Accessories

Great Hitachi Tool
This is a contracter grade tool. The driver is solid, high quality, but a little on the heavy side. It has plenty of torque for any job. It comes with a super quick tightening chuck that ratchets for superior grip. The chuck only takes one hand to tighten or loosen. I have had this tool for 1-1/2 months and love it so far. I have previously owned Sears Craftsman and Makita drill/drivers and this is superior to both. This tool was also more expensive and the latest technology. This is the 1st lithium battery tool I have purchased and only time will tell on the battery life. The battery charger is fan cooled.

Best Drill I've owned
If you are in the market for an 18V 1/2 Drill I can tell you I looked at them all. I had a Bosch 14.4 for a long time and it was a great drill until I dropped it. That is when my search for a 18V replacement began.
There are a lot of options from Milwaukee to Dewalt, etc but as for quality, weight, build and price this is the best drill by far.
Highly recommended.

Great drill, lights on charger need rethinking.
So far this drill has done the trick for everything I need. I've used it to hang curtains, install a fan, install hooks in the laundry room, and other odds and ends around the house--all on one battery charge.

A bit of a warning on the battery charger. The light blinks red for 0.5 seconds as the battery charges. The manual indicates that a solid green light indicates a problem with the battery or the charger. Usually, green means "go," and blinking red indicates a problem. Other than that, I'm very pleased with this product.

Very Dissapointing Tool
I can not recommend this cordless driver drill. I inspected the drill upon arrival and noticed that without a bit in the chuck it appeared to have excessive runout (A.K.A. wobble). I inspected it with various drill bits and driver bits and saw the same thing. I then tested the drill with a runout gauge and measured the same problem.

I reported the problem to Amazon, asked for a replacement and promptly received a new drill. This arrived even before I returned the original. Kudos to Amazon for their return/replacement policies.

The second drill arrived in exactly the same condition as the first. Based on this experience I returned both for a refund. I have since purchased a Milwaukee 0824-24. My initial impression (not based on extensive use) is that the Milwaukee is superior in almost all respects. The clutch adjustment on the Hitachi is cumbersome and does not "click" into the detents smoothly. The Milwaukee is very smooth in this adjustment. It also has a separate adjustment for changing from driver to drill to hammer drill without changing the clutch setting. In fairness, I would prefer the lighter weight of the Hitachi, however I have read that the weight is due to use of metal gears in the Milwaukee rather than plastic in the Hitachi. I also like the belt clip light on the Hitachi. While both drills use a Jacobs chuck, the Milwaukee uses a higher grade chuck.

I have owned a commercial cabinet shop and now use drills for home projects. I only accept "pro-quality" tools. This tool absolutely DOES NOT quality as "pro-level". With all the other choices available, I also recommend that homeowners/hobbyists make a choice other than the Hitachi. While not intimately familiar, Makita seems to have some good choices in their new line-up. If you don't need lithium-ion, Porter-Cable makes excellent Ni-Cad based cordless drills.

Hitachi Li-ion drill DS18DL
I purchased this item as my previous generation 14V Skil cordless drill stopped working. This Hitachi is light weight and just powerful. I charged the battery and it is good to go for light work for two weeks. I am sure if I used it to the hilt I may have to charge it at the end of the day, but I never tried it that way.
For someone at my age with deteriorating eye sight, I appreciate the battery-operated light that you turn on when you work in dark areas. It lights up the item where you are drilling the hole. It helps me a lot.
I find this item a true handy tool.