Anybody else been having problems with 18v DW tools after about 5 yrs of active service.
My DW drill started to sound like a truck shifting gears without a clutch. Tool man said it would cost $230. to replace gears, said no and bought the Bosch 36v Lith.
Sweet drill and has all the power you want. Considering dumping my DWs and switching over to Bosch.
Nailer
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We use DeWalts on all of the trucks. 18v 4 pack. Did you think they would last a life time? We have about 40 tools in service and send 3-4 in a year for overhaul that usually cost $40 to do. Once in a while we have one that costs too much to fix so we buy a bare tool to replace it. Dollar for dollar I think they are a great value. But they won't last forever. DanT
Dollar for dollar I think they are a great value.
That's how I used to feel about them, but I think they started pricing their tools too high in the past 10 yrs. or so.
That was the reason I started buying them....decent tool at a decent price. (Needed a biscuit joiner for odd jobs. Certainly wasn't going to spring for a Lamello for the rare occassions I'd need it. Spent half, and got a DeWalt)
Nowadays though, I often find myself spending the extra money to get the better tool, as usually....it really aint all that much extra. With their, seemingly, overnight popularity, I think they got carried away with themselves.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
For ten of the last 15 yrs of having my own trim company they would say if I got cut that I would bleed black and yellow.
But after the last month, I have started a gradual change.
I to would only buy expensive tools to do my work, but in the last month I have heard and seen alot of DW mess up.
1. The guy I'm doing alot of work for right now bought with my reco DW 18v 4 tool kit, the batteries would not hold a charge out of the box, he is on his "second free pair".
2. I have 3 tools that are on the recall list.
3. When theives broke in to the job site they took everything but the DW. Now that's bad.
And yes I have a maint. schedule for all my tools. that's how I found out about the recalls.
Nailer
I can't agree. But then it probably depends on use. When I first bought an 18v set it cost me $500. Now I can get reconditioned for $350. We have 6 sets in the field. 5 sets have 3 batteries instead of two and 2 sets have 2 chargers. We buy a 5 pack of batteries yearly and as I said we rebuild 3-4 tools a year. So for roughly 28 (we have a few special purchase tools and a few that were free if we bought now specials) tools that are used daily and 20 batteries (shop has a few batteries and I carry 1 for my flashlight) we spend about $450 a year in maintenance and upkeep.
I am certainly not saying they are the best tools. But I do think they are a good value and economical to operate. And I have not seen a fall off of overall quality between the first set and the set I bought last spring. I also think if you are using the tool daily vs having an employee using the tool daily you become a little more fickle about how it operates and if you think you deserve something better. I look at operation and cost. And if I can get 5 years out of a tool I would buy a bunch of them.
I did a comparison in January as to the dollar value of switching (over time) to Bosch, Makita etc. with the new battery types but simply couldn't make it work. But again that is money, not use preference. When I worked on a truck daily I bought what I wanted, not always what made the most dollar sense. And if I worked a truck daily today maybe I would do the same! :-) DanT
Been cutting with shears on my DW 18V drill, noticed its starting to smell like its gonna smoke...that is about as "no-load" as you can get, but it did have ruff life with a 4" holesaw, and hammering crete bits for tapcons..so, maybe 2 yrs is about right.
IIRC Dale has killed 2 in about the same time frame, and switched to Makita. One of his did just what you describe.
OTOH, my re-cond Makita just had its chuck explode and drip out the ball bearings last week, not a hammer drill, just a 14.4 2 speed.
You use em hard, they break..dems the rules.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
my 18v dw 1/2 drill just bit the dust, started to smoke from around the battery and died! i've had it for about a year, maybe less, and up to now was a great drill. It was the hammer drill type with the three speed transmission, and was great for drilling concrete . Maybe it was the mixing of thinset for the umpteenth time that was the final nail in the coffin?.
Mixing will kill it, use a corded drill for that. Overdraining the batts will make them "runaway" and cook. Just last week we sat one on a bag of ice to stop the thermal meltdown, you can save em if ya catch it in time.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
i agree that i should have used my corded heavy duty monster, but i lent it to a friend of mine to mix some drywall mud and i forgot that i didn't have it until i went to use it.
But thats not the first time that i forgot something , and more than likely won't be the last.
That reminds me of a UH-1 flight into Atlanta one night, noticed that the loadmeter was pegged, took the battery offline. Landed and the vent tube looked like a mushroom, paint coming off tailboom. The inside of the battery case was mush. In the gunship version that this one was the aft battery compartment is way too close to a fuel cell.
First and last thermal runaway I want to be around.
Damm Skippy that could get ugly in a hurry. That runaway is not often, but once ya see it, you don't forget it.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
We were looking for the airport, Fulton County IIRC, asked for a practice radar approach, they said they were too busy. Started to ask for an emergency one but did not think it was that serious at the time. In retrospect I would have.
Side note, there was a Guard unit there, an old classmate had been assigned there, I asked about him and found out he had gone into the ground in a Mohawk.
He was giving another guy a checkride and lost an engine, other guy was an airline jock, wanted to bring it home, convinced Lyle to try to get home. Should have punched out in the Arizona desert, instead punched out as it rolled and blew them into ground.
Kinda reinforces the old saying, "Glide factor of a rock".
A buddy and I went halvesies on a tore up Bell Ranger, had it in my back yard for about 2 yrs, it got off the ground a total of three times..Once up with me trying, once with him trying, third time on the back of an 18 wheeler like it came in on...many $$$$ and hours of work later. LOL.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Never did care much for the Ranger/58 other than being an underveloped Huey. The breed did improvew later though. Loved the LOH though. When I was at Lakehurst Flight Test Center (late 70's) I did a project to put in ILS/VOR equipment. Active Army did not have them any more, got to get currrent and got one just out of overhaul from the National guard, did flight testing at Atlantic City.
Got to PO the Air Force because they had to hold while I puttered down the glideslope doing various turns.
I guess we need to unhijack the thread, we digress from the dw/battery part.
Bob
Edited 9/23/2007 9:13 am ET by rasconc
Sometimes it's still ok to use a drill with a plug on the other end.
CK
I just had (back in january) both of my 18v hammer drills rebuilt. The drills failed because of abuse, we needed to drill a 4" hole and smart me forgot the corded drill that day.
Anyway, I took both of the drills in and got them both rebuilt for $100 a piece.
That $100 covered a complete rebuild at a factory service center. They even gave me new chucks.
Last week I had one of the triggers go bad, they completely rebuilt it for free.
I dont think Dewalt is failing me.
5 years ..??your expecting too much for daily use tools ...
I think the OP is askin a bit much too. :>)
I have a DeWalt 18V drill that I bought about 6 years ago. It is used every day and it is still going strong. I have went through several batteries during this time but that is normal for any brand. I have noticed in the past few weeks, though, that the chuck probably needs to be replaced. Considering all that this drill has been through over the years, I feel that I definately got my money's worth. I'm looking forward to the 18V lithium-ion batteries that will fit the existing 18V tools. I ran into a DeWalt rep at Lowe's about two weeks ago and she said they are supposed to be out this fall.