DeWALT Brushless Motors For Greater RunTime

Today DeWALT tools has introduced an expanded lineup of tools including a revolutionary new technology for power tools, brushless motors. The brushless motor will be introduced with DeWALT's new cordless impact driver and will ship in April. There are a couple of other manufacturers that sell tools with brushless motors but none that have the market size of DeWALT and assuming these will be available in the big box home centers a lot of people will be introduced to these tools.

DeWALT showed a select group of us these new tools and started with the DeWALT 20V Max impact driver. The brushless motor works more efficiently compared to brushed motors and provides significantly more runtime in a smaller, cooler running cordless power tool.

Here's a video showing the improved runtime of the brushless impact driver.

The DeWALT brushless impact drivers feature 3-Speed selections for enhanced application control. The Electro-Mechanical speed selector is easily seen at all times and can be used with little effort. The selector allows for the ability to see what speed the tool is in without turning it on.

Noticeably different is the Push Button Chuck which allows users to change accessories and is preferred when compared to traditional 1/4” Chucks. It features a One Handed loading design along with accepting 1” bit tips.

Finally DeWALT has introduced Fuel Gauge Battery Packs. The batteries have three green LED lights that indicate charge level. A recessed push button design allows for durability and ease of use. By pushing this button, you will be able to check the amount of charge left in the battery before and after an application. These fuel gauge packs are fully interchangeable with existing 20V MAX* tools.

Here's a video showing the features of the new brushless impact driver.

Our Top Picks From Lowe's New Kobalt Tools Line

Last week, I had the great fortune of traveling to New York City for the debut of Lowe's expanded Kobalt Tools line. Although the home improvement giant has offered Kobalt tools for years (Kobalt started in 1998 as a brand of mechanics tools), the line has now been expanded to include a variety of professional-grade cordless tools, designed to give users a more efficient and effective work experience.

One of the coolest parts about the event (besides seeing the tools and catching up with old friends, of course!) was getting to test the tools during a building competition. We split into teams of 5 and were instructed to build what everyone at the event called a "cornhole" but I know as a "bean bag toss." (Anyone else out there call them bean bag tosses? Or is it just me?)

Each team had to build two sets, and I'm proud to say that our team came in second place! But I digress - back to the tools!