Anyone still rocking a brushed impact driver?

[seber]

I have both brushed and brushelss M18 drivers and drills. I use them interchangeably. If there is a difference it is too minor to notice.

 

[RPH]

Ingersoll rand, 1/2” and still corded. It’s a 40 year old beast.

 

[KnurledNut]

It still saddens me the first gen A123-made Dewalt 18v Nano LI batteries were short lived.
They were amazing quality and a game changer for those older tools.

 

[subroc]

I have a lot or brushed tools in dewalt 18v that I use with battery adapters as well as some 20v that are still working just fine. I also have a couple/few m12 brushed tools. If you buy a good tools 10-12-15 years ago and something better comes along does that mean older tools aren't up to the task? Certainly guys are still using old brushed tools.

Anyway, in answer to the ops question, when I bought my dewalt 14.4 (certainly was more than 20 years ago, maybe 25 years) and couple 18v drills after that as well as my first 18v kit including a drill, reciprocating saw and circular saw in 2011. It did not include an impact driver. My first impact was part of a 20v brushless hammer drill/impact driver kit that included dcd995 and dcf886. In those 20+ years I got in the habit of using drills and the drill clutch to drive screws. So, as a DIY guy, I have a brushless impact driver and a brushed m12. They get very little use.

 

[snod83]

I have some 19.2v Craftsman 3/8 & 1/2 still cranking after 12 years.

Same here - still going after 16 years of heavy homeowner use. I have had a couple of drills die through the years, but normally find them at garage sales for $5-10....

 

[HoosierBuddy]

This is a timely thread as I literally threw away my OG Makita 18V Drill Driver last night. I think it was close to 20 years old. It was all scarred up and battered after years of use/abuse. Failure was in the gear set/clutch mechanism. I went online and looked and parts are available to fix it for $35. Instead I went to amazon and ordered a new/refurbished unit for $60.

After reading through this thread, I kind of wish I would have gone for the $89 new/refurbished brushless model. I guess I'll order that one in 2043 when the new one needs replaced.

 

[dnschmidt]

As a tool snob I'm brushless and naturally turn my noise up at the lowly brushed tools used by peons but if you look at professionals on YouTube (Studpack a carpenter for one and Blue Collar Kyle, super body man/panel beater for another) both use brushed cordless tools in a professional setting and seem quite happy with them. Certain high power required applications (like impact wrenches) sort of require brushless to meet the power to form factor requirements we want but something like a drill used mostly to drill out spot welds likely doesn’t.

 

[MushCreek]

As near as I can read the beat-up spec plate, my driver is a 2650-20.

 

[Boilerhouse]

I still have the 18V Dewalt set from circa 2005, and everything is still in use, although I use three items, by far, the most; the drill, the impact driver, and the flashlight. The drill and flashlight are used almost daily, and certainly weekly. I also have the radio that I still use, but that's more like an appliance than a tool.

I also had a 14.4 B&D drill but recently recycled it, and incredibly, given that it was such a cheap tool, I used the two original batteries for almost 15 years.

 

[johninct]

Why are older tools, say brushed and/ or Ni-Cad looked down upon if they still work fine and do the job just fine?

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Why are older tools, say brushed and/ or Ni-Cad looked down upon if they still work fine and do the job just fine?

Brushed:
20% less output, 20% less battery life, larger, heavier while being subject to wear and FOD.

NiCd:
Add state of charge fade, memory effect, and 50% less charge cycles before they are trash.

All this assuming the old tool is in factory new perfect condition.

 

[toolenthusiast]

I’ve got a B&D 20V brushed 1/4” impact driver that’s right around 9 years old. I believe it was $59 at Walmart with the battery and charger. I’m still on the original battery. It’s never been extremely powerful. I’ve been looking for a large P-C battery so I can hopefully keep it going for another decade.

5+ years ago I bought a $99 M12 brushed drill/driver kit at Home Depot. It’s still going strong, also with the original batteries.

 

[zendriver]

Why are older tools, say brushed and/ or Ni-Cad looked down upon if they still work fine and do the job just fine?

I'm fine with brushed but like a Lion battery much better.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Tom Lipton showed off his Makita LXDT04 on his YouTube channel the other day.

I have the same model, but I replaced the 1/4 hex drive with a 3/8 square a few years ago. Works great with my Astro nano sockets.

 

[ecotec]

My 12 volt is brushed, my 18 volt is brushless.

 

[Cruzan80]

I still have a bunch of the Craftsman Nextec stuff, and the Porter Cable stuff I have is also brushed. No real need to upgrade for my useage. For the big guns, I have corded/air (angle grinder, 1/2" impact, etc). Doing just fine for what I need, grab an extra battery or two to compensate if needed.

 

[dnschmidt]

I think the question was worded incorrectly. Nobody is going to throw away a perfectly useable tool that they already own that does what they need it to do. Perhaps a better question would have been: "If you are buying a new tool are you going to spend the additional money for brushless tools or go cheaper with a brushed tool."

