Question for the Milwaukee gurus.

[CTyankee]

Thinking about switching over to 18v Milwaukee drill and drivers to replace my 6+ year old Panasonic set(brushless driver..not sure on the drill). My question...Is there a fuel version of the Milwaukee drill that DOESN'T have the hammer feature? I wouldn't even care if the drill wasn't brushless if it could be purchased together with a brushless driver.

I use my drill and drivers constantly...all day. Lots of the time they are hanging off my tool belt. All the drill is used for is to drill pilot holes for screws.

All the Milwaukee fuel drills I have seen that are paired with the fuel drivers have the hammer option and are much larger and heavier than I need. Is my only option to buy the fuel driver and a regular non hammer drill separate? I'll probably do that if I have to...but it would be nice to realize some saving in purchasing a combo kit. I assume the 18v batteries are interchangeable whether the tool is fuel or not.

 

[kctyphoon]

milwaukee 2603 compact m18 fuel drill..... i think..

 

[devoncoolman]

The 2603 is a non-hammer fuel drill 18v.

 

[kctyphoon]

not sure if it comes in a kit though... might have to go with the 2604 hammer drill version.. honestly you just need to go on the milwaukee site and decide what you want.. thats all everyone else is gonn have to do in order to give you an answer anyway..

home depot had a nice kit with a smaller drill and impact, but i dont think it was a fuel.. was $299 or $249 .. something like that

 

[devoncoolman]

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/combo-kits/2691-23
This kit is what you want but in the non-fuel brushed variety.

 

[BajaBound]

Why not have more options in one drill?

 

[devoncoolman]

I see his point. A hammer drill is heavier and more expensive and if he doesn't need the hammer option why pay all the extra coin for it.

 

[GortonsFisherman]

Some folks very rarely need a hammer drill, if ever. Why put up with the extra weight if you won't use it? If you need one with any frequency, you'll use a rotary hammer, anyway. I'm good for about 2 Tapcons max with my M18 Fuel one before going out to the truck for a rotary.

 

[92integra]

if you do some searching you can find a really nice kit with the hammer drill like i did...................... it was on ebay got the non fuel 1/2"m18 impact, fuel 3/8ths impact and 1/2" chuck hammer drill for like 500

 

[Tinner]

The 2603-22 is the kit with the non hammer Fuel drill, charger and 2 XC 4.0 batteries.

 

[bigfunwmu]

2791-22ct has the compact batteries for lighter weight, drill without hammer, and the impact driver all in 1 kit. Don't know if there is a non-hammer kit with the large batteries.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/milwauk...river-combo-kit/miln2791-22ct,default,pd.html

$349

 

[CTyankee]

2791-22ct has the compact batteries for lighter weight, drill without hammer, and the impact driver all in 1 kit. Don't know if there is a non-hammer kit with the large batteries.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/milwauk...river-combo-kit/miln2791-22ct,default,pd.html

$349

This kit with the fuel drill is what I was looking for, except for the smaller batteries.

The drill, while not the hammer type still appears to a larger and heavier than the non-fuel one. I'll have to try and find actual size specs or try to compare in person the fuel drill vs the non-fuel drill. My boss has a Makita combo and is often asking to borrow my drill because his won't fit into a particular area.

Maybe I've just been spoiled by my Panasonics. I considered buying them again, but the cost and the very limited tool line offering has deterred me. I may just end up purchasing the two separately...A non-fuel drill and a fuel driver. Thanks to those that posted up options for me to consider.

 

[Kracin]

i've got both the fuel hammer drill and the non fuel compact drill.

there is a noticeable difference in size when you wield them both. almost a pound difference and smaller/shorter body on the non fuel.

i think you should go into a local store and put your hands on them and decide there, they should have a bunch of different drills out on display. the specs don't look too different, but they feel very different.

 

[BFHtime]

You may want to check out tools plus in Waterbury, they are on the Milwaukee website as retailers. They are not the same as Home Depot versions at least they used to be different. With the way the world keeps making everything cheaper they could be the same, but in the past the quality was better, not i. Home Depot. It across from Home Depot, which where J.E. Smith used to be, if you remember that. There are not too many lumber yards anymore since Home Depot monopolization. Anyways I try to buy stuff there when I can, to support a small business, even from a couple states away.

 

[FMC1959]

Thinking about switching over to 18v Milwaukee drill and drivers to replace my 6+ year old Panasonic set(brushless driver..not sure on the drill). My question...Is there a fuel version of the Milwaukee drill that DOESN'T have the hammer feature? I wouldn't even care if the drill wasn't brushless if it could be purchased together with a brushless driver.

I use my drill and drivers constantly...all day. Lots of the time they are hanging off my tool belt. All the drill is used for is to drill pilot holes for screws.

All the Milwaukee fuel drills I have seen that are paired with the fuel drivers have the hammer option and are much larger and heavier than I need. Is my only option to buy the fuel driver and a regular non hammer drill separate? I'll probably do that if I have to...but it would be nice to realize some saving in purchasing a combo kit. I assume the 18v batteries are interchangeable whether the tool is fuel or not.

The batteries are interchangeable. Your comment about it being not brushless, in case you were not aware, Milwaukee's brushless line is Fuel.

My personal opinion which others might disagree, for the price and weight savings, the non Fuel M18's should do the job, no problem. The extra performance & price from Fuel is warranted on some tools (power hogs like a grinder, circ saw, SDS hammer, or if you were drilling with a 2" spade bit all day) but not a regular drill and impact driver.

If the holes you are drilling and screws you are driving are not super large, and weight is important, maybe check the M12 out. They might do what you need at a big weight savings. With multiple batteries, you should never have any issues.

 

[72Anthony]

Not to veer off topic, but what type of material are you working with that requires pilot holes? There are "high performance" screws available from Spax and GRK that do not require pilot holes.

 

[CTyankee]

i've got both the fuel hammer drill and the non fuel compact drill.

there is a noticeable difference in size when you wield them both. almost a pound difference and smaller/shorter body on the non fuel.

i think you should go into a local store and put your hands on them and decide there, they should have a bunch of different drills out on display. the specs don't look too different, but they feel very different.

I have compared the ones HD had on display, but never saw a non-hammer fuel drill there. From specs posted here and what I'm seeing in these links, I'll probably go with the 18v non-fuel, non-hammer drill and buy the the 18v fuel version of the driver.

You may want to check out tools plus in Waterbury, they are on the Milwaukee website as retailers. They are not the same as Home Depot versions at least they used to be different. With the way