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The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
Go Green!
Let's get the visual appearance out of the way first, shall we? Not everyone is going to like the high tech look of this tool (although I personally happen to love it). If you look at other Japanese power tool manufacturers such as Makita and Panasonic you'll see they are also using similar styling cues albeit in more subdued colors. It seems like Hitachi has started a...
Published on January 19, 2008 by IT Guru
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
ok but not a Dewalt
I bought mine as part of a 9pc kit and I have a review under the 9pc as well. (check that review as it has other good info)
Was impressed with the unit at first as it works well for projects around the house and easily drives screws, drills holes etc..
BUT I recently tried using it to drill 2 2" holes using a Starret hole saw. I was trying to go...
Published 6 months ago by John Salazar
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
Go Green!, January 19, 2008
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
Let's get the visual appearance out of the way first, shall we? Not everyone is going to like the high tech look of this tool (although I personally happen to love it). If you look at other Japanese power tool manufacturers such as Makita and Panasonic you'll see they are also using similar styling cues albeit in more subdued colors. It seems like Hitachi has started a trend and the others are following.
So with that out of the way let's get to the important stuff. This is one "monster" of a hammer drill. It has an incredible amount of power and should be able to tackle the toughest jobs. The motor housing and chuck are angled back from the handle and battery giving this tool an excellent balance. The grip feels "just right" and the forward/reverse/lock selector is easy to reach as is the power/savings switch. By the way that switch does nothing more than limit the trigger from being pulled all the way when it's in savings mode. It should be noted that while Hitachi advertises this tool as having four speeds, some may disagree with that specification. It has a two speed transmission via a high/low switch on top of the housing like most other drills but the other two "speeds" come from limiting the trigger and not from additional gears in the transmission. DeWalt for instance offers a true three speed transmission in their XRP models although many owners of those tools will readily admit that the third speed isn't necessary. The fact that the Hitachi is not a "true" four speed model doesn't bother me at all but I thought this should be pointed out in detail so that prospective buyers can make a fully informed purchase decision.
Speaking of DeWalt, I was considering buying their new Lithium Ion (Nano Technology) 18 volt hammer drill instead of the Hitachi. I went to the "Blue" home center store that sells both so I could compare them side by side. I have to admit they both feel great in the hand and DeWalt's offering probably has a little more power but it was priced at a whopping $120.00 more than the Hitachi and didn't even have an on-board LED work light. I'll admit that at first I thought the LED work light was a gimmick but you'll be surprised how much you come to appreciate it once you have a few tools with them. I was also concerned about the latest DeWalt reviews. It seems their quality control is slipping a bit.
So I went with Hitachi and I'm very glad I that did. This hammer drill is everything I've wanted and more. The clutch ring operates smoothly and the settings are very useful throughout the entire range. The hammer mode is smooth to engage and doesn't have that nasty vibration that some other tools exhibit. The easy-to-replace brushes are an excellent feature as well. Dremel has had this feature on their rotary tools for decades now. It's about time that the full-size tool manufacturers caught on. On the top of the drill is the high/low transmission selector which is easy to operate and makes a very obvious difference in rotational speed.
Getting back to that LED work light I mentioned above, Hitachi has taken a different approach than other manufacturers. The light is located near the bottom of the tool and can be adjusted in 5 different positions! Also unique, it doesn't use the tools main battery; it has its own set of regular disposable batteries that powers it. To conserve those batteries Hitachi has a small circuit within the work light that turns it off automatically after 15 minutes. I wish the LED was white instead of yellow but that's a minor complaint. It still does an excellent job of lighting the work area and the low placement near the bottom of the tool eliminates the shadows cast by the chuck and whatever bits are in it.
The carrying case is very nicely made of tough plastic and has several compartments that neatly hold the drill, the battery charger, the second battery (included), the auxiliary handle, the instruction manual and warrantee card. The only accessory that comes with the tool is a double ended screwdriver bit and that stores neatly on the tool just above the battery. There is room in the case for other bits and accessories if you wish to store them in there.
