What Does UWO Mean on a DeWalt Tool?

Updated 2026-09-29

Short answer

UWO stands for unit watts out: DeWalt's own rating of a tool's power output, measured under DeWalt's own conditions. Craftsman, a sister brand, uses it too. It isn't torque, it can't be converted into torque, and no brand outside that family publishes it, so a UWO figure only compares with another UWO figure. Newer DeWalt tools publish MWO, max watts out, a related DeWalt rating.

Power, not torque

Power is torque multiplied by rotational speed. A drill making a lot of torque at low RPM and one making less torque at high RPM can put out the same watts, which is exactly why a watts figure can't be turned back into a torque figure: you'd need to know the speed it was measured at, and DeWalt doesn't say.

That's also why this site never converts it. A UWO number is printed as published and compared only with other UWO numbers.

Where it shows up in this catalog

The Craftsman V20 BRUSHLESS RP CMCD726 Hammer Drill publishes 495 UWO and no torque at all, so there's no torque figure to rank it on. The DeWalt DCD805 20V Max XR Compact Hammer Drill publishes both: 796 in-lbs and 850 UWO. And the DeWalt FlexVolt DCS578 Circular Saw lists 2,456 UWO (DeWalt's unit).

In total 6 tools here carry a watts-out rating, and 4 of them carry nothing else.

Is it useful?

Inside DeWalt's lineup, yes: it tells you which of two DeWalt tools DeWalt rates as more powerful. Across brands it tells you nothing, because only DeWalt and Craftsman publish it. The torque section covers the other ratings it gets confused with.

Where to go next

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