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Bosch GSR 10.8 V-LI-2 Professional Cordless Drill Driver
by PaulinSussex
I've had a Bosch GSR Li-2 Cordless Drill driver for several years now. Okay so the name isn't very snazzy but this device is aimed at the semi-professional / professional market. Bosch colour code their devices according to build quality and design.
###Bosch Green###
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Bosch power tools that are ... coloured green are aimed at consumers or mainstream DIY'ers. Although build quality is good the overall design, tolerances and components have been specified to keep costs low. Anecdotal evidence on the web suggest the design aim is for 20 hours use, this is based on the average DIY'er doing six hours continuous work per year. Now I have many green Bosch devices and I don't think one has broken yet.
###Bosch Blue###
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Bosch blue power tools are the performance range, the components and design are aimed at the professional user that will expect to use the tool day in, day out for years. Of course it also means the Bosch blue range is more expensive. For example, anecdotal evidence on the web suggests the blue range can survive much higher drop tests than the green range.
###Purchase Decision###
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So why did I buy a GSR 10.8V Li-2 as I'm not a professional tradesman? Well in short because I have learnt over the years to do a job right and easily requires the best tool for the job. Two main selling points attracted me to this drill:
- Compact size and weight; from nose to tip this drill / driver is 210mm long and weighs just over 1Kg, including battery (note to self, stop using the kitchen scales to weigh non-food stuff)
- The battery is Li-ion which means it is small, powerful, holds its charge and recharges quickly (45 minutes from flat until fully charged, 75% charge in 15 minutes)
I bought this because I wanted a drill driver for those awkward spaces, drilling above your head, drilling in cabinets, drilling between joists. All of these jobs, whether drilling or screw driving can be a major effort (or turn the air blue in my case). The Bosch GSR Li-2 appeared to fit the bill.
###Li-Ion over NiMH Battery Technology###
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Without turning this into a science lesson older cordless drills use Nickel Metal Hydride and characteristically these are larger and heavier than the newer Lithium Ion batteries. From the perspective of power tools it basically means that for the same power Li-Ion batteries are much smaller, last longer between charging (up to twice as long), can be recharged more times (5 times more), don't suffer from "memory effect" where the battery thinks it is charged more than it actually is. The downside of Li-ion is they are significantly more expensive.
###Aesthetics###
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As this is a professional tool what do looks matter I hear you say? Well first impressions are that this is a quality piece of engineering. The body is a combination of heavy duty blue plastic, rubberised grips and metal. The chuck mechanism is very solid with positive clicks between each of the 20 torque settings. The chuck teeth are metal and the rotating mechanism to release or grip drills and bits is easy to use. Bits or drills are held securely in the teeth of the drill by rotating the chuck shaft with a twisting, tightening action.
The GSR 10.8 Li-2 sits very well in your hand, it is finely balanced and your hand naturally curls around the drill. The main weight is taken on top of the thumb and first finger and transferred into the hand, wrist and arm. The drill feels very natural sitting with the rubber grip in the webbing of your hand and your fingers curled around the vertical shaft, also rubberised, which houses the Li-Ion battery and graduated trigger. (If anyone makes any rude comments about this description I'll remind you this is supposed to be a serious review!)
Other controls are fairly minimal as this is a device where function rules over form. The directional control is next to the trigger and is pretty easy to push from one side or the other to change direction of rotation. On top of the drill is a speed control which is either one or two, former slow speeds, latter high speeds.
###In use###
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The drill is very easy and good to use. The torque controls allow very fine tuning so that the screw can be tightened to a set depth or tightness, drilling should be done without torque control which is the final setting on the torque collar. Changing bits and drills is pretty easy and fast with the keyless chuck that I've previously mentioned above. The final feature is a LED light that I've found more useful than I initially thought. As the device is designed to work in small confined areas, these are also likely to be dark so the LED light can be extremely helpful for locating the right area to drill or the screw.
I've had my GSR Li- 2 for several years and pretty much every time I do some DIY it is by my side, cosmetically it is scratched and a little dusty. However, the number of times I've dropped it onto concrete, soil, floorboards I'm impressed it still works let alone a few minor scratches. The drill is good for wood, metal, low / medium density block and small holes in brick. The screw driver is excellent as speed and torque can be finely tuned; forgot to mention the trigger allows for very gradual control over the screwing speed based on how hard you squeeze it. One thing to be aware of is that if you are spending this much on a drill/driver then get a high quality set of bits. Cheap bits will slip and chew up especially from a device that has as much torque as the GSR 10.8 Li-2
###Summary###
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The Bosch GSR 10.8 Li-2 is an excellent piece of engineering that is invaluable for any serious DIY work. If you can justify the initial expense it will last a lifetime and prove exceptionally useful. I have no hesitation in recommending this product.
