I'm in need of a new cordless combo kit, my ryobi setup got me through the first year of business as i hoped, but battery time and power is down to nothing.

I'm getting a milwaukee or dewalt kit with:
Hammer Drill, Circular saw, and Sawzall.

Prices
dewalt-$499
Milwaukee $450

Anyone notice any quality difference?

I'm leaning towards the milwaukee so far, because
A. Comes with the bag instead of the bulky ugly plasice molded case
B. $50 cheaper
C. You get a free work site radio from Milwaukee for purchasing it.

So what's everyone think?

I have had them all and then some. They just don't seem to last as long as they should. I had the milwaukee kit for a few years. The drill died, the battery charger died, and the batteries were a pain in the rear to use. I found a better way. This is revolutionary. Tools that use......Electricity! No batteries, a fraction of the price of cordless, better wear and tear. For cordless drill that is mainly for screwgun use I go cheap. I am about to buy a Hitachi 14V for $79.00 at Lowes. Two batteries and charger and not very heavy. Perfect for everyday screwgun. I have a Dewalt 1/2" T handle drill (not cordless) that has been in use for 10 years. works as good as the day I bought it.

[This message has been edited by Electricmanscott (edited 02-17-2005).]

I have a DeWalt 18V hammer drill and I think it's great. I also have the DeWalt jobsite radio and it's junk. Any time I plug in a DeWalt charger on the same circuit it makes so much interference you can't listne to the radio.

Sorry no experience with Milwakee cordless tools. All the corded tools of theirs, 1/2" hole shooter, 3/8 hammer drill, sawzall, 1/4" angle drive adaptor all work great.

I had Dewalt 14.4V cordless drills, sawzall and trimsaw and was happy with them until they were stolen off a job in 1999 and in a rush to get back to work I bought a Porter Cable 14.4V driver drill. It was superior to the Dewalt in my opinion. I went on to buy the PC 14.4V hammer drill and had nothing but praise for PC until this winter. The batteries started dying and the box stores quit carrying PC cordless drills and batteries. I was on a commercial job last week 80 miles from home and even my newest PC batteries weren't lasting very long and taking nearly 2 hours to recharge. I went to a near by Lowes and bought a Milwaukee 14.4V 1/2" Lok-Tor drill. Awesome performance and the batteries recharged in 45 minutes or less. I still have a Dewalt 18V sawzall that I love. I used a Milwaukee Hatchet for a couple of days and just didn't care for the feel of it. I have an inverter on the truck that runs my chargers so it's no big deal to have 2 different brand cordless tools. I also used a Milwaukee 18V Lok-Tor for a couple of days on a job this winter but felt it was too much heavier than the 14.4V and didn't offer significant increases in torque or battery run time. For heavy-duty all day drilling 7/8" holes in studs I still like my Dewalt 1/2" D handle drill. I've had it rebuilt twice in the last 15 years and it works great all day. But when I have to crawl back in a tight attic to drill 20 7/8" holes in a double top plate, the 14.4V Lok-Tor handled it with no sweat. I wouldn't want to go totally cordless but cordless tools have their place and truely quality ones are worth their weight in gold.

Anybody try any of those cordless impact drivers? If you do a lot of screw driving, especially long screws, you will be impressed with an impact driver drill. These things are smaller, lighter and far more powerful than the average cordless driver/drill.

Thanks for the replys.

I have plenty of corded tools, but i try to take them out of the truck as least as possible, i'm all about conveiniance and quickness.

I have used the impact screw gun, it's very handy, and can get to a right angle inbetween the studs.

As for the dewalt radio getting interference from the charger, don't feel bad, dewalt chargers do that to nearly every radio. Even my 12v dewalt does it.

I need a cordless drill that will stand up to using 7/8 bits with the worm on the top. Because i really hate when i have to go back and make a change and have to get the generator, cord, and drill out, just to make 2 or 3 holes.

Milwaukees battery design does concern me, so far that's one of the only reasons in favor of the dewalt, along with i'd like to purchase an impact screw gun later.

"Milwaukees battery design does concern me, so far that's one of the only reasons in favor of the dewalt, along with i'd like to purchase an impact screw gun later."

Can you explain what concerns you about the battery design?

One of our guys has one. Nice for screws. For drilling you need quick release bits or a chuck addaptor. It wont hammer eather.

