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Typically, DeWalt Atomic tools provide “compact tool” power on a 20V battery. However, in this case, the updated DeWalt DCF850 impact driver pumps out the same power as their current flagship DCF887 impact driver (this is the DCF888 without Tool Connect).
The DeWalt Atomic Impact Driver measures a mere 3.97 inches long, making it easy to get into tight spaces. This could be particularly helpful in cabinetry applications, as well as in those tight spots that come up in framing work. It also only weighs just over 2 lbs, making it one of the most lightweight 18/20V impact drivers on the market.
The DeWalt DCF850 features a brushless motor that delivers up to 1825 in-lbs of torque, as well as 3250 rpm and 3800 impacts per minute. A variable speed trigger and a 3-speed setting give you the precision and control to work with small fasteners all the way to your larger, heavier-duty large fasteners and spade bits.
Other Features
- Three speed modes
- Tri-LED worklight
- Belt hook
Side By Side
With the DeWalt DCF850 soon to hit the market, and what with the upgrades to size and performance DeWalt claims that it brings, we wanted to see its specs next to their flagship impact driver and a competitor.
Model DeWalt DCF850 DeWalt DCF887 Milwaukee 2853 Motor Brushless Brushless Brushless Drive 1/4 in. 1/4 in. 1/4 in. Max Torque 1825 in-lbs 1825 in-lbs 2000 in-lbs Impact per Minute 0-3800 ipm 0-3800 ipm 0-1200/3400/4300 ipm Speeds (rpm) 0-1000/2800/3250 0-1000/2800/3250 0-1900/2800/3600 Max Speed 3250 rpm 3250 rpm 3600 rpm Length 3.97 in. 5.3 in. 4.59 in. Weight 2.1 lbs 2.1 lbs 2.2 lbs. Kit Price $199 (includes 5.0Ah battery) $199 (includes 5.0Ah battery) $299 (includes two 5.0Ah batteries) How the DeWalt DCF850 Stacks Up
As far as their existing DCF809 Atomic impact driver, DeWalt hasn’t dropped any weight. We are, however, seeing some marked improvement in both compactness and performance. DeWalt shaved a little more than an inch off the tool’s length with this Atomic 20V tool. We can also see improvements in speed, torque, and impact rate.
Whether this is a rolling change to the core tool or another option altogether, we can’t say. For now, at least, you can still find the DCF809 kit for around $149, a $50 savings over the updated model. Priced to match the DCF887, it would be crazy not to grab this Atomic over any other DeWalt impacts at this point.
And, because it seems to be fun for a lot of people to pit DeWalt against Milwaukee, we took a look at how the Atomic 20V Impact Driver stacks up against the Milwaukee M18 Fuel version of this tool. The Milwaukee 2853, now a couple of years old, does perform at a marginally higher level with torque, impact, and speed output. However, it also measures longer and just a bit heavier than DeWalt’s upgraded Atomic model. It also comes in at about $100 more for the kit, though it does include an extra 5.0Ah battery (The 2853-20 runs $139 for the bare tool).
Pricing
DeWalt offers the Atomic 20V Max 1/4 in. Brushless Cordless 3-Speed Impact Driver in a few options. If you’re good on DeWalt batteries, you can pick up the bare tool for $149. If an extra battery or two wouldn’t hurt, you can pick up one of the kit options. For $199, you can pick up the kit that includes one 5.0Ah battery, charger, and a bag. DeWalt backs their tool with a 3-year warranty as well. The DCF850 just started to hit stores in October 2021.
DeWalt Atomic 20V Max Impact Driver Specs
- Model: DeWalt DCF850B/DCF850P1
- Motor: Brushless
- Drive: 1/4 in.
- Max Torque: 1825 in-lbs
- Impacts per Minute: 3800 IPM
- No-Load Speed: 3,250 RPM
- Length: 3.97 in.
- Height: 8 in.
- Weight: 2.1 lbs
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: $149 (bare tool); $199 (kitted with one battery); $279 (kitted with two batteries)
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DIY Wood Working Tools Market Share, Growth Prospects, Dynamics, Manufacturers, Industry Size, Future Trends And Forecast Till 2026
The Trouble With Cordless Power Tools
If you grow up around a small engineering business you are likely to gain something of an appreciation for power tools. You’ll see them of all ages, sizes, manufacturers, and technologies. When thinking of the power tools constantly on hand in the workshop of a blacksmith like my dad for instance, I’m instantly seeing a drill and an angle grinder. The drill that most comes to mind is a Makita mains powered hand drill, and given that I remember the day he bought it to replace his clapped-out Wolf in 1976, it has given phenomenal service over four decades and continues to do so.
