dewalt power tools

[mojoe]

hi i have just bought some tools and was just wondering if they are good value for money

DeWalt DCX5401 Cordless Toolkit 4 Piece 28 Volt DCX5401-GB

now my mam got these from the factory shop brand new for £500 the guy in the shop told her it was such a good deal she bought them there and then.I was telling the store man at college about them and he said "dewalt are crap and i wouldnt have paid more than £250 for the set" ? i thought they were a good make ? and i also thought it was a good deal? what do you think

im just starting out btw so this is my first lot of tools and i needed to keep cost down as i have a lot of other things to get
JOE

 

[Garryaca@yahoo.]

Looks good to me!

 

[mojoe]

thanks garry for the reply i take it dewalt are up to the job then

 

[mark.brazenor@b]

Nothing wrong with Dewalt, although they seem to have lost the edge recently and their customer service dept leaves a bit to be desired, but can be persuaded to do the right thing if you push.

 

[Paulplumb]

Sweet! I have the 18 volt set and they have lasted very well. Never found them underpowered. 28v will be awesome. Li-on batts too, marvellous. If your mum wants to buy me a set I wouldn't say no.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Looks a good set, reasonable price, 28v - excellent, I've a 6 piece 19v set last year and they put up with my abuse well.

the dwalt Customer service changed about 18months ago, I've had a battery replaced so far, so problem at all. Did have to phone for an update, but that was it.

 

[brasso1981]

dewalt make quality tools. 28v set should have plenty of power. get yourself a smaller driver aswell though as the 28v combi drill will be big and a fair weight. iv got a bosch 10.8v impact driver and drill driver. good for above head work but not powerfull enough for bigger screws

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm!

De Walt although separate from Black and Decker are owned by Black and Decker. The DeWalt tolls seem to have a reputation but I have not used their stuff much if it all.

However Black and Decker stuff is really thought of as DIY and I suppose that is where the questions about De Walt quality come from.

But then I think Black and Decker also own Kango, who are well know workhorses on nearly all serious sites and have been for years. In point the guys usually ask for the Kango the same way people ask for a Hoover.

 

[Scottley]

Dewalt were Elu formerly and some tools are still based on them. They have stood the test of time

 

[HoodedClaw]

I think sometime it is a case of you get the quality with the price, I've had B&D tools for a number of years as a medium DIY user, they worked ok for the jobs I was doing, but once I started developing property I had no choice but to upgrade, and the difference was very noticeable, smaller and lighter tools with more power than the DIY ones, gave better control and will last longer. It just makes working 'easier'.

That said, my old man used to buy B&D drills and burn them out every 3 months on fibreglass (boat building) then he would get them changed on the guarantee. worked out cheaper than having a decent one break just outside the guarantee every 13 months.

 

[Bernie2]

I once bought a second hand Wolff drill had it for years. It weighed a ton and was second hand when I bought it. But what a drill it would push a bit virtually through anything, blue bellies, stock, engineering you name it. Somebody nicked it.

 

[Puddle]

I used to use wolf drills too,great bits of kit ,as bernie says would go and go,had mine nicked as well.van broken in to

got a call a few weeks later,from the police saying .. they had found it and traced me as in the box was one on my merchants note,said they needed it for evidence and would contact me again shortly,never heard another word,rang back and apparently it was sent to one of their auctions by mistake,made excuses like.. tried to contact you ect,yeh ok
That was years ago and to come the full circle ,had my dewalt cordless with three batteries in case nicked last month,so am now going for a vault box to be installed !!

And will go for dewalt again,as I like the colour
imho

 

[Avatar]

A lot of proffesional plumbers would aviod dewalt, and i am one of them!

The batteries are usually under powered, and under-speced for the price you pay.

The problem with the set you are looking at, is the circular saw and jigsaw. I have two cheap ones (£30) and have used each twice in the last year. You are a plumber, not a carpenter so spend the dosh on kit you are going to use constantly.

If you spent £500 on that kit, go get a refund and get this lot. These will tick every power tool need, for someone starting out:

DeWalt DC733KA Builders Twin Pack 2kg SDS Plus Drill & 14.4V Drill Driver - NoLinkingToThis, Where the Trade Buys
(this set could do you almost all your drilling needs! I would not get more than a 12volt cordless dewalt though.)

Then you can add a cheap sd plus for core cutting and heavy duty work:
Erbauer 6kg SDS Drill - NoLinkingToThis, Where the Trade Buys

If you must add a combi drill then you better be looking at spending a lot on it. Might not be the best/cheapest option for starting off though . . . Something like this with a 3.0ah battery only:
Makita BHP451RFE Li-ion 18V Cordless Combi Drill - NoLinkingToThis, Where the Trade Buys
(I have one of these and they are surprisingly powerful! use it on every job.)

Then go to wickes or B&Q and spend approx £30-£40 on each of these:
- circular saw
- jigsaw
- recipricating saw (you will use this more than the others!)
- angle grinder

+ wet vac (£50) worth its wieght in gold though . . .

Other lifesaving powertools are:

-good screwdriver (£60+)

- Bosch multitool (£70+)

I think that about covers it. Dont waste your money buying kit you aint going to use!

Good luck.