Customer Reviews

DEWALT DC988KA 18-Volt Cordless Hammerdrill/Drill/Driver Kit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

a note to 'R. Saccenti': there is a big difference between hammer drills and rotary hammer drills. hammer-drills, like this cordless dewalt use 2 grooved plates that rotate opposite of each other. when they slip and the grooves connect, a bang is heard. this "hammers" the chuck, which in turn, drives the bit into the masonry material. do you remember the manual masonry hand drill bit? you had to hit it with a heavy hammer and it rotated as it drilled. a hammer drill is the same principle. masonry drill bits are more efficient over chisels for only one reason, they remove the dust faster, allowing the bit to go in further and faster.

a rotary hammer is extremely more efficient than a hammer drill, because it drives a piston that pounds the chuck with measurable impact energy. there's really no question which is better. hammer drills are loud and cheaper. rotary hammers are bigger, quieter, more expensive, and do the job in 95% less time, with less effort.

now, there are rotary cordless hammer drills out there, but they are expensive. HILTI makes an 18v, a 24v, and a 36v. DEWALT and BOSCH make a 24v. MILWAUKEE makes a 28v. i apologize if i left out a few.

when drilling into concrete, i use a rotary hammer, especially if it's old (harder) concrete. but for light-duty concrete drilling in cement block, stucco, adobe, hard plaster, whatever, i use this DEWALT hammer drill and i love it every time i use it. i can drill the hole and drive the tapcon (blue concrete screws) with the same tool. driving tapcons with a rotary hammer, usually snaps them in two.

everyone should own a cordless hammer drill, instead of a regular cordless. it is so much more versatile. if you have one, you will use it. most professionals have one cordless hammer drill and one regular drill in the same voltage. one for drilling and one for driving.

if you buy this drill, you will be satisfied with it, just don't use it where it is not intended to be used, ie, hard concrete.

the fastest hammer drilling 18 volt i've ever used is the new makita litium ion. it's hammer power compares to low-grade corded rotarty hammers (for small diameter holes).

I recently purchased this new model and still have each of the two previous 18-volt 1/2" cordless models. The older units have seen several years of heavy daily use in the field and have held up well, but they and their batteries are now justifiably tiring. They required only occasional routine maintenance such as new motor brush boxes, commutator dressing, internal cleaning and relubrication. I service all of my own tools, and this is just the regular maintenance that most of my power tools will need at least annually. I also have and use several other brands of corded 1/2" hammerdrills as well as several different sizes of SDS and spline drive rotary hammers.
The DC988 is my new all around drill/driver/hammerdrill general-purpose workhorse, which I carry on my belt clip or in my tool bucket and it goes everywhere with me on every job. Battery life has been very good with this hammerdrill as it was with my older models too. The locking keyless chuck is excellent as it also was on the older models and is now something I could never do without.
Contrary to some peoples opinion, a hammerdrill is not the same thing as a rotary hammer and has never been a tool just for masonry drilling.
Although corded hammerdrills have more power, even a cordless, such as this one, is more versatile than a standard drill/driver.
With the hammer-mode off, it is used for regular drilling in metal and wood, or for driving most screws and fasteners.
In the hammer-mode, it is often used with hole saws, especially larger sizes, for making clean penetrations through finished wood sheathed exterior walls to install conduit, cables or 4" vent hoods. The tools ratcheting hammer action helps the hole saw bite into the wood, clear chips from the teeth and reduces binding for faster drilling that is much easier on the operator. Spade/paddle type bits also work faster in hammer-mode. Because of the hammer-function, I routinely use the DC988 with up to a 4-5/8" hole saw even though Dewalt says the maximum size is only 2".
Although cordless impact wrenches are now widely available, I also use this hammerdrill in low speed with nut drivers and socket adapters for driving fasteners such as #14 hex head screws or 1/4" lag bolts into wood beams with pre-drilled pilot holes. The hammering drives fasteners quickly and helps keep bolt heads from walking out of the socket driver. The DC988KA puts out up to 34,000 BPM and works with 1/4" or smaller rotary percussion bits to make holes in hollow concrete and cinder block for conical plastic anchors or Tapcon fasteners. If you need to do lots of this type of fastening all day long, productivity will be much higher with a corded model. If, on the other hand, you happen to be in the middle of a job, and just need to drill a few 1/4" or smaller anchor holes, this tool can sometimes save you another trip out to the truck to grab your corded hammerdrill and 100 foot extension cord. No cordless hammerdrill, regardless of the voltage rating or manufacturer, is suited for drilling in hardened poured concrete. Even corded models are not the best choice for this kind of work and are used mainly with bits 1/2" diameter or less but, given enough time, most have enough power to make a hole through an 8-inch slab up to 3/4" diameter, although this is unnecessarily hard on the tool and the operator as well as other people working around you who will no doubt be extremely irate and bleeding from the ears because of the intense screaming sound that the larger corded models make during use. A small cordless SDS rotary hammer like the Dewalt 18-volt DW999K-2 is better for that type of work. I also own that model and wrote a review on a couple of years ago. It's a good little rotary hammer but is much too bulky and awkward for all around general-purpose use.
According to Dewalt, the DC988KA hammerdrill weighs only .05 ounces more than the standard 18-volt DC987KA drill/driver. Torque, speed and all other specifications are exactly the same. Since it is only about twenty dollars more in price, for my needs, the added flexibility of use it provides and minimal weight difference makes the DC988KA hammerdrill the obvious choice for my all around daily on the job drilling and fastening.

