Lithium Ion Drill/Impact Combo

[fishnowworknever]

Ok I'm in need of a new drill, I'll be replacing the old style drill/driver all in one. Right now I'm using an 18v DeWalt.

For those of you who have the new lithium ion impact, give me some feedback please.

I'm looking at the Milwaukee combo (drill/impact driver)

Thanks in advance

[Whoaru99]

I'm very pleased with the compact Hitachi 18v lithium ion drill i picked up a while back.

But, as a point of clarity, do you mean impact as in impact wrench, or impact as in drill/hammer drill combo unit?

[fishnowworknever]

I'm talking about the impact driver and the drill combo packs they have.

Like this:

[PurpleFloyd]

Back in the good old days before L/I technology the best cordless drills hands down were the Panasonics. They still make a heck of a L/I drill but the cost is more than it should be so when we made the switch in the cabinet shop we went with Hitachi. Tried makita and they were OK. I think Milwaukee has a good drill too. Dewalt is lower in quality but better in marketing if that is important to you. Right now we are running Rigid cordless drills from Home Deptot and impacts and I have to say for the money they are tough to beat. They are hands down superior to the Hitachi's that we have and their warranty is as good as it gets too. We run them hard every day of the week and they never miss a beat.

[i'majigger]

PURPLEFLYOD HOW DO THE BATTERYS HOLD UP ON THE RIGID? I am also looking a buying a new tool so am interesed in how they last as far as how long between charges?

[psepuncher]

I work in a metal fab shop.

All day long the Rigid is keeping up with makita.

And when I say all day long, I'm throwing about 400 to 600 parts together per day. If you get the one I have it's crazy fast. The torq and rpm specs on the riged {I bought} is over the top in performance compared to some other models including big name brands.

but here's the newest version soon to be on the shelves.

Black and Decker just came out with an outrageous combo.

On the impacts, there's going to be adaptable tools.

Rigid has some on the shelf for their coded electric version, but soon to be on the cordles ones too. And no, I ain't talking about a dink flaslight that one would already have dozens of laying around.

[psepuncher]

this is what I'm referring to...

Black and Decker's Matrix

I just hope the newer rigid's come out before christmas...

It'd be a nice gift for my wife to have around the house.

[JohnMickish]

At work I use a 18V Makita set. I've had the same set for 4 years now, and other than the batteries going bad every two years it's been bullet proof. They have been dropped, knocked off ladders and generally severely abused and I will wouldn't give them up for anything. I've also got a Makita battery powered reciprocating saw, circular saw, porta ban, hammer drill, radio and flashlight. All have been unbelievable, and they get used every day.

[psepuncher]

At work I use a 18V Makita set. I've had the same set for 4 years now, and other than the batteries going bad every two years it's been bullet proof. They have been dropped, knocked off ladders and generally severely abused and I will wouldn't give them up for anything. I've also got a Makita battery powered reciprocating saw, circular saw, porta ban, hammer drill, radio and flashlight. All have been unbelievable, and they get used every day.

ya,

I totally agree

we knock those mak's around all day too. Most times they get dropped from at least 4' onto concrete floors. Heck we even use the bottom as a hammer to knock plywood in place when needed.

They are plenty tough for sure. The warranty on the rigid's are lifetime I think, not sure of the mak's. Rigid also has the best rubber grip I've come accrossed. But if you're getting four years of get'r done then that's plenty good value IMO.

[PurpleFloyd]

PURPLEFLYOD HOW DO THE BATTERYS HOLD UP ON THE RIGID? I am also looking a buying a new tool so am interesed in how they last as far as how long between charges?

I know they last longer than the Hitachi batteries do. We use them all day whether for assembly or installing. Battery life is not a problem

[Tom7227]

If Ridgid is bulletproof how come the first two pages on Amazon show reconditioned units?

[Ufatz]

While I have heard good comments about the Rigid, and have examined them from time to time, I always come up Makita. I don't like the prices much but I keep in mind that I still have a thirty year old 9v Mak drill that I USE every time I'm in the shop: drill with it and drive with my new Li Makita. Also have circ saws etc. by Makita and I even use an electric Makita CHAIN saw!! Don't laugh....that baby cuts just fine. I put a Honda genset on my Mule, grab a 50' power cord and away I go to the woods!

I'll vote Makita every time but if a guy has to closely watch costs the Rigid, with its long guarantee, might be the way to to.

[PurpleFloyd]

If Ridgid is bulletproof how come the first two pages on Amazon show reconditioned units?

I guess I don't read amazon reconditioned pages to determine how good a tool is. I just use them every day of my life to make a living with them.

