Screwfix lightening delivery

[AnOther]

A big thumbs up for Screwfix.

I ordered a new battery drill at 8:25am on Wednesday (UK time and free delivery for orders over £100).

Within the hour I got a confirmation of shipping and it arrived by courier just before 11am yesterday.

I will be using them again !

[nomoss]

Was that delivery to France?

The Screwfix site that your link takes me to doesn't offer delivery outside the UK - not even to Eire.

Edit: Just found it via Google - the UK site didn't offer "European mode"

[Chancer]

From your title I thought you meant that they were going to impose a weight restriction on  deliveries to France which would have dissapointed me but I guess you meant "lightning".

I too bought a Cordless drill from them recently delivered to France after wasting a lot of time on chocolate teapot replacement ni-cads to recell the packs on my old drills, thanks to Paypal I got all my money back but a warning to others, all the vendors are selling useless tat that wont give a 10th of their claimed ampere hour capacity and that with such volt drop that your drill that before could drill concrete wont even be capable of drilling 1/4" holes in wood without you nursing it.

ANO, did you by any chance choose the Dewalt 18v li-on combi drill with 2 batteries for £120? I am really pleased with mine.

[AnOther]

The site I linked to is correct but you have to register to shop and then it will then recognise you as a non UK customer.

Well of course I meant lightning Chancer but let's not play that game today hey ?

I looked at the DeWalt but actually bought the Erbauer at the same price, the reason being that battery capacity (= duration) is what's important to me and the Erbauer's batteries are 2x the capacity of the DeWalt's (if you actually believe either that is !)

It's very easy to get blinded by high battery voltage and OK, with all other things being equal a higher voltage will imply a more powerful drill, but you have to also take into account what's important to you individually and what sort of work the drill will typically be doing and for most I suspect duration will trump out and our drilling power almost every time.

I would say that 90% of my work is with wood or drilling plaster and clay blocks for wall fixings etc. with a little bit of metal drilling in the garage, if I have heavier work to do I break out a mains drill or for masonry the big SDS drill.

In any case if your principal need is for power then you really didn't ought to be looking at battery drills at this price point !

I'm 100% with you regarding replacement ni-cad cells which is why I didn't even consider it as an option for my old Makita.

The most difficult decision at the moment is what to do with that, it's perfectly fine in itself and in excellent condition and one of it's 2 batteries is actually still reasonably OK but it's no longer suitable for me because I simply cannot and will not have a drill with only one battery and I'm not prepared to spend money on a Ni-cad battery ever again.

[nomoss]

[quote user="AnOther"]The site I linked to is correct but you have to register to shop and then it will then recognise you as a non UK customer.

[/quote]

Thanks. The problem was that, as a previous customer I was automatically logged on to the UK site, and the "European mode" wasn't offered until I signed off.

I then had to create another account for the EU site, using a different email address.

Wish I'd discovered that sooner, I recently bought some items, needed them quickly, couldn't see how to access the EU site, so had them sent to a friend in UK.

[nomoss]

Re. what to do with cordless drills with no battery, I soldered a 2 x 4mm cable to the terminals inside a 12volt drill so that I could use it from the 12volt outlets on my boat, very handy. I almost invariably found the rechargable batteries were discharged when I needed to use the drill, and even if I had a means of charging them I didn't have time to wait.

If your drill is 18volt it may still work well enough from a car or boat battery, as the rechargable batteries fitted don't provide full voltage under load.

[PaulT]

I must say that I have found them a very responsive company. Last year whilst in France I was looking on the site for radiators and they did not show because they do not ship outside of the UK. I contacted them and told them that I had been trying to decide whether to buy in France or the UK and bring one down on my next visit. A couple of house later they emailed me that they had changed the coding and that it was now possible to also view items for UK only.

[Chancer]

[quote user="AnOther"]Well of course I meant lightning Chancer but let's not play that game today hey ?