I like Milwaukee corless drills and love the metal circ saw. The radio is too big and bulky. It won't charge batteries. It will play off Milwaukee batteries but I never have an extra one. They are so expencive and some died after a year. I have the strait sawsall. It's smoother running than a Dewalt but I don't like one thing about it. It seems like the plunger area below the blade is to open for you to get your fingers pinched. The batteries seem to take an hour to fully charge. The do have a 3 pack heavy duty charger that might be faster but it looks bulky (only got so much space in the truck.

Happened to me and others sometimes. I like to spend a bit more and get the hammer for a drill.

For a job radio your probibly better off buying a cheap boom box for much less $$. Most play CD's (maybe mp3s now?) and some have remotes.

It seems like both Dewalt & Milwaukee cordless die too soon.

Porter cable cordless looked solid but they are heavy. I herd porter cable is now going to be inported like the rest. Dewalt is a differant lable for Black & Decker. I was thinking about a Hilti once till I saw the price.

Anyone try the Ridgid cordless yet?

If your cut much metal I would go with a setup you can get a metal circular saw for it. Extra batteries and a flash light are good too.

Tom

I worked for a guy that swore by the hatchet sawzall. It was a PITA to swap batteries, and his charger broke once.

I'm not saying it's a majore concern of mine, but i like the plug on battery more than the slide in.

There's also the fact that milwaukee is going to put out a new set of cordless tools the V28, which is "supposed" to have twice the run time, and slightly less weight.

But not sure i can wait any longer, my ryobi circular saw can only cut about 3-5 2x4's on a charge.

I have had Dwalt it boke after a 4 ft fall. I bought the Milwallkee set and have droped the drill twice from about 20 ft. Still work like the day I bought it. The batteries take a little used to . I will never own another Dewalt again.

I have the Milwaukee set with radio and I love it, I had three Dewalt drills catch fire, after that I switched to Milwaukee and haven't had any major problems since. The new battery design makes the battery changes a lot easier, and I like having the option to flip it around to better balance the drill. The bag it comes with is nice too, you still have room to throw in a few tools, parts, bit cases, etc.

Doesn't anybody use makita drills? I have a 24volt combination drill/hammer drill. It has lots of power and the battery lasts a long time. Its not cheap, but its worth every penny.

Actually, according to consumer reports, for heavy duty use, the newest makita kit was rated the best.
But, the drill wasn't a hammer drill.

Next was dewalt, then milkwaukee.

I bought the milwaukee set a few years ago when price at big box store went from $499 TO $449. The helpfull salesman told me the price was due to a deal they got. He lied, the price was due to fact that the set included drill/driver, not a hammer drill/driver which I really needed. Hammer drill/driver is necessary for mounting things to masonry/brick work. I bought hammer drill/driver later and have worn it out, head wobbles but it still drills torques and hammers. Recently bought lok-tor
milwaukees latest hammer drill/driver. Batteries change easier now (new design I guess). I use these alot and I am still buying milwaukee replacements.

DeWalt or Milwaukee? remids me of the Less filling / tastes great debate. Can there ever be a winner?

I say, forget price, forget the sets....concentrate on what your needs are, and buy accordingly.

I certainly don't want to carry different batteries and chargers for each tool. So- product line is important to me. Important enough that I'll be happy with the "second place" tool most of the time.
I also like to hold on to my tools....and one way to help me keep them is to have mine a different brand than everyone else. This is especially important if it can be possible to confuse "personal" with "company" equipment.

Kits are deceptive.....you generally get a tool that you don't need (I need a circular saw about as much as a fish needs a bicycle!), only one or two batteries, and a monster case. This is kind of wasteful, as I typically carry six to eight batteries, and re-package my tools to suit my needs.

Hammer drills are great- but WILL wear out- especially if they're used for more than setting screw anchors!
An 18 volt drill gets heavy, fast.
The flashlights are great- but I've had little luck with the "snake" lights.
I have no use for a radio that's not also a charger.

Other tools that come in handy from time to time....often used only for a few moments, so 'cordless' is an advantage...are a vacuum (that can handle sheetrock dust), an angle grinder, a 'sawzall' type tool, and angle drill.
One "freebie" worth having is a cooler; batteries last a lot longer when stored in it - the hot summer sun is death on battereis kept on the truck. Let's see...$10 cooler once, or $75 batteries regularily...which should I choose?

For me, DeWalt wins the contest. IF Milwaukee expands its' product line, that MIGHT change.

Hello From South Dakota!!!!

I have used almost all of the tools mentioned, and was actually having this conversation with a fellow tradesman tonight.

I like the way a Dewalt sawzall feels in your hand. It is easier to hold and it is much faster than the milwakee. It also has a shorter stroke than the milwakee on the front end. I have taken two people to the ER because of the milwakee grabing thumbs.

