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Switching to flexvolt revisited


glass

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As y'all know I bought the milwaukee 2734 and returned it and bought the dewalt dhs790. I figured the dewalt would be the exterior trim and frame saw. But I just completed a rift sawn white oak wall with quirk detail job with the dewalt. I am impressed ! I was set up for a while so I used the ac adaptor and vacuum. I really like the seamless ability to plug in and use dust collection. I have spent time with the dws780, and the dhs790 may look the same but the new saw is better in these ways, more power, blade gets up to speed faster and quick brake, and smoother slides. I may just purchase another one. I wil try to post some pictures next week.

       I also went a little crazy and decided to purchase 20v and flexvolt stuff to take advantage of the sales. I sold some m18 tools on the fence about others. Here's my take: I like the dewalt impact better, its lighter, faster, and feels better in hand. I do not need the fancy functions on the milwaukee. The dewalt compact drill and 995 are jems, love the 20 minute light feature. I never liked the milwaukee's with their crappy chucks. I sold the m18 grinder got the flexvolt grinder, definitely a step up in power. The m18 7 1/4 circular saw has been good but I wish I had purchased the 6 1/2  as these saws are really not powerful enough to replace ground corded saws. The dewalt is defiantly a corded repalcement, its only miss is no raftor hook but its a ground saw for me. I may keep the milwaukee for up high stuff with the 5.0 battery. One thing I never liked on the milwaukee was the loosey goosey bevel adjust ( I modified it with a bolt).  The dewalt is solid. I have yet to put the flexvolt sawzall to the test, it will have to be great to push the m18 out, although the one thing I do not like about the m18 is that the blade does not lock in as solid in the reverse position ie teeth up.

    I have not seen such a disparity in run times as other reviewers on the web. As a side note I repurchased the 2734 but returned it again. The second unit had less bearing play (but still had flex in the rear position-too much for a 10" saw but acceptable for a super portable quicky saw). The miter lock out of the detentes was still not super solid. It went back because the blade was not parallel to the slides. If I was in the m18 system I could see having this saw, but its just a little too cheapy for me at this point- I do not mean to offend by this as its just my 2 cents. I have heard a rumor that makita is soon to lauch a 18v x2 10" dual bevel. 

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11 minutes ago, SevenOddosFence said:

The M18 grinder you sold , was it Fuel ? Just curious to see if you think the flexvolt is better then Fuel or reg M18 stuff

I'd be surprised as I'm more than happy with the fuel I have as goes with the 6 1/2 fuel saw too, could the flex volt be more powerful? possible but I don't think enough to sell everything to switch over. The things I have put them thru have passed for my liking

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3 minutes ago, comp56 said:

I'd be surprised as I'm more than happy with the fuel I have as goes with the 6 1/2 fuel saw too, could the flex volt be more powerful? possible but I don't think enough to sell everything to switch over. The things I have put them thru have passed for my liking

I've used the flexvolt sawzall and it's honestly a beast however I feel as though my fuel sawzall is equal.

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The recip is the weak spot in the FlexVolt lineup. Basically everything else is noticeably more powerful than its Fuel equivalent. The Fuel grinder is a nice light unit. I've actually been debating getting the FlexVolt circular saw. Prices keep falling on the Fuel mitre in Canada, can't imagine that isn't for a reason. Seeing the DeBeast consistently beat the Super Hawg and now with the 9.0 absolutely embarrass it has been pretty eye opening as well.

 

That said I still prefer my 2753 Fuel impact to my XR 887. The business end of the Dewalt seems a bit clunky. It's hard for me to pick a favorite drill, the 791, 996 and 2704 are all awesome for different reasons. The Fuel Jacobs chuck is junk compared to the Rohm though. 

 

@glass I'm glad to hear you've come around on the FlexVolt mitre, that's still the one I plan on getting but not for a little while yet. 

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Keep in mind about the warranty and power when switching to Flexvolt. They run on 54v platform instead of 18v. Also, Milwaukee has a much better warranty that is far easier tk deal with. DeWalts warranty is garbage at 90 day money back, 1 year free service, 3 year limited warranty.

