UKC

Can anyone reccomend a good rock drill? Don't worry, I'll not be bolting anything, it's not climbing related. I will need to drill into any rock I find in the UK for the purposes of intstalling research equipment in mountain rivers. This is what I'm looking at at the moment, but figured someone here might know a bit about drilling into rock...

I would consider rental (I'm Edinburgh Based)

(I tried posting a link but it was ebay, so wasn't allowed, I've been looking at the HILTI TE 7 - A - CORDLESS ROTARY HAMMER DRILL, search it on google and you'll see what I'm after)

In reply to David Barratt:
I have had a Bosch GBH 24v for about 9 years for work and play. Gone through 6 batteries and a charger, drill still going strong. Got another on fleebay ,a few months ago, for £92 ( original cost over £300 new )

The newer models have Li ion Batteries but any heavy duty Bosch, Hilti or Makita etc ( 24 or 36 volt )should be good if you get the " tradesman " models.

In reply to Rick Graham:

I'll 2nd the Bosch

In reply to David Barratt:

Have you considered the bacon powered Petzl drill:

http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/verticality/anchors/anchor-accessories/rocp...

I have one and it works just fine for the odd hole here and there...

In reply to Baron Weasel:

That would be horrific! I'll have a look through the rest and see what I can convince work to buy for me. Thanks everyone.

In reply to David Barratt:

I've used a Hilti in the past, but lately have used a Bosch GBH 24v. Fantastic machine - all you'd ever need. Even manages to drill holes in reverse setting when used by a very well-known guidebook writer! ;¬)

Dave

In reply to Dave Williams:

Thanks. Had a trip to check two of my installations today (installed with a borrowed drill), both still in position despite some very high flows.

In reply to David Barratt:

+1 for the bosch the older 24v has a better variable trigger than the newer 36v version but other than that its great

In reply to David Barratt:

Just to mimic every other comment, get the Bosch. I use one every day for work, and i've drilled through every type of rock imaginable with it. I've tried the 24 and 36v models, and depending on what you want to use it for, the 24 li ion is the business. Slightly heavier, but gutsy as f*ck. The 36 will go through easy stuff very very quickly, but there's no torque on it at all, so any difficulty, especially when screwing in, and you're gubbed.
I'm not too far away from you, so if you want to sample my big drill , gimme a shout.

In reply to David Barratt:

Just another thought, make sure you use good quality SDS drill bits.

In reply to crustypunkuk:

Should probably start another thread, but how do you rate Ni MH batteries compared to Li ion ones ?

In reply to David Barratt:

We bought two Bosch GBH 36v SDS drills in 2009. Since then, we have installed around 24,000 M6 anchors into concrete. We recently had to change a speed controller board in one but that was only around £90. Both still work great and are lighter and faster than anything else we've tried in the past.

Make sure you buy 3.0 Ah Lion, not the smaller size.

Bosch bits (a la B&Q) are crap.
Buy Hilti TE-C bits for normal stuff, good for several hundred holes.
Hilti TE-CX for granite etc. These are more expensive, but have a warranty. If you wear out or manage to break the cutting head, before the wear indicator on the side then you get a new bit for free. Really good idea if you hit rebar on a regular basis.

Steve

In reply to David Barratt:

When I finished work in 2002 I took my Bosch GBH 24 with me - still got it, same battery, good for at least 10 x 12mm holes.
Awesome machine.

E