Baby H, I am not a very tool savvy gal, but a good friend Imagery suggests Makita, 12v or 14v, they are very durable and keep charge for a very long time. The Makita seems to be a reliable brand.
The expensive part of any battery powered tool is the battery. I would spend a few extra bucks and get 18V. Even for home use you need the power to sink a 3 in. decking screw for example. Make sure you have two batteries so if one gets week you can have another already charged and ready to go. You can get some real deal at home centers if you watch the adds. I got a Porter Cable set of 5 tools on sale for $79 at Lowes. I love Porter Cable tools but most all brands are good now.
I agree with Armin. 18 volt lithium batteries are the way to go. The Makita set with the drill and impact driver with the small (1.5 AH) batteries is a lot of bang for the buck.
I recommend what I did was 18 volt ryobi and it works well at a medium price,best suggestion is buy the whole kit that way you get two batteries and a couple other attachments Home Depot. Don't go any less voltage you wont be happy.
Good inputs thus far. I only want to add that it depends on what you define as "residential use". If you are talking about occasional use, you don't need a drill/driver with 2 18v Lithium batteries. If you are rebuilding a deck or into serious DIY on the weekends, then you do. Keep in mind that the bigger 18v models are not as easy to handle as the lighter models.
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The real difference between the different brands generally doesn't appear until you push them under extreme usage. So again, if you are really going to push the tool, then spend the extra money to buy more capability; if you go cheap, three boards into your deck project you will throw your new drill as far as you can and be in the car headed to buy a better system. If you are looking at much lighter use, I'd look for the best deal and one that feels comfortable in your hands. Tim
I agree with all of the above. Makita is my go-to tools for my serious projects. Batteries weren't available when I purchased my Makita drill and circular saw in 1982.
When I wanted to go cordless, I purchased a Ryobi combo kit in 2000 and it came with 2, 18 volt batteries. One of them still holds a charge, but not for very long. The good news is that the
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new 18 volt Lithium batteries from Ryobi are compatible with my old Ryobi tools. You probably noticed that I don't like to throw my tools away!
All I had to buy was new Lithium batteries and a charger.
18 volt Milwaukee. It is the only drill I know of with carbide chuck teeth. That means you won't wear it out and it will always grip. Now if you are not going to use it a lot or for heavy duty applications then one brand is as good as any other but I would not use anything less that an 18V with a 1/2" chuck no matter what I was doing with it.
I have 3 (18 volt) dewalt drill drivers...two of them are the Hammer drills with 3 speeds and 21 torque settings. All of my cordless tools are dewalt in the 18 volt....so if i'm working on a big multi-tool project I can swap out batteries as needed.
The 18 volt Dewalts are sweet. In addition to the 3 drivers I have a cordless circular saw, angle grinder, radio / charger, utility light, impact driver.
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Dewalt also makes a cordless jigsaw, and recip saw in the 18 volt family. When purchased as a kit you can save some $$
Lithium seems to be the way to go nowdays...and new batteries can cost mosre than the drill, I agree you need 2 batteries whatever you decide on. I also have my "girly" drill, a B&D plug in rechargeable, lightweight & has a light, for those projects when you don't need Heavy power!
I have just about all the different types of drills out there impact, hammer etc. Being a contractor I use Ryobi drills the most. I have and use the old style 19 volt batteries which I replaced once as they began to loose their ability to hold a charge.
What I liked about them is that they did a good job, they were cheep as compared to my Makita and my other name brand drills I owned. Also because I have other people using them, if they broke
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it they did not have to spend a ton replacing them. And quite frankly my Ryobi drills have not let me down.
The new ones with the higher lithium batteries hold charge longer but what I have is still working well so I have not yet replaced them.
See http://www.amazon.com/Makita-LCT200W-18-Volt...
Good inputs thus far. I only want to add that it depends on what you define as "residential use". If you are talking about occasional use, you don't need a drill/driver with 2 18v Lithium batteries. If you are rebuilding a deck or into serious DIY on the weekends, then you do. Keep in mind that the bigger 18v models are not as easy to handle as the lighter models. ...»
The real difference between the different brands generally doesn't appear until you push them under extreme usage. So again, if you are really going to push the tool, then spend the extra money to buy more capability; if you go cheap, three boards into your deck project you will throw your new drill as far as you can and be in the car headed to buy a better system. If you are looking at much lighter use, I'd look for the best deal and one that feels comfortable in your hands. Tim
I agree with all of the above. Makita is my go-to tools for my serious projects. Batteries weren't available when I purchased my Makita drill and circular saw in 1982.
When I wanted to go cordless, I purchased a Ryobi combo kit in 2000 and it came with 2, 18 volt batteries. One of them still holds a charge, but not for very long. The good news is that the ...»
All I had to buy was new Lithium batteries and a charger.
Travis
The 18 volt Dewalts are sweet. In addition to the 3 drivers I have a cordless circular saw, angle grinder, radio / charger, utility light, impact driver. ...»
Dewalt also makes a cordless jigsaw, and recip saw in the 18 volt family. When purchased as a kit you can save some $$
What I liked about them is that they did a good job, they were cheep as compared to my Makita and my other name brand drills I owned. Also because I have other people using them, if they broke ...»
The new ones with the higher lithium batteries hold charge longer but what I have is still working well so I have not yet replaced them.