The battery charger is extremely well thought out and will charge anything from a 7.2 volt all the way to an 18 volt battery in NiCd, NiMH or Lithium Ion formulas. The unit is fan cooled. A small duct at the top of the unit mates with another duct in the battery when inserted. This allows air to be circulated inside the battery housing during charging. This is very effective! Yes, it's a little noisy but considering how fast the batteries charge and the fact that they are being cooled while charging, I'm more than willing to put up with a little extra noise.
Finally, let me address the issue of power tools being made in China. It's difficult to find tools that aren't made in China these days. Even Bosch and Hilti who used to produce their tools in Switzerland have now gone to China for the production of their latest offerings. DeWalt is made in Mexico. That's about as close to the USA as it gets anymore. My own experience with Chinese production is that it depends on who is designing the product and who brokering the manufacturing. It seems that the Japanese can get a better product out of China than us Americans or the Europeans. I need not remind you that the Japanese and Chinese are TWO VERY DIFFERENT CULTURES and should never be directly compared with one another but they do reside in the same part of the world and perhaps that lends itself to a better working relationship. Whatever your opinion regarding Chinese made products, the Hitachi DV18DL is a very well made tool and should be strongly considered by anyone in the market for a professional grade 18 volt cordless hammer drill.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
Well done Hitachi., January 12, 2007
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
I am a remodeler. I have had this drill for about two months, and use it all the time. I had a panasonic 15.6V before and was very happy with it, but it was time for a new drill. I switched to the Hitachi because it was Lithium-Ion, had 570 inch pounds of torque (versus 390 on the Panasonic), the Hitachi Ni-Cad version was very well rated, and I wanted to have one that I could have interchangable batteries between my drill and my Impact driver. (Panasonic doesnt make a 15.6 Impact driver)
The drill body itself is fairly heavy, I guess they needed it to get that much power out of it. The battery weighs almost nothing. It seems like it should be top heavy, but it has very good balance. It balances standing up very well, and feels good in your hand. Overall it weighs 4.9 pounds, just more than the 15.6V. Well done.
Power is good, speed is excellent, hammer drill works well, and I am happy to have switched to Lithium batteries.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Tons of power, well built, good balance, December 21, 2008
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
This unit was one of the few that offered full size Lithium Ion batteries for a reasonable price and it delivers on nearly all fronts. You can't touch this unit in terms of price in any of the other pro models; even the Sears consumer units cost a lot more and deliver much less in terms of build and performance.
Pros:
Power - it has tons
Build quality - every bit as good build and materials as MKE
Batteries - full size 3 amp hour not the 'slim' you see on a lot of others
Charger - universal for all battery types and uses a fan to force air through the battery to keep it cooler during a fast charge
Cons:
The 'speed' switch on the side of the unit really just limits how far you can pull the trigger.
The fan on the charger is noticeable in quieter environments
Batteries don't have a power meter or wear meter ala lap top batteries. I am sure that would add to the cost a bit it would be helpful.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A Great Tool, October 25, 2008
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
I purchased this to replace a DeWalt that finally surrendered after a lot of abuse. First, this tool packs a wallop, very torquey and the hammer function works very well. It is also very well balanced and the batteries are light. I've never felt like the battery end was fighting me for control of the tool. The teenage mutant ninja turtle look put me off a bit, but now the tool is so grungy its not so bad. I have owned mine for a little less than a year and have had no complaints or problems. You get what you pay for. In this case, I think every dime spent on this tool was money well spent.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
has some flaws but excellent value, September 27, 2009
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
This is the second Hitachi drill we have bought and overall it is a good value. It provides plenty of power and recharge times are better than average - not as fast as Makita but faster than with DeWalt and Milwaukee lithium-ion battery packs.
In operation it delivers plenty of power but the chuck is still not up to holding 1/8" or smaller drill bits which was a problem with our other Hitachi drill as well. For large drill bits or hole saw arbors the Hitachi chuck holds quite well.
The hammer action is average, no better or worse than the DeWalt and Milwaukee we have, but not in the same class as the Bosch or Hilti models. For someone needing a hammer drill for occasional use the Hitachi works fine. What is missing, as with most other hammer drills, is a depth rod to control the drilling depth. This should be a standard item on every hammer drill. For serious hammer drilling a cordless DeWalt 7/8" SDS drill or a corded Bosch hammer drill are better choices.
