After Harbor Freight dropped the 3 bombshells of the new Bauer, Hercules and Earthquake XT 20v max tools last year, it comes as a surprise that they have another brand with 18v cordless tools under the brand name Warrior. While the Warrior brand has been alive and well at Harbor Freight for a few years now, the brand has been the name on most of the store’s lower end accessories such as abrasives, saw blades, and drill bits. This trends is changing with the addition of a ⅜” 18v drill/driver, an 18v LED light, and an 18v lithium-ion 1.3 amp hour battery and charger.
My thoughts:
It’s nice to see Harbor Freight bringing an extremely affordable lithium ion line to the market, as it should appeal to many homeowners. This appears to be a replacement for the current Drill Master line which has been the notorious $20 drill for many years. While the Drill Master isn’t that bad, many brands such as Hyper Tough and Tac Life have been adding very affordable 18v tools with lithium ion batteries. The new warrior tools appear to stack up well and they’ll do even better if more warrior 18v tools come to market. I also noticed the warrior tools appear to have some very similar cosmetics with the current Drill Master tools such as the chuck, battery connection, LED light, and probably a few more things. Whether or not these new Warrior tools/batteries will be compatible with Drill Master tools remains to be seen, but there appears to be a good chance of it. I’ll have to check some out in store and possibly update the article at a later date.
Warrior 18v lithium ion ⅜” drill driver item 64118
“This cordless drill driver has 20 torque clutch settings to handle drilling tasks around the home and shop. A built-in LED lamp provides visibility in dark corners. This cordless drill driver includes a battery that is interchangeable with other 18 volt Warrior® tools.”
Features:
- Variable speed, reversible
- Electric brake
- 20 torque clutch settings
- Keyless chuck
- LED light for clear view in dark corners
- Battery is interchangeable with other 18 Volt Warrior® tools
Specifications:
- Battery capacity: 1.3 amp hours
- Battery type: lithium ion
- Voltage: 18v
- Max speed: 900 RPM
- Max torque: 199 inch pounds
- Chuck size: ⅜”
- Height: 8-3/8 inches
- Length: 7-1/2 inches
- Width: 2-3/4 inches
- Weight: 2.68 lbs.
- Accessories included: 3-5 hour charger, 18V lithium ion battery
- Price: $29.99 at Harbor Freight at the time of writing
- Warranty: 90 days with 1 or 2 years coverage available for an extra cost
Warrior 18v lithium ion LED work light item 64117
“Compact and lightweight, this versatile flashlight casts a powerful beam where you need it. The 3-position tilt head adjusts from 0-90°.”
Features:
- Lithium technology for longer run times, faster charging
- 9 LED spotlight with 90° head
- 15 hour run time on full charge
- Efficient LED lamps won’t get hot during use
- Battery is interchangeable with other 18 Volt Warrior® tools
Specifications:
- Battery capacity: 1.3 amp hours
- Battery type: lithium ion
- Voltage: 18v
- Battery included: no
- Height: 8 inches
- Length: 4-13/16 inches
- Width: 3-5/16 inches
- Weight: 0.57 lbs.
Warrior 18v 1.3 amp hour lithium ion battery and charger item 64256
“Power all of your Warrior® 18V lithium tools with this compact, lightweight battery charger. Comes with an 18V 1.3 Ah Warrior® battery.”
Features:
- Charges all Warrior® 18V lithium batteries
- LED status indicator lights give you accurate updates on charge time remaining
Specifications:
- Battery capacity: 1.3 amp hours
- Battery type: lithium ion
- Voltage: 18v
- Maximum amperage output (amps): 300ma
- Temperature range: 32° F to 113° F (0° C to 45° C)
- Height: 2.24 inches
- Length: 5 inches
- Width: 3 inches
- Weight: 0.74 lbs.
- Charger voltage: 120v A
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So you think this will replace the Drill Master line and the Chicago Electric line stays where it is?
They’ve been removing the Chicago electric 18v tools from Harbor Freight’s website as the new Bauer tools hit the market. My guess would be the same will apply to the drill master tools eventually
Do Warrior batteries fit Chicago Electric Tools?
The new Warrior cordless tools appear to be the replacement or follow up of Drill Master cordless tools so I doubt they would fit Chicago Electric cordless tools since the batteries are not identical in any way.
The new battery would only run for seconds. Lost my receipt so I had to purchase new battery. The new battery had the same problem so I returned it for a refund. I’m stuck with a useless drill. The batteries or that batch of batteries is defective. I doubt that i’m the only one with that problem. They should stop selling that drill and replace all batteries or replace the drills. Let me know if you have the same issues.
Did you fully charge each battery before use?
I have 2 Warrior drills.They are a good drill motor, but the batteries need to be kept charged. I returned one drill motor and battery and received all new. It does appear that if the batteries are left idle and drained down, they don’t recharge. I have 4 batteries less then 1-1/2 yrs. to 8 months that will not charge. I only use them, at work and at home, occasionally. That’s 6 batteries, I’ve bought, but only two are still working. I now try to remember to put these two on charge now and then. I also believe that I’ve learned that when the battery becomes low, the drill motor switch and trigger won’t work properly.. Also, I’ve had this problem….Two batteries won’t work if left idle for about 10 minutes, the battery has to be removed about half an inch and snapped back in place. Then they will work again, till the next “stop”. That’s happened with three the 4, now dead, batteries. I’ve had 4/5 B & D drills that never gave me any trouble. Problem was that the batteries were no longer available.
Did they make a ni-cad or or ni-mh based tool line? That sounds like a non-lithium battery or some sort of malfunction w power regulation on either the tool or battery
Recently I got this tool from a friend. but I need instructions how to use
I. was. Hesitant. Of. 12. V. Warrior. Not. Enough. Power. I. Drove. A. 3. In. A half. Coarse screw. I. Was. Amazed. It. Put. That. In. A. 2×4. Not. One. Issue. Didn’t. even. President. Drill. I. Have. Tools. Cords. Just. About everything I need. In. My. Shop. I. Refurbish. Mowers. Repair and. Find. Fix. And. Flipem. Or. I. Sell. Them. My. Customers. Love. My. Stuff. Not. One. Complaint. At. All. Just. Compliments.
If Warrior is anything like Drill Master, it will suck. I’ve never had a Drill Master power tool that wasn’t horrible, from the cordless drill to the heat gun. They failed almost immediately, which is better than failing after 90 days, I guess.
The Warrior 4.5 Amp 1/2″ Drill Driver says on the box it is variable speed. How do you get the variable speed? The trigger is one speed. There is no adjustment on the drill receiver. Is this drill actually variable? How?
drill triggers are typically variable speed