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08-28-2009, 05:45 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Trade:
Steel...mostly
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 10
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Best Cordless 18V Drills?
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08-28-2009, 06:16 PM
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#2
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Pro
Trade:
Construction
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 879
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Quote:
Originally Posted by I LOVE TOOLS
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Testing drills like thats not really a good indication as to how good a drill is. Did they balance every battery pack to the exact amps? did they use a brand new drill bit for every drill test? Did they also have the same gearing ratio set for each drill? A blunt drill bit can half your battery life and 2 exact types of cells can last different amounts of working time. A good test would be use them on site for 6 months and show how well they have held up and what problems they had.
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08-28-2009, 06:26 PM
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#3
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Pro
Trade:
Construction Assistant Superintendant/Remodeler
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 1,141
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I'm not saying Hilti isn't the best but is that the big battery verses the others littler ones?
I have two of those DeWalt batteries the are for emergency back up and radio ONLY.
Just asking I couldn't tell With Hilti's color scheme the size of that battery.
Had I had the money and Hilti was pushing chordless back when I started buying tools I might have gone with them.
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08-28-2009, 06:33 PM
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#4
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Registered User
Trade:
Steel...mostly
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 10
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The Hilti is a SFH 18-A which is a 2.6amp hr battery. European 18V is equal to a 21.6amp in America (how they measure amp is different). Still called an 18V in the US. I've tried most of these tools and if you have a chance to try the Hilti 18v with the new Li-Ion batteries you'll just say WTF?
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08-28-2009, 06:33 PM
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#5
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Pro
Trade:
Sure, what you got?
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Auburn Indiana
Posts: 3,893
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Too bad that was a 14.4 panny.
Those were stupid, really they were.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gus Dering
It may be just a gateway tool to the hard stuff. Be careful 
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08-28-2009, 06:35 PM
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#6
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Registered User
Trade:
Steel...mostly
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 10
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Only one of the tools was a 14.4. (I think). talking voltage is stupid though. I've seen high end 12v with twice as much power as cheap 18V or 21V.
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08-28-2009, 06:55 PM
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#7
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Pro
Trade:
Control Systems
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 740
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I have the 14.4 Hilti and I tried out the 18 and its sweet. Light and powerful, I just wish they made their tools with skinnier grips.
Best thing about the Hilti is the battery overload protection circuit.
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08-28-2009, 07:34 PM
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#8
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Pro
Trade:
framer
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: columbus, OH
Posts: 177
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I keep seeing people praise everything Hilti. I have a dealer within earshot of me but I've always been a Dewalt guy. Is this a subject that needs further research on my part? I've used the powder-actuated stuff years ago but my question is in reference to their cordless tools? Are they superior enough for me to revamp the stuff I've got now?
__________________
What would you say...ya do here?
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08-28-2009, 07:47 PM
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#9
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Pro
Trade:
Construction
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 879
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mccarty.74
I keep seeing people praise everything Hilti. I have a dealer within earshot of me but I've always been a Dewalt guy. Is this a subject that needs further research on my part? I've used the powder-actuated stuff years ago but my question is in reference to their cordless tools? Are they superior enough for me to revamp the stuff I've got now?
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To be honest any of the big 5 brands be it Bosch,Dewalt,Makita,Milwaukee and hilti all have there pros and cons of ownership. Some have great capacity batts, Some are lighter weight, Some are higher voltage than they advertise and some have very fast chargers.
The reason the Hilti looked so good in this test was because it was being put up against tools of a lot less voltage. It's not a very fair test and there's to many other things that affect performance like have the batterys been cycled and what condition the drill bits were in and what condition the cells in each battery were in. ANy of the above brands of drills will do everything you ask them to within reason.
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08-28-2009, 07:47 PM
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#10
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Pro
Trade:
Construction Assistant Superintendant/Remodeler
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 1,141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mccarty.74
I keep seeing people praise everything Hilti. I have a dealer within earshot of me but I've always been a Dewalt guy. Is this a subject that needs further research on my part? I've used the powder-actuated stuff years ago but my question is in reference to their cordless tools? Are they superior enough for me to revamp the stuff I've got now?
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I've been Dewalt for so long I couldn't afford to start swiching chordless to Hilti.
To me it's way to much money to switch even to a 4 pack or something as opposed to a pair of new batteries if needed.
