{"id":28254,"date":"2013-08-17T11:02:14","date_gmt":"2013-08-17T16:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toolsinaction.com\/?p=28254"},"modified":"2017-05-03T13:37:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T18:37:02","slug":"dewalt-20v-vs-milwaukee-18v-friday-night-tool-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toolsinaction.com\/dewalt-20v-vs-milwaukee-18v-friday-night-tool-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"DeWALT 20V vs Milwaukee 18V – Friday Night Tool Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chevy vs Ford, Lowes vs Home Depot and Boeing vs Airbus are all good examples of rivals. \u00a0Well we took two of the biggest tool brand rivals and put their latest 20V and 18V drills to the test. \u00a0Don’t be fooled by the 20V MAX you don’t get an extra 2 volts, the M18 is also a 20V MAX. \u00a0Basically fully charged under a no load condition both batteries have 20V. \u00a0DeWALT decided to market it as a 20V which other manufacturers are also doing now. \u00a0We used Milwaukee’s “Drill Killer” 1″ auger bit, which earned \u00a0this name after it smoked out another brands drill. \u00a0The bit is a self feeding auger and really requires a lot of torque and battery power to run, it was perfect for our tests. \u00a0The main test is between the 2 brands flagship hammer drills, the Milwaukee FUEL 2603-22 with 4.0 Ah and the 4.0 Ah DeWALT DCD985M2. \u00a0Since the FUEL is brushless we also added DeWALT’s Brushless DCD790 Compact 20V drill with a 4.0 \u00a0Ah battery. \u00a0We tried to stay with 4.0 to keep the comparison fair, think of Ah as gas tank sizes. \u00a0All the drills have good torque, but since DeWALT uses its own rating in which no other has adopted we decided to skip the exact torque calculations. \u00a0I don’t exactly know why they use UWO. \u00a0It really alienates them from the rest of the industry and confuses the consumer.<\/p>\n

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\"IMG_9276\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Here are the results:
\n\"Milwaukee<\/a><\/p>\n

Milwaukee Fuel Brushless 2603-22<\/strong> – 63 holes<\/p>\n

Milwaukee has the run time market cornered thanks to Redlink. \u00a0A system that communicates with the battery and the motor to keep constant torque and superior run time. \u00a0Milwaukee’s claim of 33% more run time is well validated here. \u00a0The 2 speed drill weighs in at \u00a05 lbs and has a max speed of 1,850 rpm. \u00a0It produces 31,450 BPM in hammer mode. \u00a0Overall the 2603 is a great all around drill, you cannot go wrong with it. \u00a0A 5 year warranty is the icing on the cake. \u00a0\u00a0Buy it from Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"DCD790B_1NB\"<\/a><\/p>\n

DeWALT Brushless DCD790<\/strong> – 58 holes<\/p>\n

Dewalt’s compact entry weighing in at 3.5 lbs really impressed us. \u00a0It can accomplish a lot for its size, drilling only 5 less holes than Milwaukee’s full size hammer drill. \u00a0This compact 2 speed drill can produce some serious torque and hold its own with the big boys. \u00a0A 3 year warranty covers this tool. \u00a0As of this writing it comes with 2.0 Ah batteries and not the 4.0 that we used. \u00a02000 rpm is what this bad boy puts out on speed 2. \u00a0Buy it from Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"DCD985\"<\/a><\/p>\n

DeWALT DCD985M2<\/strong>\u00a0– 46 Holes<\/p>\n

Think of the 985 as a HD truck with a big block v8 in it. \u00a0It has a ton of raw horsepower, but sucks a lot of fuel to sustain it. \u00a0At 5.3lbs it is the biggest, heaviest drill here and drilled the least amount of holes. \u00a0It is a brushed drill! \u00a0If the DCD985 can’t do it you better move up to a 36V because nothing in the 18\/20V class will. \u00a0Even though it was the last in the pack for run time it has an option that the others do not, \u00a03 Speeds. \u00a0The 985 is a work horse. \u00a0The chuck grips better than any other chuck out there and has zero wobble. \u00a0Buy it from Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

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So to wrap it up, any of these drills are a fine choice. \u00a0 It really all boils down to what platform you already own. \u00a0If you don’t have a platform yet, look at what tools you are going to need in the future and base it on that. \u00a0If you are a plumber or electrician you might want to take advantage of Milwaukee’s M18 line, they offer things like propex, caulk and crimping tools. If you demand the highest run time go Milwaukee. \u00a0On the other hand, if you are a carpenter or need just an all around great tool the 20V Max is a good choice. \u00a0It has the most comfortable grip in the industry and is tough “DeWALT tough”. \u00a0DeWALT stands up to job site abuse well. \u00a0Eric and I both use a DeWALT DCD790 as our main drill.<\/p>\n