Best new electric ratchet....DeWalt 12v

[Xcursion88]

DeWalt new 12v electric ratchet hits a grand slam IMO.
They seemed to be lying back watching the other electric ratchets and made IMO the perfect one...

Tons of power

Light stays on 30 seconds after trigger release (ridiculously helpful)

Parallel battery keeps it streamlined

Safety switch to prevent inadvertent trigger bumping that smashes your hands (you know exactly what I speak of)
The switch doesn't need released for every use. It's an all the time on or off switch and you control that.

3/8" and 1/4" available at present



DCF503 is the model pictured

 

[dacan23]

Sounds like your a Dewalt salesman. Its far from perfect, they made Milwaukee's Fuel ratchet mistake from 4 years ago and went with power over speed. Perfect would be not making the mistake a competitor made 4 years ago. Plus its way to big, almost as large as the Milwaukee extended, what's the Dewalt extended going to be cheater bar size. The Milwaukee high speed 3/8 is perfect, not this Dewalt.

 

[johninct]

How does it compare to Snap-On?

 

[PelicanPines]

Kinda looks like it could be an extended breaker bar in disguise.

I prefer the OLD style Milwaukee M12 ratchets... tiny head... nice power... nice speed... battery lasts for the day, just about.

 

[j3rf]

Dewalt is pretty far down on the rung when comparing cordless ratchets. I even prefer the Mac version as the batteries allow the ratchet to stand up rather than the awkward attachment point Dewalt chose to go with. Milwaukee/Snap on higher RPM ratchets are significantly more useful as well in my use case.

 

[kbeefy]

I'm going to get one of the extended ones.
I have the MAC one in 1/4" and it's pretty handy but the battery gets in the way.

18" for the extended doesn't seem excesive...

 

[GeoBruin]

Dewalt is pretty far down on the rung when comparing cordless ratchets. I even prefer the Mac version as the batteries allow the ratchet to stand up rather than the awkward attachment point Dewalt chose to go with. Milwaukee/Snap on higher RPM ratchets are significantly more useful as well in my use case.

Man you guys are being pretty tough on a ratchet that has been on the market for all of a week or so. The OP's review might have been a little over the top but at least he appears to have actually used one.

 

[WWheeler]

I've got the extended one on pre-order, but it's been delayed until July they are now telling me. I already have three Milwaukees. The original 'small-head' in 1/4 and 3/8 and a 3/8 high speed, and was going to get a Milwaukee extended too, but when I saw these come out I wanted to give Dewalt a go. i might just get me one of these shorter Dewalts too TBH. I'm already invested in both battery platforms so all the team red or team yellow cheerleading or bashing BS doesn't matter to me either way.

 

[Snapped-off]

Looks pretty similar to Makitas ratchet.

 

[WWheeler]

I prefer the OLD style Milwaukee M12 ratchets... tiny head... nice power... nice speed... battery lasts for the day, just about.

Yeah I luv'em BUT the heads do wear out a lot sooner than I think they should. They start slipping and the selector gets hard to impossible to move. I've had to replace the guts in both of my 3/8 and 1/4 already and have resorted to having bought extra replacements for if/when they start slipping next time, which I know they will.

 

[j3rf]

Man you guys are being pretty tough on a ratchet that has been on the market for all of a week or so. The OP's review might have been a little over the top but at least he appears to have actually used one.

I mean I guess it beats the Harbor Freight and other lesser brands. I do also like the paddle switch over the Milwaukee. That better?

 

[PelicanPines]

Yeah I luv'em BUT the heads do wear out a lot sooner than I think they should. They start slipping and the selector gets hard to impossible to move. I've had to replace the guts in both of my 3/8 and 1/4 already and have resorted to having bought extra replacements for if/when they start slipping next time, which I know they will.

Good to know... I had issues with the selector switch almost locking... took it apart and cleaned a burr on a tooth... no clue if I did the burr in use or it came that way.

 

[xjfish]

A couple guys at work have the 3/8" Dewalt and like it a lot. "Its fast" & "won't bash your hand" I'm holding out for now.

 

[WWheeler]

Good to know... I had issues with the selector switch almost locking... took it apart and cleaned a burr on a tooth... no clue if I did the burr in use or it came that way.

Yeah I was able to take'em apart to inspect and lubed them up with superlube and got a little more life out of them before they became hopeless. I'm sure as often as I use them to break and tighten by hand, which Milwaukee expressly says don't do, plays no small part in why they get worn out, but it's a tool and I got stuff to do. Swapping it out to repair it is easy enough.

