Dewalt 20V Brushless benefit from XR batteries?

[joseywales]

I have a full compliment of any tool I might need in Ryobi. All home use, not a professional.

However, I've been getting sucked in to the Dewalt quicksand, simply with the 20V brushless Impact and drill. They were each $100, with 2 batteries and charger. Better deal than the two tool combo, so I figured I'd try them out. Lowes, BTW.

I loved the feel, both physical, trigger, etc. of the Dealt brushless tools.

On sale was also the 4 pack battery kit: 2- 2AH standard batteries and 2 4AH XR batteries. Physical size, I don't think I want to go any bigger than the 4AH and might actually returned this unopened pack of batteries. I grabbed on. It was $149 and I started thinking, will I even benefit from the 4AH battery?

Lastly, I found the 3AH standard batteries on sale at HD, well, Lowes had them for $79 and HD $99, but I was at HD buying other things and they matched the $78 each price.

So, how well do these two brushless tools work with just the standard 2AH battery?

Do XR batteries really improve brushless, or are they more targeted toward the brushed motor tools?

Maybe the 3AH is my nirvana. The right balance in the tool and doesn't need to be XR, since the tool are brushless?

Or, just return all the freakin batteries and run standard 2AH in these brushless tools?

Thanks

 

[kctyphoon]

Its all about amp hour rating. Think of that as the size of your fuel tank. A 4ah battery will last twice as long as a 2ah.. you will also notice a small bump in power and rpms with each time you progress up in amp hour size. Nothing life changing, but it does exist.

Usually people like the small batteries for size and weight, the bigger for more runtime. With the batteries available these days, 4ah isnt even considered a large battery anymore. But consider this - the old 18v nicad Dewalte were like 1.8 or something, and physically the size of a 4.0 or 5.0 lithium. So your compact 2.0 will give you about as much juice as the old bigger nicads. A 4.0 is like having 2 of them, in the same size as one only nicad.
For normal tools, like a drill, impact, sawzall - theres really no need to go anything bigger than a 4.0, but imo its worth having if youre a project type of person.

If you see yourself expanding in the dewalt line - you might as well keep those batteries you have. That sounds like it was a pretty good deal imo -

 

[Handyandy23]

I'll second what typhoon said - the XR or non-XR, brushless vs brushed, all means nothing in regards to the batteries. It's as simple as more amp hours means more runtime.

For what batteries you need, it really depends on the tools you're going to use. For my drill and impact driver a 2ah gives me quite a bit of runtime.

For my 7 1/4" circular saw, SDS rotary hammer, and mid torque 1/2" impact I use 5ah batteries, and wouldn't recommend going lower than 4ah. Your runtime with those tools on smaller batteries would be pretty low, and some even feel the performance / power of the tool is compromised even with a fully charged lower-ah battery.

You can generally tell how much juice a specific tool takes by looking at what size battery DeWalt sells them with in a kit. If you buy the drill and driver they come with 1.5ah or 2ah batteries in a kit. The bigger tools come with 4 or 5ah batteries in kits.

Personally I like having a mix of smaller and bigger batteries, but that's also across a wide range of tools. Think about what you want in the future for tools and base your battery purchases off those goals.

 

[sk farmer]

i have a whole lineup of 20v max tools brushed, brushless, large, small you name it,grinder, drills and hammer-drills (brushless and brushed) impact drivers (brushless and brushed) saws, vacuum, lights, etc.

i have 2ah up to 5 ah batteries. the tools all seem to run pretty much the same no matter what. i have no issue running whatever battery is handy and actually prefer the smaller profile 2ah batteries for most jobs. the tool is just that much lighter and more compact with them. no, you don't get the run time but most of my tool use is more intermittent. that doesn't mean i don't use them or use them hard. it just means i don't grab a drill and drill holes, grind of cut 2x4's for an hour straight. i find changing the batteries more frequently is more often easier than fighting with a large battery

if the tools you want are in the 20v max lineup it is a great system as are most of them, pick your color. i don't buy into the notion that one is vastly superior to the next. any of better brands such dewalt, milwaukee, makita, ridgid, etc have very capable tools and so much better than what was out there not that long ago.

i run an ice auger drilling 8 inch holes in up to 3 feet of ice with a 20v max brushless drill. i ended up making an extended side grip handle to control it. if that doesn't attest to the power and abuse they will take i don't know what is.

 

[sk farmer]

I'll second what typhoon said - the XR or non-XR, brushless vs brushed, all means nothing in regards to the batteries. It's as simple as more amp hours means more runtime.

For what batteries you need, it really depends on the tools you're going to use. For my drill and impact driver a 2ah gives me quite a bit of runtime.

For my 7 1/4" circular saw, SDS rotary hammer, and mid torque 1/2" impact I use 5ah batteries, and wouldn't recommend going lower than 4ah. Your runtime with those tools on smaller batteries would be pretty low, and some even feel the performance / power of the tool is compromised even with a fully charged lower-ah battery.

You can generally tell how much juice a specific tool takes by looking at what size battery DeWalt sells them with in a kit. If you buy the drill and driver they come with 1.5ah or 2ah batteries in a kit. The bigger tools come with 4 or 5ah batteries in kits.

Personally I like having a mix of smaller and bigger batteries, but that's also across a wide range of tools. Think about what you want in the future for tools and base your battery purchases off those goals.

i agree to some extent that the batteries sold with a tool are related to the power needed to run them but i think it has far more to do with the price point than power needed

i have a low budget no frills brushed 1/4 hex impact driver and the top of the line 3 speed brushless 1/4 hex impact driver. the budget model came with 2ah and the brushless came with 5 ah batteries. they both run just fine on either but 5ah batteries would double the price of the brushed tool and packaging 2ah batteries in with a premium tool doesn't fit the profile either.

i suppose using something like a circular saw or grinder at a heavy constant load may overheat the batteries causing them to trip out or not be able to charge them till they cool but it has never been a real big issue for me. if you are 100 feet off the ground or 4 stories away from power you may need the max ah battery to finish the job but but i bet most guys wont have an issue other than run time.

i run the battery til it needs a charge and swap in the next available not worrying about what size it is.

 

[joseywales]

thanks all. I really like the profile/weight of these tools with the 2AH. I didn't realize that the all the 2AH XR is more power, which is nice.

I did buy the vertical Dewalt light online because it was like $35 and I like the hook, etc. Now that I could see using a 3 or 4AH for loner run time.

Jesus, I thought I had this figured out, but they just keep throwing out specs and options.

Is the 20V Max brushless drill the same as the XR brushless drill? I thought XR was only the battery, but the XR brushlss drill is stamped XR, was that just a second generation of the Max burshless, but the same tool?

 

[blazin28]

To the original poster. There is a company that makes a battery adapter that lets you use dewalt batteries in ryobi tools..

 

[joseywales]

To the original poster. There is a company that makes a battery adapter that lets you use dewalt batteries in ryobi tools..

Thanks. I didn’t know that. That could be interesting try.

I think I understand that the XR brushless drill does have more power than the MAX brushless drill. It’s hard to pin down models non Dewalts sit.