Which would you buy?

[cdbe]

Christmas is coming! I need a sub compact SDS drill, I have 2 (big and very big) corded SDS drills but want something for confined spaces/up ladders etc.

I've narrowed it down to: DeWalt DCH172N (naked no batteries or charger but I have these for my other tools) at £148

or Milwaukee M12CH-602X with charger and 2x 6Ah batteries at £212.

Compactness/portability is my main concern - it's for things like fixing windows, brown plugs and screws etc as my house has very hard bricks.

I know it sort of makes more sense to stick with DeWalt (but can't tell whether it's big compared to the Milwaukee) but, having been impressed with some of the M12 stuff in the past I like the idea of having the second charger/battery set up available.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I have the M12 Fuel SDS. In comparison to my "daily driver", a Makita 18 volt brushless SDS drill (I standardised on the Makita LXT 18 volt platform nearly 15 years ago), it is not very powerful, or fast (in comparison to an 18 volt tool), but it is very small and very, very light. It has more than enough power to deal with blockwork, soft brick and soft stone such as sandstone up to at least 14mm (the biggest I've needed to use it for, so far) - and is probably as powerful as the very first Bosch corded SDS drill I bought back in the early 1980s. I don't use it for work - it was specifically bought to be used at home on my own house - but since buying it two years ago I haven't needed to take my work cordless SDS home at all.

Haven't tried the DW. The reason I wanted the red one was because I had already bought their 12 volt brushless combi with the add-on chucks (offset and right angle) and their oil impact driver and I had the batteries

 

[^woody^]

Isn't there a really compact Makita, for around £90 bare, but it does not have a hammer only function?

From recent research before setiling on 2.6J of compact Ryobi POWER , I remember the Bosch GBH 18 V-LICPN being one of if not the smallest in class

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Isn't there a really compact Makita, for around £90 bare, but it does not have a hammer only function?

But in a relatively low powered compact SDS, where as the OP says he, "want(s) something for confined spaces/up ladders etc.", how necessary as a rotation stop/hammer only mode, and how effective will it be?

 

[^woody^]

But in a relatively low powered compact SDS, where as the OP says he, "want(s) something for confined spaces/up ladders etc.", how necessary as a rotation stop/hammer only mode, and how effective will it be?

Zero use, so as long as hammer only is not on the OPs shopping list.

But I'd suggest that something with a min of 1.2J impact would be better, so if a small unit does not have that then there may be some trade-offs to consider.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I'd suggest that something with a min of 1.2J impact would be better, so if a small unit does not have that then there may be some trade-offs to coconsider.

Why 1.2J? My original Bosch corded years ago was only 1.1J (I think ?) and was revolutionary against any percussion drill I'd used previously (it could drlll Accringtons, which at the timecwas amazing).

The first 18 volt Mak I had (a BHR202 which model morphed into the DHR202) was about 2J, however using that BHR202 working alongside someone who was using an M12 SDS drilling 7mm holes into medium density blockwork a few years ago, he was actually slightly faster than me drilling dozens of holes.

That was more to do with the fact that in those days I had far fewer batteries and they were also smaller (3Ah as opposed to the 5 or 6Ah I now use), so I had to walk back and forth quite a bit popping expended batteries onto my single charger whilst he had three or four little 3Ah batteries in his pocket (they are that small)

 

[Exedon]

Bought the Dewalt DCH172N couple of months ago . Found it a decent bit of kit small and light enough for awkward jobs but still powerfully enough for the smaller diamond core drills.
Ok for light chiselling as well.

 

[^woody^]

Why 1.2J?

When I've used various drills of low J power, I've found them to be so-so and markedly underpowered and slow to drill when compared to other drills with what I knew to have higher Js.

So my hypothesis is that when you're up a ladder say, balancing with your new drill, you may want to be up there for a less time as possible and using as little effort as possible.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

So you don't think weight and size matter?

 

[^woody^]

So you don't think weight and size matter?

No. It's always quality.

 

[cdbe]

I've ordered the Milwaukee with the 2 6ah batteries. It's 1.1 Jules. I did start to get carried away with the more powerful ones but I've reminded myself that in this case, size is everything - I've got the corded ones for bigger jobs. If it'll drill a hole for a brown plug in an Accrington I'll be happy. I don't understand why these smaller ones don't have a rotary stop - maybe they think just too puny for chiseling.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

9I don't understand why these smaller ones don't have a rotary stop - maybe they think just too puny for chiseling.

I think you've answered your own question, there! I have a brushless 18 volt Makita which has rotation stop, so it will chisel, but IMHO it has only enough power (2J) for light chiselling and my 4J corded 3kg SDS makes for a far faster job. The 18v tool replaced an earlier brushed model, which was even less capable. TBH for chiselling work you are probably better off with a 2.5J or 3J (or even more power) machine, which is going to be a heavier tool, and in any case is probably beyond what you'll ever get with a 12 volt tool (and if you do, it will require some serious vibration dampening which requires either bulk or mass to achieve).

 

[cdbe]

The toy is here. This is a 7mm bit and an Accrington. The puny power is obvious compared to a bigger drill, but it works its way through with virtually no pressure and this is probably as much as I'd ever ask from it.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCpOarJCNjWtNKIP1bKCierw

 

[catlad]

Probably go a lot faster if you go 5mm first.

 

[^woody^]

That looks exactly like my Bosch 12v hammer or even any impact hammer in normal brick.

So, on the basis that hard bricks are rarely encountered the higher up a ladder you go, perhaps a bigger more powerful SDS would have been better as they are more usefull and more commonly used off ground or floor level?