Dewalt announced two new Atomic 20V Max cordless drills, a 1/2″ drill/driver (DCD794) and a 1/2″ hammer drill (DCD799).
Both of the new Dewalt cordless drills feature brushless motors and are said to more powerful and smaller in size.
The new tools are said to be Dewalt’s shortest 20V Max cordless drill/driver and hammer drill, with respect to head length.
The Dewalt DCD794 Atomic cordless drill delivers up to 404 UWO and 1650 RPM, and its head length is 5.88″.
The DCD799 Atomic hammer drill delivers up to 552 UWO, 1650 RPM, and 28,050 BPM, and its head length is 6.49″.
Both tools have 1/2″ ratcheting chucks, 15 clutch settings, and a variable speed trigger.
As a reminder, Dewalt uses UWO as a measure of drill power, rather than max torque. Read more: Dewalt Cordless Power Tools, UWO, and Torque – Here’s What it all Really Means.
Price: $159 for the drill kit, $189 for the hammer drill kit
The drill/driver kit (DCD794D1) comes with a charger and 2Ah battery, while the hammer drill kit (DCD799L1) comes with a charger and compact 3Ah battery.
Both drills will also be available as bare tools (DCD794B, DCD799B).
Discussion
Okay, here’s where things get interesting and messy.
Dewalt claims that the DCD794 drill delivers up to 16% more power, and the DCD799 delivers up to 14% more power. Compared to…?
The drill, when paired with a 2Ah battery, is up to 16% more powerful than the Dewalt DCD771 when paired with a 2Ah battery. The hammer drill, when paired with a compact 3Ah battery, is up to 14% more powerful compared to the Dewalt DCD778 when paired with a compact 3Ah battery.
The DCD771 is the brand’s value-focused brushed motor drill/driver. It’s an old model that delivers 300 UWO and a max speed of 1500 RPM. The DCD778 is Dewalt’s value-focused brushless hammer drill, which delivers m340 UWO and a max speed of 1750 RPM.
These comparisons are somewhat reasonable, especially the DCD778 which has been paired with the same compact 3Ah battery before, but I feel comparisons against existing Atomic series drills would be more interesting and relevant.
The Dewalt Atomic DCD708, often kitted with 1.3Ah batteries by itself or with an impact driver, delivers up to 340 UWO and has a max speed of 1650 RPM. Its head length measures 6.3″.
The Dewalt Atomic DCD709 cordless hammer drill, often kitted with 1.3Ah batteries, delivers 340 UWO and has a max speed of 1650 RPM. Its head length measures 6.8″.
So, compared to the first generation Atomic drills, the new Dewalt cordless drill has an 18.8% higher UWO rating and is nearly half an inch shorter, while the new hammer drill has a 62% higher UWO rating and is around 1/3 of an inch shorter.
Additionally, the new drill is kitted with a 2Ah battery, and the hammer drill with a compact 3Ah battery. These are much more usable than the 1.3Ah batteries the other/older Atomic series drills are usually kitted with.
Each drill is only kitted with a single battery. But, personally I’d take a single 2Ah or 3Ah battery over 2x 1.3Ah batteries.
To summarize all that, the new drills offer more power, shorter head lengths – the shortest within the Dewalt 20V Max cordless power tool system – and they are kitted with better batteries. This seems like a big upgrade to me.
