Deciding on milwaukee drill/driver kit

[DeanerF]

I'm looking to get some new drills. Currently I have m12 hammerdrill/impact driver. Plus the old style dewalt 18v drill/impact driver.

Looking to get into m18 milwaukee stuff now. I have a gift card ive been meaning to use, but there are so many combo kits to choose from and they all seem so similar.

These two seem identical except for one being "brushless" (right now HD has a deal for either of these plus a free baretool ...grinder/sawsall/circular saw)
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1001002378.html?eid=FL_WSH_180315_MI_HOSTED_EN_FW07_T6C3A1

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1000706303.html?eid=FL_WSH_180315_MI_HOSTED_EN_FW07_T6C3A1

Or am I better off going right into fuel drills? for the extra $100.
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....mpact-driver-combo-kit-2-tool.1001101861.html

OR final option being this cheaper combo and forget about the free tool.
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1000755643.html?eid=FL_WSH_180315_MI_HOSTED_EN_FW07_T6C3A1

 

[DFB]

Interesting you have the same kit twice 2697-22CT. One photo is of the most current tools which from my understanding is what the kits come with now. Its the 2607 hammer drill and the 2656 impact driver. I have both they are fine tools.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/combo-kits/2697-22

The second link different photo, same part # shows the older model tools now superseded.

I really don't believe they are any kits with the older tools in them anymore but picture and text description of the original kit release are rampant on many internet adds. Of course it best to visually check to see exactly what your getting

Now the Fuel tools are much more powerful and the impact has added feature such as the different speed modes which is very handy. Also the drill is larger and heavier. the torque rating is more than double the brushed and brushless non Fuel models. Only you can decide if need that much tool (or want) for the xtra $100.


Only you can decide what you need. Brushless design seems to be a popular choice now but either kit with the free tool is a sound deal IMO


And oftentimes that Fuel combo deal had been offered with an extra tool or battery also. So it pays to look around and or wait sometimes.

Can't rightly say what you may find in Canada though

Your choice

 

[DeanerF]

Interesting you have the same kit twice 2697-22CT. One photo is of the most current tools which from my understanding is what the kits come with now. Its the 2607 hammer drill and the 2656 impact driver. I have both they are fine tools.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/combo-kits/2697-22

The second link different photo, same part # shows the older model tools now superseded.

I really don't believe they are any kits with the older tools in them anymore but picture and text description of the original kit release are rampant on many internet adds. Of course it best to visually check to see exactly what your getting

Now the Fuel tools are much more powerful and the impact has added feature such as the different speed modes which is very handy. Also the drill is larger and heavier. the torque rating is more than double the brushed and brushless non Fuel models. Only you can decide if need that much tool (or want) for the xtra $100.


Only you can decide what you need. Brushless design seems to be a popular choice now but either kit with the free tool is a sound deal IMO


And oftentimes that Fuel combo deal had been offered with an extra tool or battery also. So it pays to look around and or wait sometimes.

Can't rightly say what you may find in Canada though

Your choice

Oh I didn't notice they were the same tool. Its pretty confusing at times trying to differentiate between different kits as they are all so similar!

I am sort of starting to lean towards getting the fuel stuff now. Since I already have the smaller m12 stuff I might as well get the more powerful fuel setup if the jump is actually noticeable.

The free tool would be nice, but I already have a corded sawsall, corded circular saw, and quite a few grinders kicking around as I do mostly metal fabrication/welding. (Sort of thinking the battery operated grinder might disappoint me, that and its 4-1/2" and all of my grinders are 5"/6" along with all my consumables)

I guess I should wait and see what kind of deal comes up for the Fuel combo kit then!


Thank you for your input!

 

[Makoto]

Man if you're going to a new battery anyhow give the new makita subcompacts a try. I love mine, sucker's have power for days and In my opinion they're engineered/built better than the Milwaukees.

 

[DerekV]

The question you need to ask yourself is "what am I looking for that my M12 tools can't do?"

If you desire a big bump in power and a little more runtime, the compact brushless set is nice. If you desire a ridiculous amount more power and much longer runtime, the Fuel set is the one.

The Fuel set costs more, but typically comes with the 5.0 batteries, which naturally cost more than the compact 2.0s. The Fuel tools in this case (namely the drill) will be noticeably heavier than the compact brushless set with 2.0s. The power of the Fuel drill is amazing though, incredible is a better word. I have several Fuel tools and it is one of if not the most impressive to me. Overkill for nearly everything, and a little heavy for many things. The Fuel impact driver is a power house as well, but where it shines is the different power modes, which you don't get with the compact brushless set.

