Cordless impact and drill

[coueshunter]

I currently have a Mac 1/2" cordless impact and drill that need retiring. Looking to replace them and wondering who has a great deal and had goo luck with a good drill and impact that take the same batteries.

[ERASER5]

Rigid tools. If you register you cordless drill, impact, ect, the batteries will be under lifetime warranty.

I have spent nearly double the cost of my Dewalt stuff on batteries. Good stuff, but expensive batteries.

[JointTech]

i love my rigid set. And its home depot so if it craps out you can just take it back. I have the saw, sawsall, flashlight, impact and drill. And they have an LED that comes on when you pull the trigger.

Unless they do me like they did with my old black and decker set they discontinued and I cant get new batteries for even though the tools are basically new. grumble.

[LONGHAIR]

I think you guys missed the (1/2" impact) part, as in square drive for sockets. Most of the manufacturers of cordless tools in the local retail place do not make them with 1/2" drive. Some do, but the retailers don't stock them for the most part. The typical impact driver has a 1/4" internal hex drive. They are intended to drive screws. You can get adapters to run sockets. That works for the occasional lag bolt when building a deck, but you would kill it pretty quickly in auto mechanic type use......although I would have loved to have one back in my bodyshop days. It would have been a lot nicer than the 1/4" air ratchet that I used for the lighter-duty disassembly/reassembly stuff.

For a true 1/2" drive, you have to move up to the "full line" manufacturers. Of those, my favorite is Makita. The 18v lithium-ion units are great.
I have had the woodworking oriented stuff for nearly nine years. I added to the set over the years. Having multiple drills/drivers is helpful in my work, but the 2 original batteries are still in use daily.
I do not own, but have used, the 1/2"drive impact that goes with this system. It is awesome, removing all but the most stubborn bolts or lug nuts. There are times when I would reach for a bigger/stronger pneumatic model, but for most jobs, it would be great.

[ERASER5]

Well I do have a Makita 1/2" impact as well. I guess I was focusing on the drill when I said Rigid. After looking, Rigid does not offer a 1/2" impact. (maybe they need a nudge) Milwaukee, Ingersol Rand, and Dewalt do.

[ca90ss]

I'd go with the Milwaukee, lots of people have had problems with the Makita 18v lxt batteries.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by ca90ss

I'd go with the Milwaukee, lots of people have had problems with the Makita 18v lxt batteries.

I have 2 that are over 8 years old, survived a shop fire, and get used every day. There are also 3 of the smaller, lower amp/hr, batteries that I bought just after the fire. That was 5 years ago last September and they are all going strong. I love my Makita stuff...and the smaller 12v Bosch, but that is out of the scope of the original post.

[ca90ss]

http://www.contractortalk.com/f40/no...teries-142684/

[LONGHAIR]

Just relaying my experience, but I don't abuse my stuff either.

[Rich 5150 69]

This subject has come up on another forum, although most all agreed that the HILTI 1/2 inch drive impact battery driven was in they`re opinion the best on the market and no complants with the batteries, but at $599 was a bit stiff for the average garage, I will have to stick with the corded craftsman I`ve used for 15 years now, another word on Batteries I also have the 18 volt cordless craftsman drill and circular saw, first batteries lasted almost 11 years, had to buy two more this year, one has already died....its the newer style lithium...I`m not sure the quality is there any more...!

[cst69]

The cheap way out is 24 volt Goodyear brand cordless 1/2" driver. My dad has a lawnmower salvage yard and uses it all the time to go out in the field to help remove parts he sells. It has great power, the batteries hold up o.k. (first one batteries lasted 2 years, 2nd one still charging after 5 years). Best part is I bought it for $99.00 online. They are yellow & blue so you wont have a hard time finding it in your garage. Maybe not the best 1/2" drive, but not bad at all for $100.00