Not really.

Stuart, you are a class act and true professional.
I am humbled that you responded quickly and took the time to assist me.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

It sounds like your drill could be defective. If in your shoes I would have returned it for an exchange before moving to an alternative.

I’ve been a fan of Flex and have a soft spot for Metabo HPT (both are site sponsors right now). The Flex is going to be a little heavier due to its power and the size of its battery. Metabo HPT has some good promos right now, and that might be a deciding factor. I went with Hitachi/Metabo HPT for that reason quite a few years ago for my first 18V-sized drill.

The Flex early adopter warranty is enticing, and you should also be aware that their parent company has been in the cordless power tool business for very many years. Meaning, the warranty extension is nice, but the company has also spent years making reliable tools.

If you’re on the fence, or don’t want to bother with a replacement for your DCD998, any of the three brands should suit you well. If you have any particular criteria or preferences, I can try to help you narrow down the options, or point you in the direction I would go.

Recent purchased Dewalt dcd998 hammer drill due to many positive reviews. I used it a couple time and it became very hot and when I move the drill it sounded internal pieces were loose and thinking of return it to get the Flex hammerdrill due to its lifetime warranty when purchased and registered by the end of 2021 or the Metabo Hpt hammerdrill as well was on my radar.
I would appreciate what your impression of the Flex and Metabo please. Thank you for your feedback.

That’s also why I have compact drill picks.

Personally, I prefer a compact drill for most tasks, and then I grab the Dewalt or other heavier duty drill when needed.

There’s one caveat to keep in mind. A heavier duty drill can usually do everything a more compact drill can do, but a compact drill can not always do the work of a more powerful drill.

If I had to choose one, I’d reluctantly part with my compact drills sooner.

I think Stuart’s point with that pick was “what if you only had one drill that needed to do everything”. Under that assumption I think it’s a solid recommendation. I do agree that I’d rather use a drill that lacks a hammer function for most of my drilling and then use a proper rotary hammer for masonry applications, a 2-handle joist drill for big auger bits or self-feeds, an impact driver for fasteners…but now we’re talking four tools and are moving beyond the idea of one tool for everything. It’s not a cheap drill either, but I don’t think it’s poor value given what it is capable of doing–after all, buying a “main drill” and supplementing it with multiple specialty drills costs a lot more.

Your top pick strikes me as too big/heavy for many uses. It can do everything, but at what cost in $ and weight. I prefer something more maneuverable as my main drill, then supplement with impact, SDS, etc for the tasks that need them.

Agreed. Nice tools. Sometimes the prices are absurdly cheap. I’ve got the entire line, save for the jigsaw and lights.

Yeah, festool was the first, then the others followed fairly recently. I know milwaukee has an 18V version in their patent filings. They just need to release the thing already…

rpm are always rated in no load speeds, whats more likely is the exact same load is simply affecting the ryobi significantly less in your scenario

I’ve used the more powerful DCD 996 and it’s great, but most of my drilling applications involve woodworking or small aggregate masonry like cinder block where dealing with the additional size and weight of the DCD 996 is not worth the bump in power. So for me, having a lighter weight drill that can easily handle medium duty hammer drill tasks makes it my go to cordless daily driver.

As far as I am aware the original rand for the multihead drills was festool. They have an 18v that is well regarded by woodworkers.

The 791 used to be my go to for smaller jobs but the girlfriend’s preference for the DeWalt 12V line has found me using the Xtreme drill over the 791 time and time again. The earlier Milwaukee M12 drills were nice as well but the Gen 2 turned me off. The grip and balance was not as comfortable as previous gens.