Customer Reviews

Skil 2566-02 14.4-Volt 3/8-Inch Cordless Drill

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

 

 

I bought this drill because I bought it's predecessor about 4 years ago. That drill had worked fine and is a good tool for a homeowner to use occaisonally around the house. It has plenty of power and the charge holds OK. I should have read the manual (who does that anyway? : ) as it tells you to charge the battery for 3 hours and then unplug the charger. Well, I'd leave it on for hours or even overnight, forgeting about it. So, that causes the battery to have a shorter life, and mine went bad. With this charger, when the battery goes bad, the charger overheats and dies. So, I look on-line to find a new battery and charger. Best price for the 2 was around $70. The new drill (which has the exact same battery and charger as the old one) can be found for between $56 - $60. So, now I have two working drills and one working charger/battery. I decided then to go ahead and get another battery so I could use the one drill for drilling pilot holes, and the other to drive in screws. My complaint is that if the Skil company had any kind of environmental consciousness they would provide replacement parts for less than a whole new product - which comes with a big box, a plastic case, and all kinds of throw-away packaging stuff - none of which I need and had to dispose of.

I this drill as a gift and used it a total of about 20 times, and the charger (and presumably the battery) died.

After doing some research on the internet and learning that the old-style chargers were defective and would be destroyed when connected to a "bad battery," I contacted Skil's customer service department to request a replacement.

I was told that the item was not defective, that it was not "a problem" that the chargers would die if connected to a bad battery, but that the newer chargers did not behave this way.

The representative was argumentative, defensive, and rude, and finally hung up on me when I told her that I planned to share my experience with other consumers on the internet.

I agree with the previous reviewer, as I had the same experience with this tool. The drill is quite adequate for most minor household jobs, that is if the battery charge will last more than a few minutes (mine do not)! I have other rechargables from DeWalt and Craftsman that don't have these battery problems. It looks as if Skil is trying to get away selling tools with inferior power supplies. With NiMhd and Litho systems so prevalent today Skils NiCds are so outdated.

this is a good drill and if you know about batteries anything over 8 hrs is harmful for the battery i've had this drill for for 3+ months using it constently nothing heavy but still been using it alot sure i wouldn't pay no more than $50.00 and sure dewalt batteries and chargers will run longer but buying a battery for it your looking at 89.99 just for battery 189.00-239.00 for the drill 89.99 for 1hr charger if you decide to get this drill charge first use 8-12hrs every other use no more than 4hrs and you will not have a problem all my tools are skill and i love it.....

This drill was a gift and worked fine for about 6 months. Then the battery would no longer hold a charge. No more Skil products for me.

I had an older model of this drill, which came with two batteries. Both were wearing out, and one would hardly hold a charge. I ran across this deal when looking for a new battery. Batteries are almost $50. But this refurbished drill came with one battery, a much smaller battery charger, and a very nice nylon carrying bag--all for the price on one replacement battery: $50. The drill looks and acts like new.