Unlike our other Hitachi, and our Milwaukee, Makita, and DeWalt cordless drill someone in Japan decided to use a separate power source for the LED light which is one of the dumber design decisions I can recall. LEDs usually work best off of 4.5 volts or more and here you have a 18 volt power pack available but instead the LED, which is consuming power in the milliwatt range, is provided with its own batteries to replace and if they leak and cause corrosion will take out the LED lights.
The tool is well balanced and the grip is very well designed to minimize vibration and fatigue. It does not look like your average cordless drill handle but the design works very well. Hitachi stands alone in not providing a picture of its drill with a belt clip and bit holder (combination unit that does both), but Hitachi actually includes this with the drill it sells. It does not need to be special ordered later as with Milwaukee and Makita for an extra $20.
Hitachi has a strange design for its battery chargers. Before a battery is inserted the charger flshes on and off at half second intervals. When the battery is charging there is a solid red display but when it is finished, instead of having the green LED light as one would expect, the red LED starts flashing at 1/2 second intervals again. When the green LED lights up it means that the batteries are too hot to be recharged. This may make perfect sense to the people at Hitachi, but why have a different charger interface than every other cordless tool manufacturer? I really don't want to have to read the manual to understand the charger display or have it different for every cordless tool I use. Thanks but no thanks!
The carry case from Hitachi is neither good nor bad. It has a different slide catch that works well whether the case is right side up or upside down - whoops! Can't begin to tell you how many times I opened the case the wrong side up before finally spray painting the top of the case. There is a small amount of space available for retracting screw bit holders though they are free to bounce around inside the case. This is where I wish all the drill companies would copy Bosch which provides compartments with lids in its cases for small parts.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Better Buy, May 26, 2009
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
This is my fifth Hitachi cordless tool. I work in a major hardware retailer and see the returned tools prior to being accepted. The Hitachi tools have a good track record and have specs/performance that that make them a better buy. The batteries are consistently better in the lithiun-ion area. No recalls.
The one thing I will watch for while continuing to use this tool is to use the attchment handle in high torque situations. I took back two of these at work where the contractor used only the handle to control the torque and the handle cracked. They both admitted to used oversized bits at the time the handle cracked. Although a little heavier that a standard 1/2 inch drill the hammer drill has the higher torgue for deck screws and the option of clicking on the hammer drill when sinking extra large screws or lag bolts.
I've been very pleased with the performance and like the five year warranty that you easily register on line. Good perfomance at a good price make it a homeowner best buy and should be seriouly looked at by a discerning contractor.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent but charger gives it overall mediocre appeal, April 25, 2009
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
Well balanced and plenty of power. It is excellent for drilling in light concrete and bricks.
LED colour is dark yellow so no much help out of it. I wonder howmuch white LED would cost ... a penny more?
Charger is unreasonably huge, I mean outrageously bulky. I opened it to adjust it for European 230V since out of the box it doesn't handle 230V. I don't see any intelligent microchip inside or oversized ferrites to justify that bulkiness ... so much empty space inside. Hitachi, please give us decent charger at 1/4 size of this double-brick.
I gave it 4/5 only because of the charger.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Hitachi cordless drill, December 16, 2008
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
This 18 volt lithium-ion hammer drill is awesome. Had to charge the battery in my Sears cordless drill 4 times doing the same work as the Hitachi, and only had to charge it just once. Also all the torque you need, but very nice torgue setting - stops at correct torque like a good torque wrench.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
This is the one!!!, May 9, 2007
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
Totaly awesome drilldriver. All the functions on it are very useful. I like that it has a low and high speed switch and a power selector switch which lets you lower the power used when dealing with lighter jobs to save energy. If you're looking at a drill driver that competes with Milwaukee, this is it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
An excellent tool, January 6, 2009
This review is from: Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill (Tools & Hardware)
An excellent tool to use for pros. I use it around the house. But it is a professional tool: very powerful and the 2nd battery comes right on time when the first one has dried out.
All that it was said about it it is true. It is the tool you need for doing a professional job.
I bought it used, for about 120 dollars, and I think I made a great deal.
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