[Closed] cordless SDS drills any good?

I've got that one on my list to buy. Have heard plenty of good things and, like you, have some batteries so it is cheap enough. I have a decent corded one so can't really justify the purchase, though.

I used a mates Makita cordless SDS drill the other day for putting ground anchors. Drilled 13mm holes 95mm deep into concrete like it was butter, seriously impressed.
It was the 18v model

It should be more than capable for what you want. Most single handed cordless combi drills will put a 7mm brown plug hole into brick or concrete for what it's worth. The SDS will come into its own for large holes through walls, breaking, taking tiles up etc.

Just be sure your batteries are man enough

I have a couple of big Bosch tools that will only run off my big 4ah batteries.

My 1.5ah batteries only give it about 10 seconds of use.

@trail_rat just checked, one is 4ah and the rest are 3ah so that should be ok!

We have those cordless makita's at work. They are very good. Not tried on steel, but they work fine on concrete/blocks. We run them on 3ah batteries.

I've got the same model, drilled 16mm holes into concrete for a ground anchor - no problems at all. Great bit of kit.

I have that one.. it's great for holes... it's done a few 100mm cores through brick without issue.

Bit light for breaking up concrete as you'd expect, but for everything else it's good..  you end up using it more because its light and easy.

J

awesome feedback, thanks all, ordered!!

Huge difference between my 18v Marita hammmer drill and mains cheap worx two handed one. Much as dragging out an extension cord is a pain every time i do I’m amazed how much faster the cheap mains one is. I’ve found lots of unexpected jobs where I’ve been glad of it or would just be impossible on the 18v (breaking a 1’ thick concete with flint pavement i found under the lawn being one springs to mind.

I'm in the DeWalt ecosystem so got the equivalent one which looks very similar. It's an absolute weapon and makes drilling concrete, brick, stone etc a lot quicker. Bit of a luxury but a decent upgrade v a cordless hammer drill.

Get the new Makita XGT system 40v in a battery the same size as the old 18v

@mehr I'm sure it's awesome but then that's £500 ish for a drill, battery & new charger vs £130...

I have that one. It's brilliant for drilling holes in concrete, and I used it for most of a day chipping away concrete (I'd lent out my big Titan) - it's heavy on batteries for that use but coped absolutely fine.

I’ve got the one in your first link. Perfectly good but if I was drilling 5mm holes in masonry and steel I’d just use a drill driver - even if with the SDS to hand. They’re not good tools for small stuff - particular if you want any accuracy or want to hold something else in your other hand

If you want to drill steel you’ll need a Chuck adaptor and the extra length and weight and the shuggliness or the adaptor in the sds Chuck makes for quite an ungainly and clumsy way of drilling small holes

if you’ve already got the batteries does that mean you’ve already got a driver? Just use decent drill bits in that

I'm biding my time for this combo.

So to sum up then, yes they are good and do work but can be heavy on the batteries and cost more which for some is offset by the lack of cable faff and portablilty.

I don't have one but do have two big corded SDS and a Titan monster. I also have 5 or six battery drills of various grades including a £400 Hitachi. My go to drill for most thing is still one of the Ryobi's with hammer action (not SDS). Occasionally go for the Hitachi if I'm drilling masonry in an inconvenient location but break out the corded SDS beasts for big holes and cores.

I can see the appeal of cordless SDS for a tradesman where access to power might be an issue but for home DIY I can't quite see the point.

If you want to drill steel you’ll need a Chuck adaptor and the extra length and weight and the shuggliness or the adaptor in the sds Chuck makes for quite an ungainly and clumsy way of drilling small holes

Surely in keeping with footflaps theme of suggesting complete overkill you'll need a mag drill.

20 quid a drill bit 🙁 just had to buy a 10mm one for upcoming work

OP, I have that drill and it does exactly what you need it to.

Get the new Makita XGT system 40v in a battery the same size as the old 18v

And buy into a whole new system of batteries.

Have the Makita chainsaw that is 36v, but runs off two 18v batteries. 5/6ah preferred over 3ah. They suck a lot of juice.