They keep changing the name on this drill, adjusting by a letter here and there, but the only difference is packaging. They are trying to hide from the reviews on this one. I love my old DeWalt drill/driver. But this "hammerdrill" model is a bust, and had to go back. This is nowhere near what you are looking for if you are going to be drilling into masonry, especially concrete. And if you are not, why are you buying this instead of the drill/driver model (which I own and love)? The good: a great redesign of the keyless chuck. The bad: does not have the power for even the most basic work you'll do (drilling a 3/16" hole a couple inches into a tough concrete slab). I cut my teeth on a real heavy-duty hammer drill (worth at least twice the price, I admit), which I had to always borrow. Bought this DeWalt model, and went through several bits, cursing the bits. Worried, I went back and borrowed the real tool, stuck in one of the bits I'd been cursing, and...zip zip zip, right through the material. If you buy this thinking you're getting a heavy-duty hammerdrill, you will be disappointed. Unfortunately, a true heavy-duty hammerdrill is going to run you twice what this does. No free rides. I had to learn the hard way what the extra money buys you; hopefully I've saved you a lesson.

I'm Bill not Sandra, I bought the Dewalt 18 volt XRP to use at work. I do a lot of drilling into concrete, wood, plastic and metal. This is exactly what this drill was designed to do. I use it almost every day. After the first year I had to replace the clutch and all the associated parts. I took it to the Dewalt dealer/repair shop. They replaced the parts with Black and Decker parts. The cost was $105.00, almost half the cost of a new one, several weeks later I had to buy two new batteries because the old ones would not hold a charge, the cost was either $68.00 or $86.00 for each battery I can't remember. Now after almost two years of use the brushes are about to go out, OK, I'll concede on the brushes but the clutch is beginning to give me the same problems that I had the first time. I'm going to fix the thing and give it to my wife, maybe she will get more than a year out of it. Dewalt used to put out an outstanding product. I have had cordless drills, made by dewalt, that lasted 5 years or more in the past. But sometime in the last few years they have taken a turn for the worse. Several of my co-workers have had the same problems with their XRP's. Maybe its just the XRP's, I don't know. I need a drill every day, all day and I don't need any down time when it comes to my drill. If you are buying this drill for occasional home use it'll probably last a lifetime, but if you need it in the construction field, FORGET IT!!

Having blown a few corded hammer drills over the last 15 years I finally decided to try a good cordless model to get rid of the irritating cord. Did some research and came upong this drill which seemed to pretty much offer anything you can possibly want in a cordless drill. I have not been dissapointed. I really don't know how I ever got along without this tool.

The balance of the tool is great. It feels really well in your hand. Its a little on the heavy side but pretty average and to be expected from a NiCD 18v drill. The tool balance really makes it feel comfortable anyway regardless of the weight. The keyless chuck saves so much time and grips bits as good as a keyed one. The three speed transmission is very versatile and has as far as I can tell the highest RPM speed (2000rpm)for a cordless drill which is very useful for masonry applications. The middle speed (1450rpm) is great for when high speed and higher torque are needed such as hardwood, holesaws, etc and finally the slowest (450rpm) for maximum torque and driving. Most cordless models only have slow and fast, and fast isn't that fast, pretty frustrating for masonry work. The battery life is very good. The 18v XRP battery should provide enough power to work reasonably continuously while the other is finished charging. I can many times go a full day of extended usage without having to bother recharging.

Finally, the reason I really bought this drill, the masonry performance. Remember this is a hammer drill, NOT a rotary hammer. A rotary hammer is far more powerful but is pretty useless for anything else as they are typically to large, heavy and too violenty powerfull for smaller work. This hammerdrill I have found can easily outperform even many corded hammer drills. Lately I've been using it to drill mainly into insanely hard 40 year old structural concrete columns in a building and driving tapcon screws in. I would normally use a rotary hammer for this but rotary hammers tend to oversize holes so tapcons don't grips as well (or at all). With a good bit the drill powers through pretty effortlessly into the reinforced columns. Softer stuff like brick and blocks, it plows through with no sweat.

