DrillsforBolting

AReviewoftheBoschGBH18V-EC

Generaladvicewhenchoosingacordlesshammerdrill forbolting is toselectaminimumoperatingvoltageof24vorpreferably36vduetoruntimebeingthesum of voltage * battery capacity (Ah). The higher the voltage and batterycapacityinAhthenthemorenumberofholesthatcanbedrilledperbattery.Onthat basis, an 18v drill would seem to lack sufficient voltage to achieve areasonable number of holes drilled per day without requiring an impracticalnumberofbatterypacksbeingtakentothecrag.Thenew18vhammerdrillfromBoschhoweverisaseriouscontendertothe24vor36vdrillsalreadyavailable.ForthiscomparisonIwillcomparetheBoschagainstmyHiltiTE-6Awhichisacommondrillusedbyclimbers.WeightThe Bosch is light; feather light compared to a Hilti TE-6A.Without a batteryattached,theBoschweighsinat1.9kgversustheHiltiat2.3kgsoforthosewhotravel overseas with their drill, this is a significant advantage on minimisingexcessbaggage.TheBoschisaverypracticaldrill forplacingboltsonleadandhasahandyattachmentpointonthegripforthreadingalengthofaccessorycordthroughandsecuringforalanyard.

Winner:BoschImpactEnergyThe energy the drill generates for hammering is measured in Joules and inpracticalterms;equatestohowfastaholecanbedrilled.TheHiltibangsoutanimpressive 2.0J,which is higher than the Bosch at 1.7J. For harder rock typessuchasgraniteorvolcanictufftheHiltioffersaclearadvantage.Winner:HiltiRuntimeThe totalenergyavailable todrill is calculatedbymultiplyingVolts timesAmphours. This unit otherwise calledWatt-hours is both important for realworldperformance on the crag but for compliance with restrictions on lithiumbatterieswhen flying.Hiltimanufacture amaximumof 3.9Ah capacity in theirbattery packs however Boschmanufactures 6.0Ah packs for their drills.Whenconsideringbatterypacksalone,Boschistheclearwinnerwithnearlydoublethecapacityforamere0.6kgversus1.3kgfortheHilti3.9Ahpack.Boschpacksareconsiderablysmallerandeasilycarriedonboardaircraftashandluggage.Boschpacksfitanumberoftheircordlesstoolssothatisanotheradvantageifyouareconsidering a cordless angle grinder. On run time only however, Hilti packsgenerateahigher140.4Whversus108Wh,whichisaclearwinner.Winner:HiltiPerformanceNewton’sthirdlawaccountsforwhycontrollingdrillbitskateiseasierwiththeheavier Hilti – an important consideration for those who use resin or glue-inboltsandthusneedtocreatenotchesforcountersinkingthebolt.Thelightnessof the Bosch can be countered however by using a cross tip bit that makescontrolling bit skate easier and improves the ability to create notches not justwiththeBoschbutforbothdrills.Vibrationdampening isnota strongpointof theBoschwhencompared to theflexible chassis of the Hilti that is noticeably better at absorbing vibration.Wearinggloveshoweverhelpstoanextent.WhilsttheHilti isasolidperformer, it is thebrushlessmotoroftheBoschthatultimatelyresultsinadrillthatoverall,outperformstheHiltiwhenholesdrilledper a comparable weight is considered. This is however conditional uponacquiringthehighcapacitybatteries. BoschGBH18VEC HiltiTE-6A CommentsVoltage 18 36 Drillweight 1.9 2.3 Batteryweight 0.6 1.7 Chargerweight 0.8 1.1 Battery 6.0Ah 3.9Ah

Batteryperformance 18@12mm 20@12mm S.EAsianLimestoneBatteryperformance 6-8@14mm 8-9@14mm VolcanicTuffImpactenergy 1.7Joules 2.0Joules Totalweightinccharger 3.3kg 5.1kg 1BatteryonlyperdrillNote:NewHiltidrillbitsusedforallperformancetests.Winner:BoschConclusionsTheHilti isa solidperformer; certainlywhendrillinghardrock,but theBoschhasmany advantages and is thewinner overall. For thosewho travel and/orwant a high performance drill in a small, lightweight package, the Bosch is agreatchoice.Sourcing lithium ion batteries can be difficult at time due to restrictions oncarriage via commercial mail. BC Fasteners in Canada (Google BC Fastenersonline for their website) were able to send batteries in under 2 weeks fromCanadatoanyglobaladdress.