It was only last June when it was announced DeWalt would release a new line of 20V Max tools, see our post here. So why are they already redoing their Impact Driver and soon to follow drills and hammer drills? The answer is Brushless technology which seems to be all the craze in power tools as of late with Makita, Hitachi and Milwaukee already on board. No question the technology is better, by removing brushes there is less friction and energy lost to heat buildup so it can transfer more energy to actual power in the tools. This also means less wear parts to fail and need replaced. So will the new Brushless technology take over power tools?
DeWalt Brushless Impact Driver Kit DLF895C2
This new impact driver has several features that really make it a very nice tool. First it features a 3 speed mechanical control at 500, 900 & 1500 in lbs of torque. This gives tremendous control for to the user that allows for the impact driver to be much more effective in delicate applications (we installed brass small brass hinges without stripping or overdriving). This is also the first time we see the speed setting as a mechanical switch which allows the user to easily see what setting it is on without having to turn the tool on with a trigger pull to see the setting light.
One of the most interesting things about brushless is it allows for improvements in size, power and/or runtime. What it appears DeWalt has done is to keep power and weight exactly the same and put all the efficiency advantages of the brushless technology into more runtime. They are claiming 53% longer runtime than their 20V brush version impact which is significant.
The new impact also incorporates a snub nose design which is another first of its kind and really allows for the tightest design possible. A second yellow trigger releases the bit and is the fastest bit changing system we have ever seen. We did find however with large spade bits if they became stuck the bits actually pulled out of the tool with only moderate force. We will be interested to see if this is the case when the actual production models land this April.
Finally with the launch of this new impact driver we also see that DeWalt 20V Max will be changing all their batteries to 1.5Ah (DCB200) & 3.0Ah (DCB201) which will feature 3 lights to indicate charge strength left. Probably a decision that would have helped them if these features had been included in the original tools a few months ago but at least they will be coming soon.
So is Brushless the Wave of the Future?
No question power tools will all be brushless in a few years however like plasma TVs when they first launched you are going to pay for it as an early adopter! To give you an example this new Impact Driver will come in 2 kits DCF895C2 (2x 1.5Ah batteries) at $279 & DCF895L2 (2x 3.0Ah batteries) at $349. That is pretty rich for an impact tool when you compare other 3.0Ah impact and hammer drill combo kits for around $300 range. Not wildly expensive so certainly there will be plenty of buys and with any luck in a few years the price of these motors will be driven down to become the standard.
For more pictures check out our DeWalt Brushless photo album on Facebook.