Cordless vs corded hammer drill for concrete work - which side are you on?

I had to pick between a Milwaukee cordless hammer drill and a Hilti corded one for a job last month pouring anchors in a warehouse slab. The cordless gave me freedom to move around without hunting for outlets, but after the third hole the battery sagged hard and I had to wait 20 minutes for a recharge. The corded option would have powered through all 12 holes no problem, but I would have been dragging an extension cord across the whole floor. What's your experience with this choice for heavy concrete drilling?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseywalker7d ago

Have you looked at the actual duty cycle ratings on those things? The Milwaukee's fine for light duty, but a lot of cordless hammer drills are rated for like 1/4 inch holes in concrete max before the thermal overload kicks in. I burned up a DeWalt cordless doing 3/4 inch anchors and it smelled like a toaster fire for a week. Corded Hilti all day for real work, but battery tech has gotten way better if you're just doing tapcons and small stuff.

park.aaron7d ago

Milwaukee Fuel handled 3/8" anchors fine for me doing curtain wall work.

parker_hall57d ago

Did you run into any overheating issues with the Fuel? I used mine for a full day of 3/8 anchors on a storefront job and it got hot but never shut down on me. That's been my experience too, battery stuff is solid for medium duty now.