Einhell tools

[Kittyhawk]

Personally never heard of Einhell tools, supposedly German and not available in NZ.
But their tools are rebranded here and sold exclusively by a big hardware chain under the name Ozito.
Ozito brand tools are as cheap as chips but appear to have a good reputation so I'm thinking of getting one of their 18v drill kits.
How are Einhell tools regarded by you chaps in Europe?

 

[dzj]

I was once on a job site and needed a belt sander for some reason or other. Home was a 100 km away,
so I bought an inexpensive Einhell in a local shop, just to finish the job quicker. That was 4-5 years ago and it still works fine.
The DX is not much to speak of, so best to use it outside.
On par with the likes of Parkside, but it's not a professional tool.
That is my only experience with the Einhell brand.

 

[Inspector]

I think the Ozito brand is also sold in Australia. Maybe pose the question on the Aussie forum too for their experiences.

Pete

 

[Kittyhawk]

I think the Ozito brand is also sold in Australia. Maybe pose the question on the Aussie forum too for their experiences.

Pete

Yes it is, an exclusive line to Bumblings....oops, I mean Bunnings.
It is confirmed that the Ozito drill I'm interested in is a rebranded Einhell and Interestingly Einhell give a 2 year guarantee on drill and battery whereas Ozito give 5 years on the drill and 3 on the battery.
Guess I'll buy one.

 

[AES]

Einhell are based in Germany, they design some stuff there (but I think all their stuff is made in China or otherwise sub-contracted) and in addition, they also seem to "badge engineer" some stuff (i.e. buy up some tool or other, then simply put their name on it).

In other words, their tools are like the Curate's egg - good in parts.

In practice, that means you have to be careful, VERY careful. I've had a total of 4 Einhell tools. One was absolute carp and after a LOT of fiddling and faddling, ended up going in the bin - a belt/disc sander that could NOT be made to work properly. Another, a scroll saw was awful, but after a lot of faddling, could be made to work "OK-ish". With appropriate caveats and explanations I gave it away.

A 3rd, a small table top bandsaw, COULD be made to work, again "OK-ish" and I still have it (though it's scheduled for replacement with a better machine - that will NOT be hard, apart from finding the funds)!

And the 4th is my Chinese mini lathe which was not made by Einhell, but by (I think) Red Dog, apparently one of the better Chinese-made/designed jobbies. Apart from cleaning out casting sand, fettling for casting burrs etc, and generally re-assembling it "properly", it works fine - within the limitations of any of these little Chinese mini lathes.

In short, definitely NOT "professional" tools, but built to a price and aimed at the hobby/DIY market.

IF you can get a item in your hands and look very carefully at it, you could, maybe, get a value-for money tool - e.g. my lathe, and I understand, their "new" range of drills, then OK. If you can't get eyeballs on before buying then based on my own experience, I'd leave well alone.

But as they say "your mileage may vary".

HTH

 

[robgul]

Over the last year or so I have moved quite a few of my hotch-potch of battery and corded tools to a common Einhell platform - based on experience with one drill/driver I used for a few months, the range available, reviews (but they're not always true), price . . .

I have 8 or 9 tools ranging from the drill/driver to a mini vacuum cleaner and a lawn fertiliser spreader. Pretty pleased with them all so far, as a "heavy DIY/mild trade" user - the battery circular saw is a little under-powered but then I only use it infrequently as I have chop and sliding mitre saws in the workshop.

In the UK, best prices seem to be Amazon - or watch for frequent offers at Toolstation (a few suppliers like ITS and FFX seem to be a bit pricey for Einhell stuff?)

 

[Kittyhawk]

I think I will go with the Ozito/Einhell 18v drill.
This is to replace my old 12v Bosch which I liked but it has Ní CD batteries, both of which are deceased. Some Builders I know are using Ozito which they cláss as 'ok' only, the benefit for them being the long guarantee and that if it gets nicked from the building site or the back of the ute its not expensive to replace.
In my case, although I spend most days in the workshop I need a drill for very light duty work maybe for 3 minutes once a week. So I don't think I even qualify as a DIY user.

 

[Inspector]

I don't have any battery tools because I am a light user too. I prefer to be able to plug the tool into either the wall or an airline and have it work until I'm done. I have corded and air tools that are from the 80's that still work as good as the day I unpacked them. I guess that was a little rant. I did find a Ryobi corded drill/driver 6 years ago that sported a cord for $70Cad that was like the battery version at two or three times the price and have driven thousands of screws with it. I know the cord can be annoying sometimes but they don't weigh as much either.

