Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Hello, my third in like 3 years DeWalt sds-max drill stopped working today. I use them daily in summer for drilling holes in concrete around 6-8 inches in depth and around 5 inches in diameter in concrete. Unfortunately I live in Russia, so their 3 year warranty is no good here. So my question is: How do models from other brands perform compared to DeWalt in terms of reliability? Models I used are DEWD25601 and DEWD25501. I was looking at Milwaukee 5546-21 drill, does anyone have experience with it?
Welcome to the forum.
Assuming that the required bit lubrication is being manually applied to ensure the tool is properly maintained.
My Bosch SDS Max tool has been a solid performer.
Thank you for your input! I always used them with bit lubrication, but the electric motor parts just keep failing… They start to run slow or just stop working completely…
Assuming the brushes have been inspected?
Assuming the armature commutator is clean / intact?
Assuming the switch has been inspected?
Assuming the tool has been periodically disassembled, cleaned and properly lubricated?
Unfortunately not, because in my country there are no laws that forbid voiding warranty for product disassembly, so you either take it apart and lose the warranty just because you’ve opened it, or you rely on your warranty (which we still got screwed over with). So most likely it will be “use it as is before warranty is over”, even though doing it this way feels awful…
I’m on the milwaukee and Dewalt battery platforms. I only have 1-⅛” rotary hammers but side by side I would say the dewalt makes a little better rotary hammer. Like wingless said bosch has always had a good reputation for rotary hammers but I personally don’t have any experience. I’ve also seen some good things about Makita but again I have no experience. I don’t know what the availability is on Hilti in Russia but if you’re serious about rotary hammers they really are supreme. You’re also going to pay a pretty good premium but if you’re using them daily they’re probably worth it.