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Is brushless worth the extra cost?


ryan.s

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Newbie here with my first post so please be gentle.

 

Just a little back ground, I'm not a professional in any way but more of a diyer and woodworker. I recently sold a bunch of my Bosch 12v tools, ps20, ps30, ps40 as well as my 18v makita drills and impacts (had multiples of both) with the notion of upgrading to brushless.

 

For replacing my 18v tools it was an easy decision, I settled on the 20v brushless compact Dewalt drill/impact kit mainly due to the compact size and the 2000 rpm of the drill. When it comes to the 12v tools I'm having a harder time deciding on what to get. I briefly considered moving over to Milwaukee fuel since most of the stuff I've read and seen online tells me Milwaukee seems to outperform other brands on both he 12v and 18v platforms. In the end I decided to stick with bosch because I still have a bunch of the other 12v tools plus I really like the compact size. So my question is, is the higher cost for the PS22, PS32 and PS42 (if they ever release it) worth it over the PS21, PS31 and PS41? I was initially gung-ho about going all brushless but there are some decent deals on the brushed versions plus I figured longevity of the brushed motors wouldn't be an issue since I'll likely upgrade again a few years down the road.

 

Would like to hear some opinions as well any comparisons you might have noticed between the different generations of the Bosch. I've added below my take on the bosch stuff I've used so far. Just some quick observations.

 

PS10 - Clutch is terrible, trigger has a consistent noticeable delay. Articulating head is nice. Overall not too happy with it but I hardly use it and keep it around for those times I need a right angle drill/driver for tight spaces. I noticed the newer PS11 now as a chuck which extends out quite a bit more than the PS10.

 

PS20 - Really like this tool. Still held on to one. Size is nice, torque is okay, only knock is it's single speed.

 

PS30 - Not very compact, rpms are low, didn't like the non ratcheting chuck. I found myself hardly ever reaching for this tool when any drilling needed to be done. It wasn't much smaller than my makita 18v compact drill.

 

PS40 - In my opinion it seriously lacked power. It was rated for 800 in lbs but seemed like a lot less.

 

PS60 - No complaints, nice size, good power.

 

FL11A- No complaints, nice size, decent light.

 

PS21 - I just picked up a used one of these recently to test it. Nice compact size, good torque and good rpms but I noticed a slight lag in the trigger. I'm not sure if it's just isolated to the one I have. The weird thing is it only happens intermittently. Most times there is no delay. I read some reviews of the PS31 where a delay was also mentioned. It concerns me that it might be a common issue for the second generation of these tools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Brushless is nice. There really aren't any disadvantages. That being said, the advantages to it are of varying value depending on use.

I could personally care less about the motor life claims. By the time I have to worry about motor life my stuff is usually antiquated and needs replaced anyway. If I do decide to repair it, we're talking about new brushes for a couple dollars.

Heat reduction is a benefit on some tools more than others, but heat is always your enemy when it comes to equipment.

Increased power is more the manufacturer putting more power into them than it is a fundamental result of the lack of brushes. Nevertheless, the brushless models tend to have more power .

The biggest advantage is increased run time. That needs no explanation.

It's personal preference I suppose. I think it's crazy to go out and replace a perfectly good tool for the sake of being brushless, but the fuel effect has claimed lots of victims.

Going forward I will replace my stuff with brushless as needed.

The truth is that either will serve you well for years to come

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I'll echo what conductor is saying, Brushless is nice you'll get more run time and power, but in the end will the same job get done with a brushed tool? Yes.  If the brushed tool is made well and is powerful enough I don't see a reason to upgrade to the brushless for just the brushless sake.

 

If I was on a budget I'd go brushed depending on the tool and it's features as I'd weigh the feature differences, but if I didn't care about the extra $$ it would be Brushless all the way.

 

Example of 2 tools that will do the same thing but the brushless has nicer features would be the M12 Impact driver, the brushed version you need 2 hands to load the bit, the brushless one hand, Brushed does not have a timed LED, the Brushless is ~10-20sec.

 

 

In regards to replacing old 18v, you could get away with replacing them with the M12 fuel, they have the power of an 18v (spec-wise). Personally I have a lot of dewalts 20v tools mostly brushed, but recently purchased some m12 fuel stuff as I like the size and the extensive amount of tools in the line.

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Its the same thing with the new Bosch Brushless stuff they added some improvements and added features like the hybrid impactor, and delay on the led lights. The brushless stuff is nice to have but it all depends on what you want and need really.  As conductor mentioned a few of us guys here have the Milwaukee Fuel addiction really bad here :)

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I only know about Milwaukee. There are a lot of Milwaukee drill/drivers around my work but Mine is the only brushless. On top of it out performing the others, the QC is way better. I've seen the other Milwaukee drills burn out after a year.

It almosts feels as if they didn't build them that well because the next generation was just about to hit. But that's the conspiracy theorist in me

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Brushless motors have many advantages over brushed ones. One simple example is that they are capable of running 24/7 with out any problems. For example, your computer hard drive has BL motors. The server that this very forum is saved in runs 24/7...a brushed motor is not capable or running 24/7 with out the carbon brushes eventually failing.

 

All of the home appliances are “brushless motors” I put that in quotations because there are different types of brushless motors not just one. None the less, the benefits of brushless technology is there. Your dishwasher motor is brushless. Your air conditioning unit motors are brushless...your ceiling fan motor is brushless....heck even your bluray player has brushless motors...it is a fact that brushless outperform brushed in the long run.

 

There is always a trade of of course. You cannot use a big amp hungry amp brushless motor because it would drain any baterry in a matter of 10 minutes. You also don't want a weak brushless motor to last you a long time if it cannot drive in a 3 inch wood screw. This is one of the reasons why I support brushless technology in power tools...so the technology can evolve hence benefit us because it will make our job easier.

 

I would encourage you to support the brushless technology so it can evolve.

 

Once all tools are brushless, we can complain about ergonomics and quality over quantity...and stuff. Like we have been doing on tools with brushed motors.

 

In all, you will get less frustrated with a brushless motor.

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I have to say it was a pretty big jump from Nicad to Lithium powered tools that was the big change in the mid 2000's. It's pretty crazy though how active the cordless power tool industry is now things are being updated way more often then they were even 5 years ago! I mean we have added brushless tools and higher ah batteries in only a few years.

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