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Metabo SDS drill buying guide

Updated: 2026-10-23

You are looking at four Metabo hammers on amazon.co.uk, and the table makes them look like one tool at four prices. This buying guide is the order of checks: holder, then joules, then the modes that listing states, then the carton. Both cordless prices leave out a battery and a charger. The [Metabo SDS drill comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/metabo-sds-drill) is the four-row table. This page does not pick a winner. Products Compared read those listings and Metabo's pages, as at 22 October 2026. We did not run a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at four Metabo hammers on amazon.co.uk, and the table makes them look like one tool at four prices.

Our top picks

Metabo Metabo KHA 18 LTX (600210840), MetaLoc

Best overall

Metabo Metabo KHA 18 LTX (600210840), MetaLoc
8.7/10about £170.05
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Metabo Metabo KH 18 LTX BL 24 (601713840), body only

Rank 2

Metabo Metabo KH 18 LTX BL 24 (601713840), body only
9.1/10about £209.99
View offer
Metabo Metabo KHEV 5-40 BL (600765500), SDS-max

Alternative

Metabo Metabo KHEV 5-40 BL (600765500), SDS-max
6.3/10about £792.69
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Check the holder before the brand story
  2. 2.Read joules and modes from the listing, then from Metabo
  3. 3.Open the carton list
  4. 4.Ignore the cells that fight the title
  5. 5.Where this leaves the choice

Check the holder before the brand story

Three listings take SDS-plus bits: the KHA 18 LTX, order 600210840, the KH 18 LTX BL 24, order 601713840, and the corded row whose item type is KHE 3251, order 600659000, even though the Amazon title says KHE32. Only the KHEV 5-40 BL, order 600765500, is SDS-max. The shanks do not click into each other. An SDS-max chisel will not seat in either 18 V hammer, and an SDS-plus fixing bit will not seat in the KHEV. For 8 mm or 10 mm frame fixings, the KHEV is the wrong holder however large 8.7 J looks. A blank joule cell on Amazon is an empty cell, not a reading of zero.

Read joules and modes from the listing, then from Metabo

The KHEV title states 8.7 J, with 40 mm in concrete on Metabo's page for 600765500. The KHA and KH 18 listings do not state joules. Metabo gives both 2.2 J EPTA and 24 mm in concrete, and the KH 18 sheet adds 2.7 kg without a battery. Do not swap in 1.64 J, and do not copy 2.4 J from a shop heading whose specification says 2.2 J. The KHE 3251 page states 3.1 J, 800 W and 32 mm in concrete. The KH 18 bullets state hammer drilling, drilling and chiselling. The KHEV states hammer drilling and chiselling only. S-automatic on the KHA is a jam clutch, not a substitute for the side handle.
Metabo Metabo KHA 18 LTX (600210840), MetaLoc

Testsieger

Metabo Metabo KHA 18 LTX (600210840), MetaLoc
8.7/10about £170.05
View offer

Open the carton list

Both cordless rows are bodies. The KH 18 title says there is no battery and no charger, and the scope lists a metaBOX 165 L, a depth guide and a side handle. Metabo lists 600210840 as body only plus a MetaLoc. One review says that box arrived without a battery, a charger or bits. The KHE 3251 item type names a Metabo Quick chuck in a metaBOX 165 L. Order 601713840 is not the Q model. The KHEV scope is the hammer and a plastic case. £170.05 is not a finished kit.

Ignore the cells that fight the title

The KH 18 row lists a 10 mm chuck and two speeds, 1280 rpm and 4750 rpm. Treat the 10 mm cell as a conflict. The holder is SDS-plus, and Metabo's concrete figure is 24 mm. The KHA row lists a 24 mm chuck, 18 A and 460 W. Those cells are not the shank. The KHEV title says 5 kg. The item weight is 8.3 kg, which matches Metabo, so the buying figures stay 8.7 J, SDS-max and 8.3 kg. The KHE listing gives metal as 32 mm. Metabo states 13 mm in steel, so drop that cell.

Where this leaves the choice

This guide stops before a single crown. If you want one listing per job, go to the best Metabo SDS drill page. Declared hammer-drilling values sit above the 2.5 m/s² A(8) action value in the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, and the limit is 5 m/s² A(8). HSE sheet CN3 still applies to masonry dust indoors. Do not paste a three-year booklet offer onto an ASIN that does not state it.

Common questions

What should I check before the model name?
Check the holder, then whether the carton is a body or a mains hammer, then the joules Metabo prints if Amazon leaves that cell blank. KHE32 on the title and KHE 3251 on the item type is the clash you catch only if you read past the heading.
Do the £170.05 and £209.99 prices include a battery?
No. £170.05 is the KHA 18 LTX and £209.99 is the KH 18 LTX BL 24. The KH 18 title says there is no battery and no charger. The KHA included-components line does not list either, and one review says none arrived. Add a pack the paperwork allows before you treat either price as a working drill.
Which of the four listings states three modes?
The KH 18 bullets state hammer drilling, drilling and chiselling. The KHE32 title uses three-mode wording, with hammer stop, rotation stop and reverse, and no impact on cylindrical shanks. The KHEV bullets state hammer drilling and chiselling. The KHA bullets state the S-automatic clutch and do not state a mode list.
Is the KHE32 title the same tool as the KHE 3251?
On this listing the title says KHE32 240 V and the item type says KHE 3251, order 600659000, with a Metabo Quick chuck in a metaBOX 165 L. The only UK review says the drill came with a European plug, which does not fit a BS 1363 socket. One review is one carton.
When is SDS-max the wrong system for fixings?
SDS-max is the wrong system when the holes are fixing-sized and the bits you own are SDS-plus. In this set that is the KHA, the KH 18 and the KHE 3251 listing, at 24 mm, 24 mm and 32 mm in concrete. The KHEV is the only SDS-max tool here, at 8.7 J, about 40 mm and 8.3 kg.

Related pages

Metabo SDS-plus vs SDS-max

Metabo cordless vs corded SDS

Metabo SDS drill

Best Metabo SDS drill for the job you actually have

How to use a Metabo SDS drill before the first hole

Sources

Public UK sources listed below, last checked on 22 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures for these four listings.

  1. Metabo UK, cordless hammers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. KH 18 LTX BL 24 sheet, 601713840 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Metabo UK SDS booklet (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Metabo, KHE 3251, 600659000 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Metabo, KHEV 5-40 BL, 600765500 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. HSE, hand-arm vibration regulations (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. HSE, assessing hand-arm vibration risk (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. HSE, construction dust sheet CN3 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  9. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)