Hitachi Hammer Drill Review - DV 18DL

       

 This review is for the Hitachi Hammer Drill that came in the kit KC18DCL that we bought from tylertool.com.  The model number for this drill is DV18DL.  This drill packs a lot of power and produces 570lbs of torque.  Compare that with the Milwaukee V28 that produces 600lbs of toque, and the Hitachi is only an 18V.  While most hammer drills have two speed settings, the Hitachi has 4 settings.  The four settings are 0-200/400/900/1800 rpm, so as a user you do have lots of control.  One feature we really like is the unique access to the carbon brushes.  On the back of the drill you have easy access  to change the brushes once they get worn out. 

When you first pick up this tool, you notice this has great balance and is extremely light weighing.  The tool only weights 4.9lbs.  The tool belt clip is a nice feature, but we found the light to be pretty much worthless.  While it does work a little bit, it just got in the way more than it helped.

We ran a couple tests on this drill.  One was simple drilling and the other was mixing concrete.  For the drilling part we used an old, dull drill bit.  We drilled into a treated 4×4 that the drill ran through with no problems.  We also ran this drill through two solid Oak 2×4s, and again there was not much resistance.

For the mixing test, we used a 5 gallon bucket to mix some concrete (normally you want to use a mixing bucket, but we did this so we could see it better with the camera).  Over all, as you can see by the video, the drill did bog down a little, but still mixed the concrete.  To be fair, this drill is not really designed to mix concrete, there are better and more powerful drills that are made to mix conrete and motar.  The side handle did come in handy because you can feel the power from this drill when mixing the concrete. 

Over all, this is a very nice drill.  We like the low profile of the battery and how light this drill is.  This drill has a great feel and very good balance. You can use it all day and not get worn out!

Hitachi Impact Driver Review - WH 18DL

           

We reviewed the Hitachi combo kit model number  KC18DCL we bought from tylertool.com.  Inside this kit is the Hitachi Impact Driver model number WH18DL.  To learn more about impact drivers, you can see our article on impact drivers.

The Hitachi impact driver is just one of those tools that feels good in your hand.  The driver has a nice balance and is incredibly light, weighing only 3.5lbs without the battery.  This driver puts out an astounding amount of torque coming in at 1,330 in-lbs.  Hitachi put a two piece motor with heavy gauge copper to get this much power into a light weight tool.  On this driver Hitachi has a power mode which is 0-2,600 and a save mode 0-2,000 rpm.  We all know that a tool that runs hot causes more wear and tear and shortens the life of the tool.  Hitachi uses a unique cool flow system that provides a steady stream of air into the motor to help keep this driver running cooler.  Another nice feature Hitachi designed into the impact driver is easy access to the carbon brushes, which allows you to change these easily and quickly.  One last feature worth mentioning is  the tool belt clip. Hitachi has a built in light that will shine  on the area you are working  to let you see your work easier.

We wanted to test this impact driver, so there was no better place than taking it to a job site and letting them run this tool.  Impact drivers can be used for a variety of applications, such as decking and more.  One area where these impact drivers are becoming more popular is fastening metal studs to each other.  We stopped by one jobsite where we knew a lot of this was going on.  We told the workers to give this impact driver a try. They run their drivers all day long, so they will be able to see the difference right away.  We had 9 guys run this tool, some ran it for about 10 minutes while othersran it for a couple hours each. 

The overall feedback we received from the workers was positive.  They all agreed it had a great balance and best of all, it was very light.  Two guys stated they will stick with their impact driver, while six would consider buying this as their next driver.  One note is this tool was dropped numerous times from various heights.  Not one time did the battery come out, and nothing chipped on the driver.

When we ran the tool for a while, we found it very easy to work with.  We had great control for setting the depth of each screw and it didn’t take to long to get the feel down and start doing some serious work.  We were really getting into the Hitachi Impact driver until one worker wanted use to try the Makita driver.  We had a really good feel for the Hitachi, but when we picked up the Makita, I have to say the Makita felt great, great balance and very easy to work with.  We are hoping to test the Makita very soon.

 

Overall, we like the Hitachi impact driver.  Very light and good balance.  We are giving this a 4 blade rating because we liked the Makita impact driver a little more, but still have to put the Makita through some tests.   The side light didn’t provide much help, but the impact driver ran great.

Hitachi Battery and Charger Review

         

 

This review is for the Hitachi Lithium Ion batteries and charger we bought from tylertool.com.  These came in the Hitachi combo kit model number KC18DCL.  You can also buy these sperately.  The model number for the batteries is EBM1830 and the charger model number is UC 18YRL.

