# Impact driver?



## Pilgrim (Dec 8, 2017)

Would like to get an impact driver for Christmas, but I'm not sure what to ask for? Dewalt? My old Skil drill/driver can't hold a charge that'll last more than 10 minutes. I mainly will just use it around the house. Any recommendations?


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## oops1 (Dec 8, 2017)

I got the Dewalt impact/drill combo afew years ago.. No complaints so far.


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## T-N-T (Dec 8, 2017)

If you are going to use around the house any big name will be a step up from the skil.

Look for a brand that they sell individual tools without having to buy the battery and all. Then you can add to the battery tool collection at reasonable prices


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## Artfuldodger (Dec 8, 2017)

I'm hoping to get a new impact driver/ drill combo for Christmas too. I told my wife to get whatever in the 18-20 volt range other than Skil, Black and Decker, etc. 
Well I actually said Dewalt, Bosch, Bostitch, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Panasonic, Hitachi, Makita, or Porter Cable.
It will just be for home use.


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## Grub Master (Dec 8, 2017)

I have gone with Ridgid for years.  Lifetime warranty on everything as long as you register them. Never had a problem.


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## king killer delete (Dec 8, 2017)

I work in Industry and we use Dewalt.


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## Slingblade (Dec 8, 2017)

They got me a 1/2" 18V Dewalt impact at work and it didn't last a year...Just a glorified B&D.  I've slowly but surely been going to the Porter Cable 20V tools, I use the 1/2" impact and the grinder several times a week.


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## lbzdually (Dec 10, 2017)

My dad has a Ridgid 18 volt 1/4 and 1/2 inch drive.  I love the 1/2 drive impact as it eliminates the need for air to take wheels off and get bigger bolts loose.  You can get an adapter to run the 1/4 inch impact bits of the 1/2 drive.  I have a Hitachi 18 volt, but haven't used it much as I got it on my birthday at the end of November.


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## rospaw (Dec 10, 2017)

I bought the Makita 18v LXT set (drill, impact, flashlight) from home depot 8 years ago. Worked it hard for the first 4 years (redoing rentals) and still use it often at home. No issues ever! Bought pops the kit the following year for Xmas. His is still working great and he uses it a lot. Since then i have purchased makita tools new and used (without batties) that fit my 18v batteries like hand grinder, saws-all, skill saw, led flashlight and all preform very well.  
I think it is the best tool i have ever purchased! And i have A LOT of tools!


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## lagrangedave (Dec 10, 2017)

Go in a cabinet shop and you will see either porter cable or Milwaukee....or bauch


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## ryanh487 (Dec 10, 2017)

I've had a rayobi 1/2" 18v impact for a couple years now.  With the high amp/hour batteries it's a beast and easily one of my favorite tools.  Makes working on the cars way easier and it's great for assembling tree stands as well,  gets those bolts good and tight.


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## Artfuldodger (Dec 10, 2017)

Dewalt is pretty popular. The place I work uses mostly Dewalt stuff. I'm not particularly fond of it. The batteries are hard to get in and out. We had one drill that took two people to change the battery. Our cordless recip saw quit at an early age. Had a few others tear up. A few drill chuck gears.
All of our stuff is 18volt. The salesperson says Dewalt is going with 20volt. Dewalt will buy back our 18volt if we replace it all with 20volt.

I like the battery pack that slides in from the back. If you slide one in from the bottom and it doesn't latch good, it can fall out while you are on a ladder over a concrete floor.


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## Knotmuch (Dec 11, 2017)

Ryobi. The good thing about them is no matter how old the 18v unit is the batteries will fit. Which means you can find them in pawn shops with no battery and pay very little for them.


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## joey1919 (Dec 11, 2017)

I've put in hundreds of pounds (literally) of 3-3.5 inch deck screws, lag bolts and longer timberlock screws with a dewalt 20v impact driver. Burned up a couple too. First one lasted through a couple barns and large decks, over 100pounds of deck screws alone, and a bunch of odd jobs in between. Dewalt makes two different versions, the first one was the light duty/hownowner version. It would be more than enough for most folks.

The one I have now is the XR/brushless version. I've built a new shop and house this year and I've used it, on average probably every other day for a year. 50lbs of deck screws, 25+ of drywall screws, LOTS of boring with a 1" paddle bit doing electrical, metal roofing screws and lots of other odds and ends.

I bought this one "tool only" on amazon as I already had a couple chargers and several batteries, I've gotten my moneys worth.

Lowe's had the combo kits on sale, might want to check


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## jigman29 (Jan 29, 2018)

I have a ton of tools from dewalt and they are great. We use them in my plant daily and they are as good as any out there overall. We did buy an impact this year from lowes and its the stoutest one I have ever had in my hands. Its the Kobalt 24v. As for Porter Cable you should stay away. When I was building years ago it was the best around but now its pure junk. I wouldn't touch the stuff. The cabinet shop I worked in for years threw all the p.c. stuff away and went to Dewalt drills and drivers. We use Bosch jigsaws and Makita circular saws.


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## tree cutter 08 (Jan 29, 2018)

joey1919 said:


> I've put in hundreds of pounds (literally) of 3-3.5 inch deck screws, lag bolts and longer timberlock screws with a dewalt 20v impact driver. Burned up a couple too. First one lasted through a couple barns and large decks, over 100pounds of deck screws alone, and a bunch of odd jobs in between. Dewalt makes two different versions, the first one was the light duty/hownowner version. It would be more than enough for most folks.
> 
> The one I have now is the XR/brushless version. I've built a new shop and house this year and I've used it, on average probably every other day for a year. 50lbs of deck screws, 25+ of drywall screws, LOTS of boring with a 1" paddle bit doing electrical, metal roofing screws and lots of other odds and ends.
> 
> ...



