Comments on: Black And Decker Firestorm Drill?

By: Russell A

Russell A — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:18:10 +0000

G him a Ridged 18-24 volt drill they are keyless and he will love it I wish my girl would get me tools I always remember the diamonds let me know if it don’t work out with you two hope this helps.

By: lil_miss

lil_miss — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:12:34 +0000

My husband has a Firestorm drill (24 volt). Best drill he’s ever had (and he has A LOT of tools). Only place I’ve seen them is at Lowe’s. Bought him a new battery and a double charger. He’s in love!

By: Bailey's Mom :-)

Bailey's Mom :-) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:48:03 +0000

Cordless drills come with two types of batteries now, the first, Nycad, the new type, Lithium-ion, and also different voltages, if he uses it often, for heavy work, he wants a higher torque, one or 18 volt.
The Nycad costs less, but takes longer to charge, and weighs more. The Lithium costs more, but weighs less and takes less time to charge they also are more powerful. There are four good types of drills out there, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, and Ridged.
My husband, has a Makita with a Nykad Battery, which he likes for work, he is a construction worker. But, the companies are switching over to Lithium Batteries. So, he has a hard time replacing his batteries.
He says, if you use it for home, buy a Ryobi, good luck!

By: Tedruski

Tedruski — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:54:06 +0000

If your husband is a tinkerer, get the firestorm. It works fine for small jobs that don’t require a lot of power or run time.
If he is a project person like decks, remodeling, the firestorm will not make him a happy camper. You need to then go to DeWalt. Look for DeWalt reconditioned. They have the same factory warranty as new and are about 30% less. The batteries have a 2 year warranty on them.
Don’t believe this lifetime or even 5 year warranty some manufacturers are offering. Read the Fine Print. This limited warranty only covers *factory defects*. It does not cover normal use and wear on parts such as brushes,switches,motors,armatures,chucks…
Home Depot was big on Rigid last year, and even tried Hilti. Well the Hilti store they put right inside home depot did not go over very well. Now Rigid has mass produced tools (made overseas) to sell from these big box stores like home depot. They are like most other imports Hitachi,Ryobi,Panasonic,Tool Shop,Pro-Tech,Makita. Which means you wait forever to get parts for them.
So, you get just what you pay for. Firestorm has had problems in the past with the cheap chargers they include with the cordless tools. We have sold many of the better chargers to people who had the cheap ones. Get him a DeWalt cordless Such as a DW988 or DW987 in the kit. It comes with drill,2 batteries,charger and case. Get the XRP batteries not the compact batteries like Lowe’s sells. Keep your receipt. DeWalt has a 30 day return policy on any new tool. For any reason if he should not like it he can return it and get a refund.
These other lifetime or 5 year warranties – read the fine print. We are a Service center for DeWalt, Milwaukee,Bosch,Porter Cable. We have had to explain these warranties to many people who thought it was with no conditions.

By: M M T

M M T — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:03:46 +0000

My husband has one and loves it! And he uses it a lot, like the amount of torque it has (lots) and it seems to get good battery life. He does have a 2nd battery for it that he has at the ready should the 1st one die but I haven’t seen that happen all that often when he’s in the middle of a project. He’s got the mini-circular saw, the reciprocating saw and the drill that all take the same battery pack and uses the heck out of them.
The only drawback I’ve seen with it is that it’s a BIG drill and I found it too hard for me to use easily. Since I’m the one who fixes plaster and drywall and such, I went & bought myself something smaller in size and a little lighter.
I’d look for a “pack” that has the 2 batteries or buy an additional battery to go with. That way he’s nearly always got a fully charged battery ready and waiting and can keep right on working. Keep an eye on the sales, sometimes places like Lowe’s or Home Depot have them on really good sales!

By: fidel410

fidel410 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:45:55 +0000

I agree with Russell, Ridgid 18V would be a great buy, it has a lifetime service agreement (parts and service), its contractor grade, keyless chuck and has a lithium ion battery(longer battery life).
If that’s out of your price range, then consider the Ryobi brand, it carries a 2 year warranty like B&D, but the Ryobi One+ 18V system isn’t just limited to one drill. The same battery powers several different types of tools, such as a circular saw, recip saw, stapler, jig saw, and a radio, just to name a few. Also through the end of the year, Ryobi is offering a free tool with purchase of a combo kit.