Cordless Hammer Drill - Advice

SauRoNZA said:
With these things it's very much a case of which ecosystem do you want to buy into as that battery only works with that particular brand and you need to consider your "growth path" for whatever else you might be buying in the future rather than the individual tool you are buying now.

You are looking at spending R2000-R3000 in the battery setup alone.

As such if you have no plans to expand down the line, I would seriously question why you want to go cordless in the first place.

Personally I went Makita...and it bizarrely started with a weed eater.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My main drill is a Makita commercial with a 24mm chuck.

That thing can drill through hardened steel, with the right Bit. Nice and heavy too.
 
SauRoNZA said:
With these things it's very much a case of which ecosystem do you want to buy into as that battery only works with that particular brand and you need to consider your "growth path" for whatever else you might be buying in the future rather than the individual tool you are buying now.

You are looking at spending R2000-R3000 in the battery setup alone.

As such if you have no plans to expand down the line, I would seriously question why you want to go cordless in the first place.

Personally I went Makita...and it bizarrely started with a weed eater.
Click to expand...
I only have cordless drills, which is nice for woodworking. I am considering buying a cordless saw, probably bosch, since it is the cheapest and I have batteries already.
 
Zyk1 said:
Hi all.
I'm in the market for a cordless hammer drill. Need some advice from those who have one of these.
Tired of plugging in an extension cord for simple drilling.
Not too sure of the specs of these cordless drills. Don't want to buy one and regret not getting the right thing.
Will be using it just for simple home drilling (concrete, tiles).
Which would be a decent brand to get?
In terms of battery, how long will a 1.5Ah vs 5Ah last on average? Does battery capacity affect the power output?
Difference between the 18V vs 20V versions?
What would be the torque figure to look out for?
Anything else to bear in mind.
TIA.
Click to expand...
Sooo there are hammer drills and there are hammer drills.

Don't be fooled. If brick walls are what you want to drill through, especially around 20mm thick. You want the SDS drill bits. For the Bosch cordless, this is the Rotary hammer drill.
It seems it is currently this one: https://www.takealot.com/gbh-185-li-rotary-hammer/PLID95409596
Mine is the 180-li and this looks like a newer version of what I have.

I have personally drilled up to 25mm wide with mine, but since its a cordless, you start smaller then go bigger. If you dont want to do that, you need a corded version with more power.
1.5ah batteries do not work on this drill. You need 4ah and up. They say it works with 3ah too, but I went straight for 6ah batteries. They, with this drill, is amazing. One of my favourite tools.


Do not be fooled, the following drill, is not a proper hammer drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-gsb1...ith-bosch-engineer-s-hammer-300g/PLID94391867

While that thing has a hammer mode, its basically useless for bigger jobs. You can use it on maybe 6mm bits.
That said, its a great drill for anything that doesn't need SDS bits. You will use this everywhere, screwdriver bits, wood drilling, small metal drilling etc. Good all rounder, but not perfect for anything specific. You will want a corded drill if you going to be doing 20mm metal bits. Its great for all sizes wood that I have done.


Then lastly, there is the impact wrench type drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-impact-driver-cordless-wrench-gdx-180-li-18v-unit-only/PLID72190867

This you again will need for something specific. Also, this would be the last drill you buy if you ever buy more than 2.


Hope that helps. You get cheaper and more expensive drills than the ones I listed, but for home diy, the above 3 has served me well depending on what exactly I find myself doing. That rotary hammer is my favourite drill, and it has more than paid for itself over the years that I have used it. From drilling over 100 holes for floating bookrack to drilling 23mm holes for conduit piping to whatever, I used this for concrete drilling and it hasnt skipped a beat and literally made my life easier doing DIY.
 
If you want to do serious SDS drilling into concrete and rock you should look at 24 to 36 volts. Hilti is my favourite
 
Tinuva said:
Do not be fooled, the following drill, is not a proper hammer drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-gsb1...ith-bosch-engineer-s-hammer-300g/PLID94391867
Click to expand...

Yeah not a fok I would even try drilling into a wall with that thing.

Vibracrete would kill it for sure.

Takealot is also super expensive - https://topdogtoolshop.co.za/produc...professional-single-2-0ah-battery-gsb-180-li/

If we are talking simple plugs to hang things from it may do the job, but if we are talking Size 10 and up I would worry.

That being said for that price including the battery and charger it's almost as good as free, if I didn't already have the battery and charger I would buy one now without blinking.
 
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Zyk1 said:
Hi all.
I'm in the market for a cordless hammer drill. Need some advice from those who have one of these.
Tired of plugging in an extension cord for simple drilling.
Not too sure of the specs of these cordless drills. Don't want to buy one and regret not getting the right thing.
Will be using it just for simple home drilling (concrete, tiles).
Which would be a decent brand to get?
In terms of battery, how long will a 1.5Ah vs 5Ah last on average? Does battery capacity affect the power output?
Difference between the 18V vs 20V versions?
What would be the torque figure to look out for?
Anything else to bear in mind.
TIA.
Click to expand...
nothing less than 50 nm ,65 nm is good ,Bosch Professional GSB 180 li ,use one daily as well as a Ryobi brushless ,both strong machines ,if buying the Bosch invest in a 4.0 ah battery as well .anything under 1800 rpm is also kak,also get one with a self locking chuck ,only need one hand to tighten .
 