N.B - the version I bought a few years ago included a canvass carry case, GSR 10.8v Li-2 drill and Li-Ion battery, Li-Ion charger, wood drills, metal drills and set of screw bits. All in all this was a very neat suite of products. The 10.8V battery fits in other Bosch Blue products with this voltage i.e. GLI 10.8V - LI Torch.
Technical details:
* Torque, max. (hard screwdriving applications) 30 Nm
* Torque, max. (soft screwdriving applications) 13 Nm
* No-load speed (1st gear/2nd gear) 0 - 350 / 1.300 rpm
* Chuck jaw width, min./max. 1 / 10 mm
* Battery voltage 10,8 V
* Weight incl. battery 0,95 kg
* Torque settings 20+1
* Length 169,0 mm
* Max. drilling diameter in wood 19 mm
* Max. drilling diameter in steel 10 mm
* Max. screw diameter 7 mm
Functions
* Multiple gears
* Forward/reverse operation
* Auto-Lock
* Softgrip
* LED Light
Noise/vibration information
* Measured values determined according to EN 60745.
Total vibration values (vector sum of three directions)
Drilling in metal
* Vibration emission value ah 2,5 m/s²
* Uncertainty K 1,5 m/s²
Screwdriving
* Vibration emission value ah 2,5 m/s²
* Uncertainty K 1,5 m/s²
Originally published on Ciao under my ID - Sussex_Paul
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MacAllister MRH24 24V Sds Rotary Hammer Drill
by HitchJo
Due to the problems that we experienced with one drill we decided to purchase a more expensive one to ensure that it would work. Due to not having £500 to pay for the best one the next option was a MacAlister one which was priced up at £150.00, this was a good price but obviously not the best drill out but it only has to last until next ... April.
This drill came with auxillary handle, depth gauge, key chuck with adapter, Chuck key, dust cap, charger and 2 battery packs. This made this a more worthwhile buy due to my partner has to use this type of drill for work. The reason that this was bought was because he has been using a corded hammer drill which takes time to set up and makes work go slower, whereas this drill not being corded makes it quicker for him to do his job.
This is easy to remove the battery to charge, you simply press and hold in the safety button on the battery and slide it out. This technique is the same when removing it from the battery charger too. To attach it to the battery charger or the drill you simply just push it into the slot firmly to ensure it locks in place it couldn't be easier. When charging the battery you should ensure that you charge it fully so that you will have full use of the battery. The batteries take approximately 1 hour to charge fully. When inserting the battery into the charger a red flashing light will come on if it is fully run down, a red steady light will show if it is nearly run down a green flashing light will tell you that it is half used and a steady green light tells you that it is fully charged. You must ensure that each time you charge the batteries they are fully charged or the battery life expectancy will be very low and could break them. The other way that you can check your battery is on the battery itself, there is a button on the battery that you can press that will light up 4 bulbs on the battery the less bulbs that are lit up the less battery life you have left. My partner charges both batteries each night when home from work and usually has to charge one through the day. This is not too much of a problem for him but we have been advised that the bosh batterys last longer but are considerably more money.
There are 4 different drilling functions on this drill. Rotation only mode this is for drilling into metal and wood and can be used with the 13mm key chuck. Rotary hammer mode which is for drilling into brick, concrete and masonry products which can not be used the the 13mm key chuck, this is the function that is most used by my partner due to he has to drill through walls for his job. Hammer only mode which is for light chiselling of brick, concrete and masonry and is also not to be used with the 13mm key chuck he also uses this mode but not on a regular basis. The last mode is turn chisel mode which is for changing the chiselling direction.
This is also fitted with a dust cap this is a great devise to ensure that less dust will enter the drill while drilling, if dust or debris do get in this can damage the drill and then in turn waste alot of money. All drills have these dust caps and I would advise that these should be used at all times in drilling but also ensure that you clean your drill after use and during if it is a big job being undertaken ensure that you switch the drill off fully before you clean.
This drill is also fitted with a variable speed trigger switch which can deliver faster speeds when pressing the trigger switch. It does recommend that you only use this speed trigger switch for short periods due to you could damage the switch if you use it too much. My partner does not use this function on the drill unless it is necessary.
There is a forward/reverse control which is also a standard function on drills. If you are using this function remember to release the motor switch and be stationary before you change to the desired function.
It is a simple tool to use you hold the auxiliary handle which ensures stability while drilling and hold the other handle with the trigger switch with the other hand to enable you to press the switch and start drilling.
