Customer Reviews

Skil 2362-06 7.2-Volt Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver Kit

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After some searching to replace old reliable 3.6v Craftsman and Skil stick drivers, I found this unit at an excellent price. Turns out it must have been on closeout, because it can no longer be found in any store and I've only had it a few months. I can't find it on Skil's cordless driver website either, so that leaves a person wondering.

It's 7.2v battery seems to last forever and seems to have plenty of power; I say SEEMS to have, because the only thing I find seriously wrong with this thing is that it usually quits driving when a screw gets half way into a wall stud or similar wood. What's really weird is if fenessed just right with a delicate trigger finger, it can be made to start driving the snug screw once more, and often with a smidge more pull on the trigger it will punch the screw powerfully into final tightness. But the aggravation comes in trying to find just the right spot in trigger pull to get the screw turning again, and the fact that you know it has the power to finish driving it, but you can't get it going again 80% of the time.

It has a great feeling, well designed grip, an easy to use direction button, a collet that won't drop bits (but requires notched ones to do so - several come with the unit), a versatile-mount charger base, a 10 position slip clutch plus a clutch locked position, and indicator lamps on top. They didn't bother including the useless work light some drivers and drills have - why have a light that won't activate until you pull the trigger, when you need a light mostly for lining up the bit with the screw, not so much afterwards. Leaving that worthless feature off indicated smart engineering which was a selling point for me - but then they somehow goofed things up in the power application dept. Maybe that's why it's no longer on the market. Too bad. Aside from that, this is a great driver for home projects. My old 3.6v stick drivers would bog down when the going got tough, but this 7.2v pistol driver feels like the power is there and won't come through. As mentioned, about 20% of the time I can get a screw turning again and finish it off with plenty of power to spare. Very strange. Very aggravating. Very disappointed in Skil/Bosch.

One other glitch occurred yesterday: one of the drill bits that come with the unit came apart from its base. They are 2 piece Chinese, with drills inserted in sleeves that fit in the chuck. The drill has a flattened side in its foot, and the sleeve is machine punched on that side, supposedly entrapping the drill in its sleeve. But it's poorly done, and in its first job the drill slid out of its sleeve, jamming in the stud behind the wall. Had to be pried out with pliers, and is useless because it not only won't stay in the sleeve, it rotates in the sleeve.

I purchased this drill/driver to serve as a cordless screw driver. In that capacity it's fantastic, it's got plenty of power to drive screws and the battery is large enough that it lasts me all day. It's small and light and the pressure sensitive trigger is a must.

It is not, however, in any way usable as a drill. It doesn't have the power and really struggles even going through a stud. When I need to drill I still pull out my real cordless drill: DEWALT DC730KA Heavy-Duty Cordless 14.4-Volt Compact Drill/Driver.

I don't even mind the built in battery given how long it lasts when using it as a screw driver.

-1 star for pretending to be a drill.

I was looking for a small cordless screwdriver, after much comparison, I end up buying the Skil 2362 for a few reasons:
* It has a clutch which allows me to alter the torque for different type of screws and material, 80+% of the cordless screw drivers do not have this feature.
* It has a variable speed trigger, not a on-off switch. This allows me to slow down when the screw is almost completely in (the clutch will save your screw even if I fail to do so). Most cordless screwdriver do not do this, they are just full speed forward or reverse.
* It has a hex locking chuck which ensures your driver/drill bit will stay put.
* Light weight, DeWalt has an excellent screwdriver DW920K that has the same features, but it is over 2.5 times as heavy as the Skil. I might as well pull out my DW945 for the job.
* Li-Ion battery holds the charge much longer than the Ni-Cd on the DeWalt, which is great for someone who does not use the driver on a regular basis.

By the way, the driver is on Skil's website, it is under cordless drill, about half way down the product page. I don't believe it is being phased out by Skil yet.

Now the downsides:
* Battery is built-in and not replaceable: Which means if you have a big job, the battery may run out on you and the 3-hour charger may convince you to pack up early for the day. Also, when the battery eventually dies (which it will, just a matter of time), you have to throw out the whole driver, which I thought is a waste unless the motor/gears are not designed to last longer than the battery.
* Lack of a quick charger, and I have read other reports about the charger frying the battery if you leave it plugged in after charge is complete. I don't know if the -06 after the model code means a product update that might have fixed this problem, but I don't intend to test that out.