Overall, we like the Lithium batteries.  The Hitachi batteries are backwards compatiable.  Hitachi puts a recharge life for these batteries at around 1,300 to 1,500 charges.  This kit comes with the 3 amp batteries.

The Hitachi charger is also a great charger.  Hitachi includes a universal charger that will allow a user to charge 7.2V - 18V Lithium batteries, and the same for NiCd and NiHM.  Hitachi also has a built in cooling fan which helps lower the over all temerature of the batteries and allows them to cool down and charge faster. 

 

 We like the Hitachi batteries and universal charger.  As you can see, there is not much to batteries and chargers, but after seeing some of the other batteries and chargers put out by manufacturers, we always like to take a look at the ones in the kits we review.

Hitachi Contractor Bag Review

This is the Hitachi tool bag that came in the kit KC18DCL that we purchased from Tylertool.com.  This tool bag is made from a heavy duty Nylon with two handles to carry the bag.  On the outside there are a couple small pockets to hold hand tools you might access often.  Once you zip open the bag, there are two pockets.  One designed for the charger and the other is a small nylon mesh with a zipper.  This bag will hold all the tools in this kit with room left over for other tools.

As you can see from our other tool bag reviews, we like to test the weight this bag can handle.  Since this is a light kit, weighing under 20lbs., we figured we would put 50lbs. in this bag to test it.  As you can see from the video, we put 50lbs of weight in the bag, lifted it up and gave it a couple good tugs.  The bag held up and nothing tore.  We feel very comfortable over loading this bag and knowing it will hold up.

 

 

 

 

Over we like the bag.  Good storage and built just right for this kit.  As you can see this bag has some great strength.

Hitachi 18V Review - Kit KC18DCL

        

This review is for the hitachi 18V lithium Ion combo kit model number KC18DCL.  After we did our shopping we found prices starting at $289 and up.  Amazon was selling this kit for $420.  We ended up buying this kit through tylertool.com for the cheapest price $289, and received free shipping.  We have always had a good experience with tylertool, so since they had the lowest price and free shipping we couldn’t go wrong.

The Hitachi kit  comes with a hammer drill, impact driver, two batteries (3.oAh), charger, and a tool bag.  One item to note is Hitachi sells two different kits that are identical, except for the batteries.  One kit comes with a 1.5 amp and another is a 3 amp.  This review is for the 3 amp battery.  You can also buy the power tools indivdually.  The hammer drill is model number DV18Dl, and the impact driver is WH18DL.

When ever we pick up a tool, one feature we always want is balance.  We want our tools to have good balance so our arms and hands do not tire out while working.  Another item we noticed was how light both tools are.  The hammer drill is only 4.9lbs. while the impact driver weighs in at 3.5lbs. 

The Hitachi hammer drill seems like a very nice drill.  As we said, it is very light, has a nice feel, and good balance.  What’s amazing is this drill puts out a whopping 570lbs. of torque.  Another nice feature is the command you have over this drill.  While most drills have a high and low, the Hitachi has a high, plus another switch for power and save.  The trigger is variable speed, so depending upon the adjustments, the drill can operate from 0-200/400/900/1800 rpm.  Not that we change the brushes a lot on our drill, but Hitachi built in a nice feature in case we need to.  Towards the back of the drill there is a place where you can access the brush for any reason.  In regrads to the motor, Hitachi uses a rare earth magnet motor which they say provides better durabilty and more power.

The Hitachi impact driver is also a very nice power tool.  When you pick this tool up, it is very light.  This bad boy provides an incrediable 1,330 lbs of torque.  If you have been reading our website, one thing we really stress is heat build up and how this tears a tool a part.  Hitachi has a unique cool flow system to provide a steady stream of air to the motor.  As with the drill, Hitachi has a built in feature that allows the user to access the brushes very easily.

This Hitachi uses an 18V 3 amp Lithium Ion battery for power.  We have all had the problem of running our tools hard, which causes the batteries to heat up.  Hitachi has a nice feature built in the charger that has a cooling fan to help disipate the heat build up, so charging can start sooner.

The Hitachi tool bag is strong with lots of room.  On the outside there are some pockets to store tools you access often.  On the inside there is a pocket for the charger and another pocket for other tools.  The bag offers more than enough room to store the tools in this kit, plus other tools you want to carry around.

Over all we like the features, balance and feel of the Hitachi tool kit.  From the start, we wii give this a 5 blade rating, but we still need to run the tools through our test.

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