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Milwaukee vs DeWalt?
- Thread starter Pre-64
- Start date
I swapped my impact wrench from dewalt to Milwaukee, much better torque. Also got a driver, drill, and grinder. Haven't used them hard all day yet to compare to the dewalt, just bought them so I had all the same batteries.
If you're only choosing from those two, Milwaukee.
All my power tools are Dewalt. Never had a problem with any of them. I try and buy the Made in USA models since they are producing more of them here.
I've used and owned both. Both are good tools. Think about all the cordless tools you may end up buying, and look at what each company has to offer. I currently have all milwaukee brand tools. Makes it nice only having one type of battery, and one charger.
All we run on the tracks are Milwaukee, we use the shit out of them daily and they keep going. Dewalt used to be popular, but they had too high a failure rate and the bean counters won't let us buy them anymore if there is a Milwaukee option.
I'm a carpenter, I use cordless stuff all day everyday, Milwaukee has great ideas but they're poorly executed and made in China. They don't hold up for as long as you'd expect. I replaced Milwaukee cordless drills and impacts once a year while I was using them. Makita is great although some of the larger tools require 2 batteries to run. They combine voltage. Dewalt has huge capacity flex voltage batteries, and on some tools you can charge while using the tool by plugging in. Milwaukee is innovative but the quality isn't always what you might expect. Makita and Dewalt are both very heavy duty. Pick which one has tools set up the way you like. I run Makita as a trimmer, but our framers prefer Dewalt.
Milwaukee everything. Same batteries and charger. Great warranty. I have 1/2 impact that has the same torque as my 1/2 pneumatic. I ran my 3/8 impact over with a tractor. No cracks, works fine. Drill and sawzall run great.
I was going to say also consider Makita.
Had a gutter installer come yesterday to do some work at my house. It was pouring run, like cats and dogs raining. But the guy still showed up. Anyway, I see him using a Makita impact driver and it's absolutely soaking, dripping wet. I make the comment that he must go through a few of them a year. He says not since he went Makita. Says the one he was using at my place was close to 5 years old, used every day, year round, rain or shine.
Had a gutter installer come yesterday to do some work at my house. It was pouring run, like cats and dogs raining. But the guy still showed up. Anyway, I see him using a Makita impact driver and it's absolutely soaking, dripping wet. I make the comment that he must go through a few of them a year. He says not since he went Makita. Says the one he was using at my place was close to 5 years old, used every day, year round, rain or shine.
a few thoughts- for the DIY weekend family- consider the Home Depot branded Ridgid tool
Why Ridgid - if you register them when you buy them- free warrenty on tools and battery
WHAT DOES THE LIFETIME SERVICE AGREEMENT COVER?
Your power tool is covered if it breaks due to normal wear and tear, as long as it's been properly maintained and used correctly. Ridgid will replace your damaged tool or parts including brushes, chucks, motors, switches, gears and even cordless batteries.
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Dewalt vs Milwaukee
It's kinda a Bud vs Miller Debate..
The debate should be- Can I afford and need a brushless tool set?
Brushless tools use about 50% less battery or will give you about double the work of the older brush sets...
Many Brushless sets are FRAUD- the set will have 1 brushless tool and the rest have brushes...
Example
20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Combo Kit (6-Tool) w/ Hammer Drill, (2) Batteries 5.0Ah, Charger and Bag
** This set only includes 2 brushless tools.... only 2 are brushless **
the description is below-
For $500 (10% off with DD214) you get a decent value
These videos are NOT scientific- Batteries get hot under use- the battery need to be cool in order to recharge.
After recharge, it should also be cool before use.
So how will you use the tools? Do you work with animals who abuse tools? If yes- get a different brand so they don't steal your batteries.... Do projects with parents or your kids- buy the same brand to share chargers....
Why Ridgid - if you register them when you buy them- free warrenty on tools and battery
RIDGID® Limited Lifetime Service Agreement - The Home Depot
RIDGID® Limited Lifetime Service Agreement
www.homedepot.com
Your power tool is covered if it breaks due to normal wear and tear, as long as it's been properly maintained and used correctly. Ridgid will replace your damaged tool or parts including brushes, chucks, motors, switches, gears and even cordless batteries.
