Which drill to use for cement walls?

[ventodimare]

Happy holidays.

My friends wants to buy a drill for cement walls. 

I have a Ryobi 18V ONE HP Brushless Compact Hammer Drill.

I bought this as per recommendation of this fantastic community!

He did a research and was wondering if Ryobi 1500W SDS+ Rotary Hammer Drill VS Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Compact Hammer Drill

Is better. Thoughts?

Thanks

[Noyade]

Morning @ventodimare 

"Ryobi 1500W SDS+ Rotary Hammer Drill VS Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Compact Hammer Drill"

That would be like Muhammad Ali versus Me - no contest.

The 240V rotary hammer drill all the way, if all he wants to do is drill into concrete. Especially if he wants deep and large diameter holes - quickly.

Cheers!

[ventodimare]

Thank you.

Some say makita is a step up from ryobi.

For example we were looking at Makita LXT 18V Cordless Brushless Hammer Drill Kit.

Would this be better than the Ryobi 1500W SDS+ Rotary Hammer Drill VS Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Compact Hammer Drill?

Thanks

[Noyade]

Morning @ventodimare 

I believe a dedicated rotary hammer drill using SDS bits will always outdo a percussion style drill whether they be battery or mains powered. That's just my experience with concrete drilling. Reading between the lines it seems like you're talking yourself out of the rotary hammer drill? Or is the cord the issue?

There are battery powered rotary hammer drills out there.

Cords are interesting. I noticed last year Bunnings were deleting a lot of their corded tools and I managed to purchase this on clearance for a very low price. Fantastic for drilling concrete/brick around the home even at only 710 watts and smaller than the rotary hammer drill with the large motor at 90 degrees to the chuck/drill bit. Maybe worth having a look at?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @ventodimare,

@Noyade has really nailed it there. A 240v power rotary hammer SDS drill will consistently outperform a cordless drill when putting holes in concrete. If you only need to put a few holes in concrete, and that will be it, then you could go with the cordless hammer drill. You'd then get far more use out of it afterwards. If you have more than 5-10 holes to put in concrete, I suggest a dedicated hammer drill. Alternatively, purchase a cheap 240v hammer drill for the one-off job and a cordless drill driver.

For example, I have a cordless and a 240v hammer drill. I would rarely grab the cordless hammer drill if I had more than one hole to do.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[ventodimare]

Hello

Thank you everyone. My friend settled on a corded 240v and it works like magic.

The only thing is when the drill is in use we can see sparks inside it (the sparks are very visible at naked eye but the pic shows only few). Is it normal to see sparkles inside the drill?

Thank you & happy new year

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Seeing sparks inside a drill is perfectly normal, @ventodimare. It's just the carbons brushes passing by the commutator—nothing to worry about. You'll probably find that the sparking becomes less noticeable as the brushes wear in during the tool's use.

Mitchell