Milwaukee M18 Fuel

[shamrock12]

Have any of you tried those new Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless tools? They uses brushless motors and lithium batteries. Been looking into possibly of getting model 2604-22 which is a hammer drill/driver kit. More importantly, where are their M18 Fuel tools being manufactured in?

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/tools/...fuel-1-2-inch-hammer-drill-driver-kit/2604-22

Also just curious why do most manufacturers offer the option of buying cordless drill/driver with or without the hammerdrill feature when the difference in cost is minimal? Does it mean the tool is more likely to have an issue if it has an additional feature? I would be using it primarily for driving screws through wood and metal as well as drilling some holes through those materials too. I don't absolutely need the hammer drill feature as I already have a dedicated hammerdrilll but there has been some jobs that took me by surprise when a couple of holes need to be drilled through concrete, and I didn't have the dedicated hammerdrill with me.

 

[stingray1966]

I have the inpack gun and love it The one I really like is milwaukee 3/8 drive 12 volt ratchet That one really surprised me on just how good it works
Lithium batteries is the way to go also If I remember right Milwaukee gives you three years on the battery warranty I have used these all summer long and have really liked them.

 

[padronanniversary]

I just bought the impactor and hammer drill in the Fuel line (brushless). I absolutely love the extra run time I get out of them. They are China made however.

That being said, I see that they make a hammer/drill and drill driver. I bought a compact drill (non-brushless) for run of the mill house stuff as well as the M18 sawzall today.

With the small pack, the M18 was close in size with the M12 line of products, I think the impactor was even closer in size. I decided to get rid of my whole bosch 12V line, and just go with the M18 line with the small pack for the small daily stuff. Amazing how lite this stuff is. I might go M12 when they move to brushless (I see that as upcoming products), mainly to get other unique application tools.

But to answer you question, I believe it comes down to size as well. Some people like a compact drill driver, not a full blown hammer drill.

 

[shamrock12]

I believe both of their M18 Fuel hammerdrill and non-hammerdrill drivers are available with compact and full size batteries. I've used Ridgid compact and full size batteries in the past and after using both of them, I tend to reach for the full size as it runs longer & has a bit more oomph even though the voltage is the same.

Too bad they are made in China which I tend to avoid. I still might consider them if they are truly proven. I'd even be more interested when their 1/2" impact drivers get released. Hopefully someday Milwaukee will bring their production back here in USA where they belongs!!

 

[padronanniversary]

They are, however what I noticed is there is a compact drill , not just the battery. Different size offerings for applications I assume.

 

[rlitman]

But to answer you question, I believe it comes down to size as well. Some people like a compact drill driver, not a full blown hammer drill.

In many cases, having the hammer option adds to the tool weight and length.
Since I own a few dedicated hammer drills, I bought the non-hammer Fuel drill at first. Within a few hours, I was back at the store exchanging it for the hammer model.

In the case of the Fuel, the additional weight of the hammer option is negligible, and the added length is under 1/8".

The big plus to the hammer model though, is that the chuck has carbide inserts which really grip drill bits better. That IMHO is well worth the $20 extra or so.

 

[Givl Reggin]

Also just curious why do most manufacturers offer the option of buying cordless drill/driver with or without the hammerdrill feature when the difference in cost is minimal?

I can count on one finger how many times I needed a hammer drill in my life - I like the acronym K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid! The hammer drill adds additional complexity to a rather simple device and also another possible failure path.

 

[shamrock12]

They are, however what I noticed is there is a compact drill , not just the battery. Different size offerings for applications I assume.

Ah, now I see what you are saying. Yeah, their brushless drills does look like compact to me but could that be because they are brushless?

It looks like Milwaukee M18 Fuel has more torque than what appears to be a full sized DeWalt brushed 20V Max:

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/brushless

 

[shamrock12]

The big plus to the hammer model though, is that the chuck has carbide inserts which really grip drill bits better. That IMHO is well worth the $20 extra or so.

Just curious where did you get that information?

 

[Conductor562]

I have a bunch of the M18 stuff and it's all been great. What cordless power tools aren't being made in China or somewhere else in Asia? Milwaukee is Chinese, Dewalt is Chinese and Mexican, Makita makes something on every continent, Bosch makes stuff in Switzerland and Malaysia, there are no american cordless tools anymore.