-
Dewalt vs Milwaukee
It's kinda a Bud vs Miller Debate..
The debate should be- Can I afford and need a brushless tool set?
Brushless tools use about 50% less battery or will give you about double the work of the older brush sets...
Many Brushless sets are FRAUD- the set will have 1 brushless tool and the rest have brushes...
Example
DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless 6 Tool Combo Kit with (2) 20V 5.0Ah Batteries and Charger DCK694P2 - The Home Depot
The DCK694P2 20-Volt MAX XR(R) 6-Tool Cordless Power Tool Combo Kit features our DCD996 Premium Hammer Drill/Driver with 3-speed transmission. It also has our DEWALT-built high-power, high-efficiency brushless motor that delivers up to 75% more runtime vs. 18-Volt NiCad brushed motors. The...
www.homedepot.com
20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Combo Kit (6-Tool) w/ Hammer Drill, (2) Batteries 5.0Ah, Charger and Bag
** This set only includes 2 brushless tools.... only 2 are brushless **
the description is below-
- Brushless 3-Speed Hammer Drill & Brushless Impact Driver
- Brushless motor maximizes runtime and durability
- Includes Circular & Reciprocating Saws, Oscillating Tool & Bag ( brush tools)
For $500 (10% off with DD214) you get a decent value
DEWALT 20-Volt MAX Cordless Combo Kit (7-Tool) with ToughSystem Case, (1) 20-Volt 4.0Ah Battery & (2) 20-Volt 2.0Ah Batteries-DCKTS781D2M1 - The Home Depot
Get a properly upgraded accessory to complete your cutting and fastening jobs easily with this DEWALT MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit with ToughSystem.
www.homedepot.com
These videos are NOT scientific- Batteries get hot under use- the battery need to be cool in order to recharge.
After recharge, it should also be cool before use.
So how will you use the tools? Do you work with animals who abuse tools? If yes- get a different brand so they don't steal your batteries.... Do projects with parents or your kids- buy the same brand to share chargers....
Question for you. I have been in Home Depot and see that it appears Makita now has a cheaper lineup than in the past. Granted, it could be my imagination, but these were close to the Ryobi prices. Have you noticed this? Are they now marketing a cheap line (I pray not, but....big box demands....)
They're line to compete withe Rigid and the like. Previous generation were all white. Still decent tool but generally come with low amp hour batteries.
Fart noise. No idea how to type that out. I ran them. Professionally. The circular saw sucks, half the parts are plastic and always work loose. The impact drivers last a year and lose all torque. Went through 3 sets of tools before I switched. No issues after 2 years with Makita. Plus, Makita is made in Georgia and Milwaukee is made in China.
My whole electric coop switched to Milwaukee power tools and haven’t have anything but good luck thus far 3 years after initial purchase 50 linemen using them 5 days a week. Pretty damned good test
I have to be honest, when I saw the prices I just turned away - disgusted. Like another brand goes cheap was my thought. That said, I don't need professional grade power tools so I went with the Ryobi. So far the drill is ok, but not sure about the saw. I like they have a ton of product that all uses the same battery interface. However, I'm not delusional , so I know they are super quality. When my father still had his business even in the 80's and 90's they ran Makita - they'd tried a bunch of other stuff back then but the Makitas were bullet proof.
Makita used to be the ticket, have not bought makita in many years. Milwaukee really put a lot of effort into their cordless tools. The fuel series I use at work and they beat the shit out of every other brand I use at work.
I have to ask... How many of you guys suggesting Milwaukee, use them professionally, all day every day? Speak up. We have a guy in the company whose brother in law is a Milwaukee engineer, it's why we started using them a few years ago. Almost everyone has bought their own cordless tools, either Makita or Dewalt since. Only the guy with the family connection still runs them.
It's different if you have to buy your own vs a company that supplies tools. We buy our own cordless. If it were free we'd take whatever they were giving.
It's different if you have to buy your own vs a company that supplies tools. We buy our own cordless. If it were free we'd take whatever they were giving.
I do daily. Run the m18 fuel series impacts in 3/8 and 1/2. I had bought snap on 1/2 & 3/8 guns and they were gutless turds. The fuel 1/2 has more torque than my ingersoll 1/2 and my snap on 1/2 pneumatic guns.