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11 minutes ago, Wally13 said:

Keep in mind about the warranty and power when switching to Flexvolt. They run on 54v platform instead of 18v. Also, Milwaukee has a much better warranty that is far easier tk deal with. DeWalts warranty is garbage at 90 day money back, 1 year free service, 3 year limited warranty.

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You bring up a good point. Milwaukee does have a better warranty, God knows I've used it several times to prove the point. I've only had to call Dewalt CS for a technical question (using a stacked dado) about my old contractor saw. I haven't had to send in any tools for repair though so I cannot speak to the warranty process.

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Getting reapirs done on DeWalt is difficult and expensive. You either find a certified warranty shop for the 1 year free service, or send your tools in to SBD on your own dime for anything else. They determine if its warrantied or not, then you pay shipping to get it back.

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I also want to point something else out with the 60v max system. Its a more powerful motor which is a good idea, however, if you need more power than what 18v brushless can provide, its best to reach for the cord. Even though I prefer cordless, I always bring an extension cord with me to take care of any work that needs the power. This is my cordless setup. I attached a heavy duty power strip to my cordless tool boxes.
3db0d7e6cdd2c0dbd57df1f40a496d00.jpg

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Getting reapirs done on DeWalt is difficult and expensive. You either find a certified warranty shop for the 1 year free service, or send your tools in to SBD on your own dime for anything else. They determine if its warrantied or not, then you pay shipping to get it back.

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I guess they are trying to get you to just buy a new tool rather then fix the one you have. Sadly our culture has gone that way were people would rather throw it out and replace then to fix. You see this across the board with a lot of things.


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4 minutes ago, Wally13 said:

Getting reapirs done on DeWalt is difficult and expensive. You either find a certified warranty shop for the 1 year free service, or send your tools in to SBD on your own dime for anything else. They determine if its warrantied or not, then you pay shipping to get it back.

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I had no idea. Like I said, I've used Milwaukee warranty (brand new tools needing repair after a failure) whereas I've never had an issue with a Dewalt tool failing but in Milwaukees case, they provided shipping labels, free pick up and delivery and I had new tools for replacement. If I have a Dewalt tool fail, it'll be a first time for me using the warranty but I will be able to speak on it from that experience. I guess I'd like to see Dewalt handle a failure in the same fashion but thus far I haven't had to try it.

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1 hour ago, Wally13 said:

Keep in mind about the warranty and power when switching to Flexvolt. They run on 54v platform instead of 18v. Also, Milwaukee has a much better warranty that is far easier tk deal with. DeWalts warranty is garbage at 90 day money back, 1 year free service, 3 year limited warranty.

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This is one of the reasons I went with Milwaukee when upgrading from the C3 starter set I had years ago. I have never had to use the warranty but from what I've learned from coworkers and read on forums, the Milwaukee warranty is easier to use than most.

At the end of the day though if you're not happy with something not warranty related a better warranty makes little difference.

I hope you continue to be happy with your new Dewalt tools, may they treat you well.

 

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It's interesting you bring this up at this point, HD Carpentry was running a few of the tools with the new flexvolt 3ah/9ah battery against the milwaukee. While I already expected the new DeWalt battery to exceed the milwuakee's performance, on some tools, it didn't do much better

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO-nZvShdo7/

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BO-tuSVhcmK/

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BPBBbs-htQe/

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I suspect he has yet to upload all the posts yet, expect more to come later today I'm guessing

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I wouldn't expect the batteries to make a big difference on things like the impacts.

 

@Wally13 why is brushless 18v the watermark for where corded should begin? Plenty of OPE use brushless at 36-70+ volts, should they just all switch to gas for real power? Increasing the voltage is as much about efficiency as it is more power. Look at the FlexVolt Stud/Joist drill: outdoes the Super Hawg handily and is the same form factor as their corded model. My experience with large commercial sites tells me the less cords the better. Real nice pic with your TStaks btw; slick cord rack!

