Thread: A question about Dewalt 20V drill chucks.

Originally Posted by Scottl

See if they have a repair parts list/diagram online. That will tell you if the chuck is replaceable.

Looks like standard issue cordless drill chuck. Probably 1/2" thread and LEFT-handed locking screw. (Smaller drills have 3/8" thread.)

No experience with Dewalt but Makita uses strong thread lock and insane tightening torque on cordless drill chucks. Getting it off the shaft might require couple of swear words.

Looks like Rohm chuck, nearly all manufacturers use them nowadays. Not huge fan of them, they slip quite easily unless you really yank them tight.
Quick-action drill chucks - Drill chucks - eShop for clamping technology
("Extra RV" comes with carbide jaw inserts and wont wear as fast as normal steel jaw chucks.)

If someone knows better cordless drill chuck than Rohm let us know.

Originally Posted by eKretz

Probably because most drill clutches are sort of like a mini impact driver. They'd work a lot better for purposes such as driving a tap if they were a smooth friction type of slip, but would probably be a lot more expensive to make and wear out faster.

And on too many cordless drills the scale on clutch is like 1 to 5 lbs with maxium torque of 50lbs in solid locked mode. Too often the highest setting on clutch is wayyy too low.

You can buy adapters to use the new 20V batteries on the 18V tools. I have a bunch of them and they work well.

I needed new batteries anyway, and I'm glad I went with the new technology-it's noticeably stronger and they last longer.

I like my m18 fuel chuck, grips really well, no self loosening.

Btw, you all know that 18v and 20v li-ion batteries are the same, voltage wise, right? The change in number is purely marketing bs

The way I understand it, the DeWalt 18V were Nickel-Metal Hydride cells, and they call the new Lithium-Ion batteries 20V to distinguish the 2..

And yeah, the 20V stuff is really 18V except at max charge, which is why you can run 18V tools off the 20V battery packs with a simple adapter.

Originally Posted by awander

I bought a DeWalt DCD777 last year, and I really like it.

With my 18V DeWalts, I would tighten the chuck by holding on to the chuck and running the drill.

If I do it that way with the 20V drill, it doesn't hold as well. I find that I can snug it up by running the drill, but then I have to twist the drill chuck sleeve with the drill off, and it holds much netter.

Don't know if that applies to your model, Ron.

Thank you.

This completely fixes my chuck issue. When Im done tightening with the drill on I can get 1/2 turn more afterwards.

It completely fixed the issue.

Thank you again.

Last time I used a plug in drill..........uhh.................

and I have a beaut of a Milwaukee 1/2VSR, 0234, but cordless kicks butt

I do wish the chucks were better.

The loosening on decel reminds me of a semi retired guy named Paul who worked part time at the lab I worked at in the 80s

had a fondness for Alrbrecht chucks and long center drills

How many times did he hit the brake on the bridgeport and Ting Ting Ting[duck]

Originally Posted by awander

The way I understand it, the DeWalt 18V were Nickel-Metal Hydride cells, and they call the new Lithium-Ion batteries 20V to distinguish the 2..

And yeah, the 20V stuff is really 18V except at max charge, which is why you can run 18V tools off the 20V battery packs with a simple adapter.

first part makes sense. However, I'm sorry but the 2nd part is wrong - "18V" and "20V" li-ion batteries are exactly the same, the manufacturers are just picking a different part of the voltage range to refer to them by. They're all 5 series (5S) packs - low voltage 15V (5 x 3V), fully charged 21V (5 x 4.2V). If there weren't some kind of bias against odd numbers (?!?), then the next iteration could be called 21V and they'd still be the same.

Only way you can get a different working voltage range is to either change the number of cells in series (eg. 12V packs are 3S) or change the cell chemistry (LiFePO4 = 3.6V max voltage vs. li-ion at 4.2V).

Sorry for the rant, pet peeve of mine

Originally Posted by mattthemuppet

first part makes sense. However, I'm sorry but the 2nd part is wrong - "18V" and "20V" li-ion batteries are exactly the same, the manufacturers are just picking a different part of the voltage range to refer to them by. They're all 5 series (5S) packs - low voltage 15V (5 x 3V), fully charged 21V (5 x 4.2V). If there weren't some kind of bias against odd numbers (?!?), then the next iteration could be called 21V and they'd still be the same.

