Recently we did a simple 18V Hammer Drill Comparison Test of the Milwaukee Fuel vs DeWalt 20V vs Bosch 18V Brute vs Makita 18V Brushless where we drilled ½” holes into concrete until our hands were sore and the batteries were all empty. For heavy duty Hammer Drill/Drivers this is taxing but certainly within the range of duties we expect them to perform. The hammer drills is sort of the catchall tool, we have them do such a wide range of fastening and drilling applications into every type of materials including concrete, wood, metal, mix paint, power scooters, etc. After this test we were curious how would these units compare to a drill specifically designed for the application of drilling ½” holes into concrete like the Bosch SDS-Plus RHS181K ($313, Ohio Power Tool)?
Hammer Drill/Driver vs SDS-Plus Rotary Hammer Drill
The SDS-Plus rotary hammer drill is a very different machine than your standard hammer drill/driver. This Rotary hammer has an RPM of 0-1050 and BPM 0-4950 (the action moving in and out that actually breaks up the concrete). A typical hammer drill/driver on the other hand will have a RPM of 0-1,800 and BPM of 0-27,000 (not a typo). The higher BPM actually translates to a shorter stroke and less force per blow; it also means a lot more vibration in the tool. See this video below for a general demonstration of a rotary hammer drill vs hammer drill/driver, these are corded units but demonstrate the basic performance pretty well. Also this was not for any of us at Coptool.com, typically we wear pants when we do demo videos…
Cordless SDS-Plus Rotary Hammer Drills
If you do a lot of anchoring in concrete, the SDS-Plus hammer drill is probably a very familiar tool in the arsenal. As cordless power becomes more consistent, longer lasting and these drills adapt new brushless technology like the Bosch 18V SDS-Plus ¾” Rotary Hammer RHH180-01 ($499, Ohio Power Tool) cordless versions will probably become more and more common place. Pretty much all the brands have 18V rotary hammer tools as well other voltages including 28V, 36V and even a few 12V out there.
In our test we used the more compact Bosch ½” rotary RHS181K (not brushless) and found it drilled (39) ½” holes with a Bosch Bulldog SDS-Plus bit, more than any of the hammer drill/drivers. No question the SDS-Plus drill was the quickest and had the lowest vibration by far. This unit is also only weighs 4.65 lbs, lighter than all the hammer drill/drivers in the previous challenge. If you are going to set concrete anchors all day or use it as a rebar cutter this would be an easy choice if you have the budget but again it is a specialized tool and not going to be good at much else.
See all the pics from the test in this Facebook photo album. For more questions about hammer drills, rotary hammers and concrete fastener applications feel free to give the pros at Ohio Power Tool a call 800-242-4424. These guys sprinkle aggregate on their corn flakes in the morning so they should be able to help you out.
