Baz (NSW) replied:

I bought a 12v Ryobi years ago and when the battery died i took it off and wired it up to connect to cig lighter and alligater clips for connecting direct to battery, works better than ever, nothing this baby won't do now just as good as a 240v drill.

If i was going to buy a cordless now i would buy a cheapie from supercheap 19.95 and do what i did to my old cordless.

Baz.

Member - Roachie SA replied:

Des,
I have a 7.2v cheapy that the battery died on and I did what the other blokes have said. However, being worried that 12v might be too much for it, I rifled through a box of stuff I had and found a cigi plug with different voltage outputs on a switch on the side. It goes from 3v to 12v in steps. I tried the 7.5v setting first and it was pretty slow, upped it to 9v and better and then I thought, "what the hell" so I bumped it up to 12v setting and it goes really well. I now carry it in the camper trailer.
I also have a 12v rechargeable with 2 batteries and have wondered the same about charging directly off the truck's system. Haven't tried it yet, but will get around to it one day. I can see no reason why this wouldn't work, so long as I get the polarity right!!
Cordless drills in general are a fantastic invention and are now very powerful compared to the original offering of 10 to 15 years ago. Hard to justify buying a 240 volt unit anymore unless it's a hammer drill etc.
Good luck

The Banjo replied:

Far as I know, more volts gets you a more compact motor (physics rearing its ugly head again).....and higher prices it seems too.....one thing though ...the drill kits are light and compact and can go in the tool kit for those longer bush trips...I take a cheap soldering iron (runs off the 240 V inverter) and can therefore do a bit of light maintenance (mech and elec) if things rattle to bits. As the others say, 12 volts off the car would be very handy !

biscuits replied:

We have a ryobi at home - its hopeless - no guts to it and the battery keeps running flat as a tack.

Mate of mine who used to work in the hardware section at bunnings has a De Walt cordless. Looks real nice and powerful. Have to say if I bought one anytime soon it'd probably be a DeWalt.

Cheers,
Dave.

Michael replied:

I agree with the masses, i have a 12v cordless for the "get out of trouble reason", being able to charge or run off your battery is a big bonus. you can pay downwards of $20 now, they all come out of China and i bet its hard to find a dud one.. Go for the cheapie................12v

Member - Jeff M (WA) replied:

Mate get a good 18v Hammer Drill. It'll do bloody everything. Use them here at work, tech screwed into RSJ's with em before, bloody brilliant. Only time I use a cord now is with the Hilty on Concrete Walls and Floors. Everything else is done by the cordless.

cwebb replied:

I have a 12 month old Black & Decker Firestorm II cordless drill which is 14.5 Volts.
I think its best feature is that the keyless chuck is removable. So what happens is you have a drill bit in the chuck, do some drill holes etc. Then in 1 second remove the chuck. Then in the shaft is a removable screwdriver bit. So you can then do some screwing, then reattach the chuck to resume drilling.
Also has a battery life indicator (LED's), which is probably not too useful. I think the battery pack is Nicad, so will probably show decent power levels until the battery quickly dies, as Nicads seem to do.
You pay a bit more for this drill but even for occasional use, its one of those things that is a pleasure to use years to come. The $20 ones are abysmal in quality and balance. I know they're cheap, but I think it is one of the few things in life that quality does matter.
Cheers

Member - Ron H (Int) replied:

Des
two speed box with variable speed trigger are worth it weight in gold
regards Ron

Member - Athol (NSW) replied:

My last one died and I did the 12v cord for the road thing, so I went and bought a cheapy from Bunnings bloody hopeless screws about 6 selfdrilling scews and flat , you get what you pay for.
Athol

Des Lexic replied:

I got sick and tired of the cordless drills. Everytime I went to use it, the battery was flat and it was a PIA. Bought a Bosch 10mm hammerdrill with reverse and variable speed for a $100. The cheapies only have plastic motors and gears and you only get what you pay for.
Cheers Des

Member - Bob replied:

The 12V drill doesn't have enough grunt for nuts etc. Sanders etc are so cheap now you can buy a sep. tool for about $50. The 12V is good as you can take it away without the battery (saving weight) and run it off your car battery. You will notice that it is seriously underpowered compared with your average 600W plus 240V drill.

Member - Camper (SA) replied:

Yep! You get what you pay for.
Cheap cordless batteries fail early and the clutches for setting drive torque are not much chop.
I usually come back to Makita for price, reliability and longevity, They don't play the handyman/tradesman game either. Ive got other brands but I usuallylook at Mak first.
No cordless is going to give you the grunt of a good quality 240v. But the convenience is great!
Camper