42-06-1030 - Milwaukee 3/8" 2457-20 M12 Ratchet Head Anvil Service Kit
42-06-2556 - Milwaukee 1/4" 2556-20 M12 Ratchet Head Anvil Service Kit

That TTC video they were yanking over 200 ft lbs on the Dewalt and the Milwaukees they tested. I use them to break and tighten stuff but NEVER pull that hard on them. If I need to pull half that hard I'll drag my *** back to the box and get a proper wrench or ratchet. These little-head Milwaukees just don't take all that much type abuse I figure is all. I'm hoping the Dewalt when it gets here is more reliable in that respect.

 

[Xcursion88]

Sounds like your a Dewalt salesman. Its far from perfect, they made Milwaukee's Fuel ratchet mistake from 4 years ago and went with power over speed. Perfect would be not making the mistake a competitor made 4 years ago. Plus its way to big, almost as large as the Milwaukee extended, what's the Dewalt extended going to be cheater bar size. The Milwaukee high speed 3/8 is perfect, not this Dewalt.

Have you actually used this ratchet?

 

[Xcursion88]

How does it compare to Snap-On?

We have those at the shop and the DeWalt is more powerful and faster.

The SO is more powerful than the Mac electric ratchets

 

[Torque Test Channel]

The performance of the DeWalt ratchet is in a nice sweet spot. I'm finding plenty of scenario's the M12 high speed isn't powerful enough just threading stuff that looks ugly, but the previous gen M12 is too dang slow. The DeWalt 12V is faster than the old M12 and more powerful than the M12 high-speed, I just wish it was a bit faster most the time.
Sorta wish it was like 50ft-lbs and 320-350 RPM or so. I feel that would be perfection.
Also its inline battery while not criminal in design is sort of awkward. Would have preferred the Mac style flat bottom battery in 12V.

 

[Xcursion88]

We'll see just how well it holds up.

Time is money and the torque of the DeWalt is great. The extra torque of the DeWalt means less manual swing time. It's faster than pretty much all others without sacrificing any torque.

We'll see how tough it is after a few months of hard daily use.

 

[Xcursion88]

Also its inline battery while not criminal in design is sort of awkward. Would have preferred the Mac style flat bottom battery in 12V.

We thought that at first but after using it two weeks we noticed that little bit of battery stick out like on the Mac is gone. The parallel battery is ultimately a better design especially in tight spaces. If you must stand your tool up then this setup won't work for you. If you're working in the tightest of spaces the parallel battery is a blessing

 

[dacan23]

Have you actually used this ratchet?

The Dewalt? No, seen that video posted above where the Milwaukee HS 3/8 beats it. I have every Milwaukee ratchet except one version. Seriously Dewalts poor research that they didn't know users prefer speed over power makes it a joke. They could of at least gotten config right considering the size is the biggest drawback.

 

[dacan23]

Man you guys are being pretty tough on a ratchet that has been on the market for all of a week or so. The OP's review might have been a little over the top but at least he appears to have actually used one.

Sounded like a paid influencer to me.

 

[GeoBruin]

Sounded like a paid influencer to me.

I 100% agree with you and I'm usually the first one to report these kinds of posts but in this case, the OP appears to actually be a long-time contributor to the forum so unless being deceived, I just chalk it up to extreme enthusiasm.

 

[WWheeler]

Sounded like a paid influencer to me.

That's what I keep thinking about your posts

 

[iamrfixit]

Seems to work well, haven't used it a ton yet but I'm more than happy with it so far. I've had the extended version ordered since Feb but picked up the standard length 3/8 last week since it was in stock. They also had a 20v on the shelf, but I wasn't into it due to the larger size. I already have several 12v batteries anyway and I don't own a single compact 20v, only full sized packs. Be almost unusable with one of my 5.0 batteries on it.

This is the Mac version now, other than the color. The old style was discontinued months ago. I'd think the battery would be a lot more in the way if it were perpendicular to the tool, especially with the 20v. As it is now on the 12v anyway it just creates a little longer tool.

 

[subroc]

I have Dewalt tools. Lots of them. Counting lights and corded sanders, saws and routers there are 30+ tools here. I have several old brushed 18v tools that I use with adapters and 20v batteries as well as a couple aftermarket 18v batteries. I have a bunch of 20v tools. I even have a 60v circular saw. I like Dewalt tools...a lot. That said, when it came time to decide on a ratchet, I picked the Milwaukee high speed. I love the inside the handle battery. I didn't have any 12v tools so if I was getting into a new platform anyway, I could look at everything. IF I already had Dewalt 12v, I would have just bought the Dewalt. I am happy with my choice. Good luck with yours.