 

As far as Milwaukee warranty goes; their 5 year warranty is what got me into their systems to begin with. They're also the only warranty I've had to use, and a 90 day money back guarantee beats what you'd get told at your local supplier trying to return a Hole Hawg you've put 350 man hours on and are disappointed with :lol:. That said, Dewalt'a 1 year free service seems questionable seeing as I still have yet to "service" anything I have that's red that's 4 years old lol. For the 80% of people who live in an urban centre I imagine getting anything serviced isn't a big deal. I'm in a Canadian city that doesn't get talked about much and we have factory service centres for Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, Stihl, Hilti, etc. 

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5 hours ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Good deal, sounds like you found the brand best suited to your needs!

 

I was always under the impression the Jacobs chuck was a better chuck, I've never had a problem with any of my m18 drills, or m12 drills either

 

Could be just my experience; of my 3 Dewalt drills I've had all the Rohm trucks were true. Of the 4 brushless Milwaukees 2 were great, one was off a bit, and one was noticeably off. 

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18 hours ago, Bremon said:

As far as Milwaukee warranty goes; their 5 year warranty is what got me into their systems to begin with. They're also the only warranty I've had to use, and a 90 day money back guarantee beats what you'd get told at your local supplier trying to return a Hole Hawg you've put 350 man hours on and are disappointed with :lol:. That said, Dewalt'a 1 year free service seems questionable seeing as I still have yet to "service" anything I have that's red that's 4 years old lol. For the 80% of people who live in an urban centre I imagine getting anything serviced isn't a big deal. I'm in a Canadian city that doesn't get talked about much and we have factory service centres for Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, Stihl, Hilti, etc. 

 

I second this statement.  Milwaukee's 5 year warranty was one of the primary reasons that I got into their platform.  I've had to use it a couple of times and never been dissatisfied.  (Well, almost never, but that's a different story).   I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, so I don't have the jobsite needs of a lot of the folks on here and my tools get used regularly, but not daily.  I love my Bosch 1617 router, but the fact that it only had a 1 year warranty doesn't sit well with me.  I've used it probably 3 times in the year and a half since I bought it, so for all intents and purposes it's brand new. It has never been left out in the rain, dropped into the dust or abused. However, if it were to die tomorrow, I'd be SOL because its out of warranty.

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On 1/8/2017 at 0:05 PM, Wally13 said:

Getting reapirs done on DeWalt is difficult and expensive. You either find a certified warranty shop for the 1 year free service, or send your tools in to SBD on your own dime for anything else. They determine if its warrantied or not, then you pay shipping to get it back.

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I never had a problem with a Dewalt warranty....I just returned a 20v max jigsaw from ..over..a year a ago and got full credit for it from Home Depot....I've never had a Dewalt cordless tool in the shop,ever....plus respectfully I disagree with no cordless tool over 18v....the Flexvolt line up is ,more,powerful than corded tools and with the 3/9ah the runtime is all day...without the hassle of a cord or finding power or bringing a generator....

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I have to agree with you @Framer joe, arbitrary limits on where to draw the line on cordless would mean no lawnmowers, no snowblowers, no chainsaws etc. without crappy ethanol gas eating through your seals over time etc. No thanks. No cords. No fumes. Less noise. And in the case of the majority of power tools these days; more power. Look at the corded offerings from the big 3 for 30 seconds and it's easy to tell where R&D money is going. Most corded tools from red, yellow and teal look like they haven't had a second look since before the days of V18, XRP, etc. lol. Anyone look at the price of a corded Hawg lately? You aren't really saving money over the Fuel model, at least in western Canada you aren't. Also the notion that batteries are an expense while everyone must have 3-4 50' 12ga extension cords lying around is laughable. Especially when you take them to a commercial site and every little nick, scratch and ding is enough for some jerk safety guy to tell you your cords are OOS until they're repaired...

 

Slightly off topic but I had to give my 2 (or 3) cents. Personally I'm enthusiastic about the idea of cordless mitre and table saws and I'm pumped to see what this year has in store!

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Go to " Dewalt Flexvolt vs Milwaukee M18" for a true comparison unlike Milwaukee did when comparing the Flexvolt 2.0/6.0 to the Milwaukee high demand 9.0...it's a dramatic advantage for the Flexvolt 3.0/9.0.....i do have m18  /m12 fuel and like but I think Flexvolt is more powerful and you get more work done........................totally agree " Bremen" ....

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