Dewalt VS. Makita VS. Erbauer

Discussion in 'Tool Talk' started by JusticeEmpire, Dec 2, 2010.

  1. JusticeEmpire

    JusticeEmpire New Member

    Hi All,

    This is my first post here, and after trying to search to see if this has already been debated, I couldn't find anything, so I thought I would ask :)

    So, ignoring cost as everyone's perception of value for money is different, who make the best power tools?

    I am trying to get an idea of durability, build quality, ease of use, weight/feel/ergonomics that kind of thing.

    So, what brand would you choose and why?

    Looking forward to some great responses
     
  2. Plumbluck

    Plumbluck Guest

    First aff ah wouldna even pit erbaur in tae the equation, its rubbish, breaks easy, faws apairt and does an aw roond rubbish joab, like maist slave made chinese stuff. I used tae use Dewalt fer years, goat a Mikita SDS fer chrimbo, Bloody fantastic reliable, durable braw aw roond. Makita aw the way.
     
    malkie129 likes this.
  3. JusticeEmpire

    JusticeEmpire New Member

    OK, so that's 1 vote for Makita then..........................
     
  4. joinerjohn1

    joinerjohn1 Screwfix Select

    Must admit, it  all depends on what sort of tool your talking about though. Cordless drills etc, Makita. Chop saw? Hmm I have a Makita, but have found DeWalt to be very good. Routers? I have an Elu, although others swear by Trend and DeWalt. Circular saws? Well I only have a Festool  plunge saw (great bit of kit, if a tad expensive). Planers, Makita. ;)


    Erbauer??? Hmm chuck them in the bin. I'm just glad that Erbauer don't make aero engines,, I'd never fly again..
     
  5. RKS

    RKS Guest

    makita all the way
     
  6. JusticeEmpire

    JusticeEmpire New Member

    Well I was mainly talking about cordless drills, as these are what I would be using most, but I can see where you are coming from and I should have been a little clearer in the OP.
    I was hoping that there would be one strong brand that would cover all so to speak, but now I can understand that different manufacturers would have strengths and weakness in different tooling areas.
    It's becoming very apparent that Erbauer isn't really on par with Dewalts or Makitas. I have never used a Makita though, so that's why I am here asking the questions :), before I go and spend £3000 on tools.
    So currently, we have 3 votes for Makita (including RKS below, many thanks) 0 for Dewalt and Erbauer out of the equation.........
     
  7. timber ninja

    timber ninja Member

    has to be makita, hands down for drills.

    and for most things really.

    the build quality is good, easy beats dewalt.

    batteries, well ive got 6 li-ion. whenever one dies i send it back . . .free replacement arrives. cant beat that for service!

    whats the £3000 going on? just power tools? what do you do?

    if your a chippy buy a festool plunge saw. yes its pricey, but you will never regret it. . . or the makita version
     
  8. timber ninja

    timber ninja Member

    list your tools requirements and i (and probably a few others) will draw you up a list. . . .i love that kinda thing! :)
     
  9. JusticeEmpire

    JusticeEmpire New Member

    Is that a lifetime warranty on the batteries then? Very handy if it is.
    I am a home cinema installer, so the kind of tools I am after are
    Cordless Combi Drill for mounting TV's, and going through wood to get cables through etc.
    Cordless SDS, for the heavier duty drilling,
    Good vacuum cleaner to hoover up mess from chasing out walls,
    Step ladder
    Various other bits and bobs like screwdrivers, rods, fixings etc, although I do have most of those already. Probably won't use £3000 for tools, but I think its a safe budget figure :)
    If you fancy putting a tool list together with prices, you're more than welcome :)

    Just a general question, with 4 votes for Makita over Dewalts 0, what makes them better?

    Thanks all for your responses so far :)
     
  10. Bonzo Banana

    Bonzo Banana New Member

    With any brand you have to factor in price. Makita do low end stuff made in china with nylon/mylar type gears and they do high end stuff with full metal gears made in the uk. Makita is a good brand at the top level of pricing but I've come around to thinking that when it comes to chinese power tools there isn't a lot in it. Ryobi power tools are from a chinese manufacturer(Techtronics) but they license the Ryobi brand for outside japan for power tools from Ryobi of Japan. Some of the Ryobi stuff has full metal gearing where as the Makita's don't at similar price points. AEG is owned by techtronics now and again this brand of german heritage is being used for chinese made tools. Its generally better stuff than Ryobi. Anyway here's my opinion of various brands based on what I've read on forums mainly as I haven't experienced all tools.

    AEG: Generally ok, probably marginally better than Ryobi, more likely to have metal gears, chuck etc and be more powerful.
    Bosch: Great quality generally both green and blue ranges. No obvious weaknesses.
    Dewalt: Some of the low end stuff seems iffy and you only get a 1yr guarantee.
    Erbauer: No experience of but I think its seen more of a pretend proper brand and really generic chinese products underneath the badge.
    Makita: Great quality generally but the lower priced stuff has a few compromises.
    Hilti: Top end stuff.
    Panasonic: Top end stuff.

    If I was going purely by my own experiences I would always be buying Bosch as they have never failed me. However it has to be said I've read a lot of reviews and Makita is always at the top or near to it for being brilliant tools. The techtronics stuff Ryobi, AEG and Milwaukee seems pretty decent but personally I wouldn't go with a Milwaukee as if I was spending that much money I'd want to go Makita or professional Bosch. Lastly techtronics have made huge profits from their milwaukee range which makes me think they are selling them for a lot more than its costing them to make them.
     
