Dewalt has launched 2 new 20V Max cordless drills – the DCD793 drill/driver, and DCD798 hammer drill.
Both tools feature brushless motors, a 1/2″ metal ratcheting chuck, variable speed trigger, and 2-speed gearbox.
The Dewalt DCD793 cordless drill, shown here with a compact PowerStack battery, delivers up to 404 unit watts out (UWO) of power.
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Its operates at 0-450 and 0-1650 RPM.
The DCD793 has a 6.38″ head length, which is 2″ shorter than the brand’s DCD771 drill/driver.
The Dewalt DCD798 cordless hammer drill, shown here with a compact 2Ah battery, has similar specs – 404 UWO and 1650 RPM, and up to 28,050 BPM in hammer mode for masonry and concrete drilling applications.
The hammer drill has a 6.93″ head length, which is more than 1″ shorter than the DCD778 brushless hammer drill.
Key Specs
- 1/2″ ratcheting chuck
- Up to 404 UWO max power (with DCB203 2Ah battery)
- 0-450/0-1650 RPM
- Variable speed trigger
- Up to 28,050 BPM (hammer drill)
- Weight (tool-only): 2.38 lbs (drill), 2.49 lbs (hammer drill)
- Length: 6.38″ (drill), 6.93″ (hammer drill)
Both tools will be available in tool-only (DCD793B, DCD798B) and kit configurations (DCD793D1, DCD798D1). These D1 kits will come with a compact 2Ah battery, charger, and tool bag.
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Price: $159 for the drill kit (DCD793D1), $179 for the hammer drill kit (DCD798D1)
Compared to Dewalt Atomic Cordless Drills
As a reminder, Dewalt also recently launched a new 20V Max Atomic cordless drill and hammer drill.
The Dewalt Atomic drill and hammer drill, DCD794 and DCD799 respectively, also deliver 404 UWO of power (when used with a compact battery) and 1650 RPM max speed. The Atomic-series drills can deliver up to 552 UWO when paired with a compact 3Ah battery (DCB230) and presumably other higher powered batteries.
The Atomic-series drills are a little more compact, at 5.88″ for the drill and 6.49″ for the hammer drill.
Compared to the DCD777 and DCD778
The new DCD793 looks to be a direct replacement for the Dewalt DCD777, and the DCD798 a replacement for the DCD778. Both the DCD777 and DCD778 feature brushless motors and deliver up to 340 UWO with a compact battery.
Compared to these models, the new cordless drill and hammer drill deliver more power and are much more compact in size.
Additionally, whereas the DCD777 and DCD778 were commonly bundled with 2x 1.3Ah batteries, the new DCD793D1 and DCD798D1 kits bundle these drills with a compact 2Ah battery.
The new models also feature an LED work light at the base of the tool, rather than between the torque clutch and variable speed trigger.
Nathan
So they are meant to be the new cheap DeWalt drill?
Chaz
They look nice and compact. My work has the entry level brushless DeWalt and the thing is kind of long for a drill we bought a year ago.
John
It would be great if they pared their drill line into a good, better and best. They sure seem to have a lot of models and old ones linger on shelves making it more confusing.
Collin
This is what I like about Milwaukee. Milwaukee doesn’t have a million drill SKUs like Ryobi, Ridgid, DeWalt, Makita, etc.
Milwaukee only has, broadly speaking, 3 fairly easily identifiable drill tiers. Brushed, brushless, and Fuel. Thank God for simplicity.
Saulac
TIL. I have always thought Fuel is Milwaukee moniker for brushless.
Mike
Fuel does mean the tool has a brushless motor. However, they do have a middle of the road between their brushed and fuel line, in terms of performance, with their brushless line. The down side with their brushless, in my experience, is that it’s not too far off from the fuel price point.
Jack Smith
Fuel is always brushless but not all brushless are fuel. If the Milwaukee tool says brushless, but does not say fuel then it means it is the cheap version of their brushless. It just means it is the middle of the road version.
Like the other guy said the middle of the road versions are oftentimes not that much cheaper than the fuel version. And the fuel version tends to be a lot better.
Peter
So Fuel is the top of the line from the big red?
Thank you.
Stuart
@Peter – yes.
Big Richard
They kinda do actually. The plain old 20v Max brushed model would be their “good”, the brushless/Atomic lines are “better” and the XR line is “best”.
Stuart
That’s for the compact drills. There’s also the 3-speed hammer drill, Power Detect, FlexVolt Advantage, and Tool Connect.
