My contractor defecting to Makita from DeWalt

[UncleDave]

Its had been about 6 months since I hired a great young guy and crew to come do some difficult work for me and when he first showed up he arrived with 100% DeWalt gear. We had our discussions and during the course of the job I asked for he and the boys to try some of my stuff side by side.
Unsurprisingly the guys that tried my stuff out pretty much to a man preferred it and we had good friendly dialog.

I recently hired the guy to come do some more stuff I had no interest in, and it was clear from the minute he arrived the switch had begun.
He made some mistakes and ended up with some counterfeit batteries, and we weighed them against the real thing and - sure enough the fakes are junk and when running the real thing and the fake stuff side by side - the tools became even more impressive.

I asked him what tipped him after all these years, and according to him it was just little bits everywhere that all adds up to a better package but if he had to point to one big issue - it was batteries.
He only gets a year or two out of them, second would be overall tool longevity, third would be "feel" of the tool while you work.

I was very surprised to find that the vast majority of his DeWalt chargers were not fan cooled. I have no doubt this contributes significantly to reduced life he is experiencing. He told me he has multi chargers that are but doesn't see any difference and added that the fans inside the chargers that have them get noisy quickly and often stop and the either half or the whole charger dies as a result.

I found out recently that Makitas XGT chargers have 2 fans per section, one to move air through the battery and one to cool the charging circuit.

 

[wavinwayne]

I love my Makita tools. I think he chose wisely.

 

[rstsco]

I used to have a Makita 14.?v drill. Used daily and lasted forever. I'm now deep into the Milwaukee 18v ecosystem, but if I was starting over, would go the Makita route. They still make some of their tools in the USA.

 

[UncleDave]

I love my Makita tools. I think he chose wisely.

It was interesting to watch it all happen in front of me. Lots of "wow thats sweet" moments.

My friends and I came to this conclusion independently as well. At one point I bought some dewalt pieces and clearly I can back.
I was happy with some of my corded Dewalt product and got great life out of my 12" mitre.

The latest thing he now has to have is the " corded cordless" XGT 6" sander. He took the door down just a hair in only a few minutes so it would stain easier and be just a bit smoother than it came from the shop.

" This is bitchin" Im definitely going to need one of these was his reply. He claims it's as good or better than his corded festool at the shop.

He took both sides of the door down and used one bar from A 2.5 AH 40XGT battery which is bascially the same size as a 5ah LXT 18.

 

[rstsco]

View attachment 329940

Based on the last picture, looks like Makita was the only color option for the Ford blue... since it's obvious he's missing an engine!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Dewalts were all the rage when they 1st came out. A friend told me, "I like my Makita." I thought he was just being sour grapes and was wrong. Well, he wasn't the one who was wrong.

 

[Pablo]

He bought CF batteries and blames DeWalt? What? Oddly I've very old DeWalt batteries that are just fine.

I have all three and like DeWalt saws, Milwaukee drills/drivers and Makita (overly expensive) for a few tools. The average to above average homeowner/property/ranch all three will be fine. Buy the one on sale.

 

[UncleDave]

I used to have a Makita 14.?v drill. Used daily and lasted forever. I'm now deep into the Milwaukee 18v ecosystem, but if I was starting over, would go the Makita route. They still make some of their tools in the USA.

Tools to me are a bit like motorcycles - in that I pretty much like them all, but have my own favorites.

I think Milwaukee has a great lineup of stuff. It seems tiltled toward plumbing and electrical work.

The only thing I fear with them is economical repair over time.
Ive never worn a Makita out beyond economic repair.

In high power tuff triggers/switches die.

The only parts networks Ive seen as good as Makita would be Honda.
I can walk in an order parts for 10 year old product and actually get them.

 

[UncleDave]

He bought CF batteries and blames DeWalt? What? Oddly I've very old DeWalt batteries that are just fine.

I have all three and like DeWalt saws, Milwaukee drills/drivers and Makita (overly expensive) for a few tools. The average to above average homeowner/property/ranch all three will be fine. Buy the one on sale.

