Milwaukee or Dewalt Impact Driver?

[plymouthtroubleshooter87]

I'l looking at getting an impact driver to use for some stuff instead of my electric drill, and there are 2 options that I'm looking at, both for $99. One is the Dewalt DFC885 and the other is the Milwaukee 2850-20. The main difference is that the Milwaukee is a brushless design while the Dewalt has brushes. Also the milwaukee has a 2.0 battery vs 1.5 for Dewalt. I'm leaning towards getting the Milwaukee set. Any comments or info? thanks in advance!

 

[Mark_17]

I'm a big fan of all my Milwaukee power tools

 

[engineer2]

Look at Makita too. Their impact drivers are excellent.

 

[mike93lx]

For the basic tools, they are similar enough. I would think about what other tools you expect to get and look at the options from each brand.

I own a bunch of Dewalt 20v tools and would not consider the little 1.5ah batteries. They have terrible run time and no gauge. 2ah minimum and I greatly prefer the XR stuff

 

[Pen & Wrench]

The brushless are more efficient. I have DeWalt stuff, have 2 brushless impact drivers, and they are great. If you can go either way, I'd go the Milwaukee brushless, they are excellent. One of mine has a 5 mh battery and the other came with a smaller battery, not sure how many mh, but it is much lighter with the smaller battery. They both have the same power, but of course the larger battery lasts longer. But when I am using it for extended periods of time, I actually prefer the smaller and lighter battery, and even the smaller battery lasts plenty long enough for me.

 

[finn]

Go brushless, in any event, but there’s really no noticeable difference between any of the major brands hovering around a given price point.

Lots of people are happy with the house brands like Ryobi, Ridgid, Kobalt, and Flex, all brands that might save you a little money.

My drivers are Bosch and Dewalt, but I have Milwaukee and Dewalt impact wrenches.

Not a lot of junk.out there these days.

Personally, I would look at the newly released Dewalt Atomic 20v from Home Depot. It’s not available as a kit, but there’s a free 5ah battery through the end of the month. I have the impact wrench version and it’s stronger than my Milwaukee. Both are good, though.

 

[engineer2]

If you stick with a major brand you'll still be able to get a battery in 10 years or so.

I wish power tool batteries were more standardized, but they are likely a huge moneymaker for the different brands.

 

[GeoBruin]

It's been said a ton already but whatever you decide on brand, brushless is a generally better technology and will help future proof your purchase. My dewalt imapct driver is 8 years old, I use the **** out of it, and can't find a single fault with it. I get tempted by things like the new dewalt atomic impact with a smaller size and more power but then I think back about how many times I've needed it to be smaller or more powerful and the answer is rounded to 0.

You may consider whether there are any other cordless tools in your future and if so, make sure the brand you choose has those tools available. For most conventional cordless tools, most brands have good options. It's only more specialized tools that are available by brand.

 

[Robinson1]

Don't knkw about the milwaukee but the Dewalt 885 is regarded among dewalt fans as the best ever made. It wont impress you much on paper. But in the real world it just flat works. You cant kill them.

 

[seber]

I'll be a contrarian here. The brushless is more efficient and may even be more powerful but when they take a **** you throw them away. Brushed can always be fixed. Even if you have to make your own brushes. Something I do even if oem are available. It's easy and quick. You will always have more power than you need for driving screws so power is not usually a factor.

 

[EngineerNate]

What brand do you have other tools to share the batteries with?

Between the top brushless lines in the top till brands I don't think there's a meaningful difference in quality/usability for the home gamer.

I've abused the snot out of my DeWalt 887 and it keeps trucking.

Agree with the comments to go with the bigger batteries.

 

[jonshonda]

You don't state what you be using it for, so we can only guess. But I have a M18 Impact driver that easily removes lug nuts torqued to 85lb/ft and drives lag bolts like a boss, but it's a handful driving smaller screws into wood and is loud. Which is why I pulled the trigger on a M12 Surge. It is a much better tool for driving screws and is not nearly as loud as the M18 non-surge.

 

[Rinspeed]

I'm a big fan of all my Milwaukee power tools

Same here.