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and not one Screenshot_2024-06-18-10-52-01-752_com.whatsapp.jpgof these, probably the worst big cordless ever made
 
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Tinuva said:
/snip

Do not be fooled, the following drill, is not a proper hammer drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-gsb1...ith-bosch-engineer-s-hammer-300g/PLID94391867


Then lastly, there is the impact wrench type drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-impact-driver-cordless-wrench-gdx-180-li-18v-unit-only/PLID72190867
Click to expand...
I have both of these and agree, they are great for their purpose, but you're definitely not going through lintels with them

I'll get the rotary at some point, but for now my cheapie corded SDS does the job.

I did battle to find SQ2 bits for the impact driver, I broke a couple of none impact SQ2 bits inside screw heads.

When a 10 second screw turns into a 10 minute swearing session with a long nose pliers trying to remove a screw from hardwood (not even in a sexy way)
 
Tinuva said:
Sooo there are hammer drills and there are hammer drills.

Don't be fooled. If brick walls are what you want to drill through, especially around 20mm thick. You want the SDS drill bits. For the Bosch cordless, this is the Rotary hammer drill.
It seems it is currently this one: https://www.takealot.com/gbh-185-li-rotary-hammer/PLID95409596
Mine is the 180-li and this looks like a newer version of what I have.

I have personally drilled up to 25mm wide with mine, but since its a cordless, you start smaller then go bigger. If you dont want to do that, you need a corded version with more power.
1.5ah batteries do not work on this drill. You need 4ah and up. They say it works with 3ah too, but I went straight for 6ah batteries. They, with this drill, is amazing. One of my favourite tools.


Do not be fooled, the following drill, is not a proper hammer drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-gsb1...ith-bosch-engineer-s-hammer-300g/PLID94391867

While that thing has a hammer mode, its basically useless for bigger jobs. You can use it on maybe 6mm bits.
That said, its a great drill for anything that doesn't need SDS bits. You will use this everywhere, screwdriver bits, wood drilling, small metal drilling etc. Good all rounder, but not perfect for anything specific. You will want a corded drill if you going to be doing 20mm metal bits. Its great for all sizes wood that I have done.


Then lastly, there is the impact wrench type drill: https://www.takealot.com/bosch-impact-driver-cordless-wrench-gdx-180-li-18v-unit-only/PLID72190867

This you again will need for something specific. Also, this would be the last drill you buy if you ever buy more than 2.


Hope that helps. You get cheaper and more expensive drills than the ones I listed, but for home diy, the above 3 has served me well depending on what exactly I find myself doing. That rotary hammer is my favourite drill, and it has more than paid for itself over the years that I have used it. From drilling over 100 holes for floating bookrack to drilling 23mm holes for conduit piping to whatever, I used this for concrete drilling and it hasnt skipped a beat and literally made my life easier doing DIY.
Click to expand...
Good info.

I didn't know about SDS drills till the guys came to install our solar.
This weekend I tried to drill a 20mm hole into our chimney which is made of rock, the corded 700w hammer drill could barely make a mark. Then I bought an SDS with a quad head bit (R300) and it simply chewed through the rock.
 
I had to drill some small 5mm holes for some camera fixings over the weekend, I thought my cordless Dewalt hammer drill would be fine and way more convenient than lugging my corded SDS up the ladder.

That idea lasted about 20 seconds when it became apparent I would be drilling for days trying with the regular drill (even had a new set of masonry bits). Plugged in the SDS, went up the ladder and was done in seconds. Now I have to get myself a cordless SDS.
 
Makita is just :thumbsup:.

I know Metabo is also good, we have a kak old wired drill*, that thing will not die. I havent seen much or looked for Metabo stuff her, but if you can find one. Probably get it.


1718713288994.png
 
I've got this one fom Makro a couple of weeks ago. I just got it for general purpose stuff around the house. Used it a few times and its quite powerful for its size. Used it to drill through steel gate and plastered walls for fischer plugs with no issues. Builders special on now, not sure if it comes with 2 batteries like my one.
 
Brand wise id go with Makita, Milwaukee or Hitachi/Hikoki
I'd highly recommend going 5Ah or higher, it will save you many headaches
Make sure the one you pick is SDS Plus compatible, SDS Max drill bits are expensive and probably major overkill for someone not working on a mine
18V vs 20V is just a marketing gimmicks don't stress about that.

If you are on a budget Total, Ingco, CAT and Kress are also decent picks

Also pick up one of these SDS Plus to 13mm chuck adapters, i find them to be incredibly handy
image_resize (2).jpeg
(Just remember to TURN OFF HAMMER ACTION when you use it)
 
I just want to reiterate what has been said. Naming conventions on these things are very confusing. Normal hammer drills are ok for light drilling but if you want to be doing any form of masonry drilling you ideally want to use a rotary hammer drill (these typically use a SDS bit). Once you've experienced a rotary hammer you'll never go back to a "normal" hammer drill.
 
I have Dewalt 18v (one of 9 series) and impact driver (3x4ah batteries), quite happy with them and they can drill through brick and concrete.

If I was starting fresh today I would go with Bosch blue 18v, they have good local representation and lots of specials. Dewalt is bit expensive compared to others.

Regarding proper sds drill I was on fence and plan was to get bosch cordless and 4ah battery since I already have charger.

Then specials showed up and I got makita sds and grinder both corded.

Anyway on Monday I had chance to use SDS for the first time, WOW that thing went through brick like butter.
I could not believe it, Dewalt would not have problem but this was on another level!
 
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