What type of drill to buy?

[laddy]

What are the pros using for a drill to mix thinset?

I need to buy a new drill and would like to get something good. I am a DIY but I always have a project.

Last time I cheaped out a little and got a hytachi, corded 1/2" drive. It did ok for 5 years but recently overheated and lost low and med speeds.

What do you recommend?
Brand?
model?
Corded or battery?

brands to stay away from?

[tilejoe]

if you have a repair shop around, they might be able to fix your old one on the cheap. the last time I got mine fixed it was about $35.

I have had a dewalt with a 5/8 chuck for about 10 years, repaired once about 4 years ago. Have a Makita d2000 for about 4 years. Don't think they make it anymore, but it's a gear driven drill with lots of torque. I have gotten my money out of both of them.

[tilelayer]

I use a 9 volt cordless it works great 3/8's chuck. No really I have a Milwaukee 8 amper I bought on ebay like 7 years ago for 80 bucks I leave it in the back of my truck it gets rained on snowed on everything yet it wont die. The other thing it the screws that hold the casing closed keep backing out every now and then. Thing mixes thinset like no other.

[MNTileGuy]

Well, I was going to recommend Hitachi, since that's what I have. Absolute bulldog. I've been abusing that thing daily for about 5 or 6 years now. No trouble yet. I guess it's the luck of the draw on that...

My last one was a Milwaukee. Only got 2 years out of that, go figure.

[dbol]

Dewalt with a 1/2 inch chuck. Had it about 5 years of good use. Hope it keeps going they aren't cheap.

[mark11755]

This is the updated version of the Makita drill tilejoe speaks of. Still a high-torque beaast.

http://makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tool...ls.aspx?ID=441

[Rd Tile]

I have this one, model 1660-6 I think, 450 rpms.

[tileguynky]

Man, I must be a light duty pro. I have a Bosch 10.8 volt cordless and a 12v impact. Burnt my old 1/2" Bosch up about a year ago and have not got around to replacing it yet. The Bosch was an 18v cordless too. I do have a Milwaukee SDS hammer drill, those are all the drills I have.
Posted via Mobile Device

Edit: read this earlier on my phone and did not realize it was talking about mixing thinset. I want to say the name on my mixer is Perless. Bought it in '05 at coverings for mixing thinset. This is a pic of the QEP, which looks very similar to mine. Mine has a 2 speed variable speed gear box, 0-400 rpm and 0-800 rpm. The thing I like about it is the paddle pulls from the bottom up to minimize the amount of air it pulls into the mix. It does seem that the thinset has a little longer pot life with this mixer than with a regular paddle that pulls down into the mix.

[Bruce Johnson]

I purchased a Reconditioned Milwaukee 1/2 -in Heavy Duty 9amp dual torque hammer drill from CPO Milwaukee. The only thing i found on the unit was some minor abrasions on the housing. It has more than that now Comes with case, chuck key, side handle. Mixes without any hesitation or bog, has a variable speed trigger. My B&D smoked a couple of weeks ago mixing bucket of stucco, it was a 5 amp hammer drill. I need the HD for setting bolts too.
It cost about 100 bucks, shipping was included (amazon) thats about half of new.

[Houston Remodeler]

Richie,

I had the exact same drill for 20 years until one hot sunny summer day an ex employee left it laying on the blacktop driveway. All the grease oozed out of the bearings.

To this day I have a black arm band in my tool box. It has been replaced with a dewalt DW130V, a real workhorse.

[tilerite]

Best drill I ever owned was a Milwaukee. Replaced it with a DeWalt because the new Milwaukee's are made in China. My advice, avoid products made in China when at all possible.

[tile12]

Basic Makita D handle. Mixes 6 gallon pails of concrete all day long if you need it to.

http://makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tool...ls.aspx?ID=357

[gueuzeman]

.

[jerrymlr1]

Milwaukee Hole Hawg.

[Hammy]

Ive got an old CRAFTSMAN 1/2" I bought at a yard sale for $10.00 about 2 years ago. Hammy