Makita vs dewalt vs Milwaukee -- any thoughts?

mitchtr25068 · Sep 4, 2013

I'm in the market for a cordless 18v or 20v set of cordless tools. Will use them for a mix of home carpentry, auto repair and general repair/renovation. Any opinions on which of these three are the best, and why? Up Until now I've had a mixture of black and decker, craftsman and generally lower-priced stuff that just didn't feel close to the dewalt cordless devices I used when my contractor was here, and rather than having four or five different chargers lining a shelf I'm thinking its time to treat myself, but I get completely confused when I go online, to HD or to Lowes on which of those brands really offer the best battery life, power, etc. enough said, and thanks in advance for any opinions on the above and where to buy to get the best value.

Filson · Sep 4, 2013

Re: Makita vs dewalt vs Milwaukee -- any thots?

Makita 18v lithium ion gets my vote. Dewalt took a dive in quality in recent years though it sounds like its coming back, Milwaukee didn't seem to hold up as long in a previous job, all three are pretty good, but Makitas new 750 lb torque drill driver gets my vote. Can get the two piece kit with it and the impact that's insanely light, compact and powerful for around $280-300.

zer0cell · Sep 4, 2013

Re: Makita vs dewalt vs Milwaukee -- any thots?

I am a fan of the new Milwaukee brushless 18v hammer drill... I have not tried their other newer cordless tools. Its 5 year warranty beats the others you mentioned and its quite powerful.

kunkernator · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee has the most fullest lineup out the right now. From pro-pex tools, to impact wrenches, to rotary hammers, they have ANY tool. Milwaukee just came out with a brushless 1/2" impact (which i am very excited about). My vote goes to Milwaukee, because i feel like they are always expanding their tool lineup, improving batteries while keeping them backwards compatible, and at a fair price point. I love my Milwaukee cordless tools.

softailgarage · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee, no question.

Mazdaratti3 · Sep 4, 2013

softailgarage said:
Milwaukee, no question.

Second that!

nine4gmc · Sep 4, 2013

softailgarage said:
Milwaukee, no question.

Mazdaratti3 said:
Second that!

3rd that

willhollin · Sep 4, 2013

What's the charge time on the Milwaukee 18v batteries?

chris6278 · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee all the way!

firebox40dash5 · Sep 4, 2013

willhollin said:
What's the charge time on the Milwaukee 18v batteries?

I think it's close to an hour on a fully discharged 4.0 pack... but they last forfreakingever. Shop use with my 3/8 Fuel impact, I don't think I've had to swap 2 batteries in one day yet.

zer0cell · Sep 4, 2013

I suppose if you were building a large house and driving thousands of screws into the subfloor, you might need to recharge the 2 batteries it came with but yeah, I don't recall ever completely draining 2 batteries in one day of their charge. Well, not on the milwaukee 18v drill anyway...

Just an FYI, I sometimes use the drill setting on my 18v milwaukee hammer drill to mix up some thinset mortar in a 5 gallon bucket using a mixer. I often have it running on number 2 speed. I have tried this with a mid level 18v hitachi drill and it bogged down really fast and the battery was totally trained in less than a minute. This is an intensive task for a drill but the milwaukee showed no sign of letting up any time I used it for this purpose.

Sure, a dedicated corded drill might be best suited for this purpose, but when you don't have one or you are trying to have an "all in one" type of drill, the milwaukee is the way to go.

LonewolfZ · Sep 4, 2013

I'll be the odd duck here.

I have always used Dewalt 18v. I have never had any quality issues and they have always held up well. My brother uses the 20v and loves them as well.

For the price I think that the Dewalt 18v would be great for what you are talking about.
Drill, Driver, Reciprocating Saw and Flashlight runs at about $199 once in a while. While not being the newest technology, I think this gives alot of bang for the buck for the average consumer.

You always have the ability to add pieces such as the circular saw, jigsaw and other 18v tools pretty easily and cheaply.

rr361 · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee - I'll 5th or 6th that.

