I got the 3/8 since its what Home Depot had. It came with a 3-8-1/4 adapter. I've used it a ton it ripped the grill and head lights out of a e-450 in no time to do a ****** cooler. Used it on all kinds of miscellaneous panels and screws on ambulances. It's really nice. Do the bigger batteries really provide more power tho like they say?
Milwaukee m12 tools
- Thread starter joedodge
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Mooniac
Well-known member
I've got a drill/driver, impact driver and screwdriver so far and love them all. 1/4 ratchet coming soon. www.cpomilwaukee.com has great deals.
jjarrell4
Well-known member
I have quite a few of the m12 line up,
the hacksaw, the impact and the screwdriver are my go to m12s
All quality tools, a lot of power, but I had a run of bad batteries in the beginning.
the hacksaw, the impact and the screwdriver are my go to m12s
All quality tools, a lot of power, but I had a run of bad batteries in the beginning.
softailgarage
Well-known member
Try some padded impact gloves, that cured my numbness.
wafrederick
Well-known member
I have 1/4" impact driver,holding up very well.I use it a lot on car dash work including under the hood.I have only broken off one screw so far with it.
MattPersman
Well-known member
Only issues I have had so far is a battery pack I dropped the 1/4 ratchet and the battery pack cracked I need to get it replaced. And the rubber where the led lights are for the charge on the 1/4 ratchet is loose. Waiting till it gets worse before I send it in to get fixed
Awesome just got the refurbished drill kit in the mail today waiting for the light they were separate packages. The refurb kit is nice it has a one year warranty instead of five. Only a few light bless in spots all new rubber and led and such nice power also. Once the light gets here ill order the impact and prolly wait a while for batteries or the saw.
Umclemrbig
MEMBER EMERITUS
So-what is the difference between the impact driver and impact wrench?. Seems you can take the driver and with an after make it an impact.
The torque output is different between the three.
M12 Fuel:
1/4" Hex: 1200 lb-in
1/4" Square: 500 lb-in
3/8" Square: 1400 lb-in
I recently got the M12 Fuel Screwdriver and so far it is great, has meet my needs for putting shelves up and the battery seems to last pretty long.
Ign
Well-known member
That is awesome! I emailed Milwaukee a few months ago begging them to make something like that. Not saying I'm responsible, seems too little time has passed and it was most likely in development well before that.
I told them to package it with the cordless ratchets and market heavily to auto techs who (clearly from this thread and others) love the ratchets.
If it's really $80 I agree that's too high.
As for all the other discussions on lights, there's NO comparison between the Xenon and LED "flashlights." The Xenon is just ok, but at least it's affordable. The LED unit is amazing with a great light pattern for use in a tent, in a dark Conex, walking at night, power outages at home, or under a dashboard.
I wasn't aware of a retrofit bulb for the M12 Xenon lights, but buyer beware. I retrofit my V28 light with an LED bulb and while it's bright, light dispersement is poor; it's mostly a spotlight with lots of shadowy areas. You can rarely take a reflector meant for incandescent or similar and just retrofit an LED bulb with fantastic results. The LED light was clearly designed to take full advantage of the LED bulb, so I'd go with that.
Ign
Well-known member
Everyone has their own opinion on that. I'd recommend looking at this thread:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193175
I continue to maintain that a 1/4" hex impact driver with an adapter for sockets (or "sockets" that come with a 1/4" hex shank) will never be as powerful or as compact as a square drive "impact wrench," all other things being equal.
That said, adapters are a great way to save money and turn one tool into many tools.
My M12 3/8" square drive impact is still my go-to tool for most stuff in the engine bay.
firebox40dash5
Well-known member
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- Mar 19, 2012
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Well, if you're the one (partially) responsible for them making that light, props to you, sir.
Between me and the boss we have about 4 EZRed XL3000 lights, and can't keep them working for more than a couple weeks, currently only one really works. The M12 LED flashlight has probably already fallen enough to break one of those, and it still works great... and with the metal hook, I have no doubt that work light won't fall much. Not thrilled about the price, but I've got no doubt I'll end up buying it. I waste that every time I have to buy another EZRed anyway.I agree on the LED bulbs. I tried making 2 different Nite Ize ones designed for Maglites work in my old Makita light. One was a spot beam, the other was a wide but rather weak flood, since the reflector was all wrong. I'd be curious to see if Milwaukee's drop-in LED does better, but at $25 it's not really worth it unless you've got a regular light just laying around.
These make the M12 'regular' flashlight into LED for less total cost than buying the LED one.