 

[Xcursion88]

The Dewalt? No, seen that video posted above where the Milwaukee HS 3/8 beats it. I have every Milwaukee ratchet except one version. Seriously Dewalts poor research that they didn't know users prefer speed over power makes it a joke. They could of at least gotten config right considering the size is the biggest drawback.

Beats it at what?
The bigger (than DeWalt) Milwaukee is less powerful and slower than the DeWalt.

The smaller Milwaukee is quicker but has very little power.

To each their own. We have pretty much all mfg's at the shop (minus Harbor Freight stuff and I've honestly zero experience with the Makita) so my experience with electric ratchets is pretty vast.

As I said in the original post IMO this ratchet is about perfect. Great power, good enough speed and the other features.

Everyone attacks repairs differently but you seem stuck on speed and time is money for my shop...that being said if I can fit a compact gun with swivel sockets on I'm using that as it's faster than any ratchet.

If I can't fit that I want something that can give me decent power as often times those areas don't allow room to swing and if any it's only a few degrees. If I can get the ratchet head on and break away the fastener and sometimes there's no room to swing it's a win.

To me this is the best electric ratchet yet. Powerful, plenty fast, etc...

We'll see how well it holds up. My experience with it over a couple weeks is it's a well built tool. Certainly feels stout.

We shall see

 

[Xcursion88]

Seems to work well, haven't used it a ton yet but I'm more than happy with it so far. I've had the extended version ordered since Feb but picked up the standard length 3/8 last week since it was in stock. They also had a 20v on the shelf, but I wasn't into it due to the larger size. I already have several 12v batteries anyway and I don't own a single compact 20v, only full sized packs. Be almost unusable with one of my 5.0 batteries on it.

This is the Mac version now, other than the color. The old style was discontinued months ago. I'd think the battery would be a lot more in the way if it were perpendicular to the tool, especially with the 20v. As it is now on the 12v anyway it just creates a little longer tool.

20 volt electric ratchet? Who makes it?

And the vew DeWalt is not a Mac just different color. It's DeWalt but soon will probably render the Mac ratchet useless.

Perhaps I'm not understanding your post?

 

[kbeefy]

I have the Mac, and the dewalt is not the same.

I think the battery being perpendicular (on the mac) is one of the worst parts of the design. It often forces you to use an extension, which negates the usefulness of the ratchet. I would gladly trade not being able to stand it up on the base (battery) for some extra clearance.
It looks like the new dewalt partially addresses this. The handle isn't as compact as the big red M, but it works with the batteries I already have. Maybe there are other differences? I don't have either so someone else will have to answer that question.

You guys bitching about other manufactuers is silly. Appreciate your tools or replace them. Jeesh.

 

[WWheeler]

Uh oh, today a bumblebee snuck in my Milwaukee cordless drawer ...



Dewalt DCF503. Took her for little spin today and first thoughts are that as previously reported it's more powerful breaking stuff free and tightening than any of my Milwaukees, which I believe is going to save me time overall, especially on not-so-pristine threads, but it's not anywhere near as fast as the Milwaukee high speed when the threads are decent. When you just pull the trigger on both at the same time empty of a fastener the speed difference between them is plainly evident as is the fact that the trigger on the Dewalt is a lot more comfortable to use.

Also, the Milwaukee high speed and even the old-school small-head Milwaukees seem to have more of a wrist-jerk than the Dewalt does when it hits it's max torque tightening, and it is MUCH easier to change the selector on the Dewalt than any of the Milwaukees which can be a real PITA and sockets are a lot easier to put on and get off. All of the Milwaukees are prone to fight me to the point of having to break out the pocket screwdriver, especially on smaller sockets like a 10mm, but pulling a 10mm on and off of the Dewalt was no prob at all.

It's too soon for me to say which will be my go-to more often than the others. There's things I like better about each in different situations. Only time will tell if I develop a favorite. Just as I have been doing, I like to set up my cart before starting a job with a socket already on each ratchet rather than have to keep swapping them back and forth if I can avoid it. A lot of jobs especially if I've done them before I know exactly what sockets and extensions and such I'll need and having multiple ratchets (cordless & manual) already ready to go saves me a lot of time I otherwise would spend fishing around for the socket I just used.

 

[GeoBruin]

Uh oh, today a bumblebee snuck in my Milwaukee cordless drawer ...



