Bosch PBH 2200 RE SDS rotary hammer drill & chiselling machine with case and accessories

Initial impressions are good: Solid contruction, very useful features, plenty of extras, decent length cord and a nice carrying case for all of your booty. Typically German.

My first job was to drill a hole through the outside wall of my house, so I put a 1000 mm SDS Bit in the drill (the chuck has to be the best design ever - No key, no messing), set it to hammer and got going. While my B&D often struggled with heavy masonry work this thing took it in it's stride and I got the job done in a jiffy. It feels really solid to use and the torque seems pretty hefty, but it is equally controllable. You can really feel the hammer doing it's job.

For serious DIY'ers who want something a cut above the average drill this is great. Since it is SDS Plus, you can even use it for chiselling tiles off of the wall etc. Comes with a chisel bit and 3 good quality masonry bits - Nice touch.

Very impressive.


Masonry will not know what has hit it   January 12, 2008
Osman (London, UK)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I've had the PBH 1800 previously and that was a cracking little machine, compact, light and powerful enough for every job I threw at it including chasing through masonry. The PBH 1800 has now been handed-up to my father, and so the PBH 2200 was acquired. Being larger and heavier was not really an issue for me, and I imagine it is built of tougher stuff to provide its 2J impact energy (vs. 1.3J for the 1800, I think).

The difference in performance over the 1800 is noticeable, although not as big a difference as with the 1800 over regular impact drills which are truly hopeless at going through anything harder than breeze block.

The spindle can be locked in various angles to allow easy chiselling and the speed can be adjusted, although all that does is prevent the trigger from being fully depressed, which limits control. The drill damps vibrations well, making it comfortable for extended use.

If you use a regular impact drill and are sick of wearing out masonry bits then get one of these and good quality carbide bits will last ages, probably saving you a bit of cash in the long run as well as making jobs quicker and easier to do.