No game playing, I genuinely read the title and was dissapointed to think that after only one order from me that it was no longer going to be a viable option, my mistake.

I looked at the DeWalt but actually bought the Erbauer at the same price, the reason being that battery capacity (= duration) is what's important to me and the Erbauer's batteries are 2x the capacity of the DeWalt's (if you actually believe either that is !)

Time will tell, my new Dewalt li-ion 1.3ah seems to have the legs of the previous 2 ah ones.

It's very easy to get blinded by high battery voltage and OK, with all other things being equal a higher voltage will imply a more powerful drill, but you have to also take into account what's important to you individually and what sort of work the drill will typically be doing and for most I suspect duration will trump out and our drilling power almost every time.

I sold on a few of the Screwfix promo £89 - 15% Makitas in France, a couple of the buyers were wary of the 1.3ah batteries but I was able to show them by drilling loads of test holes that 18v * 1.3ah was as good as my 14.4v * 2.0ah, it develops (almost) as much power but suffered less from volt drop

I would say that 90% of my work is with wood or drilling plaster and clay blocks for wall fixings etc. with a little bit of metal drilling in the garage, if I have heavier work to do I break out a mains drill or for masonry the big SDS drill.

In any case if your principal need is for power then you really didn't ought to be looking at battery drills at this price point !

My use has been similar to yours over the last 20+ years, I started with an Elu 14.4v combi drill (they later morphed into Dewalt) and I still have the original and a spare one although they are both like triggers broom, I had replaced the batteries after a year away travelling, a few years later it was cheaper to buy one of the aforementioned Makitas but the batteries didnt last very long on that, in the past I had good results with recelling ni-cad battery packs but now know that for enviromental reasons there only remain a couple of Chinese manufacturers (who probably just dump all the residues) and that what they sell is exaggerated rubbish sold as hope, I did some proper timed discharge v volt drop tests at 1/3C using a 55 watt headlight bulb and they gave about 1ah against a claimed 6ah and even Under one tenth of the load from the drill thye volt drop was catastrophic, after getting my money back for the first load that was to recell 6 battery packs I bought some others with the same result, I now have probably a hundred of the things, I'll sell them one day with all the drills as a job lot on eBay with a warning about the batteries, they would be OK for an 8 watt flourescent emergency light but thats about all.

[/quote]

It will be interesting to see how the Erbaur works out, I just missed out on some li-ion battery packs for the earlier model for next to nothing on their clearance offers, I was going to cannibalise them.

To date I am delighted with the 1.3ah li-ion battery packs, they have the legs of my previous 2ah ni-cad ones and recharge quick enough to have continous use with a pair. The price of the higher capacity battery packs really dont make economic sense for the moment.

[dave21478]

I would be interested to see how the Erbaur stands up too.

My only dealings with the brand are a pressure washer I bought earlier in the year where it turned out that their advertised specifications are grossly overblown compared to its real world performance and actual specification.

In UK I would be speaking to trading standards about it, but since its all such a ball-ache over here Im not prepared to get involved with it so its rotting in the garden and I am looking for a Karcher.

[dave21478]

In fact no, I actually chucked it in the bin.

[Chancer]

I have a 70 bar KEW Hobby that I bought in 1984 and which cost £270 + Vat [:-))] Its still going strong and I have used several others with much higher claimed pressures that dont hold a candle to it so like you I just dont believe the claims, I think its a bit like the power claims for non induction electric motors on power Tools, they use the current drawn when the tool is stalled and burning out to calculate the maximum power.

I have a recommendation for a pressure washer, the Lidl Parkside one that is sold now and then for €99 with all the acccessories including the wavy lance and the patio cleaner, I have one and it is superb, it is actually a rebadged Karcher K4 which sells for £300 or €300 +

I am blown away by how effective the rotobuse lance and the patio cleaner is, because of their effectiveness the machine uses a fraction of the water that my old Kew hobby does and hence has a much higher pressure for the same wattage motor.