 

[Showkey]

I'll be a contrarian here. The brushless is more efficient and may even be more powerful but when they take a **** you throw them away. Brushed can always be fixed. Even if you have to make your own brushes. Something I do even if oem are available. It's easy and quick. You will always have more power than you need for driving screws so power is not usually a factor.

Brushed can also have a HUGE a price advantage ( cheaper) so a tool that gets light duty it will do the job for 10 years at a fraction of the cost.
I have brushed M18 tools that 11 years old. That have never been serviced. Purchased before brushless was a choice.
Also have brushless M12 and M18
All the tools are used a daily basis in a home shop.

 

[finn]

I’m going to amend what I said previously. My three drivers are each used for different tasks. The Dewalt 20v is the strongest and runs the longest when equipped with larger 5 ah or even larger flexvolt batteries, but the large batteries make for a heavy tool.

My older brushed 18 v Bosch has smaller batteries and enough power to build decks, but I do have to change batteries more often on larger projects. That’s a minor inconvenience, as I need a two minute break occasionally anyway

For small, around the house jobs I prefer the tiny Bosch 10.9 v driver. I think the new ones are called 12 v to match everyone else. It won’t build a deck, but it’s great for assembly, hanging pictures, and other small tasks.

 

[rcbk00]

Milwaukee brushless all the way (I'm fully bought in to M12 and M18 lines). Also, the Surge impact drivers they make are great. WAY quieter than a normal impact driver. If you're going to be doing inside work, it makes a huge difference.

 

[EngineerNate]

I liked Milwaukee a lot better before they were just the red flavor from TTi.

 

[bscman]

I have multiple Milwaukee brushlesss m18 tools that I've purchased. my father has multiple dewalt tools that he was given through work.
He always comments how milwaukee's lineup and sales prices are always. Enter and wish he had been given red.

I've abused the heck out of my
Milwaukee impact driver and drills, and they just keep going. And I'm a fan of the smaller 2ah batteries.
They don't last through a big job, but 9 times out of 10 I just need the tool for a few minutes and the lighter more compact battery really shines. It is nice to have at least one 5+ah battery though.

 

[cannuck]

When it came time to replace my ancient blue battery tools, I looked at what my largest customer (over 1,000 people using tools) went through and settled on, and went Milwaukee as they have. BUT: HUGE difference in performance to brushless. You also need to think about what you will get in future, and for that reason, Milwaukee and deWalt have fantastic selection with Makita a bit further behind. NONE are in any way a "mistake" - just make sure the one you choose has the selection you will want in the future to avoid a mess of mixed batteries and chargers. I buy blue for my wife and yellow for our other shop so tools don't get mixed.

 

[mrvm]

Got red and yellow brushless power tools. Both tackle the jobs equally. Just avoid buying any compact batteries unless they come with the kit as full-size is the way to go.

 

[Steve_P]

Most people at GJ prefer Milwaukee, so the replies will reflect that. I would personally only look at brushless. I have DeWalt as that's what I had for my prior battery tools. I think I have the 887 and it will remove lug nuts tightened to 85 lb-ft. The smallest battery I have is 2AH and it has a surprising amount of life for the size.

 

[alinc100]

In the sub-$200 range Milwaukee,Dewalt,Makita are very close in performance. I own tools from all 3 ,in voltages from 12v to 20v. I drive panhead screws daily,attaching aluminum angle to drywall&metal studs in commercial interiors daily. For us the best impact,size/weight/torque/battery has been the sub-compact Makita brushless. $99 at HD/around $170 for kit with drill. The battery will last me until lunch,I swap then putting 2nd one on charger,to swap next day. We keep our chargers/batteries in a central location so we don't leave one behind in an office, hence the swap at lunch. The "complaint" ( from a co-worker ) on the Milwaukee M18 is it's heavy. I cannot say as I have Milwaukee in M12 and happy with that around the house etc. The co-worker with the M18 switched to the Makita subcompact after using mine for a day and deciding the weight/torque/battery life was worth the switch. It all boils down to your usage,your needs,etc, but I would go brushless with whichever you choose.