To me, you'll almost never need the power of the Fuel drill or want the bulk of it. The Fuel impact driver is much much better than the compact brushless one and it's just as compact/light with a 2.0 battery. I prefer the Fuel impact with the 2.0 battery actually.

I don't know. I say go with the Fuel kit since you'll always have your M12 set for smaller things.

 

[DeanerF]

Man if you're going to a new battery anyhow give the new makita subcompacts a try. I love mine, sucker's have power for days and In my opinion they're engineered/built better than the Milwaukees.

I have heard good things from the new makitas actually. The one reason why I want to stick with milwaukee is that I have the m12, and withthe m18 the charger does both m12 and m18 batteries. Not having a bunch of different chargers around will be nice (already have 4, bosch, dewalt, milwaukee, mastercraft. If I get into the m18 milwaukee I can replace my mastercraft impact too)

The question you need to ask yourself is "what am I looking for that my M12 tools can't do?"

If you desire a big bump in power and a little more runtime, the compact brushless set is nice. If you desire a ridiculous amount more power and much longer runtime, the Fuel set is the one.

The Fuel set costs more, but typically comes with the 5.0 batteries, which naturally cost more than the compact 2.0s. The Fuel tools in this case (namely the drill) will be noticeably heavier than the compact brushless set with 2.0s. The power of the Fuel drill is amazing though, incredible is a better word. I have several Fuel tools and it is one of if not the most impressive to me. Overkill for nearly everything, and a little heavy for many things. The Fuel impact driver is a power house as well, but where it shines is the different power modes, which you don't get with the compact brushless set.

To me, you'll almost never need the power of the Fuel drill or want the bulk of it. The Fuel impact driver is much much better than the compact brushless one and it's just as compact/light with a 2.0 battery. I prefer the Fuel impact with the 2.0 battery actually.

I don't know. I say go with the Fuel kit since you'll always have your M12 set for smaller things.

I find the m12 isnt quite powerful enough for driving larger screws (3" #8 deck screws are a struggle). The hammer drill also doesnt have quite enough power when drilling concrete, I mounted my tube bender recently and ended up just renting a larger hammer drill. Although thinking about it, I'm not sure the Fuel hammer drill would be enough anyway and a proper SDS hammer drill would still work better.

The M12 works great around the house and for smaller projects though.

Anyway, we are going to be tearing down and rebuilding our garage starting this spring as well as doing some modification to our deck. So they will mostly be used for general carpentry work.
It would be nice if you could actually try each model out before deciding too, holding it with no battery you can only tell so much!

 

[DerekV]

I find the m12 isnt quite powerful enough for driving larger screws (3" #8 deck screws are a struggle). The hammer drill also doesnt have quite enough power when drilling concrete, I mounted my tube bender recently and ended up just renting a larger hammer drill. Although thinking about it, I'm not sure the Fuel hammer drill would be enough anyway and a proper SDS hammer drill would still work better.

The M12 works great around the house and for smaller projects though.

Anyway, we are going to be tearing down and rebuilding our garage starting this spring as well as doing some modification to our deck. So they will mostly be used for general carpentry work.
It would be nice if you could actually try each model out before deciding too, holding it with no battery you can only tell so much!

I wasn't gonna go there, but I hate hammer drills. If you can swing it, get a regular drill driver (model 2703-20) and rent or buy an SDS for any concrete/stone/masonry (well, maybe not brick) stuff. The Fuel hammer drill chucks are notoriously sloppy and tend to lock up unexpectedly.

You'll appreciate the Fuel versions of both the drill and the impact - get those. Keep your M12 drill for smaller things and for delicate driving.

 

[CTyankee]

Too many different kit combos and model numbers for me to sort through anymore. When I updated to Milwaukee, I went with an 18v, compact, brushless combo. No hammer drill..wasn't worth it for me to drag around the extra bulk and weight for something I'd seldom..if ever use. YMMV. Came with the 2 amp batteries. Plenty of run time for 90% of HO work and again..less weight and bulk. I did get 2, 5 amp batteries for backups as a special with the kit. Will use them with my new impact hammer when it comes.

Tool companies hype up bigger batteries and more powerful tools to attract more purchasing....when smaller and light will get the job done for most. I worked for Almost 20 years in construction using Panasonic 14.4v 3 amp combo kits. My drills and drivers were used everyday and often all day. Not unusal to be driving 100's of screws a day. With a little battery management never had an issue being under powered. I'd give lots of thought into what you'll really be using these things for, before making a decision. As always..JMO.