I picked up some and they work with Ryobi One+, M12, Bosch 18v, and this week hopefully I'll test the Porter Cable 18v light also. In each case the light was very noticeably brighter.
Comes with 1 battery in a soft padded case.
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firebox40dash5
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-20 is bare tools, -21 comes with a battery and charger, -22 is a normal 2-battery kit.
braol
Well-known member
great! 22 is what i will find
I dont think they offer the ratchet kits with 2 batteries.
firebox40dash5
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Ign
Well-known member
Yeah, I think all the ratchets are one battery. And the provided soft sided case is about the dumbest design I've ever seen. You're supposed to lay the ratchet in there and close two velcro straps around it. I dunno what would be wrong with a tool bag, which is far more useful overall, and MANY M12 kits come with a tool bag. I actually use the tool bags sometimes and like that I can throw other M12 tools in the same bag.
The ratchet has a VERY positive trigger lock so if they were concerned about hitting the paddle switch and draining the battery in a bag, this makes ZERO sense. The case is very similar to the one that came with my Craftsman 12V right angle impact (which I had to buy only 'cause Milwaukee doesn't make a right angle impact driver).
The ratchet has a VERY positive trigger lock so if they were concerned about hitting the paddle switch and draining the battery in a bag, this makes ZERO sense. The case is very similar to the one that came with my Craftsman 12V right angle impact (which I had to buy only 'cause Milwaukee doesn't make a right angle impact driver).
Ign
Well-known member
Also if you get the M12 LED light it's lifetime warranty on the bulb. It's not even designed to be opened by the consumer. If you do the retrofit bulbs trying to save a few bucks, you'll get what you pay for. It may work and it may be bright, but the light pattern will be inferior. Milwaukee does not simply put a different bulb in their xenon lights and sell it for more $, the head is designed from the ground up for LED.
NineFingerFury
Well-known member
Used my 3/8 ratchet to take apart and put my chain link fence back together. I don't have a fence on one side of the yard and had to allow access for tree removal and stump grinding. The ratchet made quick work of all the bolts.
its lifetime on the bulb because the bulb is not a standard bulb like you said. they basically took the same flashlight, and replaced 90% of the head.
I have plenty of flashlights, I did not need the M12 to be my 'go to' flashlight. I do need it to not **** up battery when I dont have the money for brand new 2.0 & 4.0's. Some places I put the M12 its great, especially where I cant fit my 18v, so I needed to care more about the battery life for that.
Comparing the non-led M12 flashlight, LED is brighter & better battery life than xenon. Doesn't throw as wide a 'flood light' but I didn't buy it for that.
Comparing the non LED M12, upgraded with LED, to the LED M12, sure the LED M12 might be better. Maybe it runs brighter, cooler, AND uses less battery still. Plus it also makes waffles and looks good in a short skirt. Why not.
I saved a few bucks and I can replace bulbs immediately. And I can go back to xenon if I run out of LEDs. I got what I paid for, and I like it better than a proprietary LED flashlight. And as I suggested that it might be worthwhile for others to do the same.
I work on lawn equipment for a living. I have the 3/8" drive M12 ratchet, the led light, and the cordless screwdriver. I absolutely love the stuff!! I bought the ratchet & screwdriver kits at Home Depot when they had the free battery promotion. So I have 4 batteries with 3 tools. I always have a spare battery charged up, which is really handy as I use this stuff a lot. At some point when I have some extra cash, I really want the M12 fuel 3/8" impact.
Cordless impact is great alot more power than my old 12v makita it was beat and low on power but still the milwaukee is light years better. Prolly gonna save for a set of the bigger batteries next maybe the radio
Simz144
Well-known member
Ign
Well-known member
I have to agree with complaints I've read about the price of the upcoming Milwaukee stick light. At $70 retail I just don't understand. I just received the Craftsman Nextec 12V fluorescent light and it's exactly what I was asking Milwaukee to build for the M12. It has an on/off switch, a battery gauge, a couple of nice magnets and cool hook on top. For $30. And it's much brighter than I would have expected.
Ign
Well-known member
Not related to the stick lights, but poking around Toolguyd linked me to this comparison of the M12 "flashlights"
http://www.coptool.com/milwaukee-m12-flashlight-challenge-xenon-vs-led/
The pics pointing at the floor really show the obvious difference between the light quality of the two. I own both and say their pics are accurate; compared to the factory LED model the Xenon light puts out a small, yellowish beam.
http://www.coptool.com/milwaukee-m12-flashlight-challenge-xenon-vs-led/
The pics pointing at the floor really show the obvious difference between the light quality of the two. I own both and say their pics are accurate; compared to the factory LED model the Xenon light puts out a small, yellowish beam.