I think that for heavy duty drilling you should go with the Porter Cable 19.2, but you need to beware that it is heavy.

For small drilling and trim outs I really like the Hilti 15v. It is light wieght and long, long lasting.

The Milwakee and Dewalt hammer drills hammer so fast and short that they take longer than a corded hammer drill. If all you have to drill is one or two holes, either one of them will work. If you have to drill more than that, it will be faster to string a cord and go for the Bosch Bulldog.

As far as punching holes in siding with hole saws, or drilling with high speed KO's buyer beware. We have burned up every drill on the market with these.

In my expeirience it has been the Milwakee drills, the Dewalt batteries, the Porter cable sawzalls, and the Makita hand saws that burn up the fastest.

They all have their strong and week points. Now if we could just get them to work together!


Jon

I have the milwaukee kit and have gone through 2 drills in a year, but I am pretty hard on my tools. The milwaukee radio is great though, it doesn't charge, but I have a charger for that. Put it in a 40,000sq/ft warehouse and you can fill it with great sounding music, put a dewalt in the same space and it sounds like a toy.

I was wanting to switch over to mostly cordless, but I have quickly realized that corded tools will always stay in my life.

Don't get the milwaukee hatchet sawsall, its a joke powerwise compared to the full size version.

I remember reading a lot of positive info here on the board about Panasonic battery tools. Do they have kits?
I am getting more and more into corded tools for anything but driving screws. I will use the cordless for a plastic anchor but if more than a few are needed I use the corded tools.

Well,
I was in HD and they had the two kits i was considering, i stood there for what felt like an eternity deciding.

I took the milwaukee set and checked out.

I don't use the sawzall much, so i'm not so concerned about the hatchet being weak. But i love the bag instead of plastic molded box, and i'll be sending my receipt in for the free jobsite radio.

I use the drill the most and need to cut a fair amount of 2x4's with the cicular saw, so we will see how it goes. I'll keep you guys updated on if i break them, but i'd find it unlikely considering i didn't break the ryobi.

I own bosch and love them. Tough as nails and the customer service is unmatched. I had a battery go bad. Called bosch they red labeled a new one to me. next morning woke up there was my new battery. The other great thing is no one else has bosch so lost baeries is not an issue. Im looking into the v28 products by milwaukee.

I'm surprised nobody has brought up the torque numbers advertised by each manufacture. Milwaukee claims 495in/lbs while all the other brands (in the 18 and 19 volt range) only claim 400-450.

FYI, one of the large, local electrical supply outlets claim that the Bosch cordless drills get returned to them for repair FAR more often than any other brand.

triple.....check your facts...

the specs for the Dewalt 18V is 500 in/lbs. http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=8258

my current favourite tool...the Dewalt impact driver has 1650 in/lbs of torque!! http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=6344


I know opinions are like belly buttons, everybody has one, but from our experience we choose Dewalt over all the other brands. Whether they are "the best", is irrelevant. The DeWalt is what is best for us.


edited message here :

The high acclaim is for DeWalt CORDLESS only. Not necessarily ALL DeWalt tools. Its well known that DeWalt spends more on R&D on Cordless tools than any other manufacturer and it shows in their products.

[This message has been edited by Sandro (edited 02-22-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Sandro (edited 02-22-2005).]

I've got Panasonic, Joey D, and love them so far (4 months?). Very good batteries and power. If by plastic anchors you mean hammer drilling concrete or block...forget about cordless or hammer drills. Get a corded rotary hammer and you'll never go back.

Dave

Sandro, Dewalt's low speed (which is where max torque is achieved) is only 450rpm while Milwaukee's is 500. This means that Dewault must "give-up" approx. 10% of its speed to achieve an approx. 1% increase in torque. The fact is (assuming the manufacturer's claimed numbers are correct) the Milwaukee's motor is more powerful. You are essentially correct though. I didn't realize any manufacture advertised more that 495in/lbs.

Milwaukee or who?

BTW, I've been through jobsites with everything from "La RAZA" (a local station) to Classical music (& everything in between) playing...all at once at top volume on those stupid job site radios.

If you're by yourself, that's one thing, more volume to you, but after awhile the mish-mash makes me want to take a Ramset to the radios.

Well, you said "What does everybody think"

Triple...

I believe this diffence will go virtually unnoticed in the real world.

As a side point, I will guess what the DeWalt (cordless Hammer version) gives in low speed makes up in high speed as it spins at a higher rpm and has more bpm's then comparable Milwaukee.

