Fuel/ XR issue

Inflated numbers by Milwaukee maybe...

Higher torque with the DeWalt maybe...

Lower gearing on the DeWalt?

I just don't get it...the fuel absolutely has more torque. I guess it really doesn't have the rpms that the XR has despite what milwaukee claims it does.

Dhutch87 said:

I just don't get it...the fuel absolutely has more torque. I guess it really doesn't have the rpms that the XR has despite what milwaukee claims it does.

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Like I said, it could have something to do with gearing. If the Milwaukee has higher gearing, it will have a higher no load speed, but once load is put on it, the motor may have more difficulty maintaining that speed. It's like driving a stick shift up a mountain. You cruise along in top gear, and when you get to a steep hill, you need to downshift to maintain speed.

The DeWalt most likely has a bit lower gearing, so although it has a lower top speed, so to speak, it is better able to maintain that speed.

Makes sense. I guess I shouldn't care but I'm just pretty OCD when it comes to tools and what I expect of them. The fuel really has some great torque to it so I guess I'll stick with it.

The bps (beats per second) might be different between the two. The no load rpm doesn't matter as much, it's the amount of impacts per second that drives the screw in.

Well the fuels ipm is 3600 and the XR is 3200 and some change.

What is more important I guess. Ability to drive harder or speed?

This is an example of why Dewalt uses UWO, manufacturers can gear their tools to show higher torque ratings to try and sell more tools. The specs don't necessarily equate to application speed. Instead of getting in a specifications war with their competition, Dewalt chooses a different method of measurement that better represents the power a drill has.

Impacts on the other hand... you have to publish torque ratings because that's what impacts are known for. But once again, they can be manipulated. As Rustbucket said...

Do you have the xr impact? Are you happy with it if so?

Dhutch87 said:

I had bought the dewalt 20v max 1/4" impact and felt sort cheap to me and the rubber molding almost immediately started come off so I went and bought the millwaukee 18v fuel impact. Now the milwaukee seems way more durable but my problem is that the fuel has higher rpm/ipm s than the XR but the XR drove screws faster. What gives?

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Not to be a wise guy.......but the fuel has 3settings for speed. Are you sure it's on level 3? Sometimes I hit the button and reduce the speed by accident. But when working with smaller screws it's nice to slow it down as to not overdrive or strip out the screws.

Unger.const said:

Not to be a wise guy.......but the fuel has 3settings for speed. Are you sure it's on level 3? Sometimes I hit the button and reduce the speed by accident. But when working with smaller screws it's nice to slow it down as to not overdrive or strip out the screws.

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Exactly, awesome feature I think.:thumbup:

Lol yeah it was on three. Even with the slower drive time I ended up going with the fuel all the way. It is a solid tool. Going to pick up the fuel hammer drill next. Highly recommend.

Dhutch87 said:

Lol yeah it was on three. Even with the slower drive time I ended up going with the fuel all the way. It is a solid tool. Going to pick up the fuel hammer drill next. Highly recommend.

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Second non wise pants question..........are you using the compact batteries? I noticed that even a full charged compact still lacks a little as compared to the xc or xc4.0

I'm using the Xc batteries.

I would chalk it up to don't believe the specs. There are no regulations on how these companies test their tools for the specs they publish. There seems to be no governing body that oversees how they do the testing, either. So, there seem to be big claims that at times don't seem to pan out.