This week’s check of the DeWalt website revealed… something new! It looks like they’ve given the whole site a re-vamp, placing more of the products right up front — and tossing in some interesting information to boot. We love the fast new menus, and finding a specific product seems at least as easy as before.
My favorite bit, though is a Q&A formatted bit giving DeWalt’s answer to a question we see all the time here at Toolmonger: What does a drill torque rating really mean? In short: Not that your drill will complete a given task more quickly. DeWalt recommends instead considering a drill’s “power rating.”
What, you ask, is a “power rating?” From DeWalt’s new site:
A drill’s power rating has been used for many years as a tool to design products. It is not until now that it will be used as a new way of evaluating a drill’s performance level, and is a direct indication of how fast it will complete an application. The drill’s power rating is measured by its Units Watts Out (UWO), the point where the drill’s speed and torque output are the highest. The higher a drill’s Power Rating, or UWO, the faster it will perform on the jobsite.
We’re going to have to give that some thought. And maybe give our friends at DeWalt a call and get a more detailed explanation. One thing’s certain, though: We’re all about seeing more information about drills’ performance specs. Torque ratings alone don’t provide nearly as much information about usability as one would imagine.
DeWalt’s New Site [Main Page]
What Does Torque Rating Really Mean? [DeWalt]
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5 Responses to DeWalt’s New Digs… And Power Rating
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Actually i like when i see hands on and you drve crazy large screws and see how mauny you can drive in…that is the true test…and it is one of the best eval took IMHO.
Shopmonger
What i find funny is they no longer publish TQ values. They started to fall behind on TQ and RPM figures a while back and never really caught back up. Perhaps this is their way not to compette with the proper tools anymore. Their quality has really gone down hill in the last couple of years on the cordless tools and they seem very slow to use new tech in tools. Dam it’s not that long ago they bought out new batterys when everyone else has had them for around 4-5 years. I give a big thumbs up to the tile saw though. It’s the only dewalt tool i have never had to return.
This smells like some bs. Who thinks torque means how fast you can put in fasteners? Torque is how strong it is, aka whether your drill will stall with a stuck fastener. They’re trying to distract people with numbers that put their tools in a better light.
Last week I was in Home Depot to pick up a new 5/8 twist bit when I overheard the “help” attempting to explain the meaning of the amperage rating of rechargeable tool batteries. He told the obviously soft-fingered desk-bound gentleman that it was essentially the tool’s torque rating, “the more amps, the more torque”. I just shook my head as I left, knowing full well the affluent man would likely only buy it as an emergency power screwdriver for use at the waterfront getaway property.
At one time a lot of manufactureres agreed to a common method to measure torque. Seems only Makita and Hilti have stuck to the spec.
(http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news-print.asp?sectionID=0&articleID=104907)
(http://www.powertoolinstitute.com/)