Bosch knows concrete and it shows with their concrete tools. Bosch is well-known for its Bulldog series of rotary hammers. They recently released a new 18V Bulldog EC Bruhless SS plus a 3 cm rotary hammerGBH18V-265K.
For concrete drilling, rotary hammers are the best choice. They offer a faster and more efficient alternative to traditional hammer drills. Rotary hammers are purpose built machines for hammer drilling and as such put an emphasis on hammer drilling. You can use them to drill into wood and metal, and drive fasteners. However, this is a secondary function and will require a special adapter or chuck.
It is the 18V rotary drill’s Swiss army knife.
It has a very high performance-to-weight ratio and excellent hammer drilling performance. I have only seen the Milwaukee M18 Fuel3 cm SDS+ 18V rotary hammer. It is faster at drilling concrete, and has comparable drilling speed and performance. Vibration control is done by a built in shock absorber built into the handle and reduces vibration and is more effective at smaller diameter holes up to
I found a big red switch behind the motor which activates or deactivates EPC which stands for electronic precision control which is Boschs fancy soft start. This feature is designed toreduce blowouts on delicate surfaces. The start is the most important part of hammer drilling. If we go too fast, there’s a high risk of taking too much material around the hole as the drill goes. It prevents surface blowouts by starting the drilling process very slowly and gradually ramps up in speed until it finally reaches 70% max speed.
The EPC mode works in practice. I tried drilling 10 holes with it on, and got only 4 blowouts. Its not perfect because I was able to get 4 out of 10 but I did another set of 10 equal holes without EPC and got 7 blowouts. So EPC doesnt guarantee perfect starting holes but it does lower the chances of blowouts and is very useful when working with delicate surfaces such as granite or marble countertops, and stone tile where any mistakes will be visible.
The brushless motor provides excellent power and drilling speed in concrete. It also has a long runtime. The review sample was supplied with 6.0 batteries. To test the runtime, I ran a series 1/10 cm holes in concrete slab (4500 PSI) and each hole was 3-inch.
Being a 3 mode rotary hammer, we can also insert chisel bits and get to chipping in the hammer only mode. This makes it easy to chip away concrete bits for light duty concrete removal. It performed well with standard SDS Plus rotary tools. It is ideal for light duty chipping because it is compact and lightweight. However, users who require more power will need to consider SDS Max rotary or demolition hammers.
Sometime , an optional Dust extraction vac will be available for use with this cordless rotary hammer. It will attach itself to the bottom of the unit and slide on. The same battery will power the rotary hammer, so it appears that the dust extraction vacuum will also be powered by this same battery.
This rotary hammer is great overall. It is a Bosch Bulldog model, which has great drilling performance and speed. The EPC mode isnt perfect but it does reduce the chances of surface blowouts.
Specs/Pricing/Warranty
- EC Brushless Motor
- Concrete with a 3 cm capacity
- delivers 1.9 Ft.-Lbs of impact energy
- 0-4,350 no-load BPM
- 0-890 no-load RPM
- 35 kg Weight
- With battery, 13-30 cm length
- KickBack Control technology reduces the risk of sudden tool reactions in binding conditions
- Electronic Precision Control provides slower ramp-up for accurate bit starts
- Vibration Control affords great user comfort for extended periods of work
- Bare Tool includes side handle, depth rod, and cleaning rag
- can accept an optional dust extraction vac which will be available
- Kit includes: Drill, side handle and depth rod, cleaning cloth, 2x 6.0 battery, fast charger, and case
- Baretool price
- Warranty: 1 year warranty; 30 day money back guarantee
