Customer Reviews

Hitachi KC18DE 18 Volt Combo Kit

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After twenty years of marine construction as a heavy timber dock and pier carpenter and commercial diver I have been pleasantly surprised by Hitachi. I have been a card carrying member of a professional line of tools known by their red boxes and stellar reputation as hard hitting durable tools.I had a kit like this one built by the red box company but was really unhappy with the power and I had to send in two out of four tools due to breaking on the job. I replaced that kit with this hitachi kit and have come to appreciate Hitachi. The previous reviewer apparently failed to read the part in the instructions where it talked about cycling the batteries a couple of times before they will hold a full charge(!) Well I have been using this kit hard and it is one hell of an arsonal. Good battery life and strong enough to feel like a corded tool. The circular saw has a light for the blade that helps and the motor doesn't bog down like most battery powered tools, the recip. also dishes out the power. All-in-all a great kit when you need the power but don't have enough of a job to justify humping the cords to the jobsite!

Thanks to Hitachi!

These are very good quality tools, like all Hitachi that I own (more than 20) they are built to last. The light on the circular saw is a great extra, even when cutting something in poor light the light on the saw is perfectly located. The drill is only a 3/8" chuck, but has lots of power. The only problem I find with this combo is that the batteries that came with it are 1.2 AH. I got lucky and found a couple of 18 volt Hitachi 3.0 AH batteries at Lowes on clearance for 40 bucks each. With these batteries the tools have more power and run much longer on a charge. Even with the added expense of upgrading the batteries, these tools are worth it to me as they don't have to go back to the service center all the time like some of my DeWalt and Porter Cable tools do.

I have two each of the drill and circular saw. One of the saws I turned into a cordless table saw by building a small table and fence for it. It is really handy to have a small table saw right at the job site for ripping. There is no safe way to rip without a table saw. I couldn't find one of those small corded saws I liked, and even if I did, it would still need a cord. I don't know why some company does not make a cordless table saw.

The saw mounted on the table will rip 2X lumber no problem. It will easily cut 5/4 oak. Using two saws at once (the unmounted one is used for crosscuts) I have never been slowed down by battery life. As soon as the battery I'm using is dead, the one in the charger is recharged. The way to buy batteries for these tools is to buy them as part of a new tool kit. One replacement battery costs about 80% of the DS18DVB drill kit which includes two batteries and a bonus drill!

The drills are a replacement for two DW drills that were stolen. I liked the DW drills just fine, but these Hitachi drills are at least as good, and the Hitachi circular saw is much nicer than the old style (5-3/8") DW. One nit I have about the Hitachi drills is the keyless chucks may slip if you tighten them with bare hands; if I'm wearing gloves, no problem. Hitachi should maybe put something "grippier" like rubber on the chuck.

I don't miss the hammer drill option with these cordless drills. Hammer drilling is a bit beyond the capabilities of a cordless drill, IMHO. Get yourself a corded Milwaukee if you plan to do much hammer drilling at all. That said, these Hitachi drills have enough torque to drive a 4" concrete screw through 2X lumber and into a 75 year old slab, that has been pre-drilled by a Milwaukee HD, of course.

Never used the recip saw, so I can't comment.

UPDATE IN NOVEMBER, 2005

I've been reading a lot of Hitachi reviews that have said the batteries won't hold a charge. I have 10 Hitachi batteries: 3 are the 3AHr NiMH batteries and 7 are the 2AHr NiCads. They all seem to hold a charge just fine. The flashlight in this kit (and other kits) is great for discharging the batteries all the way before recharging. A battery will still light the flashlight quite a while after the battery seems to be "dead" in one of the tools.

I've used the recip saw a few times now and it seems OK. Plenty of power to do the kind of rough, hack it up kinda cuts you make with a recip saw. The blade chuck holds the blades securely yet you can change blades quickly.

I recently found this combo kit on the "bargain rack" at the contractor's favorite mega-store. Out of curiosity I picked it up thinking that it would be a fine stand by set if needed. Amazingly these tools can dish it out with the best that I have seen/used. They are well built and powerful. As already noted, if you follow the simple instructions for ensuring battery life via cycling to start out then I think you will find plenty of power to spare.

For the price paid, and even for more, I think you will find the Hitachi 18V set very satisfactory.

First the Hitachi kit is awesome and is just as god as the higher priced kits but many people seem to complain about the battery life. Here is the deal directly from a Hitachi dealer - Hitachi is able to offer this extremely high quality kit because of the lower priced batteries and that is how they are able to get into the market.

Upon recommendation I did buy one of the larger 3 Amp Batteries at Lowes and it goes like a raped ape. The Hitachi rep's position makes since - market a high quality tool at a low price and for contractors it's well worth the cost of higher capacity batteries because now you have 4 batteries and your still paying less than a DeWalt.

We also have a Bosch kit - I love the power but you think Hitachi eats the battery try a Bosch. No matter what your doing Hitachi gives you the best bang for your buck!

I am in the home remodelling business and purchased this combi set primarily for the circular and recip saws. I figured for small, quick cuts the saws would come in handy. The tools are of decent quality and have a nice feel to them when in use. The problem are the batteries not being able to keep a charge. I followed the instructions regarding initial charging procedures and I am lucky if I get a few minutes use out of each charge. (This also includes the cordless drill). I own two other Hitachi saws that I love (corded of course). Despite the fact that this product is made in China, the batteries should be of much better quality. Most of Craftsman's professional line is made in China and Porter Cable is made in Taiwan. This set is basically a waste of money for the professional or DIY'er for that matter.

Hitachi's combo pack is a great value. Only reason it received 4 stars is the fact that the batteries don't last as long as some of the other brands I have used before. They are not as bad as one of the reviewers makes them out to be - read the instruction manual!!!

Positives:
+ GREAT price as compared to DW, Ridgid, Milwaukee, etc.
+ circular saw is great, plus the light on the saw is handy
+ I like the bag. I always thought I would hate the bag as opposed to the hard case, but now that I have it I like it a lot. It is easier to carry and you can put other things in it.

Negatives:
- no hammer drill, that combo costs same $$$ as the other brands. However, I do very little hammer drilling, so it was not a necessity.
- battery life a little less than friends 18V DW combo (when comparing same tools/usage) When using our reciprocating saws hard one day, his DW lasted about 5-7 minutes longer off a charge.
- not a lot of Hitachi 18V bare tools out there to add. That is the one nice thing about DeWalt. You can find just about everything in an 18V cordless model if you have to have it cordless. My friend has added a grinder, jig saw and impact driver to his set, all for less than $100 each because he bought them without batteries and they use the same ones he already has.

I purchased the Hatachi kit just for pick up work, instead of hauling out extension cords, and running my generator. I ended up doing both as the batteries and lack of power on the circuler saw left me with no other options. I made six cuts on treated 2x6 on a freshly charged battery. The drill using a new 11/8" flat bit drilled maybe 10 holes before dying on a freshly charged battery. I tried re-charging the batteries to see if they would come to life, but they haven't. This set is on it's way back. I don't have time to mess around with something that doesn't work.