Big Richard
Those are models within the aforementioned lines. It’s like when you buy a car, they have multiple trims but within those trims you can still get different options. The XR line is the busiest with both the compact and the full size 3 speed with its variants, for sure.
But I guess technically the FlexVolt Advantage is not an XR tool, so maybe that would be considered “bester” or “bestest”?
John
I get it but I believe strongly in KISS( Keep It Simple Stupid).
Big Richard
@John, Oh I feel ya, but consumers love options. Like I alluded to above, try buying a car. My goodness, they make them in different colors and everything! At least all these DeWalt drills are only available in yellow/black, so part is simple.
CRAIG B DAVEY
Except in the case of the 850 impact driver…it’s atomic here in the U.S. But marketed as XR everywhere else. It’s specs has it as their top performing model, inspite of being the most compact….
Roger
It would be actual news if they updated other tools to brushless motors, expand even more toughsystem and tstak, introduce more 12V lighting, 60V or 20V 1/2″ router?… But reinventing the drill (again?) Every year???
Harrison
Companies tend to release new products on a cycle, often based around the finite lifespan of the tooling used to produce the each iteration.
(The glass fibre reenforced PA6 nylon used for most premium tool bodies actually abrades the mold during the injection process, further accelerating wear.)
A global company like SBD sells an astronomical amount of drill/driver kits, so they basically have no choice but to replace that tooling frequently if they want to maintain quality. It’s good business to make the most of that opportunity and tweak the specs, update the styling, etc.
Niche tools that sell in lower numbers tend to go much longer between replacements, and often receive more drastic overhauls when they eventually updated.
Jack Smith
It doesn’t hurt anything if they make new models every year. Even with frequent professional use these things last several years. I retired a super old DCD771 to home use only after I got my 999 and The old one still works fine.
The only time you need to know which models exist and what to get is when you need to replace one. In that case you can get on the internet on sites like this and find out.
Potato
I suppose these are the lowes versions where atomic isn’t sold? Truly a dizzying array of drills
Luis
Yes it looks like these will be Lowe’s exclusives. Which makes sense since the Atomic line (HD exclusive) was just refreshed.
These new 20V Max brushless drills, though, just look and measure the same as the previous gen Atomics from the outside but with refreshed internals to match the new Atomics in power and RPMs.
I’m not sure how I’d feel about that if I was a Lowe’s customer that happens to own DeWalt tools
Saulac
Poking fun at tool ads pictures is getting old, but shouldn’t the other hand hold the vac attachment instead? Real question: Can the attachment stick on the wall by itself like that? Suction cup or suction from the vac? Even with a rough surface like that?
Stuart
I believe that’s an SBD requirement for depicting safe use, where two hands must be on the drill in product images.
I haven’t tried that attachment, but I have used others that did stick to drywall and masonry with sufficient vacuum suction power.
Wayne R.
I’d like to see something about vacuum attachments for drilling that’s not vacuum-specific. Devices for people who don’t drill all day long…
Jason
Vacuum attachments are great and do stick well. That being said, absolutely no one is pairing those 2 together in real world trades. Anyone using a hepa vac setup like that would be using an SDS hammer. Understandable photo though like Stuart mentioned any company (should) only be depicting safe usage of their products which means silica mitigation and 2 hands on the drill in case it binds.
Peacefully_and_Patriotically
looks like dewalt has given up on their made in USA initiative
Aaron
I noticed that also. You can’t hardly find Made in USA WGM Dewalt (and Craftsman, for that matter) power tools anymore. That is a crying shame. I wanted to eventually get some for my sons who are getting to the move out stage. Expensive, pro-level Snap-On will be the only one left standing for drills and impacts.
Big Richard
They are extremely similar to the gen I Atomic DCD708/DCD709, both in specs and appearance. They have a slightly different chuck/clutch but otherwise length, weight, RPM, and BPM are all the same as the 708/709. The only difference is the UWO rating, which could be due to the fact the the 708/709 were kitted with the smaller 1.5Ah batteries, thus their UWO rating was based on that. They also very likely could have a slightly update motor/electronics.
Luis
I believe they’re Gen 2 Atomic internals wrapped in Gen 1 Atomic housings with 20V Max badging. The 404 UWO rating is a match, at least on the drill/drivers.
From what I’ve seen the Gen 2 Atomic is noticeably quicker, more capable than the Gen 1 regardless of the battery used.