He has plenty of genuine Dewalt batteries.

See top pict- all those were genuine.

He bought makita knock off.

I think he's using them on fanless chargers, and he carries blame for that.

I think dewalts 60V stuff probably makes for great lawn tools. I also think Dewalt has the largest range of stuff.

 

[UncleDave]

That Dewalt 60V circular is also a beast. heavy, but awesome.

 

[UncleDave]

I used to have a Makita 14.?v drill. Used daily and lasted forever. I'm now deep into the Milwaukee 18v ecosystem, but if I was starting over, would go the Makita route. They still make some of their tools in the USA.

I think Makita is weak in the 14V range and Milwaukee seems to rule the sub 18V class.

 

[UncleDave]

Based on the last picture, looks like Makita was the only color option for the Ford blue... since it's obvious he's missing an engine!

Thats another thread - this guy is also convinced that the lightning is the best choice for a 2-4 man contractor vehicle.

It's really hard to argue with him on that point watching it in action.

Hes got way more lockable secure space than any ICE half ton with that huge frunk.

He's got tons of battery charging capability onboard so no generator needed to take space and suck gas
The thing has plugs in front back and inside of it and can sustain something like 7K.

It keeps the cabin cool all day so he and his guys duck in and out for snacks and office type work on and off.
He showed up with a John deer 2025 - its got more than enough beans to bring a small tractor or piece of gear onsite.

Rather than visit a station 3-4 times a week like he used to he just charges it at home and starts everyday ready to go.

 

[GaryMX5]

My sons worked for the same employer some years ago. They were given a very decent tool budget to buy any kind of cordless tools they desired/needed. One went with DeWalt the other with Milwaukee. My son who choose DeWalt did so because he could get more tools (within their budget) than his brother's Milwaukee selection. When it came time to buy their own tools for at home use they each choose the exact same line of tools they used at work. Says something about their trust, reliability and comfort levels I guess. My first cordless tool was the ever so popular 9v Makita hand drill that had the foot long battery in the handle (yes I'm exaggerating). Great tool at the time but those nicad batteries were not ready for prime time. And that battery cost an arm and a leg back then to replace too. I now have a nice collection of Hitachi/Metabo cordless tools (even some corded ones) a lot having to do with their affordable battery costs. I have some Hitachi batteries that are well over 10 years old and still going strong.

 

[UncleDave]

My sons worked for the same employer some years ago. They were given a very decent tool budget to buy any kind of cordless tools they desired/needed. One went with DeWalt the other with Milwaukee. My son who choose DeWalt did so because he could get more tools (within their budget) than his brother's Milwaukee selection. When it came time to buy their own tools for at home use they each choose the exact same line of tools they used at work. Says something about their trust, reliability and comfort levels I guess. My first cordless tool was the ever so popular 9v Makita hand drill that had the foot long battery in the handle (yes I'm exaggerating). Great tool at the time but those nicad batteries were not ready for prime time. And that battery cost an arm and a leg back then to replace too. I now have a nice collection of Hitachi/Metabo cordless tools (even some corded ones) a lot having to do with their affordable battery costs. I have some Hitachi batteries that are well over 10 years old and still going strong.

I know the foot long battery Makita as well , and had about a half dozen batteries I rotated doing drywall work as a kid working for a contractor. that was the 9.6V drill, there was a smaller 7.2 that was incredible for overhead work. Those were my first battery tools that could do real work.

I still have a well used but perfect condition 9.6V drill - it still works.

I dont see anything in Metabo or Hitachi, to present a compelling case for me to embrace another platform - I know they are good tools just not better enough to move me.
Dr. Decks is an interesting channel - he's moving off Metabo to Makita because of battery failures.
Deck building is a particularly brutal environment for cordless tools.

The battery cost has never come into play because I buy packages that include a deal or " free batteries".
I've only actually bought a few outside of that with something like 30 tools now.
I've yet to lose a single makita 18V battery after about a decade of use but of course they all arent that old.