Last week ordered a set of the fuels for my house toolbox in 3/8 & 1/2, snap on guy should be delivering tomorrow. I no longer even have a compressor in my service truck. They have replaced almost all of my pneumatic tools, except my air hammer. Prefer the snap on cordless ratchet over the milwaukee, both have similar torque but prefer the trigger on the snap on.
I've run all the big three at different times, been doing this for 20 years. The Milwaukee tools had decent features but just didn't seem to last for me. Everyone has a different experience I suppose. I broke one set of tools a year while using them.
Of the two you mentioned I would pick Milwaukee, have both, Dewalt makes pretty nice stuff but I just like Milwaukee better, seems to last longer when you use it a lot, if you want really nice cordless tools take a look at Hilti they make some really nice stuff, it will cost you but real nice tools, have a few Hilti cordless tools but just cant spend that much on everything, like everything you get what you pay for.
I used to work for Milwaukee’s parent company TTI doing gas engines for outdoor products you’d find in Ryobi, homelite, and toro. We also built the ryobi and rigid branded tools, our factory and Milwaukee’s were on the same site in China, but they had a much nicer facility and they invested in good suppliers and much better machine tools. To the point where you had to have special clearance to get in their side of the plant. They make a good tool and good batteries. That said, I got hooked on dewalt power tools because of my last job and once you have $300 invested in one companies batteries it’s easier to just keep buying their stuff. Dewalt has a great service center in the Carolinas and they do fast turn around on everything from hand tools to chop saws. The main thing is to make sure you’re buying the higher quality tool from either group, it’s just like ARs, there is a price difference between PSA and larue for a reason, they both offer a lot of cool tools but I would have to give Milwaukee the nod for innovation and dewalt the nod for toughness. Consumer product development is a shit job, always focused on driving cost down and selling gimmicks, you wouldn’t believe some of the cool prototypes we came up with that got canceled for being $.03 more expensive and marketing couldn’t pitch it to big orange.
When I started wrenching I always had some cordless tools, drill or impact driver but they never had the power or batt life to replace pneumatic tools. Not until the last few years were they good enough in my opinion. Knock on wood I have had great luck with the ones I am running now. Got them in may of 18 when put new service truck together
When I started my job, all the power tools were dewalt. A few years later we started to switch over to Milwaukee.
I would never go back. The Milwaukee's get the piss beat out of them on a regular basis. Our 1/4"impact, which we use many times a day, crapped out last year and I replaced it with another one because it handled the abuse.
I've since started purchasing Milwaukee tools for home.
I would never go back. The Milwaukee's get the piss beat out of them on a regular basis. Our 1/4"impact, which we use many times a day, crapped out last year and I replaced it with another one because it handled the abuse.
I've since started purchasing Milwaukee tools for home.
I like makita myself and think they are better quality than those other two. I would recommend most of their cordless tools.
couldn’t agree more about China, that job made me hate globalism and turned me into an isolationist. Unfortunately, the recent tariff wars have just made people go through loop holes to be made in China but “built in the USA”, But I’m glad to finally see someone put the screws to China even if it isn’t all that effective. Dealing with Chinese parts and traveling to that continent every two weeks were what drove me to quit an otherwise fun job.
Hilti makes some great tools as do snap on and some others but man are they proud of them. Check out tool barn.com for some good deals on bare tools and refurbs from any brand, have only had good experiences with them.
One thing reading through this is how old (as in when were they introduced) are the tools are you considering? Dewalt also has different size/ usage ranges. Not sure about Milwaukee.
One thing that I've noticed alot of the ones that go on sale are quite a few years old and the lower models. Best area that I've found to check ages is the date first available on Amazon. It's way down in the details.
I went with the dewalt dcd796 brushless hammer with the dcf887 brushless impact in the dck287d1m1 set. First available Feb '18. Bought Dec '18. They've been great for me with house stuff so far. I could've gone for the 996 size but didn't need that capacity.
At the time they had the get extra tool free (older tools only). I went with the slightly older brushed 6.5 circular saw which I was fine with cause it is a lefty saw. The 7.25 20 volts are right handed saws only.
