DEWALT DCF801B: problems, parts and running costs
Checked: 2026-10-18
Summary
Owner evidence is thin — no owner forum discussions were captured — but instrumented testing flags a real weakness: under load with a 1/4-in lag screw the DCF801B kept only 9.1% of its no-load speed. It is a bare tool, so owning it means already having, or separately buying, 12V MAX batteries and a charger; there are no consumables. Pro Tool Reviews listed the bare tool at $129 in October 2024, a fair buy for existing 12V MAX owners who want the smallest DeWalt impact driver.
Common problems and fixes
- Bare tool — battery and charger sold separately — the DCF801B ships with the tool and a belt clip only. Budget for 12V MAX batteries and a charger, or step up to the DCF801F2 kit, which adds two 2.0Ah batteries, a charger and a bag. [1][5]
- Narrow 12V battery lineup — at the time of testing DeWalt offered only 1.5Ah, 2.0Ah and 3.0Ah 12V packs, fewer than Milwaukee’s M12. [3]
- Shorter warranty than Milwaukee — 3-year limited warranty against the 5-year tool warranty Milwaukee offered at the time of the 2019 test. [1][5][3]
- No reliability track record — no failure rates, repairability data or owner discussions were found; only the manual and an exploded diagram are published. [1]
Parts and consumables
- Belt clip — included with the tool. [1][5]
- Kit DCF801F2 — the kit version with two 2.0Ah batteries, a charger and a bag; Pro Tool Reviews listed it at $149 in December 2019. [1][5][3]
Yearly running cost
Not enough data.
When it is a good buy
Pro Tool Reviews listed the bare tool at $129 in December 2019 and still at $129 in its October 2024 roundup, and listed the DCF801F2 kit at $149 and the DCK221F2 drill-and-impact combo at $199 in December 2019; these are historical reference points. For a shop already on 12V MAX batteries the bare tool is the cheap way in; for a fresh buyer the missing battery and charger add real cost. When raw performance matters more than size, Pro Tool Reviews points to the 20V MAX DCF845, and the Milwaukee M12 Fuel 2553 beat the DCF801 7-1 in the 2019 head-to-head.