41 years of hard use, and still going strong…
Of course, the Makita isn’t the only drill in his possession. A variety of others of different sizes and speeds have come and gone over the years, and there is always one at hand for any given task. The other one I’d like to single out is I think the most recent acquisition, a Bosch cordless model he bought several years ago. It’s similar in size and capabilities to the Makita save for its bulky battery pack, and it is a comparably decent quality tool.
So, we have two drills, both of similar size, and both of decent quality. One is from the mid 1970s, the other from the end of the last decade. One is a very useful tool able to drill holes all day, the other is little more than a paperweight. The vintage model from the days of flared trousers is a paperweight, you ask? No, the not-very-old Bosch, because its battery pack has lost its capacity. The inevitable degradation due to aged cell chemistry has left it unable to hold enough charge for more than maybe a minute’s use, and what was once a tool you’d be glad to own is now an ornament.
… Not so many years of light use, can’t say the same.
Naturally, this will not be unfamiliar to most Hackaday readers. We’ve all been offered a pile of dead cordless tools over the years, and as writers we’ve covered quite a few inventive hacks using them. They’re a useful source of motors and sometimes even speed controllers, even if you don’t want to use them as tools.
Comparing the Makita and the Bosch as exemplars of the two strands of power tool ownership, I have though to admit an unease over the rise of cordless tools, and a dislike of the marketing that surrounds them. In converting their customers to cordless tools, the manufacturers have found a way to get them to buy the same tool from them every five years or so when there is nothing wrong with their previous tool, simply because its battery pack has reached the end of its lifetime. Battery pack form factors change with each successive generation of tools, so the customer can not merely buy a new battery pack and move on. Great for the manufacturers, awful for the consumers.
Meanwhile of course, the marketing machine is in full swing pushing the convenience of cordless tools. Amazingly this often concentrates on those problematic batteries themselves, for example where this is being written the manufacturer of those lime-green power tools has a commercial promoting a range of tools that all have the same battery. The idea presumably being that after five years you won’t simply have to replace your drill due to a dead battery, you’ll have to replace all your tools!
“You might as well take that lot away with you Kevin, I’ll have to replace them all in a few years anyway!”. (Ryobi TV)
Of course, a full-on rant against power tool built-in obsolescence is of little use though without some kind of solution. If we’re to identify a problem then we should also provide some way out of it, at least a way that works for we hardware hackers and makers if not for the wider public.
The most obvious way to avoid cordless tool obsolescence is to not buy a cordless tool in the first place. Think carefully, how often do you use a power tool away from a mains socket? Really how often, not just hypothetically. The chances are it won’t be that often, if at all, and buying an extension cord with your electric drill will be a lot cheaper than buying a replacement drill in five years time. And then there are the unexpected benefits, you forget just how lightweight a power tool is when it doesn’t have a battery pack strapped to its handle. Buy a tool with a cord, and like my dad with his Makita, you might still be using it in four decades from now.
Repair
But let’s say you have a cordless tool, and its battery is failing. Can you fix the battery? Of course you can. You are Hackaday readers, you’ll all be aware that inside almost all cordless tool batteries you’ll find a set of standard off-the-shelf cells wired together, C or D cells in the case of NiCd or NiMh packs, and maybe 18650 cells for LiIon. If you can defeat the efforts of your tool manufacturer to discourage battery pack dismantling, you can have them out on your bench, and replace them.
This is a rather nicely built tab welder we recently featured.
Of course, there is a snag to replacing cells in a pack. This isn’t like the spring-loaded battery compartment in your radio, each cell will have spot-welded metal strip conductors linking it to its neighbour, and you’ll have to come up with a way of replicating that. If you’re lucky you’ll find solderable batteries, otherwise you’ll have to consider a battery welder. But if you can overcome that hurdle, you should at least be able to replace your cells without breaking the bank.
You will be unlikely to find a tool with a NiCd battery for sale new these days, but there are still huge numbers of older ones with dead packs to be found often at next-to-no outlay. It’s not the safest of exploits, but it is possible to rejuvenate dead NiCd cells with the application of short bursts of high current. The theory goes that metal crystals grow in the cell and short it out, and the high current blows these metal crystals and brings the cell back to life. There are tales of this being performed with hefty bench power supplies, car batteries, and arc welders, though you may wish to research carefully before you give it a try.
Finally, who needs cells? If you have a suitably powerful low voltage supply, why not run your tool directly from it and forget about the battery pack? Of course, you lose the ability to run it as a cordless tool, but if it came to you at very little cost than that should present very little hardship. Try a modified PC power supply if it’s a 12 V tool, or a lead-acid pack if it isn’t.
So we’ve got past my rant about the iniquity of the built-in obsolescence of cordless power tools, and identified several ways that we as resourceful Hackaday readers can benefit from the cast-offs of others whose batteries have reached the end of their lives. It doesn’t change my personal view that I’d always still buy a tool with a cord by choice, but at least there are ways forward for those stuck with failing cordless tools. Do you share my feelings on this topic?
