Product Test: Bosch GSR 18 V-60 FC

For this review electrician Daniel Calland gives the Bosch GSR 18 V-60 FC Professional Drill Driver with FlexiClick a run for its money.

What attracted you to the product in the first place?

I’ve always liked the look of Bosch Professional power tools; they have such a vast and diverse range that more than covers all areas of not just electrical work, but also all of construction work as well. They have a few handy ideas like the use of a battery add on which can be equipped to a battery to double up as a portable USB charger which is useful when your phone battery is running low, not only on site, but it can also be used outside of work at festivals or left in cars for instance when phone batteries are running low, which can quite literally save the day.

What were your initial impressions of the product?

My initial impression of the product is that it is of the highest standard. This drill came in a convenient to use L-BOXX, which alone could be used in conjunction without other storage boxes to create a storage system perfect for each individual customer. Inside the L-BOXX were two 5.0Ah batteries which last a remarkable amount of time, more or less a whole week of use before I need to change the batteries, which already bettered my previous drill where it seemed like I was waiting for my batteries to charge every five minutes. The charger for these batteries was also of a very high standard, which sufficiently charged the batteries in less than 45 minutes. There were also 4 different types of drill heads that help the drill to suit the situation it is needed in.

How easy was the unit to use?

The drill couldn’t be easier to use, when changing the chucks you simply spun one off and then spun another one back on and leave it in the locked position which was indicated on the drill with arrows and symbols. On the batteries there are also indicators on them that tell you the battery life so you know when they’re getting low – this could also be found out by syncing your drills to an easy to use mobile app.

What type of application was the product used for?

I’ve used this drill on a number of different construction sites as well as domestic installations. It is more than capable of quickly drilling through wooden joists in loft spaces, or drilling holes through metal trunking and can even be adapted as an SDS drill to plug and screw brick walls. I can then remove the SDS chuck off the drill and add a screw driver bit to screw in so I would only need to carry one drill around with me.

Are there any features and benefits that you particularly enjoyed?

Yes, for starters the battery life was remarkable and the power that they gave out with the drill was perfect for all uses, which helps to make work a lot easier and quicker, and the fact that the batteries can be used in most other power tools in the Bosch Professional range are very useful and can save money rather than needing to buy multiple batteries which on their own are not cheap.

There is also a feature on the drill that cuts the drill out when it feels the drill quickly jump forward. This feature comes in very handy when drilling trunking for instance, once the drill bit has penetrated the metal trunking the drill will automatically cut itself out to stop you going through any cables in the trunking system. This is not only a feature that could save you the hassle of repairing or rewiring circuits that have been accidently drilled through but could also save lives.

What improvements would you suggest?

I think the only real issue that I would suggest is that when all the chucks are removed the drill can be used as a driver with the use of a screwdriver bit, however on this setting I think it would be a lot more useful if in fact it was able to be used as a more conventional impact driver, in the sense that the drill could impact and screw rather than just screw.

Would you recommend the product to other electricians?

Absolutely! This is an ideal drill for the work that I do, that can be used over such a varied amount of situations and if travelling from job to job, it can help lower the amount of tools you need to take to different jobs as this drill can, in theory cut the need from carrying around three drills to just one. Up to now every other electrician, mate and other tradesmen have all been impressed and even a bit jealous of my new drill and I would thoroughly recommend that anybody looking for a new drill seriously considers the Bosch Professional range.

For more information about the Bosch GSR 18 V-60 FCC Professional Drill Driver with FlexiClick visit:  https://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/