You wont be dissapointed Dave.

[Théière]

[quote user="Chancer"]

I have a recommendation for a pressure washer, the Lidl Parkside one that is sold now and then for €99 with all the acccessories including the wavy lance and the patio cleaner, I have one and it is superb, it is actually a rebadged Karcher K4 which sells for £300 or €300 +

[/quote]

Are you sure Chancer?, actually seen any Karcher markings?  Lidl usually supply the rival to Karcher, Lavor of Italy.

[dave21478]

Exactly that - The shelf ticket and the spec on the box claimed something like 180 bar (I cant remember the actual figures) where the Karchers at the same price were 150 bar.

Its actual performance was no better than the cheapo wee thing I got from Argos or a supermarket years and years ago for about £60.

Buried at the back of the user manual was a wee line of text stating that the claimed pressure was the maximum recorded under laboratory conditions and the real output was 100 bar or whatever it was....

It would have been ok for cleaning the car but it was specifically advertised as being able to cope with dirty terraces or facades but would crap out after a few minutes continuous use and shut down until it cooled.

Im not a fan of my local Lidl...I will stop by one day and see if they have it. I will keep an eye out for a Lavor too....I think it was one of those that we had at the farm, which went well and survived being frozen several winters in a row.

[Théière]

Although the pressure is important to shift dirt the flow rate is just if not more important to wash away the dirt. The older high pressure used to leave lines of clean between dirt whereas the bigger machines shift enough water to wash away far more. As Chancer says the turbo rotating fan nozzles are really good.

480 l/h is the min I would look for.

Recent review from the telly. 

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/review/series-20-episode-3-pressure-washers

[dave21478]

Interesting - thanks.

[Chancer]

Yes Thière, that was always my experience, my old Kew uses loads more water than the modern cheapo pretenders that claim much more pressure, its only 70 bar but will clean dirt away with a relatively large fan setting whereas the others you might as well be cleaning with a pencil.

The more water passed the more power you must have for a given pressure hence the pi55 poor outputs of the brico ones.

However this Lidl/Karcher/Lavor whatever it is has changed my views, the Rotobuse which I think Karcher patented is a fantastic invention, it allows a pencil jet with very little water flow like the cheapos to clean an area larger than that of my Kew with the lance on the largest cleaning setting, the patio cleaner equally is just as efficient with its multiple rotating jets if I use the Kew I end up with a flooded area it uses so much water and all my clothing ends up soaked to the skin and covered in crud as do any adjacent walls, Windows, doors etc but with the patio cleaning head there is practically no splashback, I can use it wearing sandals and decent trousers and there is precious little water on the cleaned surface.

Who makes the Lidl one? Well it dépends on who you believe, I am convinced that my Parkside sander is made by Bosch, it even has practically the same part number PHS160 or something, people on forums in France and the UK reckon the pressure washer is a Karcher K4 but the Lavor also looks similar, I had previously borrowed a Karcher K4 and I would say it was to all intents and purposes identical, like the sander the mouldings are all just slightly different, its operation even down to the sound was identical.

The accessories which would cost an additional £100+ for a Karcher all have identical bayonet fittings but the opposite hand, Lidl sell adaptors alongside the accessories when they are sold seperately to allow them to be used on a Karcher lance.

[Théière]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Who makes the Lidl one? Well it dépends on who you believe, I am convinced that my Parkside sander is made by Bosch, it even has practically the same part number PHS160 or something, people on forums in France and the UK reckon the pressure washer is a Karcher K4 but the Lavor also looks similar, I had previously borrowed a Karcher K4 and I would say it was to all intents and purposes identical, like the sander the mouldings are all just slightly different, its operation even down to the sound was identical.

