Nov 16, 2022

Dremel 8220 Review – Features, Hands On & How To Use (2022)

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9.9Editor's Score
9.8
Portability
9.4
Power
9.3
Noise
9.6
Efficiency

The Dremel 8220 is a cordless rotary tool that’s ideal for a homeowner or a small workshop. The versatility of power rotary tools is enhanced by Dremel with a user-friendly design that extends battery life and makes changing bits quick and easy. You can expect to get into tight spaces and take care of common household chores like sharpening blades without any trouble.

  • Durable metal housing can survive drops and keep going
  • Kit includes 28 pieces for maximum flexibility
  • Motor and battery efficiency has been upgraded to extend runtime
  • Bit changes are easier with a tool-free design
Summary:

Rotary power tools are one of the most versatile tools on the market for homeowners to add to their tool kits. A rotary tool can cut, polish, grind, sand, buff, and sculpt parts and materials made of steel, plastic, or wood with a variety of bits. For a DIY homeowner, these tools can be a jack-of-all-trades useful for maintaining appliances, removing stripped and corroded fasteners, or cutting holes into just about anything. This being the case, it makes sense to consider which rotary tool to buy. Given how important rotary tools are for a homeowner, we decided to pick out a top-rated model to put through our rigorous testing. Dremel’s 8220 has been raising eyebrows with its improvements over the 8200, and it’s been getting good reviews on sites like Amazon. We’ve noted some rumors about smoking battery chargers and a difficult to operate new tool-free collet design, so we made sure to pay close attention to workmanship and user-friendliness with this tool. We also made sure we used it for a couple months to see if we’d encounter any sudden breakage out of the box that’s typical when quality standards are low. All in all, the 8220 turned out to be a good tool and proved once again that online reviewers are a good indicator of quality workmanship.

Design
8
Price
10
Usability
10

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Looking for a cordless rotary tool that’s a beast?

The 8220 certainly keeps up Dremel’s reputation for efficient and powerful tools that are as useful to a homeowner as they are in a professional workshop. The new 12V max lithium ion batteries make this cordless tool great for anyone who needs to work away from an electrical outlet.

The motor manages to stay powerful and save some energy at the same time. Dremel has also made switching between bits quick and convenient.

Dremel 8220

Features:
  • Gets into tight spaces with a compact and lightweight design
  • Compatible with other Dremel brand accessories
  • Easy to change bits with a quick collet lock
  • Comes with a 1-hour charge battery charger
  • Comes with a 28-piece kit and carrying case
  • High performance motor can handle high-torque fasteners

The Design


Dremel 8220Dremel’s design of the 8220 is adequate for short-term work now that they’ve tweaked the power consumption of the motor and switched to a more longer lasting battery.

This is a challenge most rotary tools have struggled with, so Dremel’s new design is a step in the right direction.

The variable speed control is another feature that’s welcome for a multi-purpose tool like this. Dremel also made bit changes tool-free, which is a definite plus for this new model.

 

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Power and Performance


This rotary tool has plenty of power to handle most jobs around the home or work place so long as you have a charged battery. It comes with a separate battery charger that will charge a battery in as little as one hour, which you’ll appreciate.

This is a tool that requires frequent battery swaps if you use it for more than a half hour. With a motor that hits 30,000 RPMs, you’ll be able to cut screws and grind away corroded bolts in no time.

Pro Tip

Rotary tools are only as versatile as the bit collection you have, so don't shy away from buying additions to the kit that comes with this Dremel.


Jim

Dremel 8220 vs 8200


The 8220 is an update of the 8200 that adds a more battery life, which was notoriously short-lived before a recharge was necessary. The 8220 uses a 12V lithium-ion battery with the latest battery technology.

The 8220 also has Dremel’s EZ Twist nose design that makes it easier to replace bits without a collet wrench. These two improvements alone make the 8220 preferable to the 8200 if you plan to use it for longer than 15-20 minutes without a recharge.

PROS:
  • EZ Twist nose cap is tool-free
  • Batteries charge in 1 hour
  • Comes with a 28-piece kit

CONS:
  • Battery charger issues
  • Only a single battery included

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Things we liked about it

The 8220’s longer battery life is certainly a welcome respite from the typical rotary tools that suck battery’s dead in as little as 15 minutes. This is one of the changes that Dremel focused on when they redesigned the 8200, and they succeeded. Making it possible to change bits without fumbling with a collet wrench is also something we liked about this rotary tool. If you find yourself changing bit sizes often in a day, Dremel has improved the process for you with this redesign of their collet mechanism.


Things we didn’t like

This kit only comes with one lithium ion battery. If you need to use this tool for more than a few minutes, you’ll want to have at least two, if not three batteries. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself waiting for a battery to recharge before you can continue with a job.

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General User Experience


Dremel 8220Users have consistently rated the 8220 highly. Most noted that it’s significantly more powerful rotary tool than Dremel’s lighter models like the 8050, and many who had owned the 8100 or 8200 talked at length about the improvements over the previous models that the 8220 replaced.

Home users think this Dremel is perfect for many of the tasks they’ve tried with it. Whether they were cutting holes in drywall, sharpening lawn mower or saw blades, cutting slots into broken bolts, or sanding and polishing metal components, this tool was up to the job.

One drawback to the upgrade from the 8200 that one user noticed was that the right-angle attachment that was included with the older model’s kit is missed from the 8220’s kit. That bit was replaced instead with a rotary tool shield attachment, which is roughly equivalent.

Dremel 8220 12v Cordless Review

FAQ

Should I buy a corded or cordless rotary tool?

There are two factors to think about when deciding to get a corded or cordless rotary tool. First, you should consider if this is a tool that you’ll be using all day long. If so, a corded tool will be a better choice because you’ll spend less time recharging or swapping batteries and more time working. The second thing to consider is if you’ll be working away from electrical outlets. A cordless tool can make quick outdoor jobs convenient compared to a corded tool that will need a long extension cord.


How is a bit taken out of a Dremel rotary tool?

Once you get the hang of how Dremel’s quick lock collet works, it’ll be a snap to change bits. Here are the basic steps to replace a bit. Putting a bit on a Dremel rotary works the same as taking one out, just in reverse.

  1. Locate the handy wrench that came with your Dremel tool. You’ll need this to tighten the collet nut when putting a new bit on the tool.
  2. Press the blue button and hold it down.
  3. Unscrew the collet nut with your fingers until the bit comes out.
  4. Place the new bit into the collet and screw the collet nut on by hand.
  5. Tighten the collet nut with the wrench to make sure the bit is secure.


Conclusion


When we finished this Dremel 8220 review, we were impressed but not surprised. You could tell this rotary tool was a winner overall from the reviews it was getting online.

We’ve heard rumors of smoking battery chargers and frustrating tool-free collets, but we didn’t notice these problems. We’d recommend this cordless rotary tool for any DIY homeowner who’s sitting on the fence about which to buy in 2018.

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