Brushless 18(20V) impact driver options

[padronanniversary]

Well, I've been researching the new fad of brushelss impacts and drills. My old 18V dewalts finally gave way, so its time to upgrade.

I have no reservations buying into a new brand, since I am only vested a drill and impact currently that have both died.


That being said, Dewalts offering seems to be the most expensive, with milwaukee next in the line up and makita the cheapest of the three with a combi kit that are both brushless at $300.

Does anyone have input they would like to share ? I scoured the forum and internet for opinions, people swear by the run time, but a brand A to B comparison would be great.

 

[shoturtle]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

The milwaukee has the most power. And allot of guys at the worksites really like how much power they have. Just be a bit careful. Going to a brushless, it takes you by surprise the first time you use it how much umph it has. Was using to drive some screws, it something that lock the screw up, and the sizes of the kickback took me by surprise form a compact impactor.

Have not used the dewalt or the makita. They are geared for a little less power and even longer battery life form what I have heard.

 

[Octarine]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

I love my Makita brushless combo kit. I got it at HD with a deal where I got a free battery.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

I've got the original brushless Makita, and I love it. They kinda ruined the newest one removing the speed/torque settings. I don't use them very often, but when I do, they usually mean the difference between using the gun, or painstakingly tightening by hand so I don't snap or round bolts. I've used it to change tires before, it's got just barely enough power to do the job 90% of the time... still pretty good by my standards. Battery life on it, unless I have to hammer on a bunch of bolts for a while to get them loose, is incredible. I've gone through a work week without charging a big battery on it before.

My Makita batteries have been giving me a hard time lately, so I think I might transition to Milwaukee for my next set. I've checked out the Fuel hammerdrill and impact in stores, and they look pretty impressive.

 

[chris6278]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

Have milwaukees brushless drill and its awesome!

 

[03protege]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

Home Depot had the big Milwaukee kits for over 50% off a few months ago, I'm holding out till that comes around again.

 

[padronanniversary]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

thanks guys, so i'm still up in the air on brand. Today is shopping day

 

[rlitman]

Re: Brusheless 18(20V) impact driver options

The milwaukee has the most power. And allot of guys at the worksites really like how much power they have. Just be a bit careful. Going to a brushless, it takes you by surprise the first time you use it how much umph it has. Was using to drive some screws, it something that lock the screw up, and the sizes of the kickback took me by surprise form a compact impactor.

Have not used the dewalt or the makita. They are geared for a little less power and even longer battery life form what I have heard.

I've got the Milwaukee brushless Fuel drill and impact driver.
I know exactly what you mean. The drill feels like it can rip your arms off, and it is the first cordless that I actually thought the included side handle made sense.

I'm still more used to my 12V impact drivers, so I like that the 18V Milwaukee impact driver has three electronic speed settings to prevent me from doing damage by overusing the trigger. It's got so much power that on the #3 setting, it can still easily get away from me (I figure I'll get used to it eventually).

If you do get both the drill and the impact driver:
The Milwaukee Fuel impact driver will deliver its full power with either set of batteries. The drill will only deliver the maximum torque using the larger batteries. That's why I purchased the drill kit with the large batteries, and finally bought the impact driver as a bare tool when it came out. HD doesn't sell the bare tools yet though (perhaps online . . . ).

 

[3xpendable]

DeWalt 20v owner here. I love both my impact and drill a lot of power great battery time and the lights on the impact are just awesome I use it like a flashlight most of the time. All the tools lights are time delayed so a small tap of the trigger puts lights on for like 30 sec with out holding trigger down. They have little rubber bumpers all over casing so if it falls over it will not scratch drill or what ever it might have fell over on. My impact took a nose dive from the top of a travel trailer not even a mark 12' drop =( . Mine came with 3 1.5 amph battery's the 1.5's charg in 30 min. Drill and impact are as strong with last screw as first. They shut off when battery is too low or drop down to a really low speed. Come with belt clips and bit holder and you can buy more holders if you want two and drop belt clip.

