Ive been using this gun for a week now and it has performed better than expected. I use my ridgid cordless tools everyday at work for the last 5 years. If you dont mind a heavy solid tool ridgid is the way to go. Im using my 18v 2.5ah ni-cad batteries and it workes great. I want to buy some 24v batteries now. I drilled threw 15" of solid wood with a 1 1/8 auger bit in low gear and it never slowed down i didnt even have to stop partway to clear out the woodchips. ALWAYS use the second handle while doing high torque tasks I burned out my last drill that way. Only one thing ridgid needs to fix is that the trigger sticks under massive torque while not using extra handle. Ridgids hammerdrill is just as good if not better than others like dewalt. The clutch on a ridgid gun is better than any other ive used. Dewalt has the worst clutch ive ever used. RIDGID 24V/18V Max Select XLi Lithium-Ion Hammer Drill
I purchased this item as a replacement for a lost or stolen identical item. This the most powerful battery powered drill that I have ever owned. The battery life and recharge time is exceptional. Though a little on the heavy side, it has done everything including drilling through 10" concrete. No problems to date.
Okay, I haven't used it that much, but this drill is awesome. It has so much power, the handle is really helpful. The drill is really heavy, especially with the 24V batteries. The Maxselect tools I've used with the 18V have not really worked that great, although I haven't really used this drill with the 18V batteries as I have an 18V drill. The 24V tools really do work best with 14V batteries. The 24V batteries are hard to come by, especially if you want the lifetime service agreement only available if you get it from an authorized seller (ie HD). The brake works well and you can change bits just by turning the chuck sleeve. You could probably turn screws even with the drill stopped (although I've not needed to do so with this drill yet). I can't comment on longevity, but I've read enough reports of premature failure that I'd think twice buying this one to use if my livelihood depended on it. It's really too heavy for many tasks, but when you need a big drill, this drill works great.
The chuck is bad and i know someone else with the same drill and he has the exact same problem.
Bought when the kit first came out 3 years ago or so. Drill had a jacobs chuck (keyless - u just grasp it and spin the drill and it locks up and this is the prevailing set up for all drills now). Anyhow, since the day i bought it, the chuck would have difficulty equally "snugging" itself around the shaft of anything i put in it, whether a round drill bit or hex bit. I would almost always (literally 90% of the time) have to redo it at least once, sometimes 7-8 times, before it would seat properly and there have been times where i literally gave up.
I lived with it assuming it was just "my" drill even though I scrutinized the chuck "well" closely and could see nothing wrong with it. Then a sat dish installer came over to my house one day and i noticed he had the same set up. So we were talking about it and I asked him if he had any trouble with the chuck and he just looked at me and he said "Yes! I thought it was just me or just this drill but you are having the same problem???" So the point is that I know it is not just me or my drill and also, I am a contractor with 30 employees, all my friends are contractors, so i buy tools by the truckload.
If I were using this as a professional installer, I don't know how i'd live with it and I use it strictly for home projects where speed isn't issue.
In addition, my drill has recently developed some sort of motor problem. While drilling at full speed it will increase/decrease RPM without my adjusting trigger pressure so the motor is either going bad or the relay is going bad. This is sad because I would say that as far as usage, I would be an the lowest end of the spectrum meaning I rarely, rarely use my drill. It barely had a scratch.
It's too bad because the power and the batteries are amazing and the rest of the kit is great. The saw and sawzall are amazing but I cannot recommend at all in fact, avoid this drill like the plague. - Lithium-ion - 18v - Hammer Drills - Drills'
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