Upgrading From the Dewalt 18V Platform

[Hay Dude]

Love my DeWalt 60v tools. Blower and weed wacker not quite what I expected, but carpentry power tools and nail guns have been nice.

 

[IndyJay]

Recently bought the DeWalt DCK661D1M1 6 tool 20v Lithium set to replace basically the same 18v NiCad set that I have had for ~20 years. I had picked up the adapter with a couple of 3Ah batteries last year. I also bought the DCK206P1 20v Grease Gun and 1/2" Impact Wrench kit with 5Ah battery. If you shop around you can find some pretty good deals.

 

[lostcause]

The 18 and 20 volt batteries are really the same voltage but if somehow you did end up burning up an obsolete tool nothing was lost. And I don’t see how the 18 volt tool was intentionally designed to not work with the adapter since the flat top batteries and the adapter was designed after the 18 volt tools were built.

probably will end up doing that if it gets to it. i still have 7 working 18v batteries, but they won't last forever. for now i'll probably just use the remaining 18v batteries when i need the band saw. i got enough of my tools to prove they function on these to make it worthwhile to stick with dewalt in my mind. looks like i came to the party just a day too late though... home depot had a battery pack deal - 2@4ah & 2@2ah for $159 - that's like $50 each for the 4ah & $30 each for the 2ah. problem is it went unavailable as of today. best deal on the 2.4ah 18v xrp batteries was always $99 for two, so the $159 deal was pretty fair. too bad it's gone. i probably have enough old batteries to last the year out, and there will probably be a battery deal on black friday if i am lucky

 

[Hay Dude]

Recently bought the DeWalt DCK661D1M1 6 tool 20v Lithium set to replace basically the same 18v NiCad set that I have had for ~20 years. I had picked up the adapter with a couple of 3Ah batteries last year. I also bought the DCK206P1 20v Grease Gun and 1/2" Impact Wrench kit with 5Ah battery. If you shop around you can find some pretty good deals.

EBAY has great opportunities on DeWalt Tools.
Their cordless impact has enough muscle to remove the nuts on my JD 15’ mower blades. They are on TIGHT.

 

[texas42]

FYI. The Connecticut-based Stanley Black & Decker owns many brands beyond its name, including Lenox, Craftsman, Irwin Tools, DeWALT and CribMaster.

 

[EddieWalker]

I started out with DeWalt, but didn't feel that they held up very well to daily use. I have a few other brands too, but my favorite by far is Makita. One of the things that I really like about them is their commitment to their 18volt batteries. Instead of creating a different tool to deal with a better battery, they made their better batteries work on all of their existing tools. The 5.0Ahm battery lasts a very long time. I have 6 of them, but also a bunch of 3.0 batteries that still get the job done. I even have a weed eater that uses two 5.0 batteries that I have never run out of power while weed eating my yard. I consider Makita to be the top of the line tool for contractors, and as long as they keep their commitment to making everything work off of their 18 volt batteries, then I'll never have to think about changing brands.

 

[ovrszd]

All my mechanic friends swear by M18 Milwaukee tools.

I'm nearing the end of my 18V Dewalt tool's lifespans. most are 11-12 years old.

 

[5030]

I've pretty much given up on DeWalt or Milwaukee cordless tools. Just too expensive and the replacement packs are absurd too.

As mine puke, I've been replacing them with HF-Bauer 20 volt cordless stuff for 1/4 th the price of the others. I figure I can replace 4 of them to equal the cost of the DeWalt or Milwaukee stuff and if I need mega power like super strong impact tools. I just switch to air powered. My Astro Pneumatic Thor 1/2" impact makes almost 1000 foot pounds in LH and 965 in RH torque which handles 99% of my stuff. The other 1% I do with an IR 3/4 drive that makes 2500 in LH and 2000 in RH. There ain't a fastener that can hold up to that. Either snaps them off or breaks them loose. Sockets can and are a big issue with either one. I use the HF black oxide impacts on the 1/2" drive and Williams impact sockets on the 3/4" drive. I've busted (slit the walls) on Snap-On, MAC and domestic Craftsman sockets in the past. Never split an HF socket yet and I beat the hell out of them too. Replace a lot of wear steels on plow blades and the dome head plow bolts are usually rusted in and the nuts frozen. The Thor usually breaks them or the IR snaps them off.

Takes some serious air compressor however. Those puny ones cannot keep up. I have a Sullaire screw compressor with a Quincy QP twin back up. I can get 35 CFM at 135 pounds with no drop in pressure at all. Rarely does the QP kick in, the Sullair can usually keep up.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I started buying 20V DeWalt tools when the 18V bare tools started being in short supply. I've yet to buy an adapter to put the 20V batteries on my 18V tools as I still have good 18V batteries, but once those batteries give up I'll get the adapter. I was in the boat to either start with a new platform completely and start replacing bare tools or go the route I went.
I'm happy with my 20V DeWalt stuff but if I hadn't gone this route I would have either gone with Rigid or Milwaukee.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I've got a bunch of DeWalt 18v tools that work just fine, it's the batteries that are crapping out. I'm to old to start buying new tools that will get only some use, so I plan on just changing to adaptors and 20v batteries. The only 20v DeWalt I have is the grease gun, and only because there were no 18v left when I bought it.