Guys who heavily use cordless drills...I'm wondering what your thoughts on a brush-less drill vs a drill with brushes? Would you rather have a cordless drill that is brush-less with 700 in-lbs of torque and a longer run time or a cordless drill with brushes with 800 in-lbs? I'm looking for a new cordless drill that is also a hammer drill. I'm switching over the Ridgid for their life time warranty and they offer both versions. Kind of leaning towards the brush-less for the longer run time thinking 700 in-lbs should be plenty but I'm not sure. What do you guys think? Thanks for the expert advice!
cordless drill users..got a question for you!
- Thread starter Chris B.
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Supposedly the brushless motors last longer and they are also 'sparkless' incase you ever have to operate it in an explosive environment.
No reason to ever buy another brushed drill.
I would go for the brushless.
Look at the brand's product line of tools you might want rather than any one tool.
I have several Milwaukee M18 Fuel tools. The 'Fuel' ones are brushless.
I have several Milwaukee M18 Fuel tools. The 'Fuel' ones are brushless.
Brushless
I’m invested in the M12 line and just replaced a drill with brushless and it’s much better. I see a lot of automotive shops using M12 because it’s easier to work underhood.
I’m invested in the M12 line and just replaced a drill with brushless and it’s much better. I see a lot of automotive shops using M12 because it’s easier to work underhood.
700 or 800 in-lb is well beyond safe one handed usage, so you might as well go for the brushless unless you have some specific high torque job. My brushed rigid hammer drill has lasted 10 years now with only a free battery swap to Li batteries, and it gets used pretty hard. So I imagine a brushless one could last a lifetime of regular home usage.
I have the Ridgid "Gen5X" brushless set and they work great. The batteries last forever and both the impact and drill have great power. I bought the light that fits the batteries and it'll last a week. I'm overall happy with them, especially when you consider the price over something like Snap On or similar. I'm a diesel mechanic, so they see heavy use and so far no problems.
Go brushless. I rely heavily on cordless tools and have a multi kit from HILTI, with :
Impact driver
Rotary hammer
Combihammer
Angle grinder
Reciprocating saw
No deception here.
Impact driver
Rotary hammer
Combihammer
Angle grinder
Reciprocating saw
No deception here.
Never used brushless but because of their lifetime warranty on tools and batteries, Richie is the way to go.
Originally Posted By: JLawrence08648
Never used brushless but because of their lifetime warranty on tools and batteries, Richie is the way to go.
Richie?
Never used brushless but because of their lifetime warranty on tools and batteries, Richie is the way to go.
Richie?
I use cordless tools almost every day, and can say for sure that brushless is the way to go. More power, batteries last longer, etc. all good, no bad that I can see. I chose red for mine, and have both 12V and 18V by the wheelbarrow full with no regrets. My son, the contractor, uses DeWalt, by the truckload, but has just recently switched to Rigid. I don't know the reason, but I know he's happy with them.
As I said earlier, my son uses a lot of cordless tools and recently switched to rigid. Well, I was at HD the other day and they had a drill and battery left over from a display kit, which originally included other tools too. It was on clearance and said "lifetime warranty" for the battery and the drill, (that's how I took it from the literature). Well, I bought it and came home and tried to register it. It had to be registered as the "kit", which I had no idea of the part number. So I called and got a person, who informed me that individual tools, from a kit, cannot be warrantied, even though if they had been "in" the kit, they were guaranteed? Makes sense....NOT!
Long story short, I like the tools, but the warranty is a bit convoluted, and I've read all kinds of stories on the internet about problems. On the other hand, I've also read some good stories about replacements, so who knows. I think it's just too much hassle for me, I'm not willing to put that much effort into getting stuff replaced. If they want to guarantee their stuff, then just do it. I do a lot of HVAC work and deal with tools like Fieldpiece, which will replace darn near any meter with a simple phone call, and you go to your local supplier, who does it over the counter. No shipping, no hassle, no fuss.
I don't have time to play their "lifetime warranty" game, so I returned the drill to HD and I'll stick with Milwaukee. They don't have the same type of guaranteed, but they've always worked for me, so I'll keep using what I got.
Long story short, I like the tools, but the warranty is a bit convoluted, and I've read all kinds of stories on the internet about problems. On the other hand, I've also read some good stories about replacements, so who knows. I think it's just too much hassle for me, I'm not willing to put that much effort into getting stuff replaced. If they want to guarantee their stuff, then just do it. I do a lot of HVAC work and deal with tools like Fieldpiece, which will replace darn near any meter with a simple phone call, and you go to your local supplier, who does it over the counter. No shipping, no hassle, no fuss.
I don't have time to play their "lifetime warranty" game, so I returned the drill to HD and I'll stick with Milwaukee. They don't have the same type of guaranteed, but they've always worked for me, so I'll keep using what I got.
Originally Posted By: bchannell
individual Ridgid tools, from a kit, cannot be warrantied, even though if they had been "in" the kit, they were guaranteed?
I've talked to quite a few people about the Ridgid "forever" warranty and it seems to be a mixed blessing. There are lots of strings attached to it and the place that guarantees the product may not be the same place that warranties the product. You always have to register everything, even the parts replaced under warranty. I've also heard first hand of where only the owner can bring an item in for warranty, you can't have a buddy bring it in for you. Seems like saving your paperwork is essential. I've also heard of only good things about it from some other people.
For the time being, I'll stick with Milwaukee Fuel.
individual Ridgid tools, from a kit, cannot be warrantied, even though if they had been "in" the kit, they were guaranteed?
I've talked to quite a few people about the Ridgid "forever" warranty and it seems to be a mixed blessing. There are lots of strings attached to it and the place that guarantees the product may not be the same place that warranties the product. You always have to register everything, even the parts replaced under warranty. I've also heard first hand of where only the owner can bring an item in for warranty, you can't have a buddy bring it in for you. Seems like saving your paperwork is essential. I've also heard of only good things about it from some other people.
For the time being, I'll stick with Milwaukee Fuel.
Milwaukee will never sell me another tool as long as I live over a battery warranty and terrible CS. They win the award for the worst CS of any company I have ever done business with.
I just bought another 18V Makita impact with 2 5A batteries. The 10 year old 3A are still going great as are the tools.
I just bought another 18V Makita impact with 2 5A batteries. The 10 year old 3A are still going great as are the tools.
I have a couple Rigid brushless drills. Power is great and run time on the batteries is unbelievably long. I'll never buy a brushed motor again if brushless is an option.
Keep an eye out for deals at in places like Lowes. I bought my 20v Dewalt brushless just after Christmas and got it and two batteries and a charger for 99 bucks and I don't regret it at all. I am a maintenance mechanic at an industrial plant and I usually use my drill daily especially drilling and tapping up to 3/4 inch steel plates.
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