Drill Advice?

Rockbox

Rockbox

Rockbox

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I have a Nickel-Cadmium drill. It's heavy and loses power quick. I also have a wall-plugged drill that's heavy. I've been putting off buying a new one, but recent weather events require me to fix a few things. I need one that drills through tile, wood and possibly even brick with one hand.

I'd prefer a Lithium drill with a USB-C charging port. However, I'm price-sensitive, and have a One4All gift card from Christmas. I can use it at places like Argos and B&Q, and was wondering whether their entry-level 18v drills were worth getting. I looked for reviews on Youtube, but the landscape is cluttered.

Is the Black + Decker Cordless Hammer Drill with Battery - 18V from Argos a good buy? It's 25% off till March - £41.25 - making it only £1.25 more than Amazon. I also like being able to return it to a physical store if it gets busted. My One4All gift card would also drop it to £16.25.

How do the Guild, Mac Allister and Ryobl drills fare? Don't want to spend too much, but the £25 gift card gives some flexibility, assuming the product's not costed up compared to online prices.
 
You know if you can put up with a cable 240v plug in drills really are better.

I have battery drills as well, but basically never use them.

Just at get an extension lead.
 
Thanks. I made do today with my NI-CD drill and its 30 minute battery life. Not great, but in terms of cost, every little helps. Will use the plugin in the future, although the mixing of rain with extension cords concern me, so I'll let the storm die down a little.
 
Rockbox said:
Is the Black + Decker Cordless Hammer Drill with Battery - 18V from Argos a good buy? It's 25% off till March - £41.25 - making it only £1.25 more than Amazon. I also like being able to return it to a physical store if it gets busted. My One4All gift card would also drop it to £16.25.

How do the Guild, Mac Allister and Ryobl drills fare? Don't want to spend too much, but the £25 gift card gives some flexibility, assuming the product's not costed up compared to online prices.
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If you want to drill masonry or metal, Ryobi is ok, so that isn't a bad shout. Otherwise, go for the entry level DeWalt, Makita, Bosch (blue preferably) etc. If you're not willing to spend that, you'd be better off sticking with your mains drill IMO.

If all you're wanting to drill is timber and plasterboard, then yes, any entry level 18v li drill will be fine :) It probably won't affect you, but make sure you're aware of the chuck size and any limitations that may have as most cheap drills have a 10mm chuck.

Sounds like your nicad drill is on its way out in either case though.
 
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What about Erbauer? £65 puts it in the same price category as the (green) Bosch.

There's an £80 Ryobi that's 25% off at Argos till March. EDIT: that model isn't designed for masonry, so probably why it's cheap. Guess I'll skip.

Otherwise, there's a DeWalt for £85 at B&Q.
 
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Assuming you just want a drill, the Ryobi looks better spec than the £85 dewalt. If you plan to buy other 18v tools in future, you need to look at the system as a whole and see which had the best range for your needs.

This one has 2 batteries and is a combi drill (inc hammer) for masonry.

https://www.diy.com/departments/ryo...5sk-2-batteries-included/4892210187468_BQ.prd

The argos £80 Ryobi is a drill driver (no hammer) so no good for masonry. You would then need to get your 240v mains drill out for masonry.

IMO erbauer is ok, some good stuff, some rubbish stuff, but my main concern would be spares. Will you be able to get batteries etc in a few years? With DeWalt or Ryobi etc you will - you can still get replacement batteries (both genuine and aftermarket) for their old systems, but will you be able to with erbauer?
 
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Personally, I don't believe in extended warranties. If the £85 Ryobi is better spec and has 2 batteries, it makes sense to buy it. Unless anyone has any objections. What annoys me is that 5 days ago it was £70 on Amazon. This is why I hate gift cards, since assuming that deal comes along again, I'm only saving £10 rather than £25.
 
BUDFORCE said:
You know if you can put up with a cable 240v plug in drills really are better.
Click to expand...

Yes but no.

I used to think the same and made do with only a corded drill for years. My wife bought me a DeWalt cordless last year and there has only been 1 occasion since that I've had to use the corded drill for.

I've also never had a cordless screwdriver, so the DeWalt serves double duty for that, and has enabled me to do jobs that I wouldn't dream of without (putting screws in tin shed roof, boarding out loft)
 
Armageus said:
Yes but no.

I used to think the same and made do with only a corded drill for years. My wife bought me a DeWalt cordless last year and there has only been 1 occasion since that I've had to use the corded drill for.

I've also never had a cordless screwdriver, so the DeWalt serves double duty for that, and has enabled me to do jobs that I wouldn't dream of without (putting screws in tin shed roof, boarding out loft)
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He would have probably been better saying 240v drills are more powerful and therefore make lighter work of most drilling tasks.
Battery normally wins like you say, for ease of use.
I have a 240v bosch blue sds and it only gets occasional use.
 
Armageus said:
Yes but no.

I used to think the same and made do with only a corded drill for years. My wife bought me a DeWalt cordless last year and there has only been 1 occasion since that I've had to use the corded drill for.

I've also never had a cordless screwdriver, so the DeWalt serves double duty for that, and has enabled me to do jobs that I wouldn't dream of without (putting screws in tin shed roof, boarding out loft)
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The only time I've seen a cordless come close is when I borrowed a contractirs 300 quid bosch sds to drill a concrete floor at work. There's no way a cordless of the same price will be more powerful than a corded, batteries aren't cheap there's got to be a compromise somewhere.
 
Armageus said:
Yes but no.

I used to think the same and made do with only a corded drill for years. My wife bought me a DeWalt cordless last year and there has only been 1 occasion since that I've had to use the corded drill for.

I've also never had a cordless screwdriver, so the DeWalt serves double duty for that, and has enabled me to do jobs that I wouldn't dream of without (putting screws in tin shed roof, boarding out loft)
Click to expand...

Same for me. My old corded drill is hardly ever used now, only really when I have lots of drilling and screwing to do, and it saves having to continuously swap a drill bit for a screwdriver bit. I use my DeWalt combi drill for pretty much everything around the house, and as a powered screwdriver. If I need to drill numerous big holes in masonry, I borrow the father in law's corded SDS.
 
Ryobi R18DDP2-0 18V ONE+ Cordless Drill Driver £50 on amazon. I have used this to drill into brick and concrete and it's not meant to have the guts but its never had an issue. I use good quality Milwaukie bits from screwfix come in a set. You would need a battery of courser but just letting you know for a wood / Plastic and basic brick and concrete drill its been a fantastic buy for the money.

For an extra £4 you can get the hammer version
Ryobi R18PD3-0 ONE+ 18V Cordless Compact Percussion Drill
 
I've only used my corded drill a couple of times since getting my 18v drill driver. Cordless is just so convenient around the house. In my mind there's no point keeping the corded drill, and I be replacing it with a cheap SDS and have the best of both worlds.

By the way I was able to drill into concrete lintel with the ryobi (brushless) no problem at all. The only time it failed completely was drilling into the garage concrete floor, and the corded was no good at that either.
 
My battery Makita impact wrench and drill are my most used DIY tools. Much more powerful than my old mains Bosch but to be fair they were each 5 times it's price.

Makes for much easier and neater work.
 
Ryobi and Makita are both large Japanese manufacturers, and in my opinion offer better quality (and probably support) than Black and Decker, which is an American manufacturer.

I have a Worx cordless 20V drill and think it's good, although this might be over your budget.
 
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