Craftsman 11543 19.2-volt C3 Cordless 1/2" Hammer Drill/Driver Reviews
www.sears.com
Rating Summary
“The C3 Hammer drill is terrific.”
- a DIYer, a Craftsman Club Member, handyman
- Pros
- cuts like butter, high speed torque, strong
- Cons
- better keyless chuck
Craftsman 11543 19.2-volt C3 Cordless 1/2" Hammer Drill/Driver —
I'm involved in a rather lengthy home remodeling effort, requiring a lot of drilling and driving long screws. I have a "cheap" 1/2 inch SDS hammer/drill that I've been using to drill into concrete block. I broke the chuck on that drill, after several days work and while drilling half-way into a block. I used a corded, standard drill to finish the day, but that was some rough going at times. The drill bit is small, provided in the box for for 1/4" tapcon concrete anchors, so I really needed another hammer drill that would work with that drill bit.......
I already had a C3 driver drill that I find very impressive, so it didn't take much for me to run back over to Sears and look at the C3 hammer drill offerings that they had in stock. I came home with the kit that had the 2 ni-cad batteries, charger and case. In retrospect, I should have opted for the bare drill and bought a full-sized li-ion battery. But, I was trying to be frugal..... The extra goodies, case 2 batteries and spare charger, are "okay" and certainly serviceable. It's just that the difference between the ni-cads and li-ions are more than I'd realized and would have been worth it to me to make that trade.
I immediately threw put one of my charged batteries into the hammer drill, put that tapcon drill bit into the chuck and went back to work on that block wall. The drill performed as well on that concrete block as had the corded SDS hammer/drill that I'd been using. The only difference was the battery power limitation, as far as I can tell. The C3 drills holes in concrete block almost as easily as it drills holes in 2x4 with a sharp wood bit. I am one happy camper with the performance of this drill. I'm now using 2 C3 drills, the hammer drill with the tapcon bit to drill the concrete block and the driver drill to install the tapcon screws into the newly drilled holes. It's a very fast and efficient operation, with no cords to get tangled up in the ladder and sawhorses!
There are only a couple of issues that I have with the C3 hammer drill kit that I bought. The first is that it came with ni-cad batteries and the old style charger. I now have 4 19.2 volt ni-cad batteries, having bought a 2-pack on sale. They are heavy and aren't as long lasting or powerful, compared to the 19.2 volt C3 compact lithium ion batteries that I also have. The C3 hammer drill kit "should" have had the compact lithium batteries and charger. That would be the ultimate. I had an issue with one of the ni-cads, that wouldn't take a charge in the old style charger that came with the hammer drill. I put it in the new style multi-charger that came with my C3 driver drill and the battery problem was fixed.
The main issue that I have with the C3 hammer drill itself, is the keyless chuck. I have a very difficult time tightening the chuck really tight and several times have had issues with the tapcon bit spinning in the chuck. A half inch drill chuck should not have that kind of problem because you'd expect a half inch drill to be used in heavy and difficult applications. You should be able to grasp the chuck in a manner that gives you sufficient torque to tighten it. I hate the thought of putting a pair of pliers on that chuck to make sure that it is tightly clamped on the bit........
I still gave the drill 5 stars because it is an excellent combination drill.
