Which would you buy and why.

[Double G Construction]

After being here a bit I've heard alot of good things about the Milwaukee stuff. I have been a dewalt guy for a long time and all my stuff is 18v and the new 20v. But ..... I like all the options for the Fuel line and i'm about to upgrade my cordless Hammer Drill and Impact. So Which would you buy and why. Price is not a factor.

Guess I should throw in here that I mostly do Kitchen and Bath remodels and GC work for a realtor after a housing inspection so he can close the deal.

M18 Fuel Brushless $399.00

Dewalt 20v Brushless $299.00

 

[PugetDude]

You could spend the $100 difference at HF...

 

[fnieto]

Ridged set, they come with life time including the batteries.
find it at Home Depot for $199.00

 

[woody 73]

Some would say Milwaukee all the way because they have more models to chose from.
Some would argue brushless is the new wave.
While others would say it is all about the new fuel cell technology.
And still others would point out it is all about the less fatigue from all the old heavy weight batteries.

I could only add my two cents (no matter what you decide), stick with the same brand because all those different batteries and chargers get in the way from different models.

This year brand X has all the cool factor and in six months Brand Z will have that cool factor.

Batteries don't get me started expensive plus technology is moving at the speed of light.

or just flip a coin...

 

[d.mcfarland]

Ridged set, they come with life time including the batteries.
find it at Home Depot for $199.00

Bingo. Batteries are the weak spot in any cordless set. Lifetime warranty solves that.

 

[woody 73]

Not so fast on the ridged lifetime batteries, from what I am hearing if you don't dot your I's and cross your t's on all the paperwork you are screwed...

 

[k p]

I have the milwaukee (non-fuel) set and I am blown away with the battery life, power of the drill and just really good overall feel in the hands.

My outlook on cordless tools is that the "latest" gear today is going to be obsolete in 5 years anyways so I don't usually invest too much (I try to buy middle of the range). Plug in tools and hand tools are a totally different ball game.

To illustrate my point, check out this Milwaukee from 2005...



I don't use my drills for a living though.

 

[PugetDude]

Not so fast on the ridged lifetime batteries, from what I am hearing if you don't dot your I's and cross your t's on all the paperwork you are screwed...

Ditto. It's not a walk-in/walk out warranty. You have to register within a certain period of time after purchase, then bring the dead battery and the origiinal sales reciept and warranty form in and they send it off for replacement. HD has deliberately made it as difficult as possible, but they can claim lifetime warranty to the original purchaser

I won a 12V 3/8" Rigid Cordless drilll at a golf tournament; warranty was worthless because I didin't have the original sales reciept- couldn't even register it. Didn't use it for over a year due to a move- when I got it out and tried to charge neither battery would wake up. The two replacement batteries cost more than a new drill.

caveat emptor.

 

[cburnscrx]

DeWalt

They support their platforms long term. If you bought an 18v NiCad tool you can still use the new Lithium Ion batteries from the newer version. The 20v are a different story all together, but I suspect it will be the same if possible. If you're like me and keep your tools for a long time, that's appreciated.

I don't know if that can be said for all makers of power tools.

 

[3xpendable]

DeWalt. I still have my 18v set from 95 going strong. I love my 20v two years of pro use and you wouldn't know it

 

[devoncoolman]

Dewalt. The new 20v line is awsome.

 

[mattyrattypoo]

What about Festool? A T 18 would suit you well. You get one drill that does it all! Granted it does not have a hammer or impact function, but do you really need those?
And since you do a lot of kitchen and bath remodeling, the chucks that come with Festool drills would be indispensable. Plus it's made in Germany .

 

[72Anthony]

I do think the $100 cost difference may be because of the battery capacity. The Milwaukee set you've shown has the 4.0 amp hour battery. They also have skinny batteries with a smaller capacity and lower price.

Not as familiar with the 20V Dewalt line.

If you are doing remodels and make readies I would really take a look at the Festool system: quality, great dust collection, etc. For sanders, miter saw, vacuum.

I'm just an DIY enthusiast / woodworker, but I've settled on Milwaukee cordless tools (drills, impact driver, worklight, and inspection camera, also have a corded hammer drill and 4.5" grinder) and Festool for most of my woodworking tools.

Regards,
Anthony

 

[Average_Joe]

Granted it does not have a hammer or impact function, but do you really need those?

YES. I do similar work and an impact and hammer drill are must haves.

I have a ****** old rigid set and once this second set of batteries wears out, I will most likely get a Makita set. I have used a friends older li/ion set and they are light, powerful and ridiculously long lasting. The Milwaukee just seems bulky to me.

 

[Farmall450]

Bingo. Batteries are the weak spot in any cordless set. Lifetime warranty solves that.

What happens when they stop making a certain battery style?

 

[rsanter]

I am really stuck on the dewalt stuff and if you stick with the line you have started then you have interchangeability already

Bob

 

[Average_Joe]

What happens when they stop making a certain battery style?

They give you a bunch of **** about replacing it. I caught hell getting a 14.4v replacement for my impact because HD doesn't stock them. They even tried to charge me for it when they finally got it in.

