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Well never made it even through the plywood before it was just too hot to use so I took a break, ate a quick lunch and tried again. I was able to drill through the sheet of ply with no problem stopped to remove the piece of wood from the hole saw and then started into the 2x4 part drill struggled for about 2-3 minutes before overheating and stopping. Finally I just said screw it went to the garage, got my Milwaukee 1/2" corded hammer drill and I swear 15 seconds later I was done.Like I said this is a great drill if you are a homeowner but if you are going to use this as a professional MOVE ON. I bought mine as part of a 9pc kit and I have a review under the 9pc as well. BUT I recently tried using it to drill 2 2" holes using a Starret hole saw. I was trying to go up into a wall from the basement through 2 2x4's and a sheet of 3/4" plywood. I expected to be able to get back to it and finish I figured 15 minutes had passed and the drill should have cooled down well that wasn't the case it worked for 15 seconds before once again going into protect. I replaced my Dewalt 18v 4 pc kit that needed new batts (4 batts would have cost me $300 plus my drill was damaged) I got a good deal through Tyler tool $760 for the 9pc set (shipped).
(check that review as it has other good info)Was impressed with the unit at first as it works well for projects around the house and easily drives screws, drills holes etc. At first I thought it was the battery so I swapped the battery for the second one and that worked for another minute or so. Should have spent the extra $200 and gotten the Dewalt 9pc and I would have had the right angle drill and a flashlight that works. After a few minutes of stop and go I made it through the first hole and started on the second.
Fortunately I had bought the drill from L_o_w_e_s and they exchanged them without issue. The battery was fine, but both of the tabs that hold the battery in place busted off. I am an avid DIY'er and I now own three of these DV18DL Lithium-Ion drills. Luckily I have a Hitachi repair shop a mile from my home here in Belmont, MI and they replaced the case free of charge within a week. Just make sure you have a firm grip on the drill or it will torque around in a heartbeat.The only problems I have encountered with this drill are with the chuck screw that holds the chuck in place is inadequate and I broke three of them while using a 1" Ship Auger bit to drill through a 8" log I ran into while digging post holes for a split rail fence. It landed flat on the bottom of the battery. It is just a bit longer than the Hitachi OEM screw and I haven't broken one since replacing it ^_^.The second issue is with the tabs on the case that hold the battery in place.
They have more than enough torque to handle most any job I throw at them. The manager I talked to said that he had notified Hitachi of the problem but that they were not going to beef up the screw.I ordered a number of chuck screws for various makes & models of 1/2" drills (including corded drills) and discovered that the Dewalt reverse thread screw #605256-01. But as I said I now have three of these and four of the 3.0ah batteries.The last Drill I purchased was the bare (DV18DLP4) drill from Timberline Tools in July 2009 and they timely shipped one to me ^_^. I accidentally dropped it 4' onto a concrete floor.
It does not need to be special ordered later as with Milwaukee and Makita for an extra $20.Hitachi has a strange design for its battery chargers. It has a different slide catch that works well whether the case is right side up or upside down - whoops. For serious hammer drilling a cordless DeWalt 7/8" SDS drill or a corded Bosch hammer drill are better choices.Unlike our other Hitachi, and our Milwaukee, Makita, and DeWalt cordless drill someone in Japan decided to use a separate power source for the LED light which is one of the dumber design decisions I can recall. The hammer action is average, no better or worse than the DeWalt and Milwaukee we have, but not in the same class as the Bosch or Hilti models. When the battery is charging there is a solid red display but when it is finished, instead of having the green LED light as one would expect, the red LED starts flashing at 1/2 second intervals again.
Thanks but no thanks.The carry case from Hitachi is neither good nor bad. What is missing, as with most other hammer drills, is a depth rod to control the drilling depth. The tool is well balanced and the grip is very well designed to minimize vibration and fatigue. In operation it delivers plenty of power but the chuck is still not up to holding 1/8" or smaller drill bits which was a problem with our other Hitachi drill as well. This is where I wish all the drill companies would copy Bosch which provides compartments with lids in its cases for small parts.
LEDs usually work best off of 4.5 volts or more and here you have a 18 volt power pack available but instead the LED, which is consuming power in the milliwatt range, is provided with its own batteries to replace and if they leak and cause corrosion will take out the LED lights. I really don't want to have to read the manual to understand the charger display or have it different for every cordless tool I use. Hitachi stands alone in not providing a picture of its drill with a belt clip and bit holder (combination unit that does both), but Hitachi actually includes this with the drill it sells. It provides plenty of power and recharge times are better than average - not as fast as Makita but faster than with DeWalt and Milwaukee lithium-ion battery packs.
When the green LED lights up it means that the batteries are too hot to be recharged. For someone needing a hammer drill for occasional use the Hitachi works fine. This is the second Hitachi drill we have bought and overall it is a good value.
This should be a standard item on every hammer drill. There is a small amount of space available for retracting screw bit holders though they are free to bounce around inside the case. Can't begin to tell you how many times I opened the case the wrong side up before finally spray painting the top of the case.
This may make perfect sense to the people at Hitachi, but why have a different charger interface than every other cordless tool manufacturer. For large drill bits or hole saw arbors the Hitachi chuck holds quite well. It does not look like your average cordless drill handle but the design works very well.
Before a battery is inserted the charger flshes on and off at half second intervals.
I bought this system with the old style batteries, it's so much better with the new Lithium-Ion batteries. The new batteries interchange with the old.
Have one, case broke on first use and now the chuck is stripped. I will not buy Hitachi again. Only used a few times around the house.
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