As long as you use the driver for what is designed for - light duty driving/drilling around the house, I think you will be happy with its low weight and versatility. But if I intend to drive long screws into hardwood, I will probably use my DeWalt or Bosch for the job.

I was looking for something much handier than the heavy duty unit I have that is fitted with a keyless chuck. This Skil is virtually perfect in size, weight and features. It is extremely handy to carry about and fits into small spaces. The bit holder works perfectly and is designed to prevent accidental release, a problem often mentioned with other brands. The adjustable torque settings are necessary for driving small fasteners and work beautifully. The unit feels great in the hand and appears to be high quality throughout.

Except for one thing. When driving screws that require more power, all of a sudden, it simply stops. This happened to me on the very first screw I drove. As another reviewer mentioned, you then must feather the trigger and it will begin driving again. You would think that pulling the trigger further would give it more power. With this tool that is not the case. Under load it seems to put out full power with the trigger pulled halfway. Pull it further and the tool stops. It doesn't stall, like it doesn't have the power needed, which is what my other driver/drill does. It completely cuts out. I'm guessing it has some sort of protection built in to prevent overheating the battery. I've read that lithium ion batteries are the most sensitive to overheating.

The strange thing I noticed about this cutting out is that as you continue to drive more screws it cuts out less and less. Yesterday I reinstalled a gate that I take down for the winter. It is held on by 8 large (#10?) wood screws that are tight in their holes. After driving the first screw about 1/3 of the way in the unit cut out. Feathering the trigger, I continued to drive screws. As I worked, the tool cut out less and less. I was able to drive and snug all eight screws. It seems that as things warm up, the cutting out diminishes.

All in all, it's a great little tool with a lot of power for its size. That power is, however, difficult to use. From now on, when I have larger screws to drive, I won't even bother with this tool. When I have smaller screws to drive I'll use this excellent tool.

I gave this three stars based on the fact that although its not what I had expected, it may be exactly the performance you should expect for this type of product. The cordless drills I have are Dewalt 18V XRP Hammerdrill/Drill series. I was looking for something with "just a little less" power. Based on the product description, I felt that this item would be an ideal solution for small home projects where the Dewalt was complete overkill. After giving it a full charge, I gave it a test drive. I was left confused as to what you would really use something like this for. It mentions the fact that its low speed creates greater torque. I didn't find that to be the case. It was like operating any cordless tool to that point where you can start to tell your battery needs charging. You can actually pinch the drive bit while it is running at full power and stop the drill - don't try this at home... In addition, I had a very tough time using it as a drill primarily because the speed was soooo slow. Maybe I was simply expecting too much.

I was looking for a small light tool to drive screws in shop fohings and drawer hardware/ It is barely able to drive 3/4 x 6" screws into plywood/ Constantly stalls out and lacks power even when fully charged
Don't waste your money
Gets one star for size

This is junk. After having purchased it I used it twice. It will no longer charge. Skil does not even show this as a product any longer on their web site. The only repair part you can get is the complete charger. The problem is with the connector in the tool itself. Skil says buy a new one. Thats what I thought I did.

Run away! I'd give it zero stars, but I think this review system doesn't go that low.

The battery has only enough oomph for a couple of small jobs. It doesn't have a real chuck; it's got a 1/4" hex chuck that would be the "inverse" of a 1/4" socket wrench.

HUGE DOWNSIDE: You get to use only the 3 drill bits provided, since they have hex bases, and some idiot designed driver bits smaller than 1/4" that still have the 1/4" hex shank up to the bit, so you can't get at recessed screws.

Without a doubt, the worst "tool" purchase I ever made. Skil will be getting a nasty letter over this one.

Given as a gift. Performed as desired, however the user was disappointed that it could not pre-drill holes for all the applications desired. Says he still needs a more powerful drill for many applications. This was expected.

Works as would be expected. It's very light and very handy. My wife is also enjoys home improvement but does not have the wrist strength to control the 15 volt craftsman that I bought or the old fashioned metal color electric drill I inherited from my father. It's great for small jobs and doesn't take up much space.

It probably isn't the best for larger jobs where you have a lot of holes to drill and a lot of screws to put in or you need a lot of power. Don't try to use it to drill into concrete or something. It also doesn't have a lot of power and doesn't spin very fast, but in fairness that isn't to be expected from such a small drill.