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]