Buying decision: Which Impact Driver?

[Jonathan]

Hi

I'm looking for a bit of advice on which impact driver to buy. I recently had a Makita 18v lithium ion combi drill (BHP451) die on me after a few years of site use. I replaced it with a Milwaukee C18DD (as I never used the hammer action on the Makita) and it has been excellent so far. However, I only use it for boring holes and driving screws when precision is needed. Everything else gets the impact treatment.

So, onto the main topic. When driving longer screws (2"-4") for flooring, framing, etc I've been borrowing my dad's Makita 18v li-ion impact driver (BTD140) but thought it was about time I got my own. I'm unsure what to go for though so any help would be very appreciated. Something that won't mind driving screws up to 4" (without pilot drilling).

Any other recommendations will be appreciated also. Ideally, I don't want to spend more than £150 as that is the price of the C18ID (minus the VAT, which I can claim back) the dearer of the two options.

I've looked at the Makita 10.8v model, and whilst it looks great, I think the type of work I do will be too hard on it (requiring constant recharging with the 1.5ah batteries). So I've narrowed it down to either the Milwaukee C12ID (even though this uses 1.5ah batteries also) or just buying the Milwaukee C18ID body and using the 3.0ah batteries I already have.

Ideally, I'd like the C12 as smaller and lighter is always handy as the 18v driver drill is a heavy brute. But if the 18v impact driver would be more suitable for heavy site use that'd be fine too.

Any other recommendations would also be welcomed. Ideally, I'd not like to go over £150 (the VAT excluded price of the C18ID, which is the dearer of the two options).
Thanks

 

[RogerS]

Makita 14.4v...you can get some 2Ah batteries..and they're on offer everywhere. Batteries charge very quickly. I used mine solidly for a couple of years during the renovation project and it never let me down. Driving in No 6 and 8 into 200 year old oak (although to be fair I did put a bit of silicon on the screws first as the oak was so hard).

So versatile I even bought a spare naked one just in case it broke down on me....but it never did and I must get round to selling the spare.

But equally you're going to get a load of other recommendations as well for other makes!

 

[Dibs-h]

Makita 14.4v...you can get some 2Ah batteries..and they're on offer everywhere. Batteries charge very quickly. I used mine solidly for a couple of years during the renovation project and it never let me down. Driving in No 6 and 8 into 200 year old oak (although to be fair I did put a bit of silicon on the screws first as the oak was so hard).

So versatile I even bought a spare naked one just in case it broke down on me....but it never did and I must get round to selling the spare.

But equally you're going to get a load of other recommendations as well for other makes!

I can second that - my 14.4 Makita is a beast compared to the Makita Combo. I've had absolutely no problem driving in 4" nbr 10's into old floor joists. Something that the combo would have struggled with even with a pilot hole.

 

[Mr Ed]

I have the 10.8v Makita and find it excellent, however I agree with the comments that it would probably struggle if needed to be used all day, every day. Cracking little tool for what I want it for though.

Cheers, Ed

 

[markwuzere]

4 of the guys on our site tested an 18v makita li-ion impact driver against a bosch 18v impact driver against the new bosch 18v gsr drill driver
tast included driving 4" screws into hardwood and the bosch drill driver won on speed, weight and noise (i hate the noise off impact drivers and i own 2)
3 off the 4 now own the gsr and sites a much quiter place
just thought i would add my 2 pence worth

 

[FatFreddysCat]

Ultimate performance is one thing, but what about the batteries? I already carry round three battery systems (deWalt 18 volt Li-Ion/NiMh, Makita 12 volt NiMH and Bosch 10.8 volt Li-Ion). That's quite enough so I'd take a LOT of convincing to buy into yet another system. I don't like a lot of the DW tools, but the cordless 2nd fix nailers have proven uber reliable so I'm considering the DW 18 volt impact and cordless drill/drivers

 

[Chippyjoe]

Have the Makita 18v one and the Dewalt 18v one, the Dewalt one for me far better than the Makita and most of the Dewalt tools now,the batteries are all interchangable with each other so that does it for me as well.


Mark.