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- Well-built and easy to handle
- Hammer action helps with brick and concrete
- Excellent value
- Heavy and noisy
- Charger makes a racket
The Erbauer ECDT18-Li-2 Cordless Combi Drill gives you semi-pro specs and features for less money than some big-name drills. The 18V battery and brushless motor give you up to 120nm of torque and speeds of up to 2,000RPM, while its 32,000BPM hammer action should help you drill into brick, breeze block, stone and concrete without too much bother or frustration. The detachable side handle will certainly help there, and also help you keep the drill steady for precision tasks.
It looks like a serious, heavy-duty cordless drill, and in practice I’ve found it capable, versatile and easy to work with. While it’s more expensive than your average combi drill, there are some good reasons why you might be prepared to pay the extra.
What do you get for the money?
For £160, you’re getting a compact combi drill with screwdriver, drill and hammer drill modes in a smart matt black and mid-blue livery. As the ECDT18-Li-2 it comes with a rapid charger and two 18V/5Ah batteries, though it’s also available as a bare tool for around £90 from B&Q if you’ve already invested in Erbauer’s EXT batteries and chargers. The brushless motor means it needs less maintenance and should last longer than some older cordless drills, while an all-metal gearbox should also help longevity.
It’s not as compact as DeWalt’s similar DCD799P2T, with 203mm separating the tip of the chuck from the back of the tool, rather than the 164mm of the DeWalt. It’s also heavier at 1.507kg, rising to 2.55kg with the side-handle and battery attached. Luckily, the rubberized grip makes it easy to keep hold of and it’s fairly well-balanced with the battery in place. The side-handle clamps over the top and then screws securely into position with a few twists of its grip, and turns out to be very useful when you need more stability or additional pressure on the bit.
The kit is supplied in a tough but soft carry case, complete with compartments for the batteries and charger plus some extra space to store your drill and driver bits.
What’s it like to use?
The Erbauer keeps the controls fairly simple, There’s a variable speed trigger at the top of the main grip, with a push-in forward/reverse selector just above it. A sliding switch on the top shifts between its two speeds, while two dials around the chuck switch between drill, driver and hammer drill modes, then between the 23(!) different torque settings. Whether you’re looking to go easy on small and easily damaged screws or need some extra to move a larger fastening, the ECDT18-Li-2 has the speeds and settings to have you covered.
Meanwhile, the keyless chuck does a fine job of holding onto your drill or driver bit, and can handle bits of up to 13mm in size. It’s a standard rotate the collar to open or close affair, but it works effectively and doesn’t seem to let the drill bit jam or slip.
How does it perform?
It’s brilliant with softwood or plastic, drilling even larger holes without any bother. Hardwood and tough marine ply didn’t cause any challenges, either. Working on a decking repair and replacement project, I was able to drill holes large enough for coach bolts, then screw in the coach bolts afterwards, all with relative ease. Where there was unexpected resistance, the side handle helped apply a little extra pressure to get the job done.
The ECDT18-Li-2 clearly has plenty of torque, and could handle driving 8mm and 10mm screws straight into softwood, though I found some decking screws still needed to be finished off by hand with a ratchet screwdriver, as there wasn’t quite enough oomph to get them all the way in. And while the Erbauer works well as a masonry drill, thanks to its 32,000BPM hammer action, it’s not quite as effective as the DeWalt DCD799P2T. I could make the same holes in brick and concrete, but it took a little longer even with the help of the side-handle. Again, though, that extra support and pressure really helps when you’re trying to get a drill bit into tough materials.
The Erbauer is a fairly noisy drill. I measured 81.2dBA from 1m with the drill spinning freely, and it only gets noisier when actually drilling or screwing. What’s more, it has one of the noisiest chargers I’ve ever heard. The built-in fans keep things cool when rapid-charging, but it puts out a 53.9dBA racket. On the plus side, it’s speedy, charging a 4Ah battery in just under 60 minutes.
Should you buy the Erbauer ECDT18-Li-2 Cordless Combi Drill?
Not everyone needs a drill with this much torque or power, but the Erbauer provides it at a very reasonable price. It’s a great all-rounder for wood, masonry, plastic, metal and heavy-duty driving, though the DeWalt DCD799P2T is even better when it comes to concrete and brickwork. All In all, there’s very little that this drill won’t do, and it feels like it’s built to last. It looks and feels like an expensive pro-grade power tool, but at a price DIYers can just about afford.