One thing that I've noticed alot of the ones that go on sale are quite a few years old and the lower models. Best area that I've found to check ages is the date first available on Amazon. It's way down in the details.
I went with the dewalt dcd796 brushless hammer with the dcf887 brushless impact in the dck287d1m1 set. First available Feb '18. Bought Dec '18. They've been great for me with house stuff so far. I could've gone for the 996 size but didn't need that capacity.
At the time they had the get extra tool free (older tools only). I went with the slightly older brushed 6.5 circular saw which I was fine with cause it is a lefty saw. The 7.25 20 volts are right handed saws only.
I do, I'm a railroader (signal construction) and as posted above we're all Milwaukee for cordless. The tools live in the dust and are used rain/snow or blazing heat.
We use a four year old basic 1/2" drill to bore 3/4"x6" deep lag holes in creosote soaked ties, takes about 15 seconds per hole and will rip your wrist off if you're not careful before it gives out from lack of power when the bit locks up in the bore hole. We use 3/4" impact to set the lags and takes about 20 sec per. If we have our boom truck with the hydraulics, we do break those out because we can drill the hole in a couple seconds and impact the lags tighter when we bore with a slightly smaller drill bit, necessary when you have a 1200 lbs tie dangling and being drug around by a loader and track hoe on a built switch panel.
Daily, our 3/8" impact has become our new favorite for typical work, mostly on 9/16" bolts we have to torque to at least 150 ft/lbs. The little thing is light weight and can hammer off anything unless the threads are seriously fuckered (our own technical term), then we get out the four year old 1/2" impact. I've run the impacts hard in 110°+F heat to failure several times, throw them in the AC for ten minutes, have a smoke and some water, grab a new battery, put it back to work.
The 4 1/2" grinder gets used daily as well, I'm more "meh" on that one because the company requires us to use the one with the safety clutch so when cutting thick steel, it becomes a weak bitch when the disk binds up in the least and it auto-stops. We augmented it with a corded Dewalt 9" grinder, now that thing is a beast and gives no fucks when cutting.
Biggest issue we had with Dewalt was batteries and not having enough power in comparison. We're torque heavy on the job as everything is rusted and beat to hell by the time we get called to work on it.
At home, I run Milwaukee cordless and Dewalt corded. Milwaukee are pricy, I buy them twice a year at Father's Day and Christmas time because of the sales then and I have a family to provide for otherwise. Dewalt runs constant sales for their cordless, but I'd still rather wait a little and/or pay a bit more out of my own pocket for red over yellow. I do have my eye on a new miter and table saw as well, Dewalt corded of course since they'll be more or less stationary.
I'm not brand biased at all, but I do know what works and what lasts for us and myself.
Milwaukee fuel is tough to beat. I mainly use the impacts and ratchet daily but have used the drills and bandsaw regularly. They hold up pretty good but I do need to send my drill off to be rebuilt. Had one battery and a charger die since I switched from snap on around 5 years ago. Pretty happy with the performance vs cost of them.
I recommend Milwaukee for sure! We have a 1/2in impact, drill,driver, and grinder. Had them for 3 years so far and use them with 3 guys and the only problem we have had so far was the 1/2 impact had to have the handle/trigger replaced but it was under warranty so it was no big deal. The impact is amazing we have used it to change semi wheels all kinds of torque and it fairly light weight. Also another bit of advice we like the 5 Ah battery’s.
I like Milwaukee. However I went Rigid. The batteries for me have always been the week link. Rigid was the ONLY company offering lifetime warranty on the batteries.
Not sure if they still are. They had a lot of paperwork’s me a comprehensive process to register them but I completed it and have the paperwork in the safe for good measure. But I would check to see if they are still offering that level of warranty.
Not sure if they still are. They had a lot of paperwork’s me a comprehensive process to register them but I completed it and have the paperwork in the safe for good measure. But I would check to see if they are still offering that level of warranty.
I do. Electrician.
I'm still using a 1st Gen fuel impact. It gets more use than any other tool.
I buy them myself for my use. I have some weeks where I run through all 15 of my batteries several times, others where I never run one dead. Still have a few 3.0 batteries from 2013. Mostly 5.0 and a few 9.0. some fuel tools greatly benefit from the bigger batteries.