Tbh, I prefer corded power tools. It's very rare that you're more than 100m from a proper power supply.

I can see the appeal of cordless SDS for a tradesman where access to power might be an issue but for home DIY I can’t quite see the point.

Surely in keeping with footflaps theme of suggesting complete overkill you’ll need a mag drill.

20 quid a drill bit 🙁 just had to buy a 10mm one for upcoming work

Is that one of the hollow core ones?

No just long(in mag drill terms) 19.07mm Weldon . Need to do matching in situ holes in an I-beam where the mag drill base doesn't fit into the Channel.

I can see the appeal of cordless SDS for a tradesman where access to power might be an issue but for home DIY I can’t quite see the point.

I have a cordless non-SDS hammer drill and a corded SDS drill; what often happens when just doing little jobs is:

- Get the cordless one as I can't be bothered to faff with an extension lead for just a quick job
- Struggle a bit with the cordless one
- Go get the other drill and an extension lead anyway

It's a much better drill but when faffing with the extension lead takes longer than drilling the hole itself I kinda wish I had bought the cordless one...

ok, so just seen this (newer, brushless model) which is £200 at Screwfix but only slightly more expensive elsewhere
https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Makita-Dhr242Z-0088381654326-18V-Sds-Plus-Brushless-Rotary-Hammer-Drill-Bare-Unit?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8afhs4nm6gIV34BQBh0lsweHEAkYASABEgIPCfD_BwE

My understanding is that brushless motors give you a lot more power (at least on RC cars/quads etc 😂) so is this worth going for? (The fact that it has the cool matching hoover attachment that @kayak23 posted earlier has nothing to do with it 🤔)

No its not worth it , unless use it enough and the extra complexity of brushless makes them a bit like electronic gizmo that one day is not repairable , compared with simple brushed motors.
Oh and corded/cordless is a bit of a difficult one these days , usually you need a cord for the vac to cleanup, and if you have a power take off it becomes the extension cord anyway, but now we have cordless vacs.. so it gets to be cordless everywhere and on sites its a godsend not to be 110v reliant.
As long as the batteries are still made or adaptable cordless is good - its much better these days as manufacturers have finally cottoned onto the Ryobi success story of keeping your customers happy by using the same battery fitment for years and make more tools available , the big names need to do that now as the users investment in the tools is much bigger than just a couple of drill drivers to replace every 3 years.

I have the Makita 18v LXT brushless with chisel function. Absolutely awesome bit of kit and for me about the right balance of price vs performance.
I find with the LXT there are some bits of kit that are perfectly happy with 3Ah battery (inc the SDS), others like my brushed reciprocating saw and 36v lawn mower laugh at 3Ah batteries.

No its not worth it , unless use it enough and the extra complexity of brushless makes them a bit like electronic gizmo that one day is not repairable , compared with simple brushed motors.

Brushless motors are very simple, so it should last longer. They require some beefy electronics to drive the coils, but assuming thats designed properly - it should last a very long time.

Fastfix.co.uk usually have better prices on makita kit than screwfix.

I have a cordless non-SDS hammer drill and a corded SDS drill; what often happens when just doing little jobs is:

– Get the cordless one as I can’t be bothered to faff with an extension lead for just a quick job
– Struggle a bit with the cordless one
– Go get the other drill and an extension lead anyway

It’s a much better drill but when faffing with the extension lead takes longer than drilling the hole itself I kinda wish I had bought the cordless one…

I do the same but the 18v makita will do small jobs ok ... 5-6mm hole in brick no prob but running 32mm core bit or drilling a 25mm through oak sleepers it is slow and quickly dies.

However I only have 4 3.6 batteries and often run out or find going forwards and backwards to charge and change batteries is more hassle than just getting the extension cable and big SDS mains drill.

I find when I do finally get the corded out I just think why did I even bother trying with the cordless. I’m sure the £500 cordless are way better but for me keeping the SDS as the big boy is just easier and a lot cheaper.