Let’s review the ‘DeWalt DCF887 Brushless Impact Driver’ today. Many people consider it the Alpha and Omega of the impact driver world. But is this really the case?
Well, there is only one way to find out. Read this review!
In a hurry! The DCF887 is a fantastic impact drill from the DeWalt cordless tools range. Which is well suited to professional and DIY needs. It’s packed with every feature you could dream of and it’s powerful enough to deal with even the most stubborn of screws! It’s small, light and incredibly powerful. This is a no brainer, buy it now, you won’t regret it.
The impact driver is widely considered to be amongst the most popular DIY cordless tools out there. In fact, many people believe it to be the ‘numero uno’ tool for not just driving screws but also various other fastening tasks.
When it comes to different types of brushless impact drivers and power tools in general, the team at DeWalt has made sure that they are the ‘go-to brand’ for all serious enthusiasts.
Their DeWalt DCF887 impact driver is a veritable masterpiece of excelling engineering and packs some fantastic features that we will be checking out here.
Technical Specifications
- Voltage: 18V
- Length: 135mm
- Brand Name: DeWalt
- Height: 196mm
- Max Torque: 205Nm
- Power Output: 280 Watt
- Product Dimensions: 16.2 x 4.5 x 10.1 inches
- Weight ( as a bare tool without the battery): About 2.1 pounds
- Impact rate IPM: 0-3800
- No load speed: RPM
- Mode
- 1: 0-1000
- 2: 0-2800
- 3: 0-3250
- Warranty: 3 years limited warranty
- Special Features:
- 3-speed settings
- 3 LED lights
- Precision drive in position 1
- Magnetic bit holder
- Hand/Arm Vibration: Impact: 22m/sx24
- Belt clip: Available
- LED lights: Available
- Type of anvil: Quick-release
- Type of motor: Dewalt built brushless motor
- Drive: ¼ inches HEX chuck with easy grip sleeve
- Variable Speed Trigger
- Made in USA (With global materials)
Footprint and Weight
DeWalt’s DCF887 impact driver is compact and light. A bare tool (without any accompanying accruements), it weighs around a modest 2.1 lbs. Throw in the battery, and you get an extra lb.
In fact, it is so light you would barely feel it hanging from your waist tool kit. Add to that the fact that it does not take up a lot of space either. After all, it’s still only 7.7″ tall and 5.3″ long. So it can be easily shoved away with the odds and ends of your tool cabinet.
An impact driver should be as compact as possible. This way, you will be able to carry them whenever and wherever you want. Furthermore, their weight also matters a lot. Why is that?
Well, you will find out after a few hours of using this tool. A heavy driver will surely cause your arms and shoulders to ache.
However, the design engineers at DeWalt keep their end consumers in mind whenever they create a tool. And this is evident from the lightweight design of their DeWalt DCF887 impact driver.
It Racks in The Decibels
If you are expecting this impact driver to do its job without making any noise, you are sadly mistaken. After all, it is an ‘impact driver,’ and they are almost always pretty noisy. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that DeWalt’s DCF887 impact driver will take you on a trip to Loud Town.
It registers a rock-solid registering a 104 dB(A) in the decibels department. This is some serious noise, so make sure you don’t forget to grab your ear muffs whenever you want to operate this tool.
Raw Power
Well, it does clock in at around 1,825 in-lbs. of maximum torque. This makes it as torq-y as they come. In fact, if you are not careful, it can even snap your 3/8″ square adaptor heads clean off.
Triple Speed Settings
This a handy PrecisionDrive feature, something that many other competing brands don’t seem to include in their lineup. This feature gives you more control over the speed. You can decide how powerful and fast you want your tool to run, by use of a speed setting and the variable speed trigger. I love this feature on the Dewalt 20v max tools, it really is a fantastic added control.
The speed settings are straightforward with 1 being the slowest and least powerful setting, while 3 is the quickest and most powerful setting.
This allows for highly versatile applications that can be optimized for specific tasks. Moreover, you will have a greater degree of control over your tool. This works particularly well for new hobbyists who are purchasing and working with an impact driver for the first time.
Sometimes, such tools might seem a little overpowering to a beginner. If you are one of those, then you will surely appreciate the fact that this tool allows you to start slow and steady and then work your way up.
Of course, the full-time professionals will not have any problems with these settings, but everyone loves to be spoilt for choice, especially in terms of choosing how and where to use a power tool.
This Dewalt 20v max xr has a maximum speed of 3,250 RPM.