I couldn't justify any other brand when they're the only one making trade specially tools.
I'll never buy yellow after the number of gear boxes I've exploded with them. They were free back then so the shop fixed them and I'd have it back in the next week. Garbage.
Love the M12 stuff, however the M18 brushless drill/drivers don’t seem to last. The newer Dewalt stuff seems to hang in there. I’d grab what ever you can get the best deal on.
Porter Cable.
I only use a half inch chuck drill and several impact drivers in the HVAC business. They all have taken multiple drops from ladders and other abuse and keep on going.
I used the Makita, DeWalt and a couple of other store brand stuff. I will stay with the Porter Cable drills and drivers.
A couple weeks ago I used the DeWalt battery sawz-all and I was impressed with the battery life using it. Most of the circular saws and sawz-all eat batteries like popcorn. Well at least they did in the past so I have always stayed with the corded tools.
I only use a half inch chuck drill and several impact drivers in the HVAC business. They all have taken multiple drops from ladders and other abuse and keep on going.
I used the Makita, DeWalt and a couple of other store brand stuff. I will stay with the Porter Cable drills and drivers.
A couple weeks ago I used the DeWalt battery sawz-all and I was impressed with the battery life using it. Most of the circular saws and sawz-all eat batteries like popcorn. Well at least they did in the past so I have always stayed with the corded tools.
Have to be careful about that.
First has been around since sep 2013, 2nd Feb 14, third is April 2019. Last is current generation and is ~$140 for 1 tool. I would at mininum stick with brushless. I use my impact driver the most which I didn't expect.
Honestly i dont think you can go wrong either way. Both have premium and garbage lines. For dewalt stick with the xr line. For Milwaukee get the fuel. Also the 2ah batterys suck for either so make sure you end up with a 4ah or bigger. All of this only applies if you are going to use them everyday. If you are a average homeowner it really dont matter.
This is right up there with a ford, chevy debate. Lol
This is right up there with a ford, chevy debate. Lol
You guys need the hole hawg. We drill 2 9/16" holes with the dewalt version and they make easy work out of it.
Good on you for being in railway maintenance! you guys do a lot of shit jobs that never get any recognition but keeps our country running cheaply, safely, and efficiently. if you can still find them, the older Milwaukee miter saws were one of the most bombproof saw designs you could get. I worked as a maintenance engineer for a custom window plant after I left TTI, and we used a ton of consumer grade saws (57 when I quit) for our smaller work stations. The dewalt dw710 and later dw715 got about a third of the life that the Milwaukee 6590 would work for, and the Milwaukee saw was made to be easy to work on. Again though, we were on the border of the two Carolinas and the dewalt/porter cable/black and decker refurb center was just an hour away, we were gauranteed monthly work for them and they gave us good prices to reflect that, so the decision wasn’t always who made the best equipment.
as for Milwaukee plants in the US I know they have some production here but couldn’t tell you what products, been out of that game for too long, used to be corded tools were all built here. I know their engineering group is still US based like we were. I’ll say this for Milwaukee corded tools, they are heavy but tough, Ives seen one take about 200 amps when a welder had one sitting plugged in on a fab table and left off his ground, drill just spun and spun and spit out so me copper winding until he was done, worked great for another 3 years until a forklift backed over it.
All the recent tariffs are making companies look at production costs a lot more and Chinese labor prices just keeping moving upward, while automation in the states keeps getting cheaper, there will be a day of reckoning for the PRC, our production economy will come back but it will be different than when it left.
Everyone is my company does daily. Mechanical/HVAC. They get dropped off ladders/lifts, get wet and still keep running strong. No offense but the few guys who have had makita, while they did last along time had no power and batteries didn’t last. Dewalt is fine, especially their max line. Edit: now the first Milwaukee lithium tools sucked something horrible. I bought a set in 2008 I think. Complete junk. I switched to them cuz I was tired of all my 18v yellowtop batteries growing feet and wondering off.
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My father was a believer in porter cable for years. That’s what he used pretty much until he stopped working. I don’t recall him ever having any issues with them. I’d honestly kind of forgotten about them till you mentioned them.
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