Customer Reviews

Black & Decker DR250B 5.2 amp 3/8-inch VSR Drill/Driver with Storage Bag

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

If you want a tool for basic household use, like putting up mini-blinds, assembling furniture, etc, then this is the drill for you. It's terrific for all but heavy-duty construction use. Light and easy to handle, with a nifty little carrying back. Drill bits change out easily. Works as an electric screwdriver with a changeable bit for either flathead or Phillips that stores neatly in the head of the drill. Inexpensive, light and easy to handle, this makes a perfect gift for someone setting up a new house or starting that first toolbox.

I will let the other reviewers tell about it's power. The chuck will not hold a drill bit no matter how hard you tighten it. It will slip and leave the bit stuck in whatever you are drilling. Every time. It's like B&D took an old key chuck and put plastic grips on it. I would rather have a key chuck. It will hold onto hex drivers if they're bottomed out in the chuck. If they're not bottomed out, they will slip once you put pressure on it. And like another reviewer noted, the chuck gets stuck and you just about have to use Channel locks to get a hex nut driver out after using it. If you use this as either a drill or a driver it may make you very angry.

I don't have a lot of time to work on home improvement projects, so when a free weekend rolls around, I would like for my tools to work. After a series of frustrations with cordless drills (battery never charged when I need to use it) I bought this corded drill. The first project I worked on was hanging curtain rods. When I tried to drive a screw into wood (after drilling a pilot hole), the chuck froze up and wouldn't turn to release the bit. After wrestling the bit free, the chuck still wouldn't open or close.

I returned that particular drill, and like a moron, got another of the same model. Same project, same wood, same screw, same problem - the chuck just froze up and wouldn't turn one way or another. I'm done with this drill - it might work for driving screws into butter, but the chuck breaks if you try to do any serious work.

I bought this based on its low price but I had to return it immediately because of a problem with the chuck. I bought a comparable corded 3/8 inch drill of the DeWalt line (D21008K) instead-- more expensive but clearly money better spent, in retrospect.

As an example, look at the chuck's outer rings (where I had a problem): it is made out of plastic. The DeWalt version is aluminum there, feels more mechanically rock solid, and it is thoughtfully larger in diameter (so you can clamp/unclamp with a higher gripping torque). (The DeWalt has a higher rated power-- but I'm just comparing how trustworthy the designs are.)

At about $30 for this Black and Decker I think you get what you pay for-- it otherwise looked fine, and I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for the rest.

(By the way, this one of my very rare product return experience with Amazon, and I applaud how painless they make that, even with a non-media item like this!)

I recieved this drill about 2 years ago for christmas, and it has not let me down. I have put many screws in, drilled into concrete flooring, along with many holes in walls and wood around the house. The power is quite impressive, and for the price, well worth the investment for the light user like me. The Keyless chuck is a nice feature, but can pose a problem when really needing to drill into a hard substance like concrete, which has tendacny to spin the bit out of the chuck. With patience, and a good grip, that problem can be overcome. I've had more expensive drills not work as well as this. worth a look.

I read ALL the reviews on this drill before buying. I tricked myself into thinking the bad reviews about the keyless chuck were written from idiots that don't know what they are doing. So I ordered this drill expecting great things.

The keyless chuck is non-functional. As soon as you put any kind of pressure on what you are doing, you know, like... to actually DRILL something! the bit starts turning in the chuck. Utterly useless drill.

Not to mention the cord is so short, what a joke! I don't understand why you would have a cord this short. Unless you are drilling in the screws to the plate that the drill is plugged in to, the cord is a waste of time. You have to pop an extension cord on it.

I need a drill that can drill holes in the bricks on the outside of my home to put hooks in the bricks to attach a shade sail to cover the back porch. My old 14.4 volt cordless drill EASILY drilled 3/8 holes in the brick (before the battery totally died on me) to attach hose holders.

Do not buy this drill. Do not get clouded by how cheap it is. Worthless is worse than cheap! It's a waste of time. Black and Decker needs to stop making this drill, and Amazon seriously needs to stop carrying it.

Now, I'm back to square one to find a good drill that WORKS, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I bought this for drilling in aluminum. The keyless chuck can't be tightened enough to keep the drill bit from slipping, no matter how hard I try. I wanted an inexpensive corded drill, but this is not functional. Perhaps it would be ok for drilling very soft materials.

This is a piece of junk, I took it back.
I purchased this drill at Lowes. I went in specifically to purchase a drill with a cord because I don't feel battery operated drills are powerful enough, and the batteries overheat and cost a lot to replace, so I went straight in, bought the cheapest corded drill I saw, and never thought that anything else mattered. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, you need to make sure you get one that has the little key that allows you to tighten the drill bits in place. Every time I tried to drill with this drill, the drill bit would come right out and get stuck in the wood.
This drill doesn't come with a key to tighten the drill bit in place, and you are supposed to be able to tighten it in place yourself, but I was never able to, and apparently, other people were not able to either.
I took it back and got another drill for $54 with a key to tighten the drill bit and immediately tried it when I got home to make sure it was ok. It was awesome, nothing like the Black and Decker DR250 which was a piece of junk.
I had emailed Black and Decker before returning the drill to see if maybe I didn't know how to properly tighten the drill bits, and they emailed me back and suggested I take my drill back to the store, so there is no fix for this problem.

It's May 2011, and the chuck is still terrible. I picked this up at my friendly local nationwide megastore because it was the cheapest drill they had. After an enormous amount of frustration trying to use it as a drill, I gave up and just used it as a screwdriver for the rest of the project. Total time between buying it and returning it: 5 hours.

I don't care how powerful it is! A drill is useless if the chuck doesn't work properly and I will tell you that I've had THREE of these drills because I keep returning them due to the keyless chuck getting stuck and I just keep getting disappointed with this product.
I'll admit the first time I thought it was me because it broke so quickly but the second time it broke just as fast (within in the first or second time of using it)and here's the kicker, the third time I returned it and got a new drill the keyless chuck was broken RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX!
If you were smarter than me and did some research before you spent the money save yourself some time and frustration and get completely different drill and thank me later when it lasts more then a few days.