I've got a 2~3 year old M18 drill and driver. Absolutely love these things. Came from Northern on some special. Battery recharge is 45 minutes max and they do seem to last a very long time. I built a wheelchair ramp for my MIL - Went back later and installed 125 spindles with 4 screws each using the driver and the battery still had charge. 500 2.5" Deckmate screws on one charge seems good to me.

kngelv · Sep 4, 2013

DeWalt 20V gets my vote.

James

mrpowderkeg · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee for me, I have a bunch of the M18 stuff. They had two sized battery packs, I only have the large ones.

zer0cell · Sep 4, 2013

Yes I would recommend getting the larger battery packs. Personally I would not buy the standard milwaukee 18v drill though - go for the hammer drill. Not only does it have the hammer function but its other features are more powerful and includes the bigger battery packs. Its worth the extra money. The standard 18v did not have enough power for my usage when i tried it before.

Ign · Sep 4, 2013

I think the M18 XC packs are 75 minutes charge. That kinda surprised me.

But the thread should be titled Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge - any thoughts?

jsonic6 · Sep 4, 2013

Out of those 3, Milwaukee for sure, but Ridgid X4's have been quite good to me. Very affordable and good quality. Ridgid's Lifetime replacement battery warranty was pretty much what sold me.

cburnscrx · Sep 4, 2013

LonewolfZ said:
I'll be the odd duck here.

I have always used Dewalt 18v. I have never had any quality issues and they have always held up well. My brother uses the 20v and loves them as well.

For the price I think that the Dewalt 18v would be great for what you are talking about.
Drill, Driver, Reciprocating Saw and Flashlight runs at about $199 once in a while. While not being the newest technology, I think this gives alot of bang for the buck for the average consumer.

You always have the ability to add pieces such as the circular saw, jigsaw and other 18v tools pretty easily and cheaply.

As somebody who has the DeWalt 18v cordless tools, I'll vote for them as well. The biggest thing is easily accessable add on's. I have the hammer drill, impact gun, drill, jig saw, recip saw, and until it was stolen, the circular saw. You can use the old nicad batteries OR the lith-ion batteries as well. Don't know if you Craigslist much, but if you do, there's no other choice than DeWalt for availability. You can pick up those add on's almost any day of the week for a significant discount. The only tool I bought new was the drill, and that was after I purchased everything else I listed. I picked it up for $99, and that had the drill, 2 batteries, and a charger. I have less than $400 into my setup, and that's at least 4 chargers and 6 or more batteries...I have enough of both I don't count them anymore.

Monte · Sep 4, 2013

check out Metabo they have 5.2 AH battery packs

mitchtr25068 · Sep 4, 2013

It sounds like milwaukee wins the vote. thanks to all for your input. now i've to shop for the best deal on milwaukee. any thots there

64Trvlr · Sep 4, 2013

Milwaukee 18V hands down.

ez-duzit · Sep 4, 2013

None of the cordless tools holds a candle to the corded Milwaukee tools. Unless you have a specific reason for cordless, buy the heavy duty tools.

mikedprince · Sep 4, 2013

I am loving the little Milwaukee M12 stuff. I think I have eight of those and for homeowner use you can't beat it. It is light and gets the job done.

scw1991 · Sep 4, 2013

My Bosch model 18636-03 36v 1/2" hammer drill/driver has held up very well the past 2 years and the batteries last a very long time. Picked it up for $275 off of Amazon and just looked up the price.....holy **** have these suckers gotten expensive.

BlindViper · Sep 4, 2013

kunkernator said:
Milwaukee has the most fullest lineup out the right now. From pro-pex tools, to impact wrenches, to rotary hammers, they have ANY tool. Milwaukee just came out with a brushless 1/2" impact (which i am very excited about). My vote goes to Milwaukee, because i feel like they are always expanding their tool lineup, improving batteries while keeping them backwards compatible, and at a fair price point. I love my Milwaukee cordless tools.

The m18 line has 40 tools the makita lxt has 65. Aside from the pex tools makita for options has milwaukee beat.

Makita vs dewalt vs Milwaukee -- any thoughts?

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