minimum drill needed for Mothers PowerBall

B

bcwang

New member
Just wondering, for those of you who have experience using Mothers Powerball, what is the minimum specification of a drill that still produces good results. I've seen cordless drills range from 130rpm - 1700rpm, and also different torque levels as well. It'd be nice to know what I need to get to make this tool effective. I actually don't need to do any real drilling anytime in the near future so I don't want to overbuy just for using the powerball.



Thanks
 
I tried using a cordless drill but the battery dies way too quickly. Get an electric drill... not sure on the specs but I'm sure all will be fine.
 
I have a 18v dewalt cordless w/ 3 batteries. I thought it worked ok when I did these alcoa wheels here.



I recently did the same wheels on the same truck with a corded dewalt drill. Not sure about the model # of the drill, but it seemed to go alot quicker with the corded drill.
 
I think the package actually specifies to use a cordless drill.

A corded drill probably has too much torque.

I use an 18 volt Milwaukee when I use the PB.

I use the drill for many other things , though, and it's probably overkill for cleaning wheels.

I'm fairly sure you could get away with 12-14 volts.

If it's got enough power to drive screws , I'm sure it'll be enough to clean wheels.
 
Whatever the specs said, I'd be partial to getting a Milwaukee corded drill. Maybe their smallest one as long as it had the metal bearings and gears like the Milwaukee is famous for. It'd last a lifetime.

-John C.
 
unfortunately I do need to use a cordless drill as I'm in an apt complex with parking nowhere near an outlet. Sounds to me like the powerball needs way more power than I originally thought. I was thinking before that a $20-30 12-14.4v cordless drill would be able to do the job, but it sounds like you guys think that is not going to cut it.



Is there some minimum rpm it needs to spin to break down the abrasives in the powerpolish line of products?
 
I just got a PB and I've used my Dewalt 9.6v twice and it works fine. I think those are under $100, but a $20-$30 drill might not cut it. You could probably get a decent used drill on Ebay, or a reconditioned one at toolking.com. Good luck!
 
Just think of any drill being a replacement for polishing by hand. The drill will do it faster than by hand. You can get great results polishing metal by hand but it'll take a lot of elbow grease and time. The PowerBall and a drill will make it easier on you. RPM and stuff doesn't matter for the product. Any drill will be easier that doing it by hand. Just be aware that cheap cordless drills will die quickly.
 
The fullsize probably needs a plug in drill or a quality cordless (read >$200). I don't want to use my nice cordless so I just use a cheapie Ryobi 12V Cordless that I got at Homey Depot for $10. It works great with a powerball Mini, but I just use it to wax wheels.
 
I'd also suggest that you get a drill with torque adjustment (most have it)...it'll bog down in tight spaces with low torque.



There are plenty of places on the net to get used or reconditioned tools.

Try Craigslist and the like and woodworking forums... or just do a simple Google search.
 
Isn't the powerball supposed to be just for removing product? In that case I dont' think you would need any kind of serious tool for it to work effectively. It's just supposed to be a time saver, and it accomplishes that task even if leaves a little residue that must be buffed by hand.



And by the way, the powerball is F'ing AWESOME at buffing off Rain-X from windows. I used to hate Rain X because it left streaks that I could see when driving at night. Now I use the powerball to buff my windows and it is PHENOMENAL!!!!



It also works great to buff off plastic polish on headlights.
 
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