I haven’t posted about Greenworks very much over the years. To me, Greenworks seems like like an entry-level outdoor power tools brand, and I just haven’t paid much attention to what they were doing.
Now, Greenworks has a new 24V Max cordless power tool line, and equipped with brushless motor technology. I’ve seen some hype, and so I decided to take a closer look after a reader asked for my take on “lower rung” cordless tool brands.
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Let’s take a look at Greenworks’ new 24V Max brushless drill and impact driver combo kit. This is always a good way to learn more about a brand’s general market position.
This kit comes with a drill, impact driver, slide-on charger, (2) 1.5Ah batteries, tool bag, and belt clips. It retails for $190.
My first impression is that they went a little skimpy on the batteries and charger. At this price point, I would expected a full-size charger and 2.0Ah batteries.
The Greenworks 24V Max cordless drill doesn’t look anything special, but it also doesn’t have any glaring “gotchas.”
Greenworks emphasizes that this drill delivers 2X more torque. Compared to…?
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Looking their website, there are no torque specs. They mention it has a 1/2″ keyless ratcheting chuck, 2-speed gearbox, and 18 position clutch. These are all common features nowadays. What’s the speed? What’s the torque?
Ah, here we go… 2000… lumens? Did they really put 2000 lumen emitters in a close-up work power tool? 100 or even 50 lumens would be more than enough.
Digging deeper, I found what I was looking on retailers’ product pages. Both Amazon and Home Depot have some more specs.
2-speed gearbox (0-380, 0-450 RPM), 310 in.-lbs. of torque.
“2X MORE TORQUE” and the drill only delivers 310 lbs of max torque.
They equate the 18 position torque clutch with “precision control for any project.”
Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the 0-450 RPM spec is really supposed to say 0-1450 RPM. You’re not driving larger or longer fasteners into “dense hardwood” with those speeds and 310 in-lbs max torque.
For most cordless drills and motors in general, you get the greatest torque deliver in the lower speed range. If you need to be in the lower speed mode, given as 0-380 RPM, to achieve that max torque, there are so many faster and higher performing drills on the market, and for less money.
Let’s take a break and look at Greenworks’ 24V Max battery. Cool, it has a built-in USB port, similar to many of Skil’s PWRCore cordless power tool batteries.
Greenworks provide a handy chart as to how many times their fully charged 24V Max 1.5Ah battery can recharge popular devices.
As a reminder, 24V Max battery packs operate at 21.6V nominally, something Greenworks doesn’t clarify on their website or product descriptions anyway. But, they show a cutaway of their battery pack and it has 6 Li-ion cells, so that’s usually 3.6V x 6 = 21.6V nominally.
Greenworks’ retail product descriptions say the battery pack doubles as a 9000 mAh power bank. That’s just another way of saying 9Ah.
That 9Ah or 9000mAh power bank capacity rating is true for a 3.6V battery cell, if you add them all up: 3.6V x 1.5Ah x 6 = 9Ah.
I suppose it’s fair to describe this battery as a 9000mAh power bank. I’ll give Greenworks a pass on this.
Let’s take a look at the Greenworks 24V Max cordless impact driver. It has a brushless motor, and Greenworks also described it as delivering “2X more torque.”
It has a 3-setting speed control, and Greenworks provides these speed and torque ratings: 1450 RPM, 2,666 in-lbs max torque.
That… doesn’t sound right to me. Did they reverse the numbers?
Here are specs for a leading brand’s $99 impact driver promo kit: 1500 in-lbs max torque, 0-2800 RPM, 0-3600 IPM.
Specifically, here is as it appears on the retailers’ product pages:
Impact Driver : 1/4 in. hex quick release coupler, electronic variable-speed control (3 speed), (0-380, 0-450 RPM) and 2,666-in-lbs. of torque
I have serious doubts believing that Greenworks’ cordless impact driver delivers 2666 in-lbs of max torque, even with a 24V Max battery power source and brushless motor.
Additionally, in an impact driver, max torque is dependent on speed and the anvil impact rate. 1450 RPM and 2666 in-lbs max torque? This is not possible.
Okay, so maybe the numbers are switched around – 2666 RPM and 1450 in-max torque are more believable.
There’s the “2X more” marketing claims again.
No. If this truly delivered 2666 in-lbs max torque, then yes, I would agree that it delivers 2X more torque than some other models. But I don’t believe it. And if it delivers 1450 in-lbs max torque, which is about average for entry-level models these that aren’t “subcompact” in size, I can’t imagine which 18V or 24V Max models they’re comparing it to.
I did some searching, and I cannot find any 18V-sized cordless impact driver, even an older model, that delivers less than 1/2 the max torque spec I am assuming is true here.
One more thing – QUIET OPERATION. *face palm* – sure, it’s quiet until you actually use it.
Here’s one of the few user reviews on Amazon:
I was just doing normal drilling stuff into wood, and during the first use the drill started smoking and then keep cutting out.
With the drill spec’ed at 310 in-lbs max torque, I’m not surprised by this. Cordless power tool motors can start smoking when their motors overheat and the enamel insulation around their windings cannot cool off quick enough – Makita’s first 18V brushless drill did this too.
There are a couple of things that struck my interest, such as the USB power bank functionality, but the execution seems to be a complete mess.
I steered clear of Greenworks products for a couple of years, and I’ll likely steer clear of their 24V Max cordless power tools as well. It’s a shame – it looks like they have a couple of good ingredients here, but the presentation makes the dish look completely unappetizing.
Price: $187-190
Buy Now via Amazon
Buy Now via Home Depot
Have any of you had positive experiences with Greenworks’ cordless power tools?
A W
The 2000 lumen rating on the LED light is ridiculous. I have a 2000 lumen Olight, and there’s no way that you would out that kind of output on a drill.