 

[ecotec]

I think the question was worded incorrectly. Nobody is going to throw away a perfectly useable tool that they already own that does what they need it to do. Perhaps a better question would have been: "If you are buying a new tool are you going to spend the additional money for brushless tools or go cheaper with a brushed tool."

I buy brushless now. They are better… they just are.

I have not upgraded my m12 brushed impact driver or my m12 regular length ratchets.

If I did not already have them, I would buy brushless… but I do not believe that I would upgrade the ones I already have.

I use the m12 impact driver a lot. The collet on my m18 impact driver is messed up, and I have put off getting it fixed. The m12 does everything I need it to do.

 

[subroc]

I think the question was worded incorrectly. Nobody is going to throw away a perfectly useable tool that they already own that does what they need it to do. Perhaps a better question would have been: "If you are buying a new tool are you going to spend the additional money for brushless tools or go cheaper with a brushed tool."

Certainly, that is a good question, but it is a different question than what the op asked entirely. I was faced with that question a couple/few times recently.

 

[dchawk81]

My next one will most likely be the latest Milwaukee just because I don't want to add yet another battery/charger system.

I do the cheap ones for now because they were screaming deals.

 

[KnurledNut]

I think the question was worded incorrectly. Nobody is going to throw away a perfectly useable tool that they already own that does what they need it to do. Perhaps a better question would have been: "If you are buying a new tool are you going to spend the additional money for brushless tools or go cheaper with a brushed tool."

Thats not what I wanted to know.
Thanks to the guys that didnt overthink this.

 

[finn]

It still saddens me the first gen A123-made Dewalt 18v Nano LI batteries were short lived.
They were amazing quality and a game changer for those older tools.

Home Depot, I think, had the adapter, two 20v batteries, and a charger really cheap a couple of days ago.

I paid something like $45 for the adapter alone a few years ago. It was effectively free in this latest deal.

Might want to look into that.

 

[KnurledNut]

Home Depot, I think, had the adapter, two 20v batteries, and a charger really cheap a couple of days ago.

I paid something like $45 for the adapter alone a few years ago. It was effectively free in this latest deal.

Might want to look into that.

Thanks for mentioning.
In addition to some old batteries still kicking, I actually have several adaptors so I can use my 20v Dewalt or 18v Makita, etc.

I still use several older Dewalt tools: a vacuum, rotary laser, pistol-grip hammer-drill, (a favorite style that seems to only be screw-shooters now), lights.

 

[Al Borland]

Ryobi hex impact driver, got it a year or two ago. Bare tool, silly cheap, works with my existing batteries. local HD was clearing out leftovers after a promotional sale. Paid for it with a gift card from work. Brushed. Works good for running screws and small bolts in and out.

 

[setfocus]

I've got the old makita 12v (M12 style batt) impact driver and drill, and an old snapon 14.4v nicad batt 3/8 impact (ct4410), all brushed.

They all still work great but I upgraded at work to M12 brushless tools since the nicad batts for the snapon impact were going bad and I wanted higher capacity batts for the makitas, which were never made. Both are dead platforms. And now I'm down to just one batt platform at work.

Took the old tools home, I've considered rebuilding the batts for the snapon but it really only gets used a few times a year. I don't really do any wrenching at home since I don't have a usable garage or even driveway space

 

[rct]

I'm still using brushed Milwaukee M18 drill, impact driver and 1/2 inch impact wrench that are all at least 5-6 years old. Working great for home use. Snow tire switchover, minor wood projects, built a pool deck. No issues. If one dies I'll replace it with fuel models, but no reason yet. Brushless were out when I got them, but at a 1/3 the price on sale at the time the brushed ones have been good to me.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

My most used, a 885 driver and 780 drill Ive had since about 2012.

I saw the conversation about why buy new brushless if the old brush tools work? And that's a fair practical view and one that I've held. That being said, I'll be getting a new set for Christmas '23, likely a Dewalt Atomic set for the smaller size. The old set won't collect dust, I'll just ne able to keep sets in multiple outbuildings.

 

[dchawk81]

I would like to retract my previous statements.

Rocking implies holsters and blowing across the barrel when finished.

 

[dchawk81]

My most used, a 885 driver and 780 drill Ive had since about 2012.

I saw the conversation about why buy new brushless if the old brush tools work? And that's a fair practical view and one that I've held. That being said, I'll be getting a new set for Christmas '23, likely a Dewalt Atomic set for the smaller size. The old set won't collect dust, I'll just ne able to keep sets in multiple outbuildings.

You know you'd pick up a lot more internet men if your screen name was Girlwithoutbuildings. It's almost like a dowry.

 

[Sumboodie]

I have some 19.2v Craftsman 3/8 & 1/2 still cranking after 12 years.

That was the first cordless set I bought about 20 years ago.

 

[Monte]