Not impressed with new Milwaukee drill

[caper]

We've been using 18v Dewalt xrp drills at the shop now for several years.Haven't had many issues with them,the odd chuck failure and one clutch.Not bad considering they get abused by eight mechanics who take no pity on them.Well our sister shop decided to switch to 18v Milwaukee drills with the lithium ion batteries.Since we share management they sent one down for our shop to try.Today I was screwing down some 2x6 planks with teks screws to a trailer frame.Well that damn Milwaukee just about drove me nuts.It must have a thermal limiter in it because after a dozen screws it would continually kick out for several seconds when you pulled the trigger.I'd be holding in the trigger and nothing,pull it again and it would start working.The other thing I noticed was the batteries died really quick compared to the Dewalt.I thought the Lithium were supposed to last longer?Anyway I pulled out one of the old Dewalts and finished the job with it.The Dewalt did twice as many screws on one battery than the Milwaukee did on two and it never once complained about getting hot.Everytime you pulled the trigger it just kept working.This is from a 3yr old abused drill compared to a 3 week old new drill.

 

[DannyG]

Been using the same drill for over a year so far and its been great. Really fast and keeps its charge longer than my Makita, which I still use. Maybe you have a bad batch? I believe the one I have is made in Japan.

 

[rodm1]

They went to china sow may be the quality is sliding. My brothers electric drill seams to be the same quality as my USA model we shall see for shire this summer.

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

I do have to say i have a milwaukee impactor drill set and im verry please with it. altho the trans swtich took a bit of time to break in before it would switch smoothly (not that i use 2nd that much) anyways are you using the standard batteries or the xc batteries? because i have heard that on occasion that the standard batteris are horrible for high draw things such as drilling into wood and so forth. Also keep in mind that the li-ion batteries are verry sensitive to being damaged from over draw and having to much voltage being drawn from them. If you draw a li-ion / li-poly battery past its safe voltage threshold the battery is DONE! so probably what is happening when you drill (high current draw) you are causing a large voltage drop and it is activating the batteries internal voltage protection circutry. for activities such as you have mentioned you need to upgrade to the xc batteris wich has 2 sets of 6? cells wired in parrallel basicly giving you same voltage with twice the amps (im sure you probably already knew that tho) but the standard batteris are ment for light duty stuff. they are ment to be cheap and also to decrease the weight of the drill.

HOPE THIS HELPS
Sean Scott

 

[caper]

This drill has the xc series batteries.We are a utility company so buying the cheap version of a tool rarely happens.I guess the lithium ion batteries aren't much of an improvement over the old nicads if they affect productivity as much as this drill does.Having to wait for the drill to cool down enough to keep working is unacceptable in an industrial setting IMO.That old nicad powered Dewalt never make me wait and it just keeps going and going.I'll be using the Dewalts untill they die.The rest of the guys can use the Milwaukee if they want.New doesen't always mean better.Here is the version we have:http://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...=2602-22&CategoryName=SC:+M18+Cordless+System
And here is the Dewalt that kicked it's *** all day today:http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-drills-drilldrivers-dcd940kx.aspx

 

[Skin]

it shouldnt have to "cool down". Either exchange it if you can or send it in for a repair.

 

[MrMark]

Milwaukee has some battery issues. I have a similar problem on an almost 2 year old V18. The nicad are better as far as I am concerned. There is no question that nicad is superior for deep, heavy drain loads.

None of the current cordless tools are good quality, they are all cheap and disposable, made for a cheap price for consumers who only buy on price. Maybe Bosch is still good. The newish Dewalt I have has a chuck that wobbles so bad it is shameful. The old Dewalt was great stuff, but since production shifted the stuff is just cheap junk.

Getting back to Milwaukee, the cordless drill I have is a lock Tor model made in Czech Republic, probably an AEG drill, and it is the strongest, smoothest drill you will ever use. They don't make em like that any more. The problem is the batteries.

 

[Skin]

they are all cheap and disposable, made for a cheap price for consumers who only buy on price.

not sure where you shop but every single cordless tool i see thats even remotely close performance wise to a companies corded counterpart is far more expensive.

 

[speed bump]

Sounds like a problem with the batteries or drill or something. I know when I switched to from using a Dewalt 18v to the Li-ion battery Milwaukee the batteries lasted longer and the drill weighed about 2/3 of the Dewalt. I know I would never buy another Dewalt XRP after dealing with some of the newer ones.

 

[TheGrooveking]

What temperature was it when you were using this drill? Lithium Ion batteries are not that great in the cold, were as NiCad's thrive in the cold.

TheGrooveking

 

[mrpowderkeg]

I think you got a Lemon... see if they can get you a different one to try.

 

[sberry]

I ran the snot out of lions in the cold, I believe its one of the benefits.

 

[caper]

Temperature isn't an issue,inside the shop working in a t shirt.Trying to return or exchange something with our corporate structure is almost impossible.Too many layers and too much politics to deal with.It'll just sit on the bench for a few years till it disappears when someone walking thru the shop likes the look of it.

 

[t100]

does it have a plastic chuck(newer M-series) or solid steel chuck(older style IMHO better V-series).

 

[walrus]

I ran the snot out of lions in the cold, I believe its one of the benefits.

They don't like to charge when they're cold

 

[Bo Heck]

I have a set of m18 tools and havent had a problem with my drill doing anything like youve stated. The batteries last quite a while to me.

 

[comedyman809]

We've been using 18v Dewalt xrp drills at the shop now for several years.Haven't had many issues with them,the odd chuck failure and one clutch.Not bad considering they get abused by eight mechanics who take no pity on them.Well our sister shop decided to switch to 18v Milwaukee drills with the lithium ion batteries.Since we share management they sent one down for our shop to try.Today I was screwing down some 2x6 planks with teks screws to a trailer frame.Well that damn Milwaukee just about drove me nuts.It must have a thermal limiter in it because after a dozen screws it would continually kick out for several seconds when you pulled the trigger.I'd be holding in the trigger and nothing,pull it again and it would start working.The other thing I noticed was the batteries died really quick compared to the Dewalt.I thought the Lithium were supposed to last longer?Anyway I pulled out one of the old Dewalts and finished the job with it.The Dewalt did twice as many screws on one battery than the Milwaukee did on two and it never once complained about getting hot.Everytime you pulled the trigger it just kept working.This is from a 3yr old abused drill compared to a 3 week old new drill.

be a man, and stop pulling out!!