Power Tools - Trade or DIY?

Power tools come in a variety of different brands, qualities and prices. After checking on the internet today, I can find power tools from as little as £9.99 for a hammer drill up to over £500 for the same type of tool, albeit a better quality, more powerful tool.

What defines whether power tools are designed for the trade or DIY market? I believe that this is not as simple as it first sounds and their are more variables in this argument than initially though.

Firstly, the most important factor is reliability, trade power tools are used daily, for many hours at a time and therefore must continue to maintain their power and performance at all times.

Secondly, when power tools do break down, and they do, what warranty do the manufacturers offer and how quickly will the tools be back and running.

Thirdly, the price, when purchasing power tools, price is always a factor to consider, is it better to buy cheap and replace when broken or to spend more on a higher quality tool and and trust that it will last the distance.

When all these factors are taken into account, I ask the question again, trade or DIY? Some of the less expsensive manufacurers are now offering 2 or 3 year warranties on their power tools but does this mean that they are better power tools or are that they are only designed for the limited DIY use? An average DIY tool is used for maybe 4-6 hours a week giving a total of 208 - 312 hours usage per year and with a 3 year warranty, 624 - 936 hours use in total. A trade to is used 4-6 hours a day, 5 days a week giving a yearly usage of 1040-1560 hours. As you can see from these numbers, a 1 year warranty on trade power tools is by far better than a 3 year warranty on DIY power tools.

If you are looking for power tools, please visit www.transtools.co.uk to see our extensive range.