Which cordless drill platform and why
- Thread starter bchannell
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There's a good torture test on YouTube by Dirt Monkey. They bought all the major brands as well as the 3 tiers from HF
Each one, aside from the $20 HF model, did extremely well given the situation, but the Dewalt did seem to do the best overall. Just noticed there's no Milwaukee though.
https://youtu.be/DC3HuTcHET4
Each one, aside from the $20 HF model, did extremely well given the situation, but the Dewalt did seem to do the best overall. Just noticed there's no Milwaukee though.
https://youtu.be/DC3HuTcHET4
I'm not a tradesman, but I love my Milwaukee setup. I know two guys in the trades and they all vouch for Milwaukee for personal tools they use to screw around the house. One of them prefers his M18 Fuel drill and Sawzall over his work-provided Makita and brings it to the jobsite.
It's an even split between Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita on the many jobsites in downtown San Francisco. I've been seeing more Hilti for concrete and anchoring work.
The batteries between the big boys are mostly equal from a cell standpoint - I think I might have seen SAMSUNG stamped on a Milwaukee or DeWalt battery. Ergonomics and power/build make the difference as all the parts come from the same OEMs in China or Taiwan such as Delta Electronics. StanleyBlack&Decker decided to go a parallel-series wiring arrangement in DeWalt's 60V MAX system, while Techtronic packed in as many cells as possible for Milwaukee's M12/M18 High Demand batteries.
It's an even split between Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita on the many jobsites in downtown San Francisco. I've been seeing more Hilti for concrete and anchoring work.
The batteries between the big boys are mostly equal from a cell standpoint - I think I might have seen SAMSUNG stamped on a Milwaukee or DeWalt battery. Ergonomics and power/build make the difference as all the parts come from the same OEMs in China or Taiwan such as Delta Electronics. StanleyBlack&Decker decided to go a parallel-series wiring arrangement in DeWalt's 60V MAX system, while Techtronic packed in as many cells as possible for Milwaukee's M12/M18 High Demand batteries.
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After some use, I like Dewalt pretty well. Milwaukee has a much deeper line of tools, but I don't use much past the drills, drivers and saws, but I did have a Milwaukee inspection camera, and was planning on buying the 2" pvc cutter before I made the switch. Makita's 12 volt is the bomb, I've been using them almost exclusively. I think I mentioned earlier that the new sub compact Dewalt drill is great, but the driver is kinda wierd. I have also used the Makita sub compact 18v tools and they are great too.
I like to watch the torture tests, but you gotta wonder about guys that buy tools just to destroy them. I have to wonder what sense it makes to lock two drill or drivers to a common bit to see which one wins. I'm finding more and more that the compact and sub compact get way more use, and for the few things I need sheer power for, I'll use corded tools.
I like to watch the torture tests, but you gotta wonder about guys that buy tools just to destroy them. I have to wonder what sense it makes to lock two drill or drivers to a common bit to see which one wins. I'm finding more and more that the compact and sub compact get way more use, and for the few things I need sheer power for, I'll use corded tools.
I'm strictly a home gamer but I went through a bit of a phase a while back when I finally started upgrading from my old Ni-Cd stuff that finally died. I ended up with several different sets of Li
cordless drills/drivers across 4-5 different battery platforms, the major ones being:
- Milwaukee M12: 2504 drill, 2553 impact driver, 2402 cordless screwdriver, 2557 ratchet. I'm pretty happy with those, but the best/most useful among them is the 2402 (1/4 hex screwdriver).
- Dewalt 20V Max: DCD791 drill, DCF887 impact, hedge trimmer, DCF899 1/2" impact. I like the battery platform, especially the ones with the built-in charge indicator. I love the DCD791 drill. Perfect balance, very little chuck runout, operation is smooth as glass.
- Bosch 18v: HDS183 compact hammer drill, IDH182 1/4 socket / 1/2 impact combo. The IDH182 is a slick setup... super comfortable but way underpowered for a 1/2 impact... and bulkier than necessary for a 1/4 impact. Jack of all trades, master of none this thing is. I can't remember the last time I used it.
- Bosch 12v: PSA21 pocket driver. Fantastic little tool. Go-to driver for Ikea furniture assembly duty.
If I did service work for a living I'd without a doubt keep the Milwaukee 2402 in the tool bag, and a DeWalt DCD791 in the truck.
cordless drills/drivers across 4-5 different battery platforms, the major ones being:
- Milwaukee M12: 2504 drill, 2553 impact driver, 2402 cordless screwdriver, 2557 ratchet. I'm pretty happy with those, but the best/most useful among them is the 2402 (1/4 hex screwdriver).
- Dewalt 20V Max: DCD791 drill, DCF887 impact, hedge trimmer, DCF899 1/2" impact. I like the battery platform, especially the ones with the built-in charge indicator. I love the DCD791 drill. Perfect balance, very little chuck runout, operation is smooth as glass.
- Bosch 18v: HDS183 compact hammer drill, IDH182 1/4 socket / 1/2 impact combo. The IDH182 is a slick setup... super comfortable but way underpowered for a 1/2 impact... and bulkier than necessary for a 1/4 impact. Jack of all trades, master of none this thing is. I can't remember the last time I used it.
- Bosch 12v: PSA21 pocket driver. Fantastic little tool. Go-to driver for Ikea furniture assembly duty.
If I did service work for a living I'd without a doubt keep the Milwaukee 2402 in the tool bag, and a DeWalt DCD791 in the truck.
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