings, the more control you having in controlling the depth screws are driven. Also, many drill drivers have two power settings, the lower settings for driving screw and the higher for drilling. Also, a word of warning, the 18 volt Bosh drill driver I ended buying as a replacement said not to set the clutch between the highest number and the drill icon so the drill driver isn't damaged.

Also while doing my cordless drill comparison i observed that most cordless drill drivers have keyless chucks so all you need to do is tighten it by hand. A nice feature on the 18 volt Bosh cordless drill driver I bought is the autolock feature on the keyless chuck. Once the chuck is tightened it clicks "locked". This holds the bits and drills securely and the chuck won't loosen up and have the bits drop out. The keyless chucks are usually 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch. The keyless chuck on my new 18 volt Bosh cordless drill driver has a 1/2 inch chuck so I can use some larger drills. Also during my cordless drill comparison I noted some consumer level drills have keyless chucks that only take quick connect (have the chubby end on them) screw bits and drills. So if you are buying the cordless drill driver as a gift make sure that the recipient uses quick connect bits or included a nice set of quick connect bits and drills.

Pick up the drill, hold it above your head, how does the drill feels in your hand? The drills nose should point straight ahead without tipping up or down. Make sure it isn't too heavy for overhead tasks. If you are just shopping online you can compare the drill weight to help give you an idea of how the drill will feel. Also, if you are shopping online (such as at amazon.com) make sure you know what the return policy is before buying.

My list of features should help you while doing your own cordless drill comparison whether this purchase is for you or if it is a gift. One feature I haven't talked about is price. After I did my cordless drill comparison and went back to the store to buy my new 18 volt Bosh cordless drill driver I first saw a 18 volt Dewalt cordless drill driver for a nice price. After further inspection I realized that although this Dewalt has many of the features I want, it had a nicad battery so it is heavier than what I was looking for. So its okay to compare price but make sure that you are still comparing apples to apples.

After doing my cordless drill comparison I decided that what was best for me was to buy a Li-ion cordless drill driver and not buy the tool as part of a cordless power tool combo kit. When I'm using my new 18 volt bosh cordless drill driver I put a quick connect chuck in the keyless chuck and just switch between drills and bits as I do my work.

Besides helping me discover what cordless drill to buy my cordless drill comparison also helped me to better understand my tool. I have a better understanding on how to use the clutch settings and am now taking the time to switch between a number and the drill icon as I do my work.

Good luck as you do your own cordless drill comparison and I hope you find the cordless drill driver that meets your needs. I did, the first time I was up on the ladder with my new 18 volt Li-ion Bosh cordless drill driver I knew I made the right choice. I really noticed the wight difference between my old duct taped 18 volt nicad and my 18 volt Li-ion Bosh cordless drill driver.