DeWALT 18V Impact Drill/Driver, 2-Pk
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Buy drills and impact driver separately...
Do yourself a favour and shop around for the impact driver, and instead buy the drill/hammerdrill. This way you can get two batteries, two chargers, and two hard plastic case instead and a hammerdrill instead of the basic drill. The impact driver can be had for around 129, while the hammer drill and driver can be purchased for around 159.
I am impressed with both tools. Have been doing a lot of home improvement around the home. The 18v bare tools that are available are great.
January 26, 2013
Excellent Purchase
As a construction worker I've used this combo at home and on the job site. Currently it's hard at work in sub zero temps and my 18v battery outlasts the 20v. Good kit to buy for the price whether on the job site or DIY.
January 22, 2013
DeWalt Drills
The drill is excellent but the battery is garbage. They offer a 3 year warranty but after one year the battery warranty expires (small print). Recommend you do not buy this or any DeWalt battery tool.
October 31, 2012
Great impact driver/drill driver set
This set has been on sale at Canadian Tire for a long time and I picked up this set in early 2010, so my observations are based on a year and half of use doing projects around the house that most DIYers will tackle at some point (e.g., assembling a wood garden shed, building a deck, etc.). This drill and impact driver set comes with two 18V batteries and a “smart” charger. The has the strengths you’d expect from a DeWalt product:
1. Lots of torque (for a drill).
2. Good battery life for NiCads. (Li cells still last longer.)
3. Charged fast for NiCads.
4. Heavy, but good ergonomics.
5. Good clutch
6. Excellent control on variable speed trigger.
The chuck is the weak spot. You have to keep tightening it to keep the bits from spinning around in the chuck.
This drill is not in the same league as an XRP, but it still delivers a lot of torque and doesn’t need a lot of recharging and would work well for the average DIYer.
The impact driver is well balanced and comfortable to grip. This impact driver easily has three times the torque of regular driver and can sink anything up to a 10 inch lag bolt for a deck to a few hundred deck screws or several dozen short lag bolts between charges. (This is based on my experience with the tool while building a deck.) Despite the higher torque, I found I stripped fewer screws than when I used the drill driver. I know use the drill for making holes, and the impact driver is my main go-to tool for screwing.
The batteries that come with this kit pack 2.4 Ah (amp hours), which is a measure of how long they run between charges. 2.4 Ah is about as good you can get with NiCads. The kit comes with a “smart” or diagnostic charger that equalizes the charge across all the cells in the battery pack. I haven’t had any problems with the memory effect with the NiCads that came with the kit.
Replacing the brushes is a pain, but this is a problem on pros would have to deal with.
The case is very sturdy and holds all the tools, batteries, etc. but there’s no extra space for a set of drill bits or screw bits.
November 14, 2011