Dewalt DCF503. Took her for little spin today and first thoughts are that as previously reported it's more powerful breaking stuff free and tightening than any of my Milwaukees, which I believe is going to save me time overall, especially on not-so-pristine threads, but it's not anywhere near as fast as the Milwaukee high speed when the threads are decent. When you just pull the trigger on both at the same time empty of a fastener the speed difference between them is plainly evident as is the fact that the trigger on the Dewalt is a lot more comfortable to use.

Also, the Milwaukee high speed and even the old-school small-head Milwaukees seem to have more of a wrist-jerk than the Dewalt does when it hits it's max torque tightening, and it is MUCH easier to change the selector on the Dewalt than any of the Milwaukees which can be a real PITA and sockets are a lot easier to put on and get off. All of the Milwaukees are prone to fight me to the point of having to break out the pocket screwdriver, especially on smaller sockets like a 10mm, but pulling a 10mm on and off of the Dewalt was no prob at all.

It's too soon for me to say which will be my go-to more often than the others. There's things I like better about each in different situations. Only time will tell if I develop a favorite. Just as I have been doing, I like to set up my cart before starting a job with a socket already on each ratchet rather than have to keep swapping them back and forth if I can avoid it. A lot of jobs especially if I've done them before I know exactly what sockets and extensions and such I'll need and having multiple ratchets (cordless & manual) already ready to go saves me a lot of time I otherwise would spend fishing around for the socket I just used.

Hehehe...

 

[Mgdoug3]

I bought the Milwaukee M18 compact and a week later Dewalt comes out with their more powerful version. A week after I bought my M12 ratchet I saw Torque Channel release a video on Dewalt's new ratchet compared to Milwaukee. Every time I buy a new Milwaukee, Dewalt comes out with a new product a week later.

 

[iamrfixit]

20 volt electric ratchet? Who makes it?

And the vew DeWalt is not a Mac just different color. It's DeWalt but soon will probably render the Mac ratchet useless.

Perhaps I'm not understanding your post?

Dewalt makes a 20v ratchet as well as the 12v. Dewalt also builds a 20v version under the Craftsman brand, since both are owned by Stanley B&D.

No, the old Mac ratchet is not the same. But, Mac tools is owned by Stanley Black and Decker, just like Dewalt and Craftsman. The Mac ratchet with the perpendicular battery had been unavailable for months, maybe that's changed. Their cordless impacts are all basically identical to Dewalt, except for the color. Pretty likely assumption that the ratchet will follow. I saw a video a while ago that said that same thing, can't find it now. It was a guy that run a mac tool truck saying this.

 

[jpaw]

I'm not sure why other manufacturers don't adopt the smaller battery form of the Milwaukee's.
I was never completely sold on the Milwaukee and was excited to see the Makita. The 800 rpm was awesome but could not get past the battery design. The DeWalt appears to be about the same.
I settled for the 1/4" Milwaukee fuel a couple years ago but am still interested in trying the Makita for the speed. The Milwaukee is mind numbingly slow.

 

[WWheeler]

I'm not sure why other manufacturers don't adopt the smaller battery form of the Milwaukee's.
I was never completely sold on the Milwaukee and was excited to see the Makita but could not get past the battery design. The DeWalt appears to be about the same.
Had the DeWalt been available when I finally sprang for the Milwaukee I may have been swayed to go yellow despite the battery.

IMHO the size really isn't all that different. It's more that it's a different shape. The Dewalt 12V battery is teeny tiny compared to their 20V Max line. They obviously kept the same shape so that their 12V van be charged on the same charger that can charge their 20V Max and their 60V Flex Volt batteries.

Here's a 1.5ah Milwaukee M12 shown with a Dewalt 2ah 12V, a 3ah 20V, a 6ah 20V, and a 9ah 60V battery.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Uh oh, today a bumblebee snuck in my Milwaukee cordless drawer ...



Dewalt DCF503. Took her for little spin today and first thoughts are that as previously reported it's more powerful breaking stuff free and tightening than any of my Milwaukees, which I believe is going to save me time overall, especially on not-so-pristine threads, but it's not anywhere near as fast as the Milwaukee high speed when the threads are decent. When you just pull the trigger on both at the same time empty of a fastener the speed difference between them is plainly evident as is the fact that the trigger on the Dewalt is a lot more comfortable to use.

Also, the Milwaukee high speed and even the old-school small-head Milwaukees seem to have more of a wrist-jerk than the Dewalt does when it hits it's max torque tightening, and it is MUCH easier to change the selector on the Dewalt than any of the Milwaukees which can be a real PITA and sockets are a lot easier to put on and get off. All of the Milwaukees are prone to fight me to the point of having to break out the pocket screwdriver, especially on smaller sockets like a 10mm, but pulling a 10mm on and off of the Dewalt was no prob at all.

