Hi Julie,

I am going through trying to work out what type of drill/driver to add to my toolkit. I want something that is capable of acting as a driver for the stabiliser legs, I also need to be able to charge it from a 12v source, so it probably makes sense to use a low voltage unit.

I will be interested to see what other people suggest.

I bought an Ozito Cordless Drill Driver (18V Li-ion and 2nd battery) from Bunnings about 8 months ago for $78 (3 year replacement warranty).  It has worked well for me and I also use it for the stabiliser jacks on the 5th wheeler.

I have an 12 volt Ozito as per this link - got it from Bunnings for $90 with spare Lithium Ion battery. Has long battery life and can be charged from car battery via cigarette lighter outlet cord. I use it to wind legs on van up/down etc. Enough power to twist your arm off and been dropped a few times so is not flimsy. Also is small, light and has no big bulky battery at the bottom.

http://www.ozito.com.au/lir-012

Grevo wrote:

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I bought an Ozito Cordless Drill Driver (18V Li-ion and 2nd battery) from Bunnings about 8 months ago for $78 (3 year replacement warranty).  It has worked well for me and I also use it for the stabiliser jacks on the 5th wheeler.

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 Ozito only now offer 12mths replacement , I think it was costing them too much money and No replacement for Tradies use , only DIY work. 

Hi all;

       I had a ozito 12 Volt battery drill that i had for about 12 years and twice had re paced the battery pack. I used the drill mainly to take the many screws in and out of the electronic equipment that i repair ( plasma and lcd televisions and audio equipment ). Over the years that i had this drill the other technitions and my self abused the drill on several occations and we could not fault the drill. Finaly the drill started to become un reliable and by this time the drill was running of a external power supply.

I purchesed a royobi 18 volt drill that failed after 6 months, the forward/ reverse switch had failed . Took it back to bunnings and got a refund and payed the extra $100.00 and purchesed a makita 18 Volt with two batterys. This drill is now 2 1/2 years old and dose not look like it is ever starting to fail.

One thing that i always do is the spair battery is always in the battery charger and on charge when the workshop power is turned on. ( The charger is one of the newer ' smart chargers' ) . That way when the battery goes flat ( after about 3~4 days of use ) i can change over the battery and keep on working. Pulling the best part of 50 ~ 60 screws in and out of your standard 50" lcd / plasma ctv. A battery drill is must for my took kit. From memory i payed $360.00 for the drill.

As for repacking the battery packs i used the replacent batterys ( cells ) puchesed from WES components in sydney. Some time this is cheaper than buying replacement batterys to suit your drill.

Thanks everyone, I won't be drilling into concrete or doing any repetitive tasks like some need to. Just a few holes now and then, undoing and replacing screws.

For me the drill needs to be as light, as possible, and have 2 batteries (just in case).

You have all helped me to define my needs, thankyou! Off to Bunnings tomorrow Cheers JulieM

Mark wrote:

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Hi JulieM,

This is one of those questions that may provoke a whole mirriad of responses about what one is the best.

Do you have a budget?  You can pay anything from $29 up to the $450++ point.

Something in the middle of the road, like a Ryobi, 18 volt, two batteries, in a case, around the $125 mark would be ideal

I've attached a link from the Whirlpool forum that is discussing exactly this.

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=ryobi%20cordless%20drill&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CFEQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.whirlpool.net.au%2Farchive%2F1768661&ei=oWPqUaehLIL1iQfb2ID4BQ&usg=AFQjCNFLavK4pXEQjc-b40Ai3SR1RJIvvQ&bvm=bv.49478099,d.dGI

Mark

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 Bloody hell!  ...  Had a look at that link & it goes on and on and on  ....  Lots & lots of very good stuff but confusing.

While scanning it I rang my son, a tradie,  who uses battery tools all day almost every day.  A typical job would be screwing down a whole roof.  So they have to be very good!  .. 

His choice after trying all the top professional brands is clearly Milwaukee.  But other tradies swear by other brands.

But his cost around $600+.  Certainly not the answer for a DIY person. 

I usually get his old ones as he finds a new model or the chuck gets a bit iffy.  They last for years, usually till I burn them out thru mis-use but that's getting harder to do these days as their quality improves.

I would look at a mid range one from people like Trade Tools ... around $130.  Certainly a Lithium Ion battery and if possible around 18V.

I use 240v stuff for heavy work.

Cupie wrote:

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Mark wrote:

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Post Removed

-- Edited by Mark on Thursday 25th of July 2013 01:21:04 AM

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 Ha Ha .. I bookmarked the page for future reading  .. Thanks.

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I haven't removed my original post with the link, that's still there.
I removed my reply to your post!!