[/quote]

I know you'd like to believe it was Bosch and who wouldn't but the clever copiers at Einhell are the more likely manufactures. Lavor also make the pressure washers for Wickes, or rather did as I believe Wickes have now changed supplier hence why I got mine cheap on clearance. Wickes is Travisty Perkins who are the same family as Toolstation who are also the name Silverline which generally have really poor motors (wall chaser once did 6ft before dying)

As Toolstation were the originators of Screwfix before they sold it to B&Q  (Brico Depot et al) Erbauer probably comes from the same stable as Silverline tools so as previously stated if it's got a motor it won't last long.

Cor how was that for a tenuous link?

[Chancer]

You know what convinced me about the Parkside power Tools? (not including the pressure washer)

That they all have 4 metre long mains leads, generally Bosch are the only ones to systematically do that on all their range.

Einhell, Erbaur, Titan, Magnusson, they are all just markettig names for mass produced Chinese products and a lot of them are very good value for money, its hard to put my hand on it but apart from being almost identical there is something about the quality of the mouldings and the construction of these 2 peices of Equipment that I own that makes me think they were made in the same factory and Under the same quality control as Bosch or Karcher, it could quite possibly be in China but the important thing to me is that the company buying and selling them has a reputation to protect and will control the production which cannot be said of the brico-sheds who just place orders for stuff offered to them at the right price, the only input they have is on the badging. Of course in time i might just find out that they are rubbish and dont last but you can usually tell early on.

Never knew about the Silverline connection, I have lots of their hand Tools but no power Tools, they have all been excellent for the money and I have no hesitation in buying from them, only one that hasnt held up to my abuse was the 15/22mm copper pipe bender when I used it with steel pipe, put one handle on the floor and all my weight on the other one, it bent the steel pipe OK but also the steel handles of the tool.

[Théière]

I am not knocking em Chancer, I now have several bit's of Parkside kit which is how I found out they are made by Einhell when I went for spares/consumables.  I have their Parkside belt sander and it comes with bit's to fasten it to a table for using as a linisher and it was a £10 so no complaints.  The power accessory vacuums also work really well as they don't cost much I am very happy with them all.  My main stuff is Metabo which is expensive so a few cheepies for the other bits is welcome indeed let alone 3 year warranty!  The Selco manager said don't buy any motorised Silverline kit but hand tools are fine.

[PaulT]

I have 2 SDS drills, the first one was bought from Screwfix and was the cheapest that they did. Excellent bit of kit and has done a lot of work in France.

The second one I bought from Lidl, a Parkside on and cost something similar to the Screwfix one. Would struggle to drill through melted butter.

Am normally pleased with items I have bought from Lidl, but this is the exception.

[Pierre ZFP]

I think I have the same DeWalt drill as you Chancer.  It was a very generous Christmas gift to me last year from my family.

I have to say I am totally impressed with it, not just the battery life but the quality of construction and ease of use.

Highly recommended

[Chancer]

To give you an an idea of how miuch the prices have dropped over the years.

My first battery drill, which but for batteries is still working well, was bought in 1995, it is an Elu the company that was bought by Dewalt and who then continued making the same model right up to today, 14.4v 1.3ah ni-cad Combi and it cost £250+ Vat so £300ish TTC,.

My new Dewalt 18V 1.3 ah li-ion Combi cost £120 and it is a better drill in terms of the batteries, charger and gearbox.

[AnOther]

The very first think I look for when shopping for a drill is a 13mm chuck, I wouldn't buy one which only had a 10mm.

[Chancer]

It has a 13mm chuck like all my Cordless drills do.

Its the most powerfull and torquey of all the ones I have owned, until very recently I would regularly mortice Assa locks into fire doors and thats a real test of a Cordless drill and also how fast it charges a battery, with this I did the 7 for my hotel in one hit without having to take a break.

[Théière]

Fire doors are made of very little, they are not solid. My Metabo can have a torque doubler fitted to put in 10mm screws 500mm long into solid timber. The guy from the Makita stand tried the same thing, smoked out his motor and killed the drill! My XRP deawalt has bags of torque compared to most.