It Features Brushless Technology
These days brushless technology is the hottest new trend in the battery-powered cordless tools industry. The DeWalt DCF887 brushless impact driver incorporates it perfectly. It allows increased power wherever it is needed while providing tremendous efficiency in terms of battery consumption.
Ultimately, the whole point of utilizing brushless technology is centered around allowing power tools to change and adjust as per the task at hand. However, many impact drivers can’t quite pull it off. Fortunately, this is clearly not the case as far as this particular DeWalt model is concerned.
This means that it is possible to conserve battery life and at the same time, work with a really high-powered tool. All this without worrying about running out of juice in the middle of a project.
It is pertinent to note that this driver’s brushless technology works very well when it encounters resistance. In fact, the higher the resistance it senses, the more power it will use.
Consequently, the less jammed the screw, the lesser will be the power usage. This means the device ‘picks and chooses’ its own power output and allocates power only where it is required. In the long run, it helps to save your battery life more than most other models available in the market today.
3 LED lights
The tool has 3 powerful led lights to make sure that you can see what you are doing without any issue.
Limited Warranty
The product is shipped with a 3-year warranty that is standard for the power tool industry. However, this warranty only applies to certain situations regarding functionality and workmanship. If you misuse the product, it will render the warranty null.
All in all, this is one tool that you simply cannot avoid keeping in your tool chest.
DeWalt DCF887 Impact Driver User Manual
While this is an incredibly easy tool to use, you may find the DeWalt DCF887 User Manual helpful if you want more in-depth information about this impact driver.
Pros
- The DeWalt DCF887 is packed full of raw power, which will drive screws into any hard surface, including concrete
- The impact driver has a fantastic compact and lightweight design. Perfect for those projects that involve working in right and confined spaces, or where you need to stretch those arms for long periods of time.
- It’s well made which is perfect for those heavy-duty projects in professional settings. Basically it’ll handle dusty, dirty environments and being knocked about.
- This cordless impact drivers three LED lights work well to illuminate your work area and something which I love about this is that the LED lights remain on for 20 seconds after you’ve released the trigger. When working in dark cramped places this is really handy, it made locating screws in a deep corner cabinet a breeze.
Cons
- Despite Dewalts attempts, this is still a rather noisy impact drill, the brushless motor helps, but compared to other models in its class, it’s the noisy one
- This drill driver is more expensive than competing models, though well worth it’s price tag.
Tool impressions
I love this impact driver, but having checked with professional colleagues and scoured reviews online there are some good and bad impressions. I want you to be fully informed about your decision to buy this tool.
The good
The three speed/power options. A lot of professionals and my father in law love how the DCF887 allows you to set these, rather than being adjusted by the amount of pressure you apply to the trigger. I love it too, I have a lot less stripped screw heads when my father in law uses this impact driver, by not leaving him with the higher speeds.
For the price of this drill driver, the quality of the build and the features that have been packed in make it a top choice. It is pricey but paying for quality is well worth it.
This is has been designed for precision applications, I honestly love this impact driver’s performance, never have I managed to drill holes in solid stone walls so easily. This is one of the most powerful impact drivers, other tools just don’t have enough power, especially when screwing in lag screws or for me dealing with a massive screw into a 4×4 post.
This is a must have for your tool bag, it’s a an amazing impact wrench, that sinks lag bolts with ease, while being a compact size.
Dewalt products are amazing, industry leading. The fact that you can use the batteries across tools is awesome, though rather standard. Their charger does a great job of quickly charging flat batters. For me this is the right choice for the money. Paired with some excellent accessories, this is the perfect tool.
The bad
The default battery that comes with this impact driver is a 2.0A.h which is rather small. This has upset myself and my colleagues, we’d have much rather that the DCF887 came with a 5.0A.h battery (which you can get here).
Competing brands got this right but just providing the 5.0A.h battery as standard.
Some owners have found a manufacturing fault in their impact driver where the chuck is wobbly. While annoying DeWalt will repair or replace.
DeWalt DCF887 Impact Driver Parts
Just incase your DeWalt DCF887 breaks and you need to know how it’s constructed and you are out of warranty (if you have warranty, send it back to DeWalt!) Then here is a blueprint of the parts.
This website allows you to purchase each part that’s used to construct this impact driver, so finding a replacement isn’t a problem!
Conclusion
This is a fantastic impact driver, one which I added to my tool collection. This DeWalt DCF887 screw gun, impact drill, impact driver, whatever you want to call it is the top of its class, it truly is a top performer and has earned its place in the “best-selling power tools”.
You can’t go wrong with this power tool, if you are looking for a new impact driver, this is the one to get, it really is an excellent choice.
