Porter-Cable 9826 19.2-Volt Ni-Cad 1/2-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit

This was my very first Porter Cable (PC) product, which I bought at Home Depot back when they used to carry all the cordless PC products. I was completely impressed with the quality and performance from day one.

In fact, I went back to HD to get some other PC 19.2V cordless equipment, figuring I would standardize on them and be able to use the batteries for everything. Imagine my shock when I could not find them at HD anymore, nor at any of the other big box stores! Concerned, I contacted PC and was relieved to find that they were alive and well but had opted out of the "big box" price wars as part of their strategy based around consolidation with Delta after both were acquired by Pentair. In other words, they opted for quality over cutthroat pricing required by the big boxes.

So I started buying my PC equipment from Amazon. Then came the battery problems. I emailed PC about the short battery lifetimes when two of my batteries quit charging after less than a...Read more

This drill has excellent power. The battery life is outstanding. The weight is managable (only slightly heavier than my older 12v bosch). The clutch and electric brake have good feel. The drill is balanced well. Unlike my older drill the bit holders (2ea) work. The price on this unit is incredible (...). 19.2v is kind of unusual. However, Porter-Cable has a complete line of tools at this power, so I expect they should be around for a long time. My drill is still fairly new so the only unknown I have is how well the batteries will last. This is one of the most important considerations in buying cordless. This is the reason I chose not to buy the 18v Dewalt, or the 15.6v NiMH Panasonic. My old 12v Bosch Batteries lasted 6yrs, which given the amount of use I think that is pretty good. I went with the Porter-Cable for the price.

I ordered this kit primarly for the two 19.2 volt batteries it came with as I already had a combo/kit with two bad batteries.
This item (9826) came with two batteries allright, but they are much smaller in size than the orgianal ones. The websight isn't clear that these are comsummer batteries and not commercial grade.