Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire DeWalt Cordless Tools?

I really like my 20V DeWalt tools, and luckily upgraded as the brushless models were coming out. We even use a Dewalt weedeater which is alot smoother and quieter than my previous Echo (Echo still king for HD use). Our most recent purchase was the 60V blower and the 9AH (3AH 60V battery) which just doesn't have the runtime/power we need. If I could do that over, I'd stick with my Weedeater brand gas/oil-mix blower because it was cheap, dependable and powerful.

Everything I've read indicates they are the same except for measuring max volts or nominal volts.
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20V Max Vs 18V: Running the Numbers

Milwaukee Battery Cutout

Inside your battery pack are the individual battery cells. In an 18V/20V Max system, they are always set in groups of 5 wired in a series. Each group of 5 is then wired in parallel to increase the number of amp hours and overall battery capacity in watt hours. For more on that, check out our feature on Voltage Vs. Amp Hours.

Each one of those battery cells has two voltage ratings – nominal and maximum. The amount of voltage that a battery produces when fully charged is higher than when it begins to discharge, even slightly. It’s actually a chemical characteristic of the lithium-ion system. Each battery cell has a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts and a maximum voltage of just over 4 volts.

3.6 volts (nominal) x 5 cells = 18 volts

4 volts (maximum) x 5 cells = 20 volts

That’s it. That’s the entire difference in 18V vs 20V Max batteries. It’s only a matter of whether the company is using nominal voltage or maximum voltage as their rating.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/news/20v-max-vs-18v-battery-power/17024/


Googlefu will give additional analyses.

I bust my knuckles enough with the millwakie 18 fuel .....20 = more busted ...count me out

I don't use one for every day anymore, so, 18 works for me.

I really like my Milwaukee 18V . Works well and I like being able to check on the amt of charge left in the battery.

I use 18vt dewalt at home, and Milwaukee 20 and 28vt at work. The dewalt are lighter duty. They feel less solid, they die earlier. (The black trop batteries are standard duty, and the yellow top are extended run, and I've bought dozens of them.)
Something I've noticed is that every time t he voltage has risen, the lower voltage units got cheaper. 5.6-9vt-12vt-14.4vt all dropped in price when the higher power units came on the market, but not the 18vt. When the 20s and 28s came out, the 18vt didn't budge in price and has still held fairly well. I believe this is due to the best trade off in weight vs power was the 18s.
However. The newest 20s are pretty light, and the batteries are fast chargers. I expect they will take over the market for a while.

Edit: I would not buy the Dewalts again due to the lighter duty construction. While it does do the job well, I can feel the grips flex under load.

Buy what you like.

But google what all a 18v Milwaukee battery will power.

I recently replaced my Dewalt stuff with Makita brushless. Don't regret it either.

Hilti makes damn good cordless tools as well.

Yup, is the only made in USA power tool maker left. Sad to say, as my Milwaukee tools wear out, they are getting replaced with Dewalt.

Heck- I'm about to buy a 12 volt battery for my 30 year old Makita this weekend. Batteries Plus in Anchorage is supposed to have the right one.... the original battery finally won't charge anymore. I'll take the old one with me to be sure. It's back-up for the 18 DeWalt now.

Well sort of - Makita is in Kotzebue, DeWalt is in Soldotna. No sense in lugging either one 500 miles back and forth!

Instead of buying $200 worth of batteries for my 10 yr old hitachi set, I replaced them last year with 20v dewalt set with 4 batteries for $400 on a big sale. So far I've built 500' of split rail fence and most of a house with them. No complaints, worth every penny so far. Use them almost every day.

I have designed a lot of NiCd battery chargers for suppliers to Boeing and Physio Control.
Younger guys are out there now with Lithium Ion [Lithium Iron] designs that are way better.

But the NiCd batteries in my 9.6 Volt Makita lasted for 20 years.
Replacement batteries were no good in 2000, but I guess they are now.

I think the new Dewalt 18V are NiCd and the new Dewalt 20V are Lithium Ion.

If they perfect the Lithium Oxygen battery, say goodbye to the internal combustion engine.
In the meantime the Lithium Iron battery is perfected, so say goodbye to NiCd batteries.

My 18 Volt Dewalt is hanging on by a thread before it goes in the trash.
My 29 Volt Dewalt lasts 5 or 10 times longer on a charge.

There’s no phugking way the best trade off between weight and power is the 18v dewalt.

I didn't say that, now did I? Try reading what I did say, slowly. (YOU can even move your lips, it's allowed)

Just bought two generic 18V replacement batteries for my 18V Dewalt drill a couple weeks ago. Past weekend also purchased a new 20V Dewalt drill for work in tight places that the 18V will not fit. New 20v drill and two new 20v batteries cost only slightly more than what two new Dewalt 18V replacement batteries would have cost.

They rip you on the batteries for sure. The generics are pretty cheap. The more tools you have, the worse it is to switch up to the newest system. I have some older 14.4v Porter Cable (pre B&D) sitting on the shelf. Even the generic batteries are almost $50 per. I suppose you can rebuild them yourself cheaper. For the DeWalt stuff it's just easier to buy the generics.

What do you say Then? “ the best trade off in weight vs. power was the 18s”

My 7+ year old 14.4v Dewalt drill just won't die. I'm still on the original batteries. I did replace the chuck because the original one locked up. I got it as a set with a fluorescent drop light that is also very handy.

I have a Skil 20v that I got from work and one of the batteries is already shot and it's only about a year old.

Aqualung

I've been out hunting, so haven't been here. Sorry for the delay.

What I said referred to the weight of the drills larger than 18vt. They are lighter now, but the first generation of 24's and 28's were pretty heavy. (On all brands) and while they WERE stronger, they were not really needed on most jobs. Not enough for the increase in weight. In each case, the price went down for the lower powered units, (You can buy 9.6vt drill with 2 batteries and a charger now for about $20.00. The tool hasn't changed, but the price dropped considerably, because the demand dropped). But the 18vt units did not drop a dime when the bigger drills hit the market. My 18vt dewalt batteries STILL cost $86.00 each or 2 for $100.00.
I also said I would NOT buy the dewalt drills again, when compared to the others on the market, due to the lighter duty construction. I find the Milwaukee drills better built, and more durable. AT NO POINT did I ever say the dewalt 18's were the best at anything.

If it works and does the job, it's not obsolete.