Black & Decker LDX-120C 20 volt drill/driver

[rustybronco]

I went to Menards yesterday and I bought a Black and Decker light weight Cordless drill to replace my Dewalt 14.4 Volt drill, which the battery had finally given out on.

I paid $69.97 for it which is less than the price of a replacement battery for the Dewalt.

It takes between 5~8 hours to recharge the battery on this drill, which is a rather long time having been use to the quick recharge time of my Dewalt. Still for all the work this little drill can do for amount I paid for it, I think for the average homeowner or garage mechanic, the long recharge time will not matter too very much. If you were a professional carpenter or an electrician who makes their living off of their tools, then yes, the long recharge time will be a bit of concern. For my intended purpose, not so much.

It is a bare bones drill. No tool holder, no blow molded carrying case. Just drill, one battery and the charger for the battery. Perfect for working over head as it's nice and light.

The drills spec's can be found here> http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/LDX120C.aspx

Although, it wouldn't have made too many more holes before it ran out of juice, it drilled
200 3/8" holes in a pair of 5/4 deck boards. Not all that bad for a drill that weighs in at 2lb-10oz with battery.

As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words.

[dr_fosg8]

Nice. I really like the lithium batteries, so much lighter.

[Octain]

I have the same drill and love it! It replaced the 10 yr old Ryobi 18v as I think it got tired of my using it for a grinder:O

I dont think I've had to charge mine for more than a few hours, and it lasts forever for all I use it for.
Plenty torque'y but it runs kinda slower than the Ryobi.

Would say I'd buy it again but I didnt buy this one. Got it as a gift which makes it even better.

For the money spent, it's a good tool!

[Eli69]

the problem with these kind of tools is that in a year or two, when the battery dies, you probably won't be able to find a replacement. they're always different.

i've seen lots of guys with these types of cordless. many times a homeowner will offer me the use of theirs when i haven't brought mine in from the truck yet or something but they never have enough power.

if it's cheap you want, but reasonably dependable, check out makita.

i hope this one works out for you though, i could be wrong.

[hikermikem]

I think I counted 201 holes...

[Octain]

the problem with these kind of tools is that in a year or two, when the battery dies, you probably won't be able to find a replacement. they're always different.

i've seen lots of guys with these types of cordless. many times a homeowner will offer me the use of theirs when i haven't brought mine in from the truck yet or something but they never have enough power.

if it's cheap you want, but reasonably dependable, check out makita.

i hope this one works out for you though, i could be wrong.

I kinda thought the same thing with the Ryobi I had. Cheap crap but it lasted me 10 plus years.

So ya think it might be a good idea to purchase another battery now in an anticipation of not finding one later?

[mike_of_bbg]

That's not a bad-looking drill for the price. Honestly that charge time is a non-starter though. It's so frustrating to want to get a quick job done, pull the drill out and realize that it needs to get charged before you can do anything. Even with a fast charger that's frustrating. At least it's Li-ion so the self-discharge in storage should be pretty low. Usually if asked for a drill suggestion for the average homeowner I suggest corded. How often does the average homeowner do work where 120V isn't fairly handy?

My Porter-Cable 18V set is going on 2 years and the Li-ion batteries still hold charge very well though. I would have gone corded but it was bought for kitchen remodel and there was a lot of electrical work going on; power was dicey. P-C, DeWalt, and Black and Decker are all the same company IIRC.

In the instructions is the charger "smart" enough to just leave the battery on it 24/7 for constant readiness? The P-C charger is that way - in fact they suggest that you leave it on there because the charger is supposed to "condition" the batteries. Some chargers will kill batteries if you leave them on too long. I'd expect that, B&D and P-C being the same company, the charger would have similar design, but then mine is also a fast charger.

[rustybronco]

Mike, the instruction manual states you can leave the battery connected 24/7 with no ill effects. They also recommend that right after using the tool, you re-charge the battery. The battery pack is supposed to hold that charge for up to 18 months.

Todd?, you should be able to buy replacement cells for the battery pack so you can rebuild it.

http://www.batteryspace.com/li-ionsinglecell.aspx

Mike, one more thing. You and I are in complete agreement. the average homeowner should stick with a corded drill. I have a 1/2" craftsman that's somewhere around 20 years old and I use it constantly. Still, I find I need to use a cordless quite often on those simple jobs. So rather than go out to the garage to grab an extension cord and the corded drill to do some small, or some times not so small jobs and having to wind up the cords and put them away, I'll grab a cordless. Unfortunately, with my cordless DeWalt, it was more often than not, in a state of discharge having not been used in over a month or so. When I used a cordless day after day doing remods or whatever, I'd slap in the spare pack, plug in the discharged unit and it would be ready to go the in about an hour.

I don't need a cordless for that anymore and having one ready to go even after sitting two months unused, for me a big plus.

[Eli69]

So ya think it might be a good idea to purchase another battery now in an anticipation of not finding one later?

i would bet that just a battery would cost the same as the whole tool. ?

i use cordless tools everyday at work so i really have no idea what i would do if i only needed them at home once in a while. i think i'd get a dewaldt and charge the batteries every month or so.

[cowboyup3371]

Cordless are great when you need them in places where you have no power; like when I had to rehang the driveway gate. Otherwise, I'm beginning to want a corded drill again for other jobs.

[mike_of_bbg]

That should suit well, then. A battery than can be kept on the charger + the low self-discharge of Li-ion technology should be a good combination!

BTW, on batteries being unavailable later: can't speak to Li-ion but there are vendors out there who will re-cell your Ni-Cd batteries if you find you can't get your battery any more. For something like a single drill it's probably more cost effective to just go buy a new one, but if you have a whole kit of tools built around a single battery technology like I do...

[rustybronco]

If you are thinking of purchasing this drill/driver, I received a sales flyer from 'Lowes' in yesterdays mail. They have this same drill driver on sale for $49.98.

[Nessism]

$50 sounds like a good deal.

Frickin battery packs are NOT cheap. Often you can find a complete new tool on sale for the same price as replacing the batteries. Last year I bought a really nice Dewalt hammer drill w/two batteries for about the same price as replacing the batteries in my old Makita. I wound up buying both just because I'm a tool junky and couldn't stand to throw the old Makita away as it was still like new. Considered building my own battery pack but the price was just as much as buying a prebuilt battery (generic).

[bonanzadave]

if it's cheap you want, but reasonably dependable, check out makita.

I have 4 Makitas and none of them were cheap to buy ($) and they all seem pretty durable.

[rustybronco]

Ed, Going back to Menards to get the 14 day price match guarantee, then to Lowes to pick up the spare $50 battery pack.