If you can’t trust those numbers, how can you take anything else seriously?
Mike (the other one)
Yeah, that’s straight up lying. I don’t even trust most flashlight lumen claims unless they are ANSI certified.
20 lumens, I could believe.
Tom D
Maybe it’s the lumens you get from the motor when it glows white-hot just before burning out (see that third picture).
Honestly for the price I’d get a red or yellow kit, orange or other red might be even cheaper – and it sounds like harbor freight would have more reasonable specs.
Gordon
For a tad less I’d take a Ryobi One+ HP kit. At least you’re buying into a well established battery platform that should offer almost any tool you need in the future. Or a better option would be either of the Ridgid kits.
But let’s be honest. This Greenworks kit is nothing more than a cash grab. Reviews are suspect at best. The HD listing uses reviews from Greenworks themselves. One mentions only a drill and no batteries included. So clearly not for this kit. The Amazon listing has 49 ratings, but only 3 people wrote a review. Not a great sign.
Jim Felt
Stuart.
What entity owns this brand? Do they have other novelty (once called dime store level) tool brands perhaps?
And if their official ad copy here is as good as their end product who on earth would actually consider this a real entrant in mainstream tool market?
Matt
2000 lumens is either a typo on their part or a straight up lie. I have a Streamlight HL-X that’s half their stated output (1,000 lumens) and it’ll light up a house 300 yards away. No way you get more than that on a budget drill. This whole package is a hot mess.
MFC
You’re not supposed to actually read the product information!
The nerve…
Fyrfytr998
Yay another tool company having non tool people handle promotion of a tool.
A-A-Ron
Handle ergonomics look exactly like a Bosch 18v.
Speaking of obscure power tools by a fairly well-known brand, whatever happened to the CAT cordless lineup?
Stuart
I dug up some news and updated my post: https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/cat-cordless-power-tools/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The lineup launched in South Africa this year. We have yet to see if or where the tech developed for those tools will come to the USA by way of Positec’s Rockwell or Worx brands.
I’m kind of thinking that since Lowe’s had a blank landing page, maybe FLEX and CAT were competing for a contract??
Rob
I couldn’t see them competing for a spot. Chervon has become to Lowes what TTI is for Home Depot.
Shane
I guess everybody is getting into the cordless tool game. There must be a substantial markup for so many brands to jump in. Most cordless tool users already have their faves so this must be aimed at homeowners that like the color green. Soon to be discontinued.
MM
I honestly can’t see the market sustaining this many brands and I think a lot of them will end up doomed to fail, leaving their users stuck with unsupported products.
I can see a need for inexpensive tools for occasional users, homeowners, etc, i.e. Ryobi. I can see a need for the more serious professional tools used by most tradesmen, like Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita. And as always there’s a high end like Hilti or Festool. But I honestly cannot see where a lot of these mid-tier brands fit in. Who is buying them?
If I were the average homeowner I’d find it very hard to pick another low-to-mid priced brand over Ryobi. Why buy into a little-known system when Ryobi has so many tools already on the market? As a professional things like Dewalt, Makita, and Milwaukee are tools I use every day. Sure I can see that some might have a personal preference for one brand vs. the other, or that some trades might favor one brand over another because of specialized offerings, but again I think it would be hard for me to buy into a smaller system like Kobalt or Cat or Greenworks or whatever else when companies like Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc, have a much bigger system of tools available for their batteries and also a much better parts/support network.
JD
I think some of it has to do with convenience. Ryobi isn’t sold everywhere and a lot of people aren’t willing to travel outside of their way to buy a drill. (I am, but I’m weird) I think this is the entire Hart business case. Basically, previous-gen Ryobi sold at Walmart.
Among the “convenience buyers” I doubt most have any interest in researching different brands. Most probably don’t even think through the battery system. They buy the tool they need (in a kit) and move on.
Brands like Cat have strong brand recognition and some people will buy based on that alone. No matter how inappropriate it is to confer their 100+ years of experience building heavy equipment onto a mid-range tool brand, people will instinctively do it.
Greenworks makes some descent OPE, and some satisfied buyers will want a basic drill/drive for around the house.
I think the Asian OEMs have lower the cost of entry into the tool market that lots of companies that would never think of entering 10 years ago are making relatively easy cash grabs. Marketing is probably the biggest cost.
Ray
As a homeowner/diyer I would never buy this crap. I bought into Ridgid for the LSA and Ryobi for the outdoor stuff…my Ridgid X4 drill/impact kit cost less than this when I bought it and came with more.
I have no idea who this is for….
Rob
This is for the person that buys a bare tool and writes a 1 star review on Amazon because it did not include batteries.
Alan Pedisich
I like the USB charger built into the battery idea. I just wish it was on a angle so when you put it in your pocket or in your backpack the cord doesnt get pinched and breaks
Nathan
so didn’t they make a drill and driver previously? like a few years ago – perhaps the comparison is to that
I like what they are trying to get to with the clutch positions – showing how driving screws in different material and different stopping points. it’s wording is a little wonky
meanwhile I wouldn’t consider this for the price but I do like most of their OPE offerings. like their 60V pieces or their pro line.
Mike
With the tool space being so crowded (with better options) already, GW’s chance of success is extremely slim at best.
Jared
310 inch lbs… Serious questions, is that the weakest brushless drill of all time?
That’s less than my 10 year old brushed entry-level Bosch. I’m sure there are weaker drills – but who makes a brushless drill than wimpy nowadays?
MichaelHammer
Is it April 1st? Has to be April 1st, because when I thought it was April 1st there was a post about how Milwaukee is best tool brand ever. Completely real and true! Green Works drill, not so much.