I have never used a cordless hammerdrill other than a Milwaukee. I'm not real impressed with the Mil hammer so Dewault's version could very well be much better for all I know. As far as top speed is concerned, I have never felt the need for the chuck of a multispeed, cordless drill to turn faster. It is already too easy to strip-out, slip off, or burn up screws, holesaws, etc. What type of operation would you wish-for/require greater speed? Having three speeds instead of two on a cordless drill seems gimmicky to me.

Dave, I use a TE6 for any hammer drilling unless it's 1 or 2. I have a Hilti 18v cordless that is a great tool. I am not sure it's any better than other brands but I was on a Hilti craving for a bit.
Hilti does make a 36v cordless that is amazing with the amount of tq it has.

Well, the hatchet does seem a bit on the slow side, not weak, just slow. I cut some plywood with it.
Cuts pretty well with a sharp blade, i haven't had any real work to do with the Milwaukee set i bought right after i made this post, but i have done some destruction with the tools, for the hell of it.

The hammer drill is pretty damn heavy, this is not a switch and plug cordless drill.
It will be 10-12 weeks before i get my free radio though, that sucks.

[This message has been edited by 2000xp8 (edited 02-22-2005).]

I had to reply to this so i cut and copied my post from a prior such topic;


NJ Wireman
Member posted 10-28-2004 08:27 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I saw this post and had no choice but to reply. I have to tell you i use to be a die hard dewalt fan, how ever now its roybi for me!! i got sick and tired of replacing batteries in my dewalt at some crazy cost. I bought the ryobi set a few years back approx 2 maybe 3 years ago. It came with the saws all, reg drill, flashlight, cir. saw a charger and 2 batteries. Every one laughed at first now they all own them. I just this past month replaced my org. 2 batteries. Thats pretty good in my eyes. The other thing you must consider is now roybi has the new line where they sell each peice by its self with out a battery or charger. Thats is great when it does come time to replacea peice. I also just bought the hammerdrill (3speed) its is much better then there org. 2 speed and flash light kit. so for half the cost of one dewalt kit i now own;
1 reg drill
1 3 speed hammer drill
2 chargers
4 batteries 6 if you include my old ones
1 saws all
1 cir. saw
if you can get all that from dewalt for the cost i paid tell me where but until then im all over roybi!!!!!!!! And i just got the vacuam on sale for $20. at the orange store. well sorry so long winded but i must speak on this topic twice a week at work. best of luck!

Actually.... the 3 speeds on the DeWalts is a brilliant idea. What's the number one complaint of cordless drill owners? Battery run time. Driving screws, 1st gear for torque and low rpm. For virtually all non-hammer drilling, 2nd gear works fine and makes sure you don't burn out your bits by running them at excess rpm. For hammerdrilling, where power and bpms are most important, you use ultra powerful 3rd gear.

If during the course of the day, your work consists of straight drilling (no hammer), why shorten the run time of the battery by operating in 3rd hi-rpm gear, when 2nd works great?

I prefer Milwaukee, and I see that thay have a 1-hour charger for the truck's cigarette lighter. Does anyone have one?
I think it's a good idea, and I will probably buy one.
I believe that an auto battery is typically 70 amp-hours.
This charger would be OK to run without draining the battery, but I'm going to look at the wattage of my 120 volt charger to be sure.

The one thing nobody has mentioned is,that the battery is reversible on the Milwaukee models for tight areas,that feature has come in handy a few times.

One thing I found out, don’t plug your chargers into an inverter. The waveform isn't a true sinusoidal wave and the manufactures say it will damage the batteries. I found that out after I tried to make a cheap car charger

Well, my Milwaukee 120 volt charger's input is 900 mA. At 12 volts that would be 9 amps.
I just ordered the charger for $70.00
I think that an hours worth of charging shouldn't affect my truck's battery.

Any thoughts?

Your truck battery would be fine, but according to the manufacture of my inverter it will damage cordless batteries.

That is only if you are using an inverter then a normal 120V Charger. If you are using a manufactures 12V car charger then it better not damage its own batteries.

[This message has been edited by dmattox (edited 02-26-2005).]