Only way you can get a different working voltage range is to either change the number of cells in series (eg. 12V packs are 3S) or change the cell chemistry (LiFePO4 = 3.6V max voltage vs. li-ion at 4.2V).

Sorry for the rant, pet peeve of mine

He's not wrong, you're just not grasping his meaning because he didn't explain it well. When he referred to "18V tools" in this instance he meant the old tools with NiMH batteries. So he meant that the new Li-ion batteries could be used in the old tools that used to use NiMH batteries, because they are effectively the same voltage. It sounds like you're already well versed in these batteries, but for those not in the know, the Li-ion batts do start off at 20-ish volts but they rapidly drop in voltage to around 18 in use - and hang there until they're pretty much depleted of capacity.

Originally Posted by mattthemuppet

first part makes sense. However, I'm sorry but the 2nd part is wrong - "18V" and "20V" li-ion batteries are exactly the same, the manufacturers are just picking a different part of the voltage range to refer to them by. They're all 5 series (5S) packs - low voltage 15V (5 x 3V), fully charged 21V (5 x 4.2V). If there weren't some kind of bias against odd numbers (?!?), then the next iteration could be called 21V and they'd still be the same.

Only way you can get a different working voltage range is to either change the number of cells in series (eg. 12V packs are 3S) or change the cell chemistry (LiFePO4 = 3.6V max voltage vs. li-ion at 4.2V).

Sorry for the rant, pet peeve of mine

I guess I didn't explain what I meant very well.

I'm pretty sure DeWalt never marketed 18v Li-Ion batteries, all of their 18V-labelled stuff is older technology.

And all of their 20V-labelled stuff is Li-Ion..

And they actually have a half-decent reason for the differentiation, so that people don't try to use the older chargers with the new stuff. Or get pissed off because they need a new charger.

I have 3 or 4 of the older 18V tools, and I run them all on the new 20V batteries with adapters.

I bought the first set of 18v Dewalt tools after spending hours looking at different brands. Back then the deciding factor was the same as always for me, how good is the chuck? The Dewalt I bought had carbide inserts in the jaws, and for all the years I owned it that chuck never ever slipped, despite trying to break my arm a few times. Now I have a newer Dewalt 20v with a similar but not the same chuck, and the damn thing slips, as does the similar chuck on the brand new Milwaukee Fuel drill at work. I'd love to find the manufacturer of that first chuck to see if they still make them! My dad tried my drill press with the Albrecht chuck and said "Wow that is a great chuck, I need to get one for my pistol drill!" I said yes it was great and at $350 it ought to be!

Originally Posted by kenton

I have those, they just weren't under the trailer with me in the gravel driveway.

I seem to break more taps when I screw around with the clutch. I don't know why but a trail of broken 6-32 taps agree with me.

6-32 worse combination of diameter and pitch makes them so easy to break.

Ah, i get you all, my mistake. Rant turned off

I would have never believed it till I tried it!! I tested drill out today and the bit slipped. Then tightened it by hand a bit more and it stayed put.
I never thought about tightening it by hand, I assumed that the drill motor would freewheel, I didn’t realize it would lock up. And I sure didn’t think you could get it tighter than under power. Fixed my drill problem.
I have both the old 18 volt and the new 20 volt tools the old ones still work but the new ones are more user friendly lighter and more powerful.

Originally Posted by lazz

Thank you.

This completely fixes my chuck issue. When Im done tightening with the drill on I can get 1/2 turn more afterwards.

It completely fixed the issue.

Thank you again.

Yup...I'd say, I really LIKE the 20V simply because I seem to be able to get it tight enough.

Also, the weight savings is really nice when you do a lot of work.

I just bought the cheap drill/driver set, then bought a battery converter so I could still use my 18v stuff with the 20v batteries.

Then my wife bought me an extra extended use battery and charger for my birthday...didn't really want it, but she tried to buy me a gift and had to appreciate it....come to find out, I really like it.

Yeah, like I said, they are meant to be ratcheted tight, and that doesn't happen so well under power. This one falls under RTFM...

I wouldn't mind having a cordless drill or two that had er20 collet holders in place of their chucks.

In addition to the er20 collets I have, I would get a set of tap driving collets plus hex collets in 1/4 and 7/16.

Originally Posted by eKretz

....This one falls under RTFM...

Yep - I just got a 20V DeWalt, and for some odd reason actually read the manual. Indeed it does tell you to tighten the chuck by hand. I assumed it was a safety thing, but apparently it's more than that.