Customer Reviews

DEWALT DC730KA Cordless 14.4-Volt Compact Drill/Driver

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my 3rd 14.4 volt drill, 3rd generation has really improved. The shorter body allows me to work in tighter areas. I origionally thought the led was a joke but I have noticed that the led light has been pretty handy as I have used it in areas with low lighting, it does work. I was also pretty impressed with the speedy battery charge time. It's nice to see that dewalt has stayed with the same battery configuration since my first drill back 10-15 yrs ago.

Have always had a 14 volt DeWalt. No need for the 18, too heavy. Wore my 14 out so I ordered this one. Delivered fast and used it almost immediately. Can't beat the price, especially with the case and two batteries and charger. Remember to charge the batteries first.

Excellent product...I would recommend this to anyone looking for a drill. I had a Ryobi cordless drill prior to purchasing this and after 7 years it finally died. As a result of using Dewalt drills owned by friends, I thought I would purchase one myself. This drill exceeded my expectations greatly. I loved my Ryobi drill and did not want to let it go but glad that I made this purchase instead of another Ryobi...

I bought this a few weeks ago at a local store for just south of $100 on sale. It replaced a 12 volt model I have used for 10 years that finally gave up the ghost - in fact to replace with a 12 volt would have been more costly due to the sale so I went with this one.

I have been very pleased with the performance of this unit and especially the fast charging and additional power compared to the 12 volt. My first project was a 15 foot red cedar garden bridge I built to cross a small stream - this involved drilling about 20 half-inch holes and screwing in about 400 deck screws. For virtually the entire project I was constantly using this drill and by the time I went through one battery pack the other one was charged and ready to go (so about an hour or more of constant use, which is impressive).

I am looking forward to using the more compact design in tight spots as that had been an issue with my prior drill and the LED light looks useful as well.

UPDATE 12-18-10:
Several months (and several projects) later and this drill is still going strong. The LED light is really not too useful, however, as the chuck creates a shadow right where you are drilling. Easily fixed with a piece of electrical tape to cover it up, if you want to bother (I haven't). I think this feature would be of use if they put the light down just above the battery on the front, shining upward into the area where the drill bit is. But then again, I'm not a tool designer and there is likely some reason that would not work. Anyway, still a great product which I would buy again.

Good drill driver, 14v is better than 12... You will notice that when you release the trigger in 2nd
speed(only 2nd) that it grinds to a stop. That is normal according to a Dewalt repair tech I showed to in person.
This thing drives good, a bit better than the 12v, and drills good, I use 2nd speed for drill even though they say use speed 1 in manual. Is a bit shorter than my old 12v but is a bit heavier too. But ok.Worth 135$. Too bad the Panasonics are so stupidly overpriced.

The drill itself is performing very well. It's the DeWalt carry/storage case that needs improvement. My previous drill was a Makita, its carry/storage case had room inside for me to store a 35 piece drill driver set in its own hard case. This allowed me to grab the drill in its case and go, without having to remember to carry the drill driver set separately like I have to now with the DeWalt. The DeWalt case is actually larger than the Makita, but there is too much space wasted on plastic molding. The interior space could easily be reconfigured to accommodate a case for drills/drivers.
Richard
Rutland, MA

I am very satisfied with the DeWalt Drill/Driver. The 14.4 Volt drill is the workhorse for our Set Construction Crew. We put on three productions a year and we have found that this drill is powerful enough to accomplish our needs from light work to repeated heavier work such as three inch screws through 2x4s. We have dropped them a few times and they have survived. Thanks for a great product.

Overall I would recommend this product to anyone needing a quality drill but does not require the extra power of an 18V unit on a daily basis. As a result of not being an 18V unit, it is substantially less bulky and easier to handle in tighter corners. Dual batteries is nice in that you can be charging one while the other is in use -- something I had to do very frequently during a recent home renovation.

For those who don't know... When you buy a kit, the part number has a suffix like "KA". Your drill part number is "DC730" without the suffix. The kit part number is the combination of both, like "DC730KA".

I've had a DeWALT 12V XRP for about 15 years. It is good in all respects, except for battery life and duration. I've bought seven batteries and two chargers over the past 15 years. With sporadic use, that comes to about 2 1/2 years per battery. For continuous use, as driving #6 screws into plywood the battery would last about 20 to 25 minutes and it takes about an hour to re-charge. So I started looking for a new cordless drill.
I bought the DC730. The designation on the cardboard box and on the case show the model as DC730KA, while on the drill it shows DC730. I checked on the DeWALT site, they do not show the DC730. I am not sure if that is an oversight by the marketing savants at DeWALT, or this is a different model. Judging by the glowing reviews for the DC730KA, I must conclude that I either have a lemon, or a different model.
The positive features are the ergonomics, it fits the hand very well: it is compact-slightly smaller and lighter than my old 12V; and I like very much the LED light that comes on when you press the trigger.
I expected the 14.4V battery to last longer and to have more power than the 12V. It does neither. The 14.4V lasts less than half than my old 12V, or about 10 minutes, while it takes an hour to re-charge. I did the 8 hour charge per the manual, to "equalize the cells", and did not discern any difference. When searching on the DeWALT site for the DC730, it displayed the DC730KA. The battery DW9094 is shown as discontinued. The charger DW9118 is also shown as discontinued.
The motor is much noisier than on my 12V. The case is OK, but it is larger than that of 12V and the layout is not as good. I guess DeWALT must have let go of their case designers. The most compelling reason to return the drill was the chuck. It does not hold drills 1/8" dia. or less. They slip no matter how much you "ratchet" the chuck. This is not the DeWALT I used to know.