OldDominionDIYer
Leave it to Dewalt to add yet another mediocre drill to their lineup. I clearly do not understand why one company needs so many different yet similar drills. I know some will say it is so they can sell in different stores without competing, but I disagree. They do seem like decent options.
Franco
I think it comes down to marketing and a certain amount of logic.
Why make 12 models if you constantly sell 2-3 models very well and the others just sit? The models must sell, otherwise I think they would pull it and not waste their time and money.
Also, marketing; certain models may be aimed at someone looking at economy brand, but if a few $$$ more gets them a Dewalt, they make it. Other models are to compete against top of the line competitors, or mid line. They usually have an intended buyer when they come out with a different model, even if it is not apparent to me and you.
Flex Advantage and all the other models, I am sure they make these thinking there is a market for it. If they don’t sell, they pull it. I am pretty sure any company does their research and tries whatever to grow market share. If it works, great and they pat themselves on their backs. If it fails, they stop making it.
Festool just introduced a recip saw; why? To increase sales and market share. If enough die hard Festoolians buy it, they will try other non woodworking related tools. If not, they will drop it.
Hon Cho
Why are there dozens of flavors of spaghetti sauce in your grocery store? Why does DeWalt have so many overlapping drill models? Choice ! It is proven to provide incremental revenue beyond whatever incremental costs are associated with it. Simplicity is great and there’s probably no need for so many models but keep in mind that the accountants only care about revenue and expenses, not if DeWalt’s product line of drills makes our heads spin.
eddie sky
Does the Hammer drill offer non-hammer mode?
Big Richard
Yes, the hammer mode is turned on by twisting the clutch to hammer setting.
Jack Smith
In over 25 years I’ve never seen a 1/2 inch drive hammer drill that doesn’t allow you to turn off the hammer feature. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hammer drill of any size where you could not turn off the hammer. Even on the rotary hammer drills You can turn it on rotation only.
Franco
I would say that any hammer drill that has an ordinary chuck, for drill bits, it would logically have a non hammer mode for drilling only.
@Jack Smith, I think the last part you got backwards. Rotary hammers have a switch to turn the rotation off, but will still hammer
Stuart
More premium rotary hammers usually have rotary-only, hammer-only, and rotary + hammer modes. Smaller and more value-oriented models might not have a hammer/chipping-only mode.
Franco
Stuart, you could be right.
Any medium to premium rotary hammers will have an SDS – Plus or Max chuck. ..or in the case of my much older Hitachi 1 9/16 rotary hammer, a spline chuck. I also have a cordless (2x18v) Makita 1 1/4 SDS Plus.
I know they both have hammer + rotation and hammer only. One or the other might have rotation only but not sure as I never had a need to use these as drills.
In any case, they might have rotation only as many MFR’s offer an SDS to drill chuck adapter, which would use rotation only.
Nathan
you know I forgot about the lowes models vs HD and everyone elses model.
perhaps that is where this comes from.
A-A-Ron
I used to work at Lowe’s, and we’d get mouth-breathers who would insist that the tools we (AND Home Depot) sold were “different” than the ones sold everywhere else.
It was stupid then and it’s even dumber now. Once I informed them how wasteful it would be to open factories/manpower dedicated to making inferior products it was usually enough to open their eyes. If not, then they could enjoy spending twice the price for dusty NiCd Hitachi tools at a local lumber yard.
fred
Some say that the human mind is predisposed to giving credence to conspiracy and other illogical theories. I recall the old (and very popular) TV show (X-Factor) where all of the plausible scenarios were always set aside in favor of the most unexpected and illogical. We seem to like that in our entertainment, and some may transfer that sort of conjecture to other analyses of why and how prices are set.
Big Richard
I don’t that this is what Nathan was referring to. They were likely referring to the fact the Atomic compact brushless tools are exclusive to HD, so this line of similar yet different compact brushless tools will be sold at Lowes and other non-HD stores. At least that is my interpretation.
A-A-Ron
I think DeWalt makes more drills these days than Makita does impact drivers.
Jack Smith
I wouldn’t mind having something small like this for light duty work. I have the Flexvolt DCD 999, which is an amazing powerhouse but it’s a lot more than I need when I’m drilling 1/8″ pilot holes or something like that. I do have a very old DCD 771 that I have relegated for home use, but it’s not much more compact and I don’t want to wear it out since it probably doesn’t have much life left of it, although it still works fine. One of those atomic drills would probably be great for me.