As you can see I am very happy with mine hope this helps


(x)

 

[EmptyWallet]

DeWalt 20v owner here. I love both my impact and drill a lot of power great battery time and the lights on the impact are just awesome I use it like a flashlight most of the time. All the tools lights are time delayed so a small tap of the trigger puts lights on for like 30 sec with out holding trigger down. They have little rubber bumpers all over casing so if it falls over it will not scratch drill or what ever it might have fell over on. My impact took a nose dive from the top of a travel trailer not even a mark 12' drop =( . Mine came with 3 1.5 amph battery's the 1.5's charg in 30 min. Drill and impact are as strong with last screw as first. They shut off when battery is too low or drop down to a really low speed. Come with belt clips and bit holder and you can buy more holders if you want two and drop belt clip.

As you can see I am very happy with mine hope this helps


(x)

I have the 20v brushless Dewalt Impact. The triple LED lights are BOMB. They help so much in dim areas. It's like a flashlight. Three speed settings. I love mine.

I have a question though, I have the 1.5a batteries with fuel gauge...do they make the 3.0a batteries with fuel gauge I can buy on their own?

 

[jpinca]

I have the Dewalt. This is my first impact, so I don't have anything to compare to, but this thing impresses the hell out of me.

I'm using it drill the joists for electrical. It seems to work really well as drill- no twisting your wrist when in a awkward position and it powers a spade as quick or quicker than my drill.

I have the 3.0 batteries that seem to last multiple days of drilling. I've dropped it a couple of times from the ladder with no effects other that scrapes/scratches.

 

[padronanniversary]

Well, I spent some time at ACME today, walked out with the 18V Milwaukee fuel. I wanted to replace my old 12V small stuff too, so I bought the 1.5aH batteries as well. Surprisingly, with the small battery pack, the weight and size are very close. Also picked up the compact driver/drill. Will be ordering the 18V hammerdrill brushless kit next

Thank you all for the info.

What it came down to was:

Makita - alot more plastic, no metal on outside of the impact driver. The rubber fitting was actually falling off when I played with it. They had a battery deal on them. What I did like was the push button to see battery info, and the speed setting. It was a membrane type though for the speed selection.

Dewalt - liked the size and the chuck that is inboard, more of a button type. The thing I did not like was how they implemented the speed selection. Its a slide switch, and it was hard for me to move from 1-2 but easier from 1-3. The new 20V tools were limited in terms of selection. I tried three batteries on it, and 2 of the three were loose. When you would shake it a little, you could feel there was space between the tool and battery. They did have a free battery promotion on it (tempting)

Milwaukee - The speed selection button was a rubber type membrane. Construction felt better than the Makita. Fit was great on the battery. It was the most expensive of the three. What I also found was the case, the case was thick plastic, not the thing dewalt cases that I came use to. Of course it was the most expensive of the bunch.

 

[Trey T]

The highest priority in features is the battery and the least understood feature of all.

Simply put, Milwaukee has the best battery cell (Korean made one) with the best battery circuitry on the market. Where Li-Ion is used, your cell is just as good as the battery management system.

I owned Milwaukee M18 batteries 3 XC and bunch of compact. I have owned Canadian version cells and those don't last as long as the Korean (Samsung) cells.

 

[rockchucker]

These are what I have and have been using for a few months now. Relatively light duty use but every day use nonetheless. I only use them to remove parts for the most part. I always Torque to Spec instead of ramming it home.

They are not brushless but I think they work really well. The lights on the 20v and the 12v are super handy. I never grab a Flashlight anymore if I need to see something. I mostly use the little 12v one and it is light as hell. Battery lasts a long time and is very Ergonomic. Of course I have had DeWalt 14.4v and 18v Screw Guns to build with for General Contracting all of these stay in the Auto Shop. Very handy to say the least.

You can get the weights and specs from DeWalt.

I also have a 12v Laser Thermometer, 12v 9mm Scope and they have worked flawlessly for the few months I have owned them.

http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-instruments-infrared-thermometers-dct414s1.aspx

http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-instruments-inspection-cameras-dct411s1.aspx

 

[acer66]

If you are not set on 18v there is also Festool but that comes with a price.
http://drills.festoolusa.com/cordless-drills/models/ti-impact/

 

[JoeHelms]

I know Hitachi has a brushless 18v as well - WH18DBDL I believe. I haven't used it but I have some friends who love the Hitachi stuff. All their Li-ion tools have lifetime warranty on the tool itself.

I have had my eye on the DeWalt, but I do like Milwaukee stuff in general - they definitely have the best hand-feel in my opinion.