Pete

 

[Noel]

Homebase sells Ozito (or used to).

 

[clogs]

Pete.
out of interest,
for DIY'ers in the UK the cheapest range of used tools are the ex site stuff when the workers had to have 110v.....
now everything is battery......apparently that a lot of sites will only allow batt tools now....
BUT
I still have an awful lot of gear from the 110v range.....bit of a pain to get the transformer out but certainly cheaper on my pocket than getting rid and buying new batt tools.....
I will fit out a 110v curcuit for the new shop.......
Pretty much 110v tools are now worthless....time moves on I guess....
Same with my 220/240 volt gear just to costley to change up....
I find it a real pain to sort out the tangle of cables at the end of the day when welding/cutting/grinding
plus the pistol drill.....
u can see why batt tools took over.....

 

[Inspector]

Battery tools make perfect sense on a construction site where you have to work off ladders, in a crawl spaces, etc, where dragging cords kills time. It also makes sense since you are using them constantly. Batteries don't last when sitting for long periods and used for short periods of time. For me, working in the shop or in the yard it is no big deal to deal with a few cords or an air hose. If I followed the battery tools from when they were introduced I would have bought and tossed at least a half a dozen sets because of the batteries not lasting and not being supported by the manufacturers after a few years. That is a lot of money and waste. At most I need a new cord every two or three decades. Each to their own though.

Pete

 

[SamG340]

I have a few einhell 18v tools, they're really good, not the best kit in the world obviously! but for the money I'm very happy

the batteries are good too, last a long time

 

[SamG340]

If you're looking for an 18v drill/driver combo have you looked at hikoki (formally Hitachi) ive got a set, paid £150 for it . again very happy.... better quality than the einhell stuff

 

[Kittyhawk]

I don't have any battery tools because I am a light user too. I prefer to be able to plug the tool into either the wall or an airline and have it work until I'm done. I have corded and air tools that are from the 80's that still work as good as the day I unpacked them. I guess that was a little rant. I did find a Ryobi corded drill/driver 6 years ago that sported a cord for $70Cad that was like the battery version at two or three times the price and have driven thousands of screws with it. I know the cord can be annoying sometimes but they don't weigh as much either.

Pete

Exactly so. My ideal scenario would be a corded drill for the workshop and a cordless for all the in house and yard stuff that wife talks me into. When the first of the two batteries from my 12v Bosch died I took the cells out of it and wired in a long cord to a 12v power supply. The idea being to plug in the corded battery for workshop use and plug in the proper battery for outside use. Unfortunately it didn't really work. The wired up battery turned the drill OK but not under load. Presumably the 8 amps that my 12v power supply puts out is insufficient. Good idea gone wrong.

 

[mikej460]

I have an Einhell Dust Extractor with power take off. It is powerful enough but very noisy and in the first few months both the plastic clips that you coil the power cable around snapped off and if you lifted it up a castor fell off (fixed with a dab of silicon) neither of which was important enough to return it. Now the power take off has packed up which is a pain so I will be replacing it this year as it was it's only redeeming feature.

 

[againstthegrain]

I have a 18v Einhell combi drill which I am very happy with. It is powerful, good batteries (2) and not too heavy. Torque is excellent. I like the fact that here in the UK there seems to be a big range so don't need have different batteries all the time. But so far I only have the drill

 

[RobinBHM]

Homebase sells Ozito (or used to).

That was when they were briefly owned by Bunnings the Aust diy chain

 

[Jonm]

Battery tools make perfect sense on a construction site where you have to work off ladders, in a crawl spaces, etc, where dragging cords kills time

There is also the safety aspect of getting the lead to where it is required. It is one off operations so every time the lead has to be sorted for different locations.

For most tools requiring dust extraction then I cannot see the point of batteries, if you have a hose attached then a lead with it is no extra problem.

 

[Kittyhawk]

So today I spent the NZ equivalent of £51 and bought the Ozito/Einhell.
Feels pretty sold compared to my old Bosch.

 

[Cozzer]

Noel and RobinBHM both beat me to it - Homebase were Ozito stockists at one time. I bought an Ozito router when I needed a quick fix without sending a fortune for something, and I think it's still in the shed somewhere! It was/is OK for the odd job, but no doubt wouldn't stand much abuse.
I also have an Ozito jet washer, which again is "OK".
But be warned!
Only yesterday did I buy one of the "much sought-after/praised" Aldi/Ferrex patio and wall cleaner units, a large, round, bright yellow attachment - £23 or so - that comes with a universal adapter.
Er... no.
It's not quite universal !