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36 multi volt 1/2 Hammer Drill


boonez40

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I took the plunge a few days ago and decided to try the new 36 Volt Hammer Drill and I am impressed. Although the system is pricey when comparing to the Dewalt and Milwaukee platforms but I am a Hitachi man. Reason why, because I am the only guy running Hitachi on my crew and I never have to worry about getting tools mixed up.

 

My back story with Hitachi power tools started around 17 years ago give or take. My first purchase was the 18 volt NiCd tool set that offered a 1/2 drill/driver, 6 1/2 inch circular saw, Sawzal and a light. Along with two 3 ah batteries, a 30 min rapid charger and battery adapter to run on 120 volt.

 

Batteries have been great up till about 6 years ago, they now need replaced after being in storage for 2 years. But I am still running the tools with the battery adapter, mostly my circular saw gets used.

 

6 years ago, while at Lowes I decided it was time to upgrade to the 18 volt Li-on. So while there I found a Drill and Impact combo with two 2.5 ah batteries. Only one left in stock and on display. I asked about when more would be available and I was offered the set on the wall at a discount because the bag was misplaced for 90.00.

I had never used an impact driver and it was OMG how did I ever live without one.

 

Last week the 36 volt Hammer Drill arrived, I found one out of SC open box deal with two 4 ah batteries and charger. 290.00 with shipping and taxes.

 

This thing in the case is a monster. The extension grip is around 12 inches long, way to long but they felt it was needed for the power it produces. I have yet to use it as the drill does have anti kickback. The anti kickback is awesome, you do not realize how cool it is to drill 3 ", 4" and 6" holes with a bimetal hole saw in metal roofing till the bit catches and trys to relocate your wrist to your elbow, but not with the anti kickback. Drill shuts down before it can hurt you.

 

In total, we drilled 100 holes with a standard drill bit, four 3 inch holes, two 4 inch holes and a six inch hole with the hole saw. After doing all that I still had one bar of power left in the battery.

 

Now the fun begins with slapping a 36 volt battery in my 18 volt impact driver. Now you would think this big arse battery was going to unbalance my drill but it didnt. I felt it was very manageable. Tool stayed in place on my tool hook, up and down ladders, crawling across roof rafters and walking around on the roof. You get a whooping 8 ah of battery in the 18 volt. What does this mean in real world scenarios. Well it's all day work without changing out batteries. I put on 3/4 of a metal roof and all the trim, rain guards and ice guards and at the end of the day, battery power was still 4 bars.

 

I can not wait to get my hands on the circular saw and sawzall but that will be down the road a few more weeks.

 

Now I wish that I would have gotten the cardboard box my drill came in as I need to know the UP code to get a free battery or the Battery adapter. I actually drove to 3 different Lowes stores and 100 Miles later, not one store had a 36 volt hammer drill in stock.

They had the Circular Saw and Sawzall bare tools but nothing else.

So if you run across a hammer drill in the box, I would like to know the UP code. 6a2c068708f24cde41ba5269afb9e8e2.jpg3062c4488f20fc64953040bfedccf55e.jpg73ec662f596a6ca618da00ba3d807a63.jpgfc61f3860f81fc53832841b6e8a16665.jpgb6ce0b7d9790bc9904f39b1b817cf9dd.jpg1c37b7f6f797a0d80c50ed36cbf4a182.jpgca7d5152a2705410424be5c471bee99b.jpg

 

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

 

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I used Hitachi for years as a DIY. Upgraded from corded B&D from last century. I liked that it was an industrial tool and I wasn’t just paying extra for yellow plastic and burned up 3 corded Dewalt circular saws. That lasted until my current job which is a motor shop...tons of specialty tools. Hitachi was just too limited and that’s without trying to find tools locally. So looking at what’s out there Milwaukee has a monster impact gun. Currently 1400 ft-lbs) which is about what I can get out of a 1” socket wrench with a torque multiplier. I think someone else finally came out with a big red killer that is 1500 ft-lbs. So that kind of established my new battery platform.

Hitachi has always made some interesting stuff but their main line tools are always just decent, in line with Porter Cable or Ridgid.

I guess I know what you mean about grabbing but back in the corded tool days D handle drills were notorious for breaking wrists or at least causing bruises or carpal tunnel. The trick is stop acting like a monkey...opposable thumbs are a bad idea. Wrap your hand around one side only including your thumb. The grip is awkward but you get used to it. If it grabs it rips the tool out of your hand instead of breaking your wrist.

Second option is hole saws are not your friend. They work but they are rough. In electrical work we drill mid size holes with a step drill. I’ve also had good luck with a hole cutter (drill press tool) but that’s more of a shop tool. For bigger holes a knockout does great with no rough edge but it’s time consuming in the setup. But it gives a very smooth hole through up to about 10-14 gauge metal.

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