The brand that does seem compelling to me is Hikoki.

 

[facility1]

Metabo for me, real nice stuff for the money. and yes Harbor freight Hercules is good too.

 

[GaryMX5]

Metabo for me, real nice stuff for the money. and yes Harbor freight Hercules is good too.

I beginning to think HF is making inroads on cordless tools as well. It's, however, hard to think of them as a major player when Ryobi is more or less is in the same price range and offers a broader range of tool options. Home Depot availability doesn't hurt them either. If I were to start all over again, I'd probably give serious consideration to Ridgid tools..... super sales prices are common and hard to beat warranties provided by HD.

 

[Trav]

Tools to me are a bit like motorcycles - in that I pretty much like them all, but have my own favorites.

I think Milwaukee has a great lineup of stuff. It seems tiltled toward plumbing and electrical work.

The only thing I fear with them is economical repair over time.
Ive never worn a Makita out beyond economic repair.

In high power tuff triggers/switches die.

The only parts networks Ive seen as good as Makita would be Honda.
I can walk in an order parts for 10 year old product and actually get them.

I am glad you mentioned that, I have switches for most of my Makita and Bosch power tools, most of the Dewalt and almost all TTI tools you have to buy the switch, controller and field as a unit which cost in some case more than the tools did, absolutely disposable tools but I like the small Dewalt 20v tools and buy them knowing that once the warranty is gone throw it in the trash and replace it, I don't buy TTI tools.
Bosch parts service is excellent also, 3 switches were $14 ea and $5 shipping for the 3 of them.

 

[robbobster]

With the exception of an M18 compressor, all of my tools are yellow. I’d much rather have Milwaukee or Makita, but **** they’re proudly priced.

When I was renovating houses a few years back, most of my contractor’s crew used Rigid because of the lifetime battery warranty + relatively low price for the tools.

If I had to start over today, my tools would be red…

 

[R1jake]

I was dewalt years ago then my work had picked up some Milwaukee drills and I liked them so much I decided I was switching to a new brand. I did some research and went to the local stores to get a feel for what I liked and ended up settling on Makita and I’m glad I did. I’ve not had a single issue out of any of them.

 

[UncleDave]

I beginning to think HF is making inroads on cordless tools as well. It's, however, hard to think of them as a major player when Ryobi is more or less is in the same price range and offers a broader range of tool options. Home Depot availability doesn't hurt them either. If I were to start all over again, I'd probably give serious consideration to Ridgid tools..... super sales prices are common and hard to beat warranties provided by HD.

People looove cheap stuff. We'll soon learn what the cheap to good ratio is as they head out to job sites.

I am glad you mentioned that, I have switches for most of my Makita and Bosch power tools, most of the Dewalt and almost all TTI tools you have to buy the switch, controller and field as a unit which cost in some case more than the tools did, absolutely disposable tools but I like the small Dewalt 20v tools and buy them knowing that once the warranty is gone throw it in the trash and replace it, I don't buy TTI tools.
Bosch parts service is excellent also, 3 switches were $14 ea and $5 shipping for the 3 of them.

Yeah the current is hard on switches, I read someplace that Makita sources their switches and bearings from very high quality suppliers. (omron bearings?)

What you are describing is what my contractor is experiencing "designed in" parts compromise engineered to discourage repair.
The fanless battery charger thing was weird for me because Ive never seen a Makita 18V charger without a fan.
He definitely gets in rapid fire charge /use cycles at times going from charger to tool as soon as it flashes green.

The makitas are designed to let you know when you hit 80% which is the sweet spot for time to fill.

I dont have any TTI either, not because of any reasons other than Ive played around with them many times at friends houses / garages (we all have tons of yard and toys to maintain ) and was never compelled by anything I used enough to flip.
The stuff seems powerful for 18's, but feels cheap to me, and the bin at the local place is always filled with red tools.
No doubt they have some really cool stuff i havent tried though.