But if that is indeed the metric you use, maybe do an in depth analysis of this site and let me know what you come up with.

http://www.reconditionedtools.com/shop-by-brand/shop-by-brand,default,sc.html

This search has both Makits and Dewalt as well as many others show up before Rigid, but as I said, I would not use that as the basis for making a decision.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=reconditioned+lithium+ion+cordless+drills&rh=n%3A228013%2Ck%3Areconditioned+lithium+ion+cordless+drills

[Alagnak]

We purchased 8 Rigid units 4 years ago- 4 drivers, 4 impacts. I have never brought in a driver/impact yet, but every battery was replaced the first time within one year, many have been replaced a 2nd time already. Although that might seem like a pain- I don't mind the replacement warranty agreement we have on the batteries- they obviously had a problem at the beginning, and the tool place that takes them is in Savage on my way to work. If it was not, it would be a major pain in the *** and I'd be PO'd about the whole deal.

[psepuncher]

If Ridgid is bulletproof how come the first two pages on Amazon show reconditioned units?

As said - all makes are found on that site.

But the real issue behind it, is the fact that innovative technology advances at a rapid pace. I just bought an X4 Fuego new off the shelf this year in March. Soon they are coming out with X6.

As soon as they do, you'll see my X4 for sale too.

Cell phone technology is just the same.

[Whoaru99]

Be sure when comparing battery life you're taking into consideration the capacity of the battery pack. IOW, you can get some units with a big heavy battery pack (relatively speaking) and sure, it may last longer but that doesn't mean it's really more efficient or has better battery life, per se.

I prefer my tools on the lighter, more efficient side rather than just lugging around some big tanker battery pack to get a decent run time.

[PurpleFloyd]

We purchased 8 Rigid units 4 years ago- 4 drivers, 4 impacts. I have never brought in a driver/impact yet, but every battery was replaced the first time within one year, many have been replaced a 2nd time already. Although that might seem like a pain- I don't mind the replacement warranty agreement we have on the batteries- they obviously had a problem at the beginning, and the tool place that takes them is in Savage on my way to work. If it was not, it would be a major pain in the *** and I'd be PO'd about the whole deal.

That I will agree with. The person who introduced me to the X4 drills previoulsy had an older style Rigid drill set and he had issues with the charger and I think also batteries if I am not mistaken. He finally decided to go with the newer X4 and had good luck and recommended them to me and so far I have had no troubles. But batteries are certainly something that can be an issue with any cordless tool. As I said earlier i used to be a huge fan of the Panasonic's and had the 15.6v NiMH batteries that lasted for like 8 years or better of daily used with no problems except they ran so long you sometimes neglected to charge them. Then I bought an 18v Panasonic kit and both batteries died within a year. I switched to Hitachi and in 2 years have had 2 of 4 batteries die from the two kits that i bought. Another area shop I a familiar with ran exclusively Makita and we had a few of those batteries dump out too. So that can happen to any brand at any price.

Back to the OP. If I had not bought the Rigid I would have given the Milwaukee drills a shot. They look like they are a much higher quality unit than they used to put out and they seem pretty ergonomic. I don't think you would go wrong in buying that set.

[HarleyK50]

I sell these tools for a living, and deal with the problems that inevetably come up. I will tell you this if you ever have a warranty claim with Milwaukee they can be....stubborn? That being the nicest thing I can say. DeWalt has the best customer service hands down, and they are not just marketing hype they produce high quality tools. With the quality and warranties Rigid is currently offering they are a no brainer. Many contractors are converting to Rigid as there tools need replacing.

[CAMAN]

If Ridgid is bulletproof how come the first two pages on Amazon show reconditioned units?

Reconditioned doesn't just mean they were returned because they broke, it also means being returned for other reasons like the customer didn't want it, floor/demo models, salesperson demo models, and one of the biggest causes for reconditioned units is coming directly off the assembly line, be it from something didn't work properly when tested, had damage(usually a scratch), a sticker was not located properly, etc.. Sometimes manufacturers will even scrap out an entire lot of fully assembled and boxed units because QA spot checks showed there was a very minor to major defect in a certain percentage of units tested. Manufacturers have figured out that it's easier and cheaper to take the loss and sell them to a re-manufacturer, and some will even do it in-house and sell them as re-manufactured/reconditioned.

And because you see it on Amazon, is because that is one of the places the re-manufacturer decided to sell them. Looking at their stock quantities I don't see huge issues when the most I can find by scanning the pages is 15 in stock for a couple items, with most being below 10, and very few have stock quantities unlisted(which usually means they are above a certain number). When you're manufacturing thousands upon thousands of items you will ALWAYS have a few bad ones, the quantities listed don't throw up many red flags IMO.

BTW...ALL manufacturers, no matter what they make will have reconditioned units in the market somewhere.

[psepuncher]

Reconditioned doesn't just mean they were returned because they broke,

nope,

I'm sure that since all the ridgid brands fell apart they

were shipped to Amazon. They had to do that because

misfit island is closed during summer.