It's too soon for me to say which will be my go-to more often than the others. There's things I like better about each in different situations. Only time will tell if I develop a favorite. Just as I have been doing, I like to set up my cart before starting a job with a socket already on each ratchet rather than have to keep swapping them back and forth if I can avoid it. A lot of jobs especially if I've done them before I know exactly what sockets and extensions and such I'll need and having multiple ratchets (cordless & manual) already ready to go saves me a lot of time I otherwise would spend fishing around for the socket I just used.

Is it reactionless or is it a finger pincher?

 

[WWheeler]

Is it reactionless or is it a finger pincher?

It's not reactionless, but, like I wrote above, "the Milwaukee high speed and even the old-school small-head Milwaukees seem to have more of a wrist-jerk than the Dewalt does when it hits it's max torque tightening" even though it has quite a bit more power to break and tighten fasteners than either of them do.

 

[Xcursion88]

Uh oh, today a bumblebee snuck in my Milwaukee cordless drawer ...



Dewalt DCF503. Took her for little spin today and first thoughts are that as previously reported it's more powerful breaking stuff free and tightening than any of my Milwaukees, which I believe is going to save me time overall, especially on not-so-pristine threads, but it's not anywhere near as fast as the Milwaukee high speed when the threads are decent. When you just pull the trigger on both at the same time empty of a fastener the speed difference between them is plainly evident as is the fact that the trigger on the Dewalt is a lot more comfortable to use.

Also, the Milwaukee high speed and even the old-school small-head Milwaukees seem to have more of a wrist-jerk than the Dewalt does when it hits it's max torque tightening, and it is MUCH easier to change the selector on the Dewalt than any of the Milwaukees which can be a real PITA and sockets are a lot easier to put on and get off. All of the Milwaukees are prone to fight me to the point of having to break out the pocket screwdriver, especially on smaller sockets like a 10mm, but pulling a 10mm on and off of the Dewalt was no prob at all.

It's too soon for me to say which will be my go-to more often than the others. There's things I like better about each in different situations. Only time will tell if I develop a favorite. Just as I have been doing, I like to set up my cart before starting a job with a socket already on each ratchet rather than have to keep swapping them back and forth if I can avoid it. A lot of jobs especially if I've done them before I know exactly what sockets and extensions and such I'll need and having multiple ratchets (cordless & manual) already ready to go saves me a lot of time I otherwise would spend fishing around for the socket I just used.

Nice!

That was something I forgot to mention was the backlash, recoil if you will, when it hits the wall.
So many smashed hands when that electric rathchet hits the wall.
The DeWalt doesn't jump as bad as most others I've used. Matter of fact I had an incident today on a Subaru that the DeWalt hit the wall and then I hit it again and it jumped a little bit but my immediate thought was that was a smashed hand ready to happen with the other brands.

Good luck

 

[bamawildcat]

I'm waiting for the 20v model to hit Lowe's. I may have to do an online swap and lose money on my collection of Lowe's gift cards to go pick one up at Home Depot.

 

[finn]

I bought the Milwaukee M18 compact and a week later Dewalt comes out with their more powerful version. A week after I bought my M12 ratchet I saw Torque Channel release a video on Dewalt's new ratchet compared to Milwaukee. Every time I buy a new Milwaukee, Dewalt comes out with a new product a week later.

Same here, but in my case, it was a couple of months.

 

[WWheeler]

The Dewalt? No, seen that video posted above where the Milwaukee HS 3/8 beats it. I have every Milwaukee ratchet except one version. Seriously Dewalts poor research that they didn't know users prefer speed over power makes it a joke. They could of at least gotten config right considering the size is the biggest drawback.

Maybe you ought to watch this bit with your beloved 'high speed' Milwaukee from TTC's next round of testing:

After watching that bit you can't really honestly say "the Milwaukee HS 3/8 beats it" can you? I'm just sayin'

And just to be clear, I have a Milwaukee High Speed myself and it's a good cordlless ratchet, no doubt. But it's not been my 'go-to' compared to my new Dewalt in most real world use. It's size definitely hasn't been a drawback for me so far. The added length is more of a 'feature' imho, and I can't wait for my 'extended' version I have on preorder to get here for the same reason. Longer can get in the way sometimes, yes, but I find that more often it helps reach stuff easier. Best thing is to have some longer and some shorter so you have more options to attack whatever you're dealing with.