Brush or Brushless Cordless? Drill / Impact Driver combo.

[Spike Strip]

In the market for a new Cordless Drill driver and Impact driver combo.

Zeroing in on a Makita 18v set.

Are the new Brushless ones worth the extra $$ ?

TIA

 

[Redgrrr]

I use my tools daily and brushless makes sense for me for the longer battery life. If you use occasionally I'd go for the regular ones and save some dough...

 

[Tapage]

I target for the better option ( variety on tools that share the same battery / batteries ) with best warranty ( most on batteries ).

Being a Dewalt 18V and 20V user for a few years now and have no complains ..

 

[JTU]

Im currently using Kobalt 24v brushless for all my cordless needs. I have the Kobalt drill, impact driver, and 1/2 compact impact. Some of the key things I really like about the Kobalts is the drill uses a Jacobs chuck, very good; and the lithuim batteries are about 1/2 the price as dewalt, milwaukee, or rigid. I used to be all dewalt but I think the new Kobalt line is best bang for the buck and mine get used almost everyday.

 

[Patineto]

I have tons of makita 18v, grinders, saws, Drills, etc and sincerely I can not tell much of a difference in between the two generations, maybe less things to go wrong but hard to tell since they almost never fail..

 

[Spike Strip]

Wow, that's a great storage idea!

Thanks!

 

[Patineto]

Wow, that's a great storage idea!

Thanks!

Gracias

My old shop was really small (and very messy) so with the aluminum "swingarm" I was able to bring them with me all over the place

Here are a bunch of pictures of the build

"Revolver" for cordeless drills - ricardo kuhn (patineto)

 

[dcguillory]

I have makita brushless and the previous gen and brushless better for sure. Lighter weight and longer battery life. I used dewalt before but the weight just killed me for long work times. Literally double the weight. If I you want to be able to use all the funky tools with your batteries (light stands, radios, blowers, vaccums) then Milwaukee actually has better selection and quality but of course they cost even more.

 

[BulletHead]

Can't go wrong with Bosch or Makita.

 

[e9999]

I like Makita tools but I find the lifetime warranty on Ridgid tools and especially their batteries an attractive proposition. I never really had a cordless tool fail, but had plenty of issues with bad batteries over the years.
Brushed vs brushless: meh... brushless if money is no issue, brushed if it it.

 

[04UZJ100]

Milwaukee Fuel is exceptional

 

[45Kevin]

I used to pay the big bucks for the brand names, but recently I've started buying the cheap house brands.

Why? Because of the batteries.

For the cost of two new batteries for my old Dewalt, or Milwaukee tools, I can buy a new tool, complete with two batteries and charger, and save a bundle to boot.

I had a bad experience with an $850 Milwaukee 5 piece combo set I purchased. The deck setting on the circular saw broke after using it a couple of times and the sawsall blew a transmission way before it should have. On the bright side, I have a very robust $850 tool bag.

I think if you read up on it, the "20V" tools are really only 18V with a surge/startup measurement.

 

[Technician1985]

Definitely get brushless. Makita, dewalt, and Milwaukee all have good brushless tools. If you don't need anything super heavy duty I would recommend this:

https://www.amazon.com/Lithium-Ion-...r=1-29&keywords=makita+brushless+impact+combo

For heavier duty tasks this:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCK29...8803108&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=dewalt+xr+dombo

 

[Technician1985]

Also you can get knockoff Makita batteries from China on ebay for way cheaper than the Makita batteries, I'm using 3 Chinese batteries at work and they are fine. Same with dewalt probably.

 

[swelltimes]

I've been really happy with my Milwaukee impact driver with the M18 battery. Often, I can't believe how long it's been between charges on the battery.

I have a jigsaw on the same platform, which never worked right: sent it back to Milwaukee last month, and they fixed it under the warranty. Just bought a drill / hammer drill with the same battery platform, and have been loving it. Made super quick work of boring 4" deep 5/8" holes into PT 6 x 6's last week.

My sense is that battery life / price and customer service is the biggest deal. I love my red tools, but if I had to reinvest in battery-powered tools, I'd probably go with Rigid, since I can get a replacement / exchange at Home Depot on the spot, instead of having to do a few hours of calls / running around to get my Milwaukee serviced.

 

[FJ60Seth]

I'm on my 2nd Mikita drill/driver. The 1st one lasted about 15 years. The drill is great but the life span of the original battery was so-so. i replaced it with an ExpertPower 3000mAh, $48 Amazon Prime.

 

[White Stripe]

I think brushless are worth the money. Brushless motors are more powerful from what I've observed. My xr Dewalt drill will almost break my wrist. Lighting in a tool is also important to me and I like most of the Dewalt tools lighting.

 

[SMG]

IMHO, Milwaukee Fuel Brushless is the way to go. Super strong and lightweight.

 

[Vintij74]

After a year of Dewalt n Ryobi dead batteries, I actually just got new Makita 12V set for all day long work on restoring motorhome subfloor n interior ..the tight space and angles are awful w big clumsy speed guns. Impact used a bunch

Couple guys I know like the heavy Makita 18V and squabble that earlier generation batteries don’t last that long but these new batteries and motors are powerful and recharge is quick

 

[LS1FJ40]

I’ve always been a devout Makita fanboy. All I have. My newest Makita tools are a brushless 1/2” hammer drill and 1/4” impact. They are 5-6 years old. I bought the two as a kit for cheap in case my impact failed. I’ve never used the impact because my 15 year old brushed impact just keeps going. I’ve decided to use the new impact as my “inside” impact and leave the old one for in the garage working on my rigs.

I just decided to purchase a cordless Makita 14” chain saw for carrying in my 80. Really looking forward to that toy!

I started buying the Makita tools because they are Japanese. They are not fancy and flashy but they just keep going. Like a Land Cruiser.