Bosch 36v drills

[Badlad]

Hi all

I've used Bosch 36v drills since they first came out. A little like Trigger's Broom I've got through eight bodies and umpteen batteries during that time. Looking at Bosch on line today I noticed the 36v drills have been discontinued in favour of modern 18v versions. These are said to be as good if not better.

My use would be for extensive capping trips firing 50+ 8mm holes a trip or drilling 4x1m x 10mm holes or the like for other purposes. I have smaller lighter weight drills such as the 18v Makita. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for heavier duty caving drills?

Cheers

 

[tim.rose2]

I have an 18v Bosch (been through a couple). Personally I find it does the job, but I generally only use it for 14mm holes for P&F up to perhaps 200mm depth. The batteries (especially the 8Ah one) last for ages doing this. When used alongside Mike's 36v bosch, as I have a couple of times, my drill is noticeably less powerful (less torque) particularly on longer holes. Mike like's to drill long holes with metre long drill bits for 'other purposes'.

 

[JAA]

I went erbaeur 18v as the Screwfix warranty is good and they are relatively cheap. Can get 3-4 holes for the same purpose (12m x 800-1000mm) from one 8 Ah battery
Have 2 or 3 older 36v Bosch bodies you’re welcome to have if you can adapt the wiring

 

[cap n chris]

Like Badlad, I've been a Bosch fan for donkeys years and a couple of years ago had to move from 36v to 18v. Got a Pro 12Ahr battery (cost more than the drill body, at around £255) and it'll do about 6 x 600mm X 10mm holes easily enough depending on rock density. For capping, 8mm, I would imagine it being more than man enough. However I don't think 18v would like my 1m X 22mm big boy which was kinda why I went 36v back in the day. 10mm with 40g is enough for our purposes so all is well.

Longevity is my unknown, though. My 2 X 36v 4Ahr Bosch batteries both died within a month of the warranty elapsing, and the charger(s) failed at young ages too. I put that down to them being outsourced because it suited my prejudice at the time. Proper fuming.

NB. Currently on 18v No.1, but have had 4+ 36v models over the years. Perhaps 5.

 

[Pete K]

I have had an 18v Bosch for about 8-9 years. Done 17mm holes for BP anchors with it regularly. It accidentally spent 5 minutes in the waterfall at Garlands Pot before I noticed, and still worked fine. It has had a lot of hammer with me and been on just about every bolting job I have done for DCA or for proper work. I bought a spare brushless new version body 5 years ago on sale as a spare, but the original is still going strong and I have not needed the new one yet. Can't speak as to the longevity of any of the newer models, but my GBH 18-V EC is seemingly bombproof. As a bonus, it fits perfectly in a M2100 Peli with 3 batteries and drill bits.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I went erbaeur 18v as the Screwfix warranty is good and they are relatively cheap. Can get 3-4 holes for the same purpose (12m x 800-1000mm) from one 8 Ah battery
Have 2 or 3 older 36v Bosch bodies you’re welcome to have if you can adapt the wiring

My Ebaeur packed up after 18 months. Kept blowing two tiny resister type things. My mate replaced them twice then gave up. The drill case had secretly covered screws apart from the obvious ones. They obviously did not want you to repair it. With those screws removed bang goes the guarantee. We bought about 6 of the replacement parts for a tenner. In the end to no avail. I thought the drill was rubbish actually.

 

[Maisie Syntax]

I think (but possibly incorrectly) that the purpose of the original question, or at least in how I read it, was are the 'latest generation' of modern top-spec 18v SDS+ drills as capable of undertaking the same heavy and sustained workload that drills such as the industry 'workhorse' Bosch GBH 36v with 6ah batteries can?

The latest reasoning from Bosch as to why they are replacing their 36v 'GBH' drill bodies, is;
Advances in technology, particularly the BITURBO brushless motors combined with ProCORE18v batteries, mean that 18v tools now deliver the same or better performance than older 36v tools......

Maybe me, but there's some Bosch marketing terms such as 'BITURBO' and 'ProCORE' doing some reasonably heavy lifting within that blurb.
I'm also somewhat bemused as to why Bosch thinks we need 'customizable modes'(sic) and 'app connectivity'?

For the record, I have been using Bosch GBH 36v drills for many years.

 

[Steve Clark]

This is for commercial use - 6mm holes 70mm deep in overhead concrete for suspended ceilings. About 50 holes per weekday. We previously used Bosch 36v because they are exceptionally light. Wore out 4 bodies. Usually failing at the switch (dust) or the internals.

In 2016 we bought a Hilti TE-4 because a site needed their dust extract system. We’ve used that most days since - for 10years. Thousands and thousands of holes. The only maintenance we do is a blob of grease in the chuck occasionally. Bombproof.

Compared to Bosch the Hilti is a slower rotation speed but much stronger chiselling action.

They’re expensive and the chargers/batteries are exceptionally expensive. Often stolen on site, which is a big problem for us. £300 gone every time a battery & charger gets nicked.

I’m in Lancaster if you want to test one.

 

[Leclused]

Hi,

We changed one of our Hilti te-6a for a the newer TE4-22 from Hilti a few years ago. The newer Hilti is with 22V batteries. This Hilti is mainly used for long 8 or 10 mm holes. For bolting we use smaller and lighter Bosch drills.

Hilti TE4-22

 

[georgenorth]

I’ve been using a Milwaukee M18 FHPX for capping and bigger holes recently. We’ve got a few of them at work which have been abused for a few years - they’re pretty bombproof. It’s probably slightly slower drilling than Pete’s Bosch 36V (with a big e-bike battery). The batteries make a big difference to the power of the drill - I’m currently using the Milwaukee Forge 8Ah batteries (£180 a pop though!).

Give me a shout if you’re looking at Hilti - I get battery and tool deals sent through fairly regularly.

 

[PeteHall]

I've also got a Milwaukee M18 somthingorother, though it's mostly used above ground these days, as my usual digging is underwater, for which I have other tools...

The main selling point for me was the energy per impact, which at the time I bought it was second only to Hilti at a fraction of the cost.

It's definitely a very capable drill, even for long holes, though from my experience it doesn't like getting wet... It took a bit of a dousing once and blew something, but water damage is specifically excluded from the warranty. After several weeks of drying, I sent it off for repair and it came back fixed and they never twigged that it had been water damaged, so I got away with it under warranty.

My experience is that the old Bosh drills have survived much worse, but perhaps I was unlucky, as it's otherwise been pretty bombproof, if a little heavy carrying underground.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Peter Glanvill inherited Tony Boycott's Hilti TE 6-A 36v SDS drill. Its heavy and cumbersome as are the 3AH batteries. I am temporary custodian of it as it has returned to QWUH. It gets covered in mud then I scrub it clean with water as the heat drys the mud. Its years old but certainly up for the job if you can find one second hand.