I give this tool the full 5 stars. It's by far the most versatile and best performing tool in my box. If you need a cordless drill that can do everything and replace all others, this is the one.

Good drill. Speed control is good compared with other drills. Torque is great. Low settings on the 22 position clutch are not that accurate if that bothers you. Also not that consistent it seems sometimes. Speed control suffers some when the drill is too cold (below 40 degrees F.)
Clutch again! It jams in the drill position and you can't get it out. Mine has done this for the second time after having it for less than a year. I use it every day in construction. Batteries last decently long. Charger works as described. Chuck is very good. Comfortable and weighted well. Good drill overall except for the clutch problems...

I purchased this from Amazon and everywhere else I checked could not touch the price. Delivered on time as well. I own 3 18 v Bosch units and an older DeWalt 18v Drill/driver. This one has super power and great speed. It feels very balanced and comfortable in my hand. I really like the convenient longer bit holders on the sides. Nice when you are up on a ladder or other difficult place. All metal chuck seems to work flawlessly. A little strange the way it collapses when pressed, but not a detriment to its use. It was easy to get used to. I would recommentd this to anyone.

I bought this item as part of a promotion which included the 18-volt impact driver and a contractor's tool bag. I am very pleased with this, and my only issue is why didn't I buy one sooner? For reference, I am a DIY-er currently using this about 2-3 days per week.

Great for general purpose use in locations where one does not have 115VAC. I'm using it in cleanup and renovation of a rental house belonging to my mother, and it's a pleasure to use. Very handy.

One concern for me is that I was completely unprepared for how much torque this has. I set the unit to 7 on the 21-step power dial, and within a second a screw had lost all resemblance to Mr. Phillips's original design. I've been running at level 2 for almost everything ever since, but then I don't drill into oak very often.

To address a concern in another review - I have not used this for concrete drilling yet, but will update the review when I do. My expectation is that it will perform OK up to about half an inch with a new bit. But for serious concrete drilling, I'd suggest that a 24V unit with an SDS chuck is a better choice, and that a corded heavy hammer drill is probably going to be required. The ability to do light concrete and masonry drilling is a nice plus, though.

I also got the 30-piece Dewalt rapid load bit set and highly recommend that, although that's another review.

Would I buy again? Definitely. Am I impressed? Definitely. Are there jobs that are too big for this? Certainly, but I have not run across them yet. Highly recommended.

Note that this unit is made in Mexico. I am not aware of an 18V cordless drill made in the USA any more, sadly, but at least Dewalt is still US-owned, unlike some other prominent tool makers.

I work as an electrician apprentice. We purchased one of these drills as part of a 18v set months ago. The date code (bottom of drill) states it was made 2004. This is a new drill.

We don't use the hammer drill function a lot (anchoring straps to masonary), however, when we use it; it needs to work. We do not abuse or mistreat it in anyway whatsoever (we want to keep it looking new for as long as we can).

However, in the matter of 2 months owning this drill, we have had to replace the transmission on this drill (would be stuck in hammerdrill mode). Upon receiving the 'fixed' drill from the dewalt repair center, 4 weeks later it had the same problem.

We have another apprentice in our company, and he stated that his DeWalt drill gave him the same problems (he bought his on Amazon).

The problem with this drill (clutch being stuck) is not an isolated case. There is no coincidence that the same problem happened to the company drill has also happened to an employees' personal drill. Read the online reviews, this drill is prone to problems.

As a company policy, the DeWalt repair centers will not give you a new drill no matter how many times you bring in your drill because of the same problem. Even if you get it fixed, there is no telling when the drill might break again.

If you want a quality drill (one that I own personally, and willing to risk my reputation on): buy this (below) drill. It is the most durable drill on the market. Even if all of your tools are DeWalt and you want to use the same battery, you will be much more satisfied.

Bosch 13618

I work construction and use this drill everyday for deckmates, sheetrock screws, speedbores, holesaws, backerboard screws, and other drill bits. Everyone I work with (four people) owns this Dewalt drill and we have yet to take any of them to the repair shop. This drill has taken a few drops from about six feet and has worked without any failure afterwords. The only complaint I have is that a few of our drills get tempermental when trying to turn them into hammerdrill mode. After you fiddle with it for a second you can get the chuck to turn. I would buy another Dewalt drill even with this small problem. The drill has plenty of power for harsh use and the XRP battery lasts a long time.