I'm still on my original 18 volt dewalt impact. It has screw well over 500lb of the 3 inch deck screws and over a hundred lb of timber locks. What amazes me is I bought the dewalt impact driver bit set. I'm still using the original torx bit that it came with. I use it for everything. Very handy and strong tool. Ive got 4 batteries and keep them rotated out. I would use it till it got so hot you couldn't touch it.


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## mguthrie (Mar 12, 2018)

Another vote for dewalt. I've bought the drill/impact set probably 8 years ago. No telling how much I've used it over that time. I know I've went through several batteries


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## EAGLE EYE 444 (Mar 13, 2018)

I bought a DeWalt  Model DCD777, 20 V Brushless, Cordless Compact 1/2" drill/driver complete with two batteries packs around the middle of last year and I have been well pleased with it.  It is really handy to use out in the woods when necessary too.  After using it just a few times, I realized that I should have bought it a long time ago.  It has a nice canvas carry bag with the DeWalt LOGO complete with spare battery pack as well. 

I bought it from Lowes while it was on sale.  I think originally price was around $179.99, then it was on sale for about $149.99.  I talked with the sales person and asked if this was the correct item that was on sale at $99.99 and he said that it was that week only, I believe.  I took it to the register and it rang up at $149.99 and I told the cashier that I had just asked the person in that department and confirmed that it was only $99.99 so I asked her to call the guy.  She did and he confirmed it was on sale for $99.99 so I bought it and have been very well satisfied since. 

I wish now that I had bought one for my son-in-law too as this thing is really handy for a multitude of jobs.  Shucks, if I had one of these back 30-40 years ago, I would have been "Heck on Wheels" for sure.


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## lbzdually (Mar 14, 2018)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I bought a DeWalt  Model DCD777, 20 V Brushless, Cordless Compact 1/2" drill/driver complete with two batteries packs around the middle of last year and I have been well pleased with it.  It is really handy to use out in the woods when necessary too.  After using it just a few times, I realized that I should have bought it a long time ago.  It has a nice canvas carry bag with the DeWalt LOGO complete with spare battery pack as well.
> 
> I bought it from Lowes while it was on sale.  I think originally price was around $179.99, then it was on sale for about $149.99.  I talked with the sales person and asked if this was the correct item that was on sale at $99.99 and he said that it was that week only, I believe.  I took it to the register and it rang up at $149.99 and I told the cashier that I had just asked the person in that department and confirmed that it was only $99.99 so I asked her to call the guy.  She did and he confirmed it was on sale for $99.99 so I bought it and have been very well satisfied since.
> 
> I wish now that I had bought one for my son-in-law too as this thing is really handy for a multitude of jobs.  Shucks, if I had one of these back 30-40 years ago, I would have been "Heck on Wheels" for sure.



You sound like my dad.  He went to buy me the Hitachi 1/4 impact and drill combo, and it said $129 on a big sale.  He got it because my other Hitachi drill died after about 8 years.  Got to the register and it was $89 or 99 and with his veterans discount well under 100.


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## rjcruiser (Mar 14, 2018)

Not brand specific, but know that most 20v batteries are shaped the same with a slot/tab that makes them brand specific.  I have a Stanley driver that came with 1 battery.  Replacements were more than the drill, so I was able to find a skill 20v drill on sale with 2 batteries for $40.  I was able to clip a tab and grind a slot and now I have 3 batteries


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## sinclair1 (Mar 14, 2018)

We have 125 impacts in factory service daily. Milwaukee, dewalt and Mikita. The numbers on hours per brand are very similar on paper but each person behind each specific model will swear the other two brands are junk.

On paper there not much difference in those three

I actually use Bosch personally.


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## EAGLE EYE 444 (Mar 23, 2018)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I bought a DeWalt  Model DCD777, 20 V Brushless, Cordless Compact 1/2" drill/driver complete with two batteries packs around the middle of last year and I have been well pleased with it.  It is really handy to use out in the woods when necessary too.  After using it just a few times, I realized that I should have bought it a long time ago.  It has a nice canvas carry bag with the DeWalt LOGO complete with spare battery pack as well.
> 
> I bought it from Lowes while it was on sale.  I think originally price was around $179.99, then it was on sale for about $149.99.  I talked with the sales person and asked if this was the correct item that was on sale at $99.99 and he said that it was that week only, I believe.  I took it to the register and it rang up at $149.99 and I told the cashier that I had just asked the person in that department and confirmed that it was only $99.99 so I asked her to call the guy.  She did and he confirmed it was on sale for $99.99 so I bought it and have been very well satisfied since.
> 
> I wish now that I had bought one for my son-in-law too as this thing is really handy for a multitude of jobs.  Shucks, if I had one of these back 30-40 years ago, I would have been "Heck on Wheels" for sure.



I used this drill/driver last Saturday afternoon in making several more posted signs etc.  After completing that project, I came inside and happen to see the Lowe's Sale Paper on the counter.  I checked it and saw this same item was on sale again for $99.99 so I decided to go to Lowe's and buy one for my Son-in-law as this thing is really handy at home and also out in the woods when needed too.  I recently lost my hammer that I have had for 35-40 years and I was teed off about that but they also had basically the same hammer with the fiberglass handle etc on sale for $6 so I bought me a replacement.


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