Dewalt XRP drills are crap now. whats the best now?

[mikescooling]

Let's jump in the time machine, and when I was 19 y/o and a helper in HVAC, all we had was the makita stick drills. You always had to have a battery in the charger, they were slow and weak, but that's all that was available back then. In the next few years Dewalt came on the seen, it was skills commercial line, a much better option. A few years later the 18v Dewalt series came out and I still have that very drill, (one trigger and two sets of brushes), the thing is still is in use and works great. Dewalt sent me a new 18v XRP cordless drill and the thing sucks. I was trying to mill with it and it overheated, I switched to my old dewalt and it did it with ease. What's the best cordless tool system now, what do you see the construction guys using?

 

[bu_gee]

I know this isn't helpful but since I am a dork of many things, including language, I find it a bit odd that they'd name their new line of drills 'XRP' since the letter 'X' is derived from the Greek Chi (pronounced Kai), it would mean that the name should be pronounced as 'Kai-rup'.

 

[brrman]

I use the **** out of my drills. I have used Bosch for years and have never been disappointed. The 18v holds up like a champ. Hell, I have even used my 10v Bosch drill to mill with when I could not find my corded (which i normally use for milling).

 

[mikescooling]

I have 3 bosch 10 and 12 volt cordless drills and they are freakin great. They can drive 3" wood screws (not a lot of them) but for their size and power, they are a great value. Their size/weight/speed/tork and ability to run for ever makes them a useful tool.

 

[Jaybird]

The cordless Milwaukee is IMHO the best for getting the **** beat out of them and still working like a champ! But I come from an Industrial electrical background and need my tools to handle anything! I like em!

Corded drills and 4" grinders hands down Makita!

Cheers
Jay

 

[bu_gee]

I have 3 bosch 10 and 12 volt cordless drills and they are freakin great. They can drive 3" wood screws (not a lot of them) but for their size and power, they are a great value. Their size/weight/speed/tork and ability to run for ever makes them a useful tool.

Why not get a 12v wall wart and wire it up so you can run it forever when milling grains?

 

[arturo7]

The pros I know all have Milwaukee.

 

[mikescooling]

Why not get a 12v wall wart and wire it up so you can run it forever when milling grains?

I don't know how many drills I have? 10? The Dewalt 18v cordless was my go to drill, for just about everything that needs a bigger drill, building decks, drilling tapcons in masonry, or just abusing the thing. I still have one that's 17 years old that works great; but the new one sucks. At some point I'll need another all purpose cordless drill.

 

[Homercidal]

I have a cordless DeWalt and I think it's great. I've drilled concrete and done a bunch of other things and no problem. Not sure of the model number off the top of my head, but it's kind of compact and has two gear ranges. Wife got it for me a couple of years ago.

I don't know if you can get much better than Milwaukee for rugged and dependable though.

 

[obie]

Ridgid. Lifetime warranty. I got the 5 piece set from home depot a few years ago. The tools have gone to hell and back multiple times. My reciprocating saw has 4 stumps under its belt.

 

[mikescooling]

I have a cordless DeWalt and I think it's great. I've drilled concrete and done a bunch of other things and no problem. Not sure of the model number off the top of my head, but it's kind of compact and has two gear ranges. Wife got it for me a couple of years ago.

I don't know if you can get much better than Milwaukee for rugged and dependable though.

The new 18v drill was sent to me free, when I got a impactor. So the free drills they send out may be lower quality, than the stuff they sell. I've had the old Dewalt drill for 17ish years and beat the the thing to death, and it still works great. It was the only big drill I would keep on my work truck.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I have a dewalt 20v max (several tools) and love it. I have used crap out of them in the last 18 months. Even milling grain a few times. One battery quit taking a charge, but dewalt sent me a new battery and upgraded it from 3.0 a/h to 4.0 a/h, no questions asked had it in 3 days.

Fwiw. I have built a few decks with mine no problem, I just finished rehabbing a 2nd floor balcony and railing with no access to ground and used the 20v max circular saw, impact driver and drill only, since there was not a a lot of room 5'x40'

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have been happy with Ryobi 18v Ni-Cad refitted with Lithium packs. Used it on everything from wood to stainless steel without so much as a hiccup. Finally smoked it after 10 years of abuse and bought the Lime Green visible from space version. Same drill, new color scheme.

 

[mikescooling]

Ryobi is a good value for the cash. The real test of a cordless drill is building a deck.

 

[jimyson]

Get with the program, guys. If you need a solid drill that will last, look to Hilti. I have had the SFH 18-A for years and LOVE it. No battery issues and has torque that will break your wrist if not careful.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Ryobi is a good value for the cash. The real test of a cordless drill is building a deck.

True. Of which I have not done.

 

[Hammy71]

Milwaukee makes good stuff. However, coming full circle. I've had a Makita at work now for years with the lithium battery and love the thing. Light as hell. I too remember the old 9.6v Makitas. This is a whole new animal.

 

[cilestiok]

I use Milwaukee 18v tools every day. I typically use my drill for at least 2-4 batteries worth of drilling (wood, metal or masonry) and driving each day. I have the combination hammer drill/driver so it was a little more expensive than the base model but there's a noticeable difference in power and performance between the base and hammer models. Worth the extra $ in my opinion. Still has never let me down and it came with a 5-year warranty so when the brushes started to whine after about two years, I sent it in and they returned it a week later (repaired) for free plus reinstated a new 5-year warranty from the time of service. :rockin:


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[cilestiok]

Get with the program, guys. If you need a solid drill that will last, look to Hilti. I have had the SFH 18-A for years and LOVE it. No battery issues and has torque that will break your wrist if not careful.

^^^ also, I love my Milwaukee cordless stuff but for the money there is nothing that lasts as long as Hilti tools. All my tools that I abuse (corded hammer drills, right-angle drill, etc.) I buy Hilti because they never die and take abuse. Expensive and overkill though if you don't need it for more than homeowner/grain milling purposes.


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[day_trippr]

Unless a field or stator winding got fried, you can rebuild the XRP series pretty easily (at leas the originals - I haven't even looked at another drill in awhile). My first-gen XRP is still my go-to brute-force hand-held. It's on its third set of brushes plus a commutator cut, totally looks its age, but it still works great with a Deck Index of 4 (almost 1400 square feet total).

Cheers!

 

[Bobby_M]

I still have a 8 year old 18v XRP and recently got the 20v lithium hammer drill and hammer driver set. I can't say a single bad thing about them.