DEWALT Hammerdrill Brushed vs. Brushless...?

[Bill Rodgers]

I’m in the market for a new cordless hammerdrill. I’m a Dewalt guy with my drills and I think it’s time to make the jump to the 20v line up. I checked out the DCD985 and the DCD995 (brushless model) today. The DCD985 is a bit longer/larger and a tad heavier than the 995 but I liked the overall weight balance of it. I’ve read up on the brushless models where they say they will run up to 50%+ longer on a single charge than a brushed model. Does anybody know if that’s accurate? If so, that would probably be enough of a plus to talk me into the 995 and spend the extra $50 or so. If the brushless really isn’t that much of a noticeable improvement, I would have no problem going with the 985. I guess I’m looking for suggestions from some of you who have more experience with these new brushless tools.

Any feed would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Daniel O'Neill]

I have used the brushed motors and they do pretty well. Something that I was told to consider is that the life of a brushless motor is supposed to be substantially longer. I have no comparison between the two though. This is a nice article about brushless or not. I would for sure go with Lithium Ion though no question on that.

[Ed Labadie]

I've got the DeWalt 20v brushless impact and brushless multi-tools....IMO, their claims of longer runtimes are accurate, I almost forget where the charger is.

Unless it's a seldom used cordless tool, I'll get the brushless every time.


Ed

[Mike Henderson]

Unless you use the tool a WHOLE lot, brushes work fine. The extra life from the battery, if true, is an real advantage. I have both brushless and brushed DeWalt cordless tools and never notice the difference - but I don't use them for long work sessions.

Mike

[Bill Rodgers]

Thanks for the replies guys. Great article Daniel.

I'm not an everyday contractor but I'm much more than the few times a year guy. Maybe 3 times a week on average but some days it's for only 10 minutes.