Consumer Reports did a test on cordless drills and rated Hitachi and Panasonic as tops.

The V28 appears to be a dud. They had problems with 3 different samples of the V28 when doing heavy driving which the 'four other drills that cost far less came through the same exercise unscathed.'

On 2 of the samples, the solder melted inside of the drill when the going got tough. Then on the third sample, the motor completely burned out.

Guess Milwaukee needs to go back to the drawing board.

There is a guy in our shop that just spent 750 for the kit. His drill with the battery on it is pretty big. He said the batteries alone are 140 each. I think I'll stick with my 18v Dewalt. I can buy 3 batteries to the price of his one. For the price of that drill it should work flawlessly. I'm surprised Panasonic/Hitachi were at the top of the list though.

I bought the set recently. I'm not to happy with the drill but the sawzall is awesome. And the batteries last a lot longer. I charge mine at the most once a week.

As the "Good Book" says, "To everything there is a purpose."

As I see it, some "cordless" drills are so large, I'm going back to the cord for those jobs that need that much "oomph." I cannot, for the life of me, imagine carrying a 28 volt drill!

Now, some tools need the power. I can see a 28 volt bandsaw, angle grinder, even "Sawzall."

As for tool reviews, it is interesting that Consumer Reports came up with results that differed from those of Fine Homebuilding. I suppose I'd favor reviews by folks who actually use the things!

Let's look at the math for a moment. A tool set for $750? A Chinese generator costs maybe $350, and a corded drill at most $200. A Sawzall at most $200. Since I'm not a carpenter, I'm not sure the circular ("Skill") saw is of much value to me. Looks like the "old fashioned way" gets the nod here.

I love my ryobi
have the whole set
works great all day

After pricing out replacement batteries and chargers for my Milwaukie 18v, I decided to buy a cheapy Craftsmen set which included the 18 Volt drill, 2 batteries, charger, and a right angle drill which is powerful enough for residential old work stud boring. Grand total, $99.00 plus tax. So far the only complaint I have is the chuck loosens up quite often, other than that, it's suitable and the right angle cordless comes in handy.

I have had my V28 set for 4 months or so and it's great.
I can do small addition with no cords and using a 7/8 auger bit and it just powers through it. The sawzall is just like a corded one, very powerfull. The circ saw is also great, the most I use it for is a service change cutting 3/4 plywood and some 2x4's.

Consumer reports is scientific and unbiased by advertisers.

As the owner of Panasonic cordless tools...I concur.

Dave

If you want a set of lithium-ion powered tools you can't go wrong with the Makita LXT400 set.

I picked it up about 3 weeks ago and have been VERY impressed. Powerful, light, ergonomics are GREAT, and the batteries last almost forever it seems. No problems as of yet and I doubt there will be.

Cow,

Where are you getting 18v DeWalt batteries for under $50?

Panasonic is one of the great secrets of the cordless tool world. For whatever reason they never get the attention that the other big names get, perhaps it's just marketing. They are superb tools though.

I've always thought that Hitachi represented a "good value". Maybe not the best, certainly not the worst, and reasonably priced.

[This message has been edited by MikeK3145 (edited 11-16-2005).]

renosteinke,

The whole idea of the lithium batteries is to reduce weight. With Milwaukee's 28v you're supposed to get 28v of power in a 18v weight class. They're far too expensive for my taste but more than a few guys buy them for "bragging rights" and they could certainly be useful in some situations.

I've subscribed to CR for many years now and by and large I think they do a good job. I'm less sure about tool reviews because I think their audience is weekend warriors not contractors and the tests may reflect less demanding work. With that said, if they test a dozen drills the same way and one fails, it says something about the quality of that drill.

...No problems with my V-28,....yet...
Russ

MikeK3145
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...tk=i_products&Ntt=dewalt%20batteries

There you go. One battery for 90 dollars or 2 for 100 dollars. I personally buy batteries through Ebay, waiting for the late night auctions when no one is bidding.