Customer Reviews

Bosch PSR 18 Cordless 18 Volt Drill/Driver, 2 x NiCD Batteries

5 star:		(151)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The one thing Bosch guarantees is quality. Just occasionally I buy something cheap to save money, but always regret it. This is a cracking piece of kit. Really well balanced and solid. The battery seems to last an age. The keyless chuck and torque settings are simple and effective. My only slight reservation is it's limited capacity for masonary drilling due to the absence of a hammer action. But that's a minor criticism when every other aspect is so impressive.

I bought two of these to replace a couple of 'other BranD' cordless drills that had packed up on me.

The drill is solid yet nicely balanced. The battery release is easy to operate and doesn't require 'jiggling' to remove the battery. There's a handy light in the base which illuminates the drill tip - useful in dark places. The light comes on before the drill starts turning - another plus point! Just watch that your little finger doesn't cover the light. There's a 10-position clutch on the screwdriver selection and the keyless chuck, standard on most drills these days.

There are two points about which I am not happy. The first is the keyless chuck which is a two-handed operation. Bosch have produced one hand operated chucks before now and they are much easier to use when changing out bits. Maybe not such a big problem now for me as I have four cordless drills on the go at any one time. But for a budding DIYer, it might get a bit irritating to have to hold the drill between your knees while your hands both lock and undo the chuck, swapping bits or drills.

The second negative point is the inclusion of the two LEDs on the top of the body, representing forward or reverse motion, depending on the position of the direction switch. I feel they are superfluous as the switch is clearly marked with arrows to indicate the direction of the drilling or screwing.

I thought it would be a bit mean to haggle for 4.5 stars as it is still a well made drill and should provide many years of service. One of the drills this replaces is over 16 years old...

It doesn't have hammer action but there are an array of specialist masonry bits that do not require hammer action. Usually available on-line from shopping channel websites or other e-tailers.

It comes in a nice solid carry case, not a flimsy, blow-moulded box. There's a solid loop for securing with a padlock. Everything, including the batteries, drill and charger fit neatly inside and it's not a heavy thing to carry when full.

This drill may well be powered by an 18 volt battery but due to its single speed range of only 0-700rpm it makes it "very" limited in what you can actually use it for, this making it really a bit of a red herring if anyone is thinking on using it for anything that comes remotely into the realms of being more demanding, as although its drilling speed / chuck capacity might just be acceptable for drilling into wood, however when it comes to metal it certainly isn't, as its maximum of 700rpm is not sufficiently high enough for modern HSS drills which require greatly in excess of 1000rpm for satisfactory results.

The extra battery is obviously a welcome addition but I feel that the price of this tool is really based on the high price Bosch puts on their spare batteries even when purchased from so called discount sources, something that effectively forced me to abandon a perfectly good 12volt hammer drill / driver of theirs which suffered from the batteries failing after only four years, the batteries (x2) replacement cost going to be in the region of £75.00 or so + VAT making it not really viable to repair.

The advert contains very little info as far as the drills spec is concerned, and so to assist anyone considering purchasing this is the drills specification.

Manufacturer Bosch
Shipping Weight 1.7kg
Battery Capacity (Ah) 1.2Ah
Battery Type Nickel Cadmium (Ni-cad)
Battery Voltage 18v
Charging Time 180mins
Max. dia. in Wood 28mm
Max. dia. in Steel 10mm
Max. Torque (Nm) 10Nm
No Load Speed 0-700rpm
No. of Batteries 2
No. of Speed Settings 1
Torque Settings 10
Carry Case / Bag
Chuck Size 10mm

Just bought this drill after trawling for hours on the net comparing lots of different brands but always came back to Bosch and Amazon for both quality and price.
I have just completed some inetrnal heavy drill work which this drill has handled no problem and I havent even used the second battery yet.
A great buy!!!!!

I have had this for eighteen months and already neither battery will hold the charge. The drill itself is fine when working but the charger has no indication of the battery state and does not turn itself off. I have been careful not to leave the batteries on charge for excessive periods of time and they have been flat before charging. Previously I had a cheap 14v drill to do the jobs I use it for, it had only one battery, and it lasted four years with absolutely no problem.

Drill build quality is acceptable.
What is unacceptable is the short lifetime of the 2-607-335-277 18v NiCd batteries which in our experience have lasted less than a year.
Replacements are difficult to source and even the cheapest equivalents are similar to the cost of a brand-new drill.
I cannot recommend this product which is being pushed out the door in huge quantities by the likes of B&Q.
Come on, Bosch, this is the sort of environmentally-hateful business plan that the inkjet printer companies adopt.

Went for the 18v as figured it wouldn't be much heavier but would have much more umph than the lower rated models. Very happy with it, mainly used for driving so far and easily takes out screws that were near impossible by hand.

It's pretty light, the bits are easy to change (although it's only supplied with a double ended srewdriver bit) and the batteries seem to last an age.

It's a shame the charger doesn't cut out when the battery is full, but it's not too much hassle when using this for light doemstic use.

All in all a great bit of kit for the money.

If Amazon's description had said that the no-load speed of this driver was only 700 rpm, I wouldn't have bothered ordering it. Add to that the fact that the charger has no limiting function and the Bosch manual says nothing at all about proper charging times, overcharging, etc - well, it went back two days later. The DeWalt I ended up buying from Amazon for the same price was much, much better!

Product feels great.
However.

Charger does not turn off when batteries are full, and leaving them on charge accidentally for a day or two even occasionally will damage them permanently.

Add to lack of low-battery cutoff, which will also reduce the lifetime of the batteries, and I'd have to say avoid.

I disagree with most of the reviewers of this product. Although I have had many excellent Bosch tools in the past, this does not figure on the list. The batteries are 1.2aH so run down quickly. They take 3hours to charge, and the charger is the worst Bosch charger that I have come across. It does not have auto cutout when the charge is complete (it is no better than a cheap B&Q job). My advice is DON'T buy it. Spend a little more and get a decent drill; even a better quality Bosch one. My 10 year old Bosch 7.4 volt drill is better than this one. In case you are wondering, the worst Bosch tool is the cordless electric screwdriver.
Now that is really bad!