This was bought from B and Q and holds a 36 month guarantee which is good if anything may go wrong with it but this is not covered if it is overloaded, misused or neglected, if it has broken due to wear and tear it is also not covered which if you are using it on a daily basis like my partner does this is going to be a problem. It is not covered if it is used for trade, professional or hire use, if it has been attempted to be repaired then it is also not covered or if it is damaged by dust or debris. In most cases this is quiet a normal list of things that would not be covered due to things have a tendency of breaking with over usage, but from the mechanical problems that we experienced with the first drill we bought this is a sufficient amount of guarantee.
Usage
My partner has been very impressed with the performance of this drill. It has speeded his work up considerably. He has found that he is able to jump straight into the job quickly and go through a house wall in less than 2 minutes which is what he needs. He has found that this is a heavier drill than the corded one that he used but has now adjusted to the weight after two weeks of use. He has one problem with it and that is that the batteries do not last very long. He manages to get 3 jobs done before having to change the battery so has to ensure both are fully charged before leaving for work and that once the one runs out that he must put it on charge just incase he has more work on and the other battery will run out. He has found that the rotary hammer drill works brilliantly and said this is a good cheap drill if you are just starting out in a trade profession. He will be buying a more expensive model when we have the money and hopefully this drill will still be going so he will have a back up.
If you are a trades man or you know someone who is this is a brilliant drill it is a 24v which is a very heavy duty the new ones that are now made are 35v which are more heavy duty but this drill is sufficient for construction use. I would advise this drill as an investment to help create the money to invest in the better drill. This drill may last 2 years from what we have been told and one person told us they had had theirs for ten years before it broke which makes this a very good investment. I have only seen these advertised at B and Q and they are limited stock we had to go to 3 stores to find one and had the last one that was left.
This is simple to use great for heavy work and brilliant in price.
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Performance Power PRH850 850W Sds Rotary Hammer Drill
by HitchJo
My partner started a new job the begining of this year. Due to the volume of construction work that needs to be done in his job we needed to find a way of making his job easier and quicker. We came to the conclusion that a battery powered hammer drill would be an advantage.
This particular brand is only supplied to B and Q ... and is one of the cheapest brands that you can purchase. The reason that we bought this one was due to it was on a sale price and it only needed to do its job until next April when he gets his tax back and is able to purchase a better model which can cost £450. I later found out that it was on a sale price due to the make was being discontinued if we had known this before we wouldn't have bought it.
This drill is a 25v drill which is the highest battery powered drill that they do. This is also available in the corded drill which is shown in the picture. This is a rotary hammer drill which should be able to drill through concrete, wood, steel and brick. Due to the SD part of the drill this enables you to drill through the concrete and brick faster. My partners job consists of drilling through house walls to fit cable television, phone lines and broadband so a good drill is required. The reason that a cordless is better is because you do not have to fuss with plugging it in and setting it up.
This cost £69 and came with two batteries that you are able to re-charge. This was 4.5kg which was not too heavy to hold and is made easier to hold by having a handle for both hands. It was easy to operate due to having a simple turn dial on the drill to change the setting from rotary to hammer. It charged very well you simply attach the battery to the charger and in less than and hour the battery was fully charged.
Now comes the problems. He decided to test it when we got home an put my sons curtain rail up. When he started drilling it was going well then suddenly it wouldn't go further into the wall. I left him to it due to there were 4 holes to be drilled. After around 10 minutes he appeared downstairs with sweat beads running down his face, but the curtain rail was up. He said he wasn't sure about it but would try it at work.
The next day I received a phone call from him mid morning, his words were not very nice about the drill should I say. As he was drilling it only got 2mm into a wall and wouldn't drill any further which was not good due to having to go through the whole wall. I pulled out the instruction manual to see what advise that would give me. The only thing that I came up with was that the dial was not set right. I explained this to him and received was that he was not thick and knows how to use a drill. (note to self never involve yourself again). When he got home that night we took it back to B and Q. When they tested it to see what was wrong it made the most horrible rattling noise and the hammer setting would not work at all.
I am not sure what I expected for the price to be honest. Some people have said they bought these for themselves and had no problems. As reading some reviews I found out that some people have had to return this model twice before they have found one that worked with no problems. Their is a fault with this model from what I can gather which is a shame because it could be a very good drill due to the battery life, how fast it charged and that it is available as a battery drill and corded.
I would not buy this model again it is a cheap product that is a waste of time, it is no surprise that this is being discontinued and will warn anyone not to be fooled that they will be getting a good drill at a good price.
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