I've always had them do what I needed them for. Others say diff.
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08-28-2009, 08:12 PM
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#11
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Pro
Trade:
framer
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: columbus, OH
Posts: 177
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I was really starting to like an 18v Milwaukee set I got on sale a year ago. I burned up the drill yesterday using a 2" hole saw. Never had that issue with anything Dewalt. I guess my biggest demand from tools is power. Battery life and weight I could not care less about, as I'm not using them frequently enough to be that concerned.
__________________
What would you say...ya do here?
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08-28-2009, 08:24 PM
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#12
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The Grand Wazoo
Trade:
Plumber
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Illinois
Posts: 2,180
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mccarty.74
I keep seeing people praise everything Hilti. I have a dealer within earshot of me but I've always been a Dewalt guy. Is this a subject that needs further research on my part? I've used the powder-actuated stuff years ago but my question is in reference to their cordless tools? Are they superior enough for me to revamp the stuff I've got now?
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I don't have a lot of cordless tools, but I made the switch to Hilti a couple years ago after breaking the driveshafts in too many Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless drills.With Hilti, I can make a call to my rep with a tool that needs service and he will pick it up the next day and drop off a loaner so that I am not without the tool, and if I need fasteners or blades he will bring those out too, at no extra charge for delivery.
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08-28-2009, 08:59 PM
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#13
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G.C.
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Queens, NY
Posts: 78
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Anytime this topic comes up I always recommend the new Makitas. So light and a lot of strength for a little drill. Ive worked in a few shops that had the Hiltis...I was never a big fan of them.
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08-28-2009, 09:29 PM
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#14
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Pro
Trade:
Construction
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 879
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KellyD&B
Anytime this topic comes up I always recommend the new Makitas. So light and a lot of strength for a little drill. Ive worked in a few shops that had the Hiltis...I was never a big fan of them.
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The Makita's would have zero issue with doing what the hilti done as long as they were the same voltage drills. It's sneaky for hilti to list the drill as a 18v when it's really the next step up.
The makita's also have 3Ah batterys which hold a little more charge than the 2.4ah of the hilti's.
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08-28-2009, 10:00 PM
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#15
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Pro
Trade:
Construction Assistant Superintendant/Remodeler
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 1,141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KillerToiletSpider
I don't have a lot of cordless tools, but I made the switch to Hilti a couple years ago after breaking the driveshafts in too many Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless drills.With Hilti, I can make a call to my rep with a tool that needs service and he will pick it up the next day and drop off a loaner so that I am not without the tool, and if I need fasteners or blades he will bring those out too, at no extra charge for delivery.
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Now THAT is a selling point!
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08-28-2009, 10:07 PM
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#16
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Pro
Trade:
General Contractor & Fire Protection
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Moraga, California
Posts: 525
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I have the SFH-18 from Hilti with the 3.0 lithium ion batteries..sweet drill.
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08-28-2009, 11:44 PM
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#17
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Pro
Trade:
Control Systems
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 740
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With Hilti your paying extra for their free value added services, the drill isn't a huge step above the other duling banjo's but when they break you'l be happy to deal with them.
...Not that I like bringing up my milwaukee saw that took over 3 weeks to fix when it was less then 60 days old. But with Hilti I would have had it the fourth day.
For commercial installs they come on site and spec an appropriate fastner for my odd-ball mounting applications.
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08-28-2009, 11:55 PM
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#18
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Pro
Trade:
General Contractor & Fire Protection
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Moraga, California
Posts: 525
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The new Hilti SFH-18 CPC drills are awesome, i got one..still can't figure out what the difference between the oldder SFH-18 and the new CPC sfh18. Any ideas? besides the lithium ion battery.
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08-29-2009, 12:11 AM
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#19
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Pro
Trade:
Control Systems
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 740
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Slightly higher RPM and Torque, Li-ion battery makes allllllll the difference though, lighter, longer run time, less memory, fuel gauge, overload circuit.
Other then that its just the replacement for the old SF181, they are switching all of their cordless tools to Li-ion.
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08-29-2009, 12:33 AM
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#20
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Pro
Trade:
General Contractor & Fire Protection
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Moraga, California
Posts: 525
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Thanks...i don't notice much difference between my new cpc and the old 18 except longer life batteries.
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