Comments on: DeWalt 12V Brushless Drill and Impact Driver Combo Review

By: Bchannell

Bchannell — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 21:31:31 +0000

Is it just me or does anyone else notice that the Dewalt impact drivers have a very sloppy fit of the bit holder? I mean I was all set to buy the 12v kit and absolutely love the drill, but the impact was so loose it felt like a manufacturing defect, that was until I looked at some other examples and they all felt the same. I even inspected the 20v models and they were awful too.
Now take a look at Milwaukee, Makita, Rigid, Ryobi, Kobalt, Bosch, Metabo, and Harbor Freight and they all are much better fit of the bit holder.
By the way, I bought the Makita.

By: Clint DeBoer

Clint DeBoer — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 17:43:20 +0000

In reply to Val.

Great feedback, Val! I’d agree that the impact should easily sink a 3-inch deck screw…

By: Val

Val — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:58:49 +0000

I have picked up the Dewalt 12v Xtreme Screwdriver to put furniture together at home. Though I’ve never been a fan of Dewalt tools, this new line of 12v power tools really impressed me. The ergonomics are top notch for my medium sized hands, a joy to hold…seriously :). Coming from what I am used to with my beloved Milwaukee M12 tools, it is really comfortable. And then there are other minor things that just make the tools feel more mature than the other tools I own, like the one handed ejection on the bit holder, the triple led ring of light, the predictable mechanical clutch (OMG I LOVE THE MECHANICAL CLUTCH – the digital clutch on my M12 drill 2nd gen is so unreliable and aggressive when it comes to more delicate jobs.), the weight of the tool or lack thereof, and the slide on batteries.

Someone mentioned in previous post that they could not drive a 3″ screw through a 2×4 with the xtreme impact driver, this was probably because it was broken, as I am able to sink 3″ deck screws through a 2×4 with ease using this screwdriver which less powerful than the impact.

By: Big Richard

Big Richard — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 19:22:31 +0000

In reply to Tony.

I think you most likely did not charge the battery out of the box. They ship it with a small charge, enough that it will run when you pull the trigger. However, as soon as you go to use it under load, it will start driving and stop. It’s a built in protection. That is the tool telling you “charge the battery before you completely drain it, because that is not good”.

By: Kenny Koehler

Kenny Koehler — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 13:35:22 +0000

In reply to Matthew Gates.

Good questions – I’ll add the Surge to my comparison list. I do have an answer on the noise level, though. The Surge is 6 decibels quieter in our testing, so you’ll notice a significant difference in how loud it sounds.

By: Matthew Gates

Matthew Gates — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 10:48:51 +0000

How does this one compare to the M12 Fuel Surge impact? I’ve been adding to my M12 collection and would really like a quiet impact driver. I’ve got mostly Dewalt 20V, but the M12 line is so compact and convenient with a huge variety of specialty tools. Tempted to expand that line. What was the measured decibel level on this one? My DCB 887 wakes my daughter up immediately when I try to use it in the garage past her bedtime!

By: Kenny Koehler

Kenny Koehler — Sat, 14 Sep 2019 16:16:49 +0000

In reply to Tony.

It sounds like you got a bad tool. The Impact should have handled that with no problem.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 22:41:15 +0000

I’ve been looking for new battery powered tools for a while. I was in Lowe’s and spotted these tools. I came home and started looking for reviews and found this site among others, I also spoke with friends that are knowledgable on tools.
Let me say I am no carpenter, electrician, etc. I just like to do things on my own. I live in an apartment and my girlfriend lives in a condo. For my use this 12v line would be perfect right !?. Well, as of an hour prior to this posting these tools are boxed up and going back to Lowe’s. I attempted to screw a 2×4 into a stud to mount a bike rack using the impact driver in the set and it continually stalled out using all 3 settings (drill, 1 and 2). I even drilled pilot holes. I was using 3″ long wood screws with the 2×4 set on its 2″ side. I ended up using a screw driver to tighten one screw and remove two, The drill worked fine. Im all ears if I’m using these wrong, but as it stands I couldn’t even screw through an untreated 2×4.

By: Kenny Koehler

Kenny Koehler — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 13:27:30 +0000

In reply to Deet.

Absolutely! As long as they’re the 12V max lithium-ion, they’ll work. The new batteries aren’t compatible with the older Ni-Cad models.

By: Deet

Deet — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:09:00 +0000

As an owner of the DeWalt 12v brushed tools, can they use the new batteries?