Dewalt V.S. Milwaukee impacts

[Boone23]

I've been searching around for awhile for an impact to use at home/work. My question is whats the big difference between these two? Is one better quality or has more power? I have never owned anything milwaukee but have used there drills before, so i guess im just partial to dewalt and cant find a good reason to go to milwaukee. Maybe Im just crazy! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Askme42]

Search around been covered 1000 times here. Most like milwaukee here.

If you have dewalt stuff already stick with it. If you are looking to start over I would go milwaukee.

 

[77thor]

Both brands are very good quality. There may be a slight difference in power between the two, but it wouldn't be noticeable in most uses.

 

[Palmer812]

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either. I started my collection with 12v and went Dewalt 12v max. I didn't like the balance and feel of the Milwaukee but to each his own. When it cam time to go bigger I stayed with Dewalt and got their 20v max. Both brands are great quality.This is what I have now.

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[Voi]

I've been searching around for awhile for an impact to use at home/work.

Impact driver or impact wrench?

If you mean the driver and you don't plan to branch off into a bunch of other cordless tools on the same platform then I'd probably get which ever one fits your hand best. So many of the cordless impact drivers are so good and can handle pretty much anything you can throw at them.

If you mean wrench, then there is a lot of love for the Milwaukee Fuel (brushless). I've never used a wrench from either company.

 

[Elginz]

Used dads Milwaukee a few times, didn't like the feel, or maybe balance. I am happy with my DeWalt, I had a 12v drill for a long time, couldn't kill it so I went with all 18v DeWalt. I have a few more items than in the picture, but you get the idea. I also have other brands of tool that fit a NEED I may have.

 

[bcradio]

Elaborate

 

[Boone23]

Elaborate

Which impact driver has more runtime, reliability, weight, etc. How good are the lithium ion batteries on the dewalts?

 

[Caparris]

What size? What are you looking to do with it?

I used to always buy Dewalt, then tried a Milwaukee tool a year or so ago.. and have been stuck on their stuff ever since.

The best one for general auto work is Milwaukee's M18 2654 in my opinion. They have a larger/stronger one (2763) but it's overkill for most things and gets heavy fast. It's tough to use under a car if you're working on the ground. Probably not as bad if you're using a lift.

The 2654 will take lug nuts off no problem and battery life is great. I don't have a way of quantifying how long they last, but I pulled the drivetrain out and put it back in yesterday on a Corvette on one charge

 

[nfk]

I have used both, they are both good. I own dewalt, mostly because that's what I started out with. Milwaukee has a more powerful 1/2" drive cordless impact wrench than dewalt. That might be something to consider if you have a need for one of those. I have the dewalt 1/4" 20v max impact driver, no complaints here, works great and very good battery life. I have also never had any problems with any of my other dewalt tools.

 

[Boone23]

I'm looking into buying this. It's only 169.99


Any thoughts on factory reconditioned tools?

 

[ADSR]

Which impact driver has more runtime, reliability, weight, etc. How good are the lithium ion batteries on the dewalts?

Milwaukee fuel, hands down. M18 or M12.

If you're just a homeowner, take a good look at the M12 fuel. It's the lightest power to weight ratio there is. Best balance as well because the battery makes up half of the handle.

 

[ADSR]

 

[Fusion13]

Which impact driver has more runtime, reliability, weight, etc. How good are the lithium ion batteries on the dewalts?

The dewalt brushless driver you posted is smaller, lighter and depending on the person most comfortable and the hand grip is the best of the bunch... Has 100in lbs less torque but it is not noticeable in every day work... Dewalt usually has more runtime as well out of their tools then Milwaukee...unless you need all these trade specific tools like pex tools etc... Dewalt makes pretty well the same tool as Milwaukee... Maybe not a many brushless ones at the moment but they are not needed

I have the brushless dewalt 3 speed impact and it's hard to beat... Tons of power light and very compact... Wouldn't trade it for anything... Also have the 1/2 400ft lbs torque wrench and haven't found a bolt on my car to stop it yet....

 

[Farmall450]

I'm looking into buying this. It's only 169.99


Any thoughts on factory reconditioned tools?

I bought both the impact and drill/driver w/ 2 20V max batteries, reconditioned, for about 1/2 that, and they are both still working like a top. Showed up looking new except for the "R" stamped in the batteries.

Review from a while back on the Drill/Driver (I include this because my ranting on batteries is applicable to the impact as well)
http://toolaudits.com/2014/08/dewalt-dcd771-12-20v-max-lithium-ion-drilldriver-review/

 

[225]

I tried both. And I think it just comes down to what is more comfortable in your hand. I just got the new brushless dewalt set and I love them. But I'm not brand loyal. If I like it, I buy it.

 

[jgorm]

I've gone through cases or 3" screws and hundreds of charges on my 10yo dewalt 18v impact. I beat the **** out of it too. I have a 3/4" impact socket with the 1/4' adapter.

 

[rice rocket]

Milwaukee fuel, hands down. M18 or M12.

If you're just a homeowner, take a good look at the M12 fuel. It's the lightest power to weight ratio there is. Best balance as well because the battery makes up half of the handle.

I have the M12 Fuel screwdriver and M12 Fuel impact driver, neither are well balanced with the 2Ah battery. They're very top heavy. That said, I'm willing to overlook it because they're rather powerful.

 

[KamiCrit]

I have the M12 Fuel screwdriver and M12 Fuel impact driver, neither are well balanced with the 2Ah battery. They're very top heavy. That said, I'm willing to overlook it because they're rather powerful.

I'm thinking a larger capacity battery would lower the centre of gravity and balance out your machine.

 

[stikman56]

Now you've started a s&^$storm! Haven't owned either, or ever tested either, so no input here.

 

[rice rocket]

I'm thinking a larger capacity battery would lower the centre of gravity and balance out your machine.

Yes that's possible, but adding mass to correct balance negates any weight savings from the smaller pack. Adding that battery would bring near 3 lbs., which my 18v driver w/ a slim pack is near that weight.

 

[rice rocket]

I need to go pickup the Bosch EC brushless drivers and see how they are. They're 1.6 lbs, which makes the Milwaukee almost 40% heavier w/ the same 2.0Ah battery. Given that battery weight is pretty much the same across all brands, it should move the balance further down the handle.

Less power for sure, but while Milwaukee is trying to push 18v power in their 12v platform by using brushless, Bosch is trying to make the 12v platform smaller, which makes more sense to me. I can always pick up an 18v tool for denser woods/longer screws.

 

[Wrenchinfool]

i used makita for years now i use dewalt since i bought a bunch of clearance 20v stuff at home depot.. if its for home and light use recon stuff works fine and cpo outlets customer service has always done me right.. sometimes you can buy a drill recon with two batteries then buy the impact wrench bare tool

 

[Caparris]

I'm thinking a larger capacity battery would lower the centre of gravity and balance out your machine.

Amazon has some cheap'o knock off M12 batteries that are the larger size that might be worth trying. I just got one in to try so I'll see how it does. It was like $25 I think?

At the very least at least my M12 tools will stand on the battery now instead of falling over

 

[franzdom]

People who think it just comes down to what is more comfortable in your hand pick DeWalt, people who want the best usually pick Milwaukee. I have DeWalt 12V and they are really nice and comfortable but the Milwaukee line is a lot broader and I now have a lot more of their tools, in both M18 & M12.