My old 18v NiCad batteries did get replaced with new li/ion ones for free tho

 

[Dennis93]

Milwaukee all the way. There's a reason Milwaukee has the five year warranty and dealt only has the three. I would definitely just get the one with the brushes though as I think it's still more pricey than reasonable. I have the Milwaukee set and find they have a lot of tools with interchangeability. Yes they changed from the v to the m batteries. But dewalt just changed the voltage so using the same batteries are not a valid point. I have had one warranty problem with my cordless circular saw and they handled it spectacularly. Milwaukee warranty has amazing customer service. Plus they have the battery gauge. It's nice to grab a battery and check power before going up the ladder or under a house. The only other tools I know with the gauge are the Bosch. This is especially important since the lithium ions since they die all of a sudden without warning.

 

[Dennis93]

But I definitely recommend buying the biggest set possible as its a little cheaper together. I bought the drill reciprocating and circular with the two big batteries for around 350 on Black Friday at northern. Then I just buy the bare tools as needed on amazon. Bought the impact driver and impact wrench that way. It's nice to add tools like that as you go along and get the money.

 

[DanarchyCustoms]

I have had the Dewalt 20V Max for two years and am completely satisfied. The impact driver has been dropped many times from a ladder and also a genie lift (not on purpose of course) and the hammerdrill has drilled two dozen 3/4" holes in a concrete floor. From a kit that cost me $350 out the door, it has held up more then expected. Since then I bought the Jig Saw, Circ Saw, extra charger and two more batteries. Each tool feels strong and performs extremely well. If you choose to go this route, just get the new batteries with the gauge on them.

 

[shockwave]

After being here a bit I've heard alot of good things about the Milwaukee stuff. I have been a dewalt guy for a long time and all my stuff is 18v and the new 20v. But ..... I like all the options for the Fuel line and i'm about to upgrade my cordless Hammer Drill and Impact. So Which would you buy and why. Price is not a factor.

Guess I should throw in here that I mostly do Kitchen and Bath remodels and GC work for a realtor after a housing inspection so he can close the deal.

M18 Fuel Brushless $399.00

Dewalt 20v Brushless $299.00

Since u do General contractor work u should just get the drill as the impact driver will not be used as the higher rpm of drill will serve u fine and my reason why I would choose Milwaukee over dewalt is warranty and durability ime with both

 

[flippin]

As already mentioned the price discrepancy between the Milwaukee combo ($399) vs the Dewalt combo ($299) can be explained by the much larger batteries included in the Milwaukee combo. Furthermore, there are still a number of deals on the net which also include an extra (3rd 4ah) battery for the same $399 price. Based on this plus the better warranty and the expanded selection of tools, my vote is for the Milwaukee product.

 

[Dennis93]

No, I guess you really have to use an impact driver to know it's benefit. Having a drill with a high rpm and having an impact driver are two totally different ballgames when it comes to driving screws or lags of any kind.

 

[sloppy]

Both good kits.. The Milwaukee kit has the larger batteries so more power more run time = more money..

I have the Milwaukee and I am pretty happy with it.. I use the Dewalt at work sometimes and its ok.

 

[Double G Construction]

Yes I NEED both. Im proposing these sets for a few reasons.

1 Its going to cut down on the amount of tools I have to carry. Eliminating the need for a regular cordless 18v drill and a corded hammer drill by replacing with a single cordless hammer drill.

2 Yes I NEED the impact. If you have ever layed hardybacker to tile a room the Impact gun is the only way to lay in screws just right. Plus lag in bolts for decks etc.

I'm leaning towards the red but most likely will wait till black friday to see what is good.

 

[MackMan]

I've always somewhat preferred Milwaukee. DeWalt has always struck me as more of a "marketing" brand versus a "tool" brand.

Example... DeWalts "UWO" measurement. Since this measurement is unique to DeWalt, and DeWalt doesn't publish torque (Milwaukee does). Now the power vs torque argument may be valid but of course we don't know the Milwaukee UWO... Gives me the impression that DeWalt was low on torque compared to competitors so they came up with a marketing term to obscure the fact. Torque is a verifiable force generated, UWO is a proprietary unit that means nothing except comparing various DeWalt tools. Like I said, not that the "power" argument has no merit, but it makes me question DeWalt's motivation for changing to a measurement that's not industry standard.

Also, DeWalt seems to be all over the place these days, with hand-tools, hammers, etc and so on, seems they're losing focus on their core business.

I know lots of people love DeWalt and I'm sure they're good products, but Milwaukee just seems better to me

 

[nine4gmc]

Milwaukee

 

[dr_clyde]

Get the Milwaukee set. We have multiple sets of those in the welding and fab shop where I work. Worth every penny. Used everyday. Battery life is awesome. The chuck holds great. The impact driver has gobs of torque.

My dad has the dewalt, and he likes them, but my personal experience says get the Milwaukee.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

You could spend the $100 difference at HF...

Don't laugh....My HF hammer drill actually has driven more concrete screws then my Milwaukee hammer drill did before it died....(I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.)

 

[PugetDude]

Don't laugh....My HF hammer drill actually has driven more concrete screws then my Milwaukee hammer drill did before it died....(I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.)

I believe you... I have a $10 HF 4.5" grinder that I have been using for 10+ years. Still kicking, so far has lived four times as long as the $75 POS Craftsman it replaced.

 

[Average_Joe]

2 Yes I NEED the impact. If you have ever layed hardybacker to tile a room the Impact gun is the only way to lay in screws just right.

If you ever demo a floor installed with hardibacker screws, you will stop using them. We use thinset and roofing nails. I've never had a problem with it coming up and have demoed some that were installed with nails where the tile was still rock solid.