  11. big all

    big all Screwfix Select

    my votes for ryobi for diy light trade and dewalt for heavy trade why---------------------

    because both have an extensive range where the old and new tools fits the all  batteries and the old and new batteries fit all tools
     
  12. Zippy

    Zippy Guest

    Well if you can afford to throw £3k around get the good stuff!
    But as a self emp plumber going for 7 years I have a Erbauer 18v cordless drill and a Erbauer router, the router is bloody good but the drill is on its last legs after 3 years of abuse but i use it every day and if in a hurry 52mm core drill bits throught a brick wall no problem.
    at the time i got the drill it was only £59.99 but in the next cat it went up and so on now its £99.99 but only has 2x1.7ah batts insted of the 2x 2.0ah batts i got with mine.
    In 3 years you will either drop it, have it nicked or burn it out from constant use ( if your lucky?).
    Id rather get the Erbauer, save the cash and work less or have a holiday!!!!
     
  13. annagood

    annagood New Member

    Hello  you may love this site for tool battery.    :)

    Message was edited by: Screwfix Moderator
     
  14. toolsandtimber

    toolsandtimber New Member

  15. I second Bonzo's opinion. I've been landscaping close to 15 years, had every brand mentioned. the brand I use now and have never had a problem with is Bosch Blue (Steer clear of the Bosch green stuff, not all moving parts are metal which may affect reliability). Got the new 4ah batteries coming out this year too. L-Boxx cases are great for securing the tools in transit as they clip together & moulding inserts can be swapped for various Bosch tools.

    There will be opinions that Bosch quality isn't as good as Makita. I cannot fault Makita's customer service for replacement faulty goods, but I have noticed the significant heat & smoke from the rear of the impact drivers & drills with continued use. As of the last 3 years of using Bosch stuff, I haven't had to replace anything.

    My list to you would be:

    Bosch Blue Brushless SDS Drill (More efficient) : http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gbh-18v-lin-18v-sds-plus-drill-bare/25458
    Bosch Twin pack, (Combi & Impact driver)
    Impact driver with at least double the Torque for driving screws in: http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-18-2-li-gdr-18v-lin-18v-twin-pack-combi-drill-impact-driver/65222

    If you have to chase out the occasional bit of concrete or re-enforcing rod
    I can vouch for how great this tool has been for me,
    Bosch Blue cordless angle grinder: http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gws-18v-lin-4-cordless-angle-grinder-18v-bare/66654

    Ladder: http://www.screwfix.com/p/lyte-gfbp10-platform-steps-fibreglass-10-tread/11538

    As for a hoover, got no idea lol
     
  16. Allan123

    Allan123 New Member

    I own a Dewalt 18v XRP drill and have used it constantly over the last 8yrs and have just recently replaced a battery. Never had a problem with it and the power it has for driving home any size screw up to 6" right through timber no bother with power to spare and more recently started using it for mixing up tubs of plaster mix with a mixing paddle attached. Also own a few makita,s ie a router and a jigsaw and and a 240v SDS Drill and they are faultless. Dewalt have started making cheaper drills to suit the diy market but the XRP range are for pro use and are more expensive.I would love to try a makita 18v drill but I will be waiting till my trusty dewalt expires first and only after borrowing a makita for a day first, then I will make a decision on which one to buy.So for the time being I recommend the dewalt XRP on my experience with it.If my dewalt ever gives up the ghost that is.
     
  17. wally

    wally Screwfix Select

    Ive got various makes & all seem ok, if money is no object & want the cream then Hilti take some beating
     
  18. Biffo

    Biffo Member

    Dewalt all the time for me never had a problem and i do abuse them
     
  19. S Power Carpentry

    S Power Carpentry New Member

    For me I typically look up reviews when ever I wish to purchase a new tool as all manufactures have their decent tools and their bad tools.


    I used a Dewalt 18v nimh drill for years but the price of replacement batteries and their lifespan put me off dewalt drills.

    I was on the market for a new drill and after trying out a friends 10.8v makita impact gun I was hooked. When it came to purchasing one I ended up getting the Dewalt version as the price was better, batteries had higher capacity and were cheaper to replace. When I looked up reviews the Dewalt had a really good feedback and 6 months down the line it hasnt missed a beat and has been more than adequate for carpentry site work.

    As for Circular saws I tried out a dewalt and didn't like it (felt cheap) and ended up getting a hitachi one (best on the market in my opinion) but apparently hitachi mitre saws are ****.

    I have purchased many lidl and aldi tools over the years which many are very good.... the powercraft morticer is the cheapest on the market and perfect for occasional use. I use a parkside 10.8v drill daily which cost me a whole €30 and another whole €8 for a second battery, this gets used to pre drilling stuff but was my main cordess driver for a year and has been used to fit kitchens, hang doors, drive auger bits, build decking.

    So the whole "you get what you pay for" isn't always correct.... My first Dewalt drill set me back over €600 when I got it, came with 2 batteries and on average these lasted about a year costing the guts of 100 to replace each time... The parkside batteries are still as good as when I got them.
     
  20. Davie

    Davie Active Member

    Couple of thoughts on Erbauer.
    Been very pleased with my Erbauer ERP407DDH 10.8V 1.3Ah Li-Ion Cordless Drill Driver with metal gears (£79) but after 10 months and just two charges, one of the batteries died.
    Screwfix agreed to replace under warrantee (service excellent as usual) but wanted the whole drill etc back. So I got a new drill set which was nice but such a waste of the Earth's resources.
    On checking I find that replacement batteries (Erbauer ERP244BAT 10.8V 1.3Ah Li-Ion Battery Product Code: 80777) are not in stock anywhere and havent been for a while. So I am a little bit uncertain about buying a tool if getting replacement batteries is difficult.
    If I was installing home cinema I would probably prefer a small light 10.8v drill driver; with SDS backup.
     

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