...Wow,what a thread!! I'm more confused now than I ever was..Having been a devoted DeWalt fan for some years now,my beloved 18 volt hammer-drill went kaput,and I needed a replacement pronto,and a buddy o' mine swore by his Milwaukee,T-handle 18v. hammer-drill,he played it up so much,I had to get one,..so I did,and found out (too late) that the darned thing was made in Czech Republic..a real bummer for me,as I thought Milwaukee was the last to "sell out" to the overseas markets and cease making stuff in the USA.I've always bought their corded drills,sawzalls,..etc.I really think it's a sorry state of affairs when a great American company jumps in bed with an inferior,cheap,overseas company instead of keeping jobs over here and making quality and reputation a #1 priority over profit...Milwaukee joined the ranks (in my opinion)with "loser" companies like Black and Decker,and Ryobi,..to name a few,..and I expect their quality to suffer as well..
Disgusted...
Russ

I've always been a Milwaukee fan.
However, they do need to redesign their battery retention/release system. I get pretty ticked off when trying to remove the battery from the tool and it just won't come out.
Another heads-up... I don't know why, but my Milwaukee cordless drills don't have a bit storage feature on the unit. A real oversight in my opinion.
Maybe they have it on the newer drills, but mine is only 2 years old.

Well,
Just an update to my milwaukee combo kit.
So far i really like it.

The cordless drill/hammer is extremely powerful and fast, i haven't even had to use the second battery yet, the new battery time seems excellent.

I know this is not a real strong point in purchasing power tools, but i love the milwaukee bag, you can throw all your drill/saw items or accessories in it,there's plenty of room, not like a plastic molded case where everything you added falls out when you open it. It takes up much less room in the van, and doesn't fly all over the place if you make a sudden stop or hard corner.

Sliding the battery off is going to take a bit getting used to, but really no big deal, they don't seem to get stuck either (maybe that happens after it gets a bit older).
I don't remember seeing a bit storage spot on it either.

[This message has been edited by 2000xp8 (edited 02-26-2005).]

People that own milwaukees dont seem to have problems taking the batteries off. But if you want to have some fun, have your helper try to get a battery off an older tool

"One thing I found out, don’t plug your chargers into an inverter. The waveform isn't a true sinusoidal wave and the manufactures say it will damage the batteries. I found that out after I tried to make a cheap car charger."
After reading this statement I became concerned as I have charged my Porter Cable, Dewalt and Milwaukee batteries on my service truck with a 900W inverter for the last 3 years. I posted a question on the Milwaukee Heavy-Duty web site asking if they advised against using an inverter or if it would cause poor battery performance. Their response was they test all of their chargers for use with inverters and state that if the inverter is rated 220W minimum that it wasn't any problem. They said their chargers buffer any waveform modification or distortion.

Hi,

I have used the Dewalt and I just bought the Milwaukee. Milwaukee you can get all the combo plus the jobsite radio. They just started another promo last week and you can get 2 additional batteries, the multi bay charger or an additional radio still for just 429.00. I was kicking myself for chucking the box two weeks ago and just finding this out. I don't know where you are looking but if you look up tool depot off of Rosecrans in San Diego they have this special. I had Makitas for years and the new M-Force is total junk. I decided to switch to Milwaukee since everything else I have is that with the exception of my DeWault 6" grinder that I really like too.

I used to use a yankee cordless with variable speed for quite a while until makita came out back in the day. Makita is best in my opinion. just had to jump in .. have not posted for quite awhile...

Fun !

I have the 4 piece 18v Dewalt kit with 4 batteries. I have had this kit and batteries now for about 3 years with out any problems. I will say I have had some bad experiences with there batteries in the past but I found that as long as I keep the batteries at full charge they seem to last longer. I do use an inverter in my van to run all my chargers but I also have a triplet ferro. power conditioner plugged into the inverter and the chargers plugged into the triplett. The conditioner changes the square wave back into a sinusoidal wave thru the ferro transformer. Before I use to drain the batteries fully before recharging them, this I found was more damaging to them then helpful. The newer batteries and chargers don't require this and the batteries last longer. as long as you don't leave then in a state of discharge for too long. Even if I just drill one hole for the day it goes back on charge. or if I use a battery off and on for more than three hours I will put it back on charge and get another even though it still has plenty of power left. after ajusting to this I found the batteries was lasting much longer.

"Milwaukee you can get all the combo plus the jobsite radio. They just started another promo last week and you can get 2 additional batteries, the multi bay charger or an additional radio still for just 429.00. "

Roger, if you read back a page, this was part of the reason i started this post. The free radio is a nation wide deal through milwaukee, you just download the coupon from the milwaukee website. Same goes for the 3 bay charger or 2 extra batteries.

BTW, it's more cost effective to take the 2 free batteries than it is to take the radio.
Ebay price for the radio is around $75 price for the batteries is around $120.