DeWalt 36 volt tools are the very best! I've had my set almost 6 years now but don't have the impact wrench yet. Batteries last extremely well and I'm still on the original set with unnoticeable degradation due to age.
I have a ton of Milwaukee M18 tools. My luck has been hit or miss. The "Fuel" drills will break your wrist / knock you off a ladder if it binds up. This is the first cordless drill I've owned that has "too much" torque. I do have a smaller M18 drill that's not as tough.
One thing I do like about Milwaukee is the selection of tools available. Based on what I've seen, they have a much larger variety than most other manufacturers.
I see the Milwaukee impact wrench (2652-22 ~180 fp) "kit" is around $300, but comes with 2 batteries and a charger. The "bare tool" is about $115 for the lighty. $165 for the heavy w/ pin kit.
I do not have anything nice to say about Rigid cordless tools. Maybe one thing - at least when (not if) they break they have a decent warranty. I think Rigid is geared more towards the H.O. or handy Andy.
you might have one of the models that were made in the U.S.A. they are not made here anymore..
Definitely not. DeWalt moved out of the country before the 36 volt line was introduced (I really doubt that any cordless DeWalt tools were made in the US but don't know for sure). I bought my set within the first year of their introduction. The battery technology was supposed to be very advanced and from my experience it is. All of the 36 volt tools I have used (drill/driver, recip saw, and 7" circle saw) are professional quality and stand up to hard use. Clutch is starting to go out on my drill, but it has been put through much in the past 6 years. I'll pick up a replacement new off of eBay when it croaks.
Buy Milwaukee tools if you can. I have Ryobi also and use the smaller Milwaukee instead.
OTOH my 120VAC 1/2" impact wrench was $40 at Harbor Freight and for as often as I use it (seldom that is) i.e. for the hot water heater anode rods or riding mower blades, it does the job.
Buy Milwaukee tools if you can. I have Ryobi also and use the smaller Milwaukee instead.
OTOH my 120VAC 1/2" impact wrench was $40 at Harbor Freight and for as often as I use it (seldom that is) i.e. for the hot water heater anode rods or riding mower blades, it does the job.
That's got a NiCad battery. If you can put up with it, sure.
For a guy with kids, it sucks when you have an hour or two to do something and find your battery dead.
Most people are only using it enough to need 1 battery. Maybe taking off 4-8 tires (1-2 cars) then rotating them and reinstalling them or removing the anode in your water heater or replacing the lawn mower blades. If you need it more then that you want an expensive professional tool.
I was referring to the self-draining that happens with NiCad. So when the kids go to bed and you realize you have time rotate your tires, your battery is dead. You need to plan ahead and put the batteries on the charger in the morning.
I was referring to the self-draining that happens with NiCad. So when the kids go to bed and you realize you have time rotate your tires, your battery is dead. You need to plan ahead and put the batteries on the charger in the morning.
I do that with Lithium-Ion batteries anyways. I always put them on the charger the night before. They don't have a power level indicator and I want them at 100% not an unknown level since last time I used it. That's just me though.
The issue with HF is who knows how long they are going to keep making the battery.. sure you can replace the battery pack but I don't want to have to sit and rebuild them when I need the tool the most..
I was in Home depot today and for $199 they have the Milwaukee drill/driver set but it has those compact batteries.. I don't know how that impact wrench would handle that small battery, the ridgid is nice because of the LSA on the batteries, yes I've heard a lot of complaints about lack of variety of tools
Hmm I might be going milwaukee now.. since I'm a bit of a tight budget this week I wonder if the impact wrench can work off that small battery in this kit?
I have the small battery for my Milwaukee. It all depends on what you're doing.
When I was putting down the floor plates for the framing of my basement bathroom and had to drill holes in the concrete floor for the screws, I found one battery would do about 3 - maybe 4 - holes. And that's going about 3" into the concrete for each hole.
But drilling into concrete is a constant draw of high power. With in impact wrench, you're more likely to have short bursts where high power is needed, like loosening a lug nut. In that application, you could probably get through a couple cars or more.
No idea. I haven't had any problem with mine in the 1.5 years I've had it, and I got it used. Though it's possible it could have been repaired by the previous owner, but he said he had two of these drills (which is why he was selling one) so it probably wasn't heavily used by him.
I see, I've never been to Home depot on black Friday, the doors open at 5 AM I have to be to work at 6:30 AM are the lines so long that it's going to be hard to get in and out?
and pick up the larger battery later and the drill.
Went back to another home depot tonight and they finally put a charged battery in the hammer drill Milwaukee.. wow with the masonry bit it drilled fast right in that concrete block.
They were also unwrapping the black Friday displays, sweet that the current tool batteries don't fade in power.
I see, I've never been to Home depot on black Friday, the doors open at 5 AM I have to be to work at 6:30 AM are the lines so long that it's going to be hard to get in and out?
Not sure. Home Depot's BF ads have not really interested me and some of the stuff is already available at those prices. I think it all depends on your location. I'd imagine if you get there and it looks packed you may want to go back at lunchtime.
and pick up the larger battery later and the drill.
Nice set but you may want to see if they have the kit with the 2 large batteries + wrench - those batts are not cheap!
quote:Went back to another home depot tonight and they finally put a charged battery in the hammer drill Milwaukee.. wow with the masonry bit it drilled fast right in that concrete block.
Yeah - the Fuel hammerdrill is a BEAST. Even my M12 hammerdrill does really well in concrete for setting tapcons and even smaller other holes.
I've never seen a tool combo with a impact wrench it's always a impact driver.
the battery I have now is the XC model which is the 3 Ah it was already 50% charged when I got home.
I've already saw the locations of where they are in both stores so if I can get in and out fast that would be great, both stores don't have that many of the M18 impact wrenches however.
+1 for the Milwaukee M18 set. Been an owner for just over 2 months of the Drill/Impact Driver and love the set. The quality of the tools is great and feel solid. Home Depot was offering an additional free battery with any drill purchase so I've got 3 batteries for the 2 units which is great as they can be both up and running with one charging, means less downtime.
The charger also has a slot for M12 battery so it will be easy to invest in the rest of the lineup when the time comes. The carrying bag is also pretty tough and big enough to fit other tools with the gear when going somewhere.
No carry bag but I'm ok with that :P gotta be up bright and early in the morning, I know where the tools are on the shelf so if I can get in and get to the shelf checkout I will be good to go.
I've taken it off with my air tool many of times if I'm near the compressor, if not I use my breaker bar.. but seeing as I'm switching motors and I have a light weight one on the other it only needs to be 110 ft. lbs
Now other stuff is mixed around 75-90 Ft.lbs which should be easy.. curious to see the size between my air tool and the cordless because sometimes it was hard and awkward to get the tool to fit in some locations
So after reading this entire thread I have come to the conclusion that it don't matter what you buy. It's a crap shoot. Everyone have different experiences, good and bad. And also different preferences.
And on that note Home Depot is have some nice deals this weekend. Time to buy a new drill.