Homebuilding Verdict
If you want an everyday DIY-friendly cordless drill with a bit more poke and power than the average offering, I’d say the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 could easily be your next power tool purchase. It has (almost) everything you need, including a case, a charger and two batteries. There are no drill or screwdriver bits included, but don’t let that put you off. This is a decent cordless drill at a very affordable price.
Pros
- +
Includes charger and two batteries
- +
Comes in a hard carry case
- +
Brushless motor
- +
Long drilling times
- +
Quick charging times
Cons
- -
Doesn’t include any drill bits
- -
Needs fine-tuning to get the best from it
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A cordless drill is an essential tool for any DIYer, so choosing a good one is important. Invest in a poor choice, and it won’t be long before you’ll be looking at spending again. The latest cordless drill to cross my path is the Einhell TP-CD 18/50, an everyday drill aimed at DIYers.
This is the first time I’ve encountered an Einhell drill, so I was excited to see what it had to offer. As a package, it’s making all the right noises, and it comes in at a very tempting price point.
Would it finally be time to say goodbye to my faithful old Black and Decker cordless drill and let the Einhell take its place? Time to find out.
Buy the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 drill today
The Einhell TP-CD 18-50 cordless drill comes with a case, charger and two batteries that were pre-charged meaning you're immediately ready for action
Spec and features
- Motor type: Brushless motor
- Torque: 50 Nm
- Gears: 2
- Battery type: Lithium Ion
- Battery voltage: 18v
- Weight: 2.35kg
- Chuck capacity: 2mm-13mm
- Features: LED work light, torque adjustment collar, battery level indicator, 1 x hard carry case, 1 x drill body, 1x battery charger, 2 x 2.0Ah batteries, 1 x belt clip, instruction manual
First impressions
Who doesn’t love a power tool that comes with its own hard case? Any type of case is a winner, as it helps protect a power tool, but the Einhell hard case gives the impression of being a long-term friend to the Einhell drill.
It's a solid plastic case with a bright red lid emblazoned with the brand name. At least it will be easy to find. Inside, it is lined with egg box foam padding (one side) and flat foam padding on the other. This ensures that the drill, batteries and charger aren’t thrown around and damaged when on the move.
The drill body feels sturdy and well-built, and sits neatly in the hand, with the rubberised grip giving a secure feel. The LED light instantly makes an appearance when the trigger sets the drill into life (my battery was charged and ready to go). Can I switch this off? Not sure (yet), but it might be good if I could switch it off when not needed as it would help save battery life.
Setting up
As you might expect, there’s not much work involved in setting up a cordless drill. Slide in the battery and you’re ready to go. The battery was already charged, so it could be used straight out of the box which is a nice touch.
What you do need to do is familiarise yourself with the torque selector and the selector switch. The selector switch lets you choose between driving, drilling and impact drilling (the hammer function).
You will need to combine this with the most suitable torque setting to help ensure you get the best from the Einhell TP-CD 18/50. To add a little more to the mix, there are two gears which help you fine-tune performance. There’s a lot going on, so if you are an inexperienced DIYer, you should read the instruction manual fully before you start.
Performance
The fun part of any review is using the product itself, and a new cordless drill is always going to see plenty of action. To kick off, I thought I’d ease myself into using the Einhell TP-CD 18/50with some simple wood screwing tasks. There are no drill bits or a bit holder included, so I used what I already had. The 13mm chuck is easy to use, but slightly different from other drills I’ve used. But it did what it needed to do, without any problems.
I started with 100mm screws for screwing fence panels into wooden posts. With the screw selector in position and the torque setting set to 11, off I went. This worked as expected, but on tougher parts, I had to turn the torque up to the maximum level to finish.
I struggled with one screw in particular, so I switched over to my old cordless drill to see how it compared. The Einhell TP-CD 18/50 was definitely doing a better job, probably thanks to its extra torque (50 Nm compared with 40 Nm).
Like all good drills, the drill stops when it reaches its managed torque level. This ensures you have more control over the drill and don’t go too deep with a screw, which could split the wood. So start low and turn up the torque until you get the level you want.
Tackling heavy duty DIY drilling tasks
Switching the selector to drill or hammer mode eliminates the need to choose a torque setting, with the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 automatically switching to maximum output. Perfect for the next set of DIY tasks I had in mind.
Next up was drilling into exterior brickwork, and using my spade drill bit to create recesses in a fence post, ready for the concrete screws. The Einhell TP-CD 18/50 zipped through the timber with no problem.
Switching over to my DeWALT masonry drill bits, putting it into second gear, the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 powered into the brickwork with relative ease. At one point, the drill bit did stick, but I simply retightened the chuck and carried on.
Next up was a move indoors to put up some heavy-duty shelf brackets. Drilling into my interior walls has been hard work in the past. But the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 provided all the power I needed to drill deep enough for the Rawl plugs and screws to be inserted.
I also managed to do all the tasks mentioned without having to swap over the battery. So, I decided to keep going on other DIY tasks to get a better idea of battery life. Overall, I have to say I was very happy with the Einhell TP-CD 18/50's performance so far.
Shop these tools to use with a cordless drill
An all-encompassing set of drill bits that includes HSS metal drill bits with 135° split-point tips, wood drill bits with centre point and stone drill bits with carbide plates.
This set offers 13 black oxide drill bits with 135-degree split-point tips designed to reduce walking when drilling into wood, metal, or plastic. Stored in a tough, easy-to-carry plastic case.
Ideal for everyday use, this screwdriving set features a range of essential bits. Includes a magnetic drive guide that fits into a drill chuck, allowing you to use any bit in the set.
Battery life
Battery life is key for any cordless tool, and the 18V 2.0Ah batteries supplied with the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 didn’t disappoint. The charger features a set of easy-to-understand icons that make it clear what stage the charging is at. Red and green LEDs make sure you don’t get confused.
Charging times using the supplied charger were pretty swift, taking just 40 minutes to reach a full charge and be ready to go. This would be ideal if you only had one battery, but with two batteries on offer, I always had a fully charged battery ready to replace the other when needed.
You might think that quick charging times mean short working times, but this wasn’t the case with the Einhell TP-CD 18/50. A fully charged battery lasted around 45 minutes to an hour. In real terms, that meant I tackled a whole host of DIY jobs over the weekend and didn’t need to replace the battery. And when I did, I had a fully charged battery ready to replace.
A trio of LED lights on the battery can be activated with a quick press of a button to indicate remaining power. Confusingly, the lights were red, rather than green, but I can live with that.
Final verdict
If you’re looking for an everyday drill that can tackle pretty much any DIY task that you can throw at it, then the Einhell TP-CD 18/50 Cordless Brushless Combi Drill is definitely one you need to add to your list. It offers plenty of torque (50Nm) for a standard cordless drill, which sits at the top end of what you usually get at this level.
For less than £100, you get a solid drill, two batteries, a charger, and a hard case, which, in my opinion, makes it good value for money. You might not get any drill or screwdriver bits with it, which would have been nice, but a charger and two batteries more than make up for this. On the plus side, you can choose the bits you need rather than getting a bunch you may never use.
Throw in quick charge times and decent working times, and there’s little that I didn't like about the Einhell TP-CD 18/50. How long it stays as my number one drill, only time will tell.
