DeWalt Xtreme 12v MAX Sub Compact Drill / Driver review

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I work in HVAC and am always needing a drill to drill small holes in duct and metal cabinets to do testing, so I bought the drill-impact driver combo with batteries. They are SMALL, I mean they are far smaller than anything out there EXCEPT for the Makita 18v sub compact combo, which I also have and use. The batteries on the Makita are 18v so they're a bit larger, but the bodies of the drill and driver are almost as small as the DW 12v sub compacts.
Well, I got home and charged a battery and tried them out, drill worked fine, impact driver wouldn't change impact ranges, it has three, but no go, no lights nothing. It did work in full power mode very well, but no seperate modes. So back they go to Lowe's. 2nd set at home, charge battery and again drill works fine. Impact driver chuck is so loose it acts like there's no bearing whatsoever in the front of the driver. The power modes work fine though. You just can't believe how much play is in the chuck though, it's probably a 1/4" on a 1-1/4" bit, longer, of course, are horrid. So, tomorrow, back to Lowe's.
I have two other impacts, a Milwaukee monster, that is used A LOT and tighter than a drum in the chuck. I also have the subcompact Makita impact driver and it too is tight as a drum, so it's pretty obvious how horrid the quality control is at DeWalt on these new Xtreme tools.
We'll see how it goes.

Otherwise, these are nice small tools to carry for small jobs, so I hope have a set that works!!!
 
Silly question - if the 18v Makitas you have aren't any bigger, why go for the 12v tools? Did you look at the 12v Makitas?

jeff
 
Power = volts x amps.

Power and torque are related by RPMs.

So, a higher voltage will mean lower current for the same output power/torque, which also means cooler batteries, more energy extracted from the battery, and generally longer runtime (watt-hours).

Downside is size/mass.
 
JHZR2 (I never have picked up your real name
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),
I recall all that from engineering school, just curious why the OP would get a 12v set of tools if he's already rockin those really nice 18v brushless subcompact Makitas. I've got the 12v Makitas and they're awesome but I'm not sure what the use case is if you already have those 18v subcompact Makitas
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jeff
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Power = volts x amps.

Power and torque are related by RPMs.

So, a higher voltage will mean lower current for the same output power/torque, which also means cooler batteries, more energy extracted from the battery, and generally longer runtime (watt-hours).

Downside is size/mass.

Originally Posted by greenjp
JHZR2 (I never have picked up your real name
grin2.gif
),
I recall all that from engineering school, just curious why the OP would get a 12v set of tools if he's already rockin those really nice 18v brushless subcompact Makitas. I've got the 12v Makitas and they're awesome but I'm not sure what the use case is if you already have those 18v subcompact Makitas
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jeff
Easier to fit in a pouch, what else are 12v tools for? I guess they don't teach you that in engineering school.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Easier to fit in a pouch, what else are 12v tools for? I guess they don't teach you that in engineering school.

hilarious. Did you miss the part where the OP said the 12v DeWalts aren't any smaller than the 18v subcompact Makitas? They're the same size.
 
Originally Posted by greenjp
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Easier to fit in a pouch, what else are 12v tools for? I guess they don't teach you that in engineering school.

hilarious. Did you miss the part where the OP said the 12v DeWalts aren't any smaller than the 18v subcompact Makitas? They're the same size.

hilarious. Did you miss the part where the OP said The batteries on the Makita are 18v so they're a bit larger ?
grin2.gif


It matters, whether it fits in your tool pouch you're wearing on your waist, and how much it sticks out if you're getting into tight areas (even with it on your waist still, not just in use).

As far as 12V vs 18V, differences in current and runtime assume not only the same 18650 size cell (which is common but not a rule) but same cell construction/chemistry which can cause differences in current capability (internal resistance) vs Ah capacity.

Either way it may be irrelevant. I doubt this particular HVAC work requires drilling very many holes in a row or per site. Odds are a 12V battery will be enough until there's a chance to get back to the truck to swap a fresh battery in if it doesn't last all day long. Doing a rough-in (new building installation) where a massive amount of ductwork/etc is being put up might be a different story, yet I used to do that many years ago with a mere 7.2V NiCd Craftsman drill, and rarely needed to swap battery packs at an inconvenient time.

The curious thing is that there's so much play in the chuck. It is not something I often see on youtube tool reviews and I'd go for a different brand because being 0 for 2 so far, could be a bad sign that there's more off internally than just the chuck, that may not seem obvious until early failure.
 
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I do HVAC work, I have three full time helpers and a couple part timers. We are constantly having to drill into duct work for testing and balancing, and i needed another dril driver kit for one of the guys and the DeWalt made me curious. It looked light, really small and easy to store and carry. If you've ever worked as an electrician or HVAC tech, you know your'e constantly carrying a load of stuff, so small is good. You don't need horsepower, just the ability to drive a scre or drill a hold in light material. I carry the Makita with me, that's the only reason for comparison.If you had any idea how much $$$ I have in tools to service and install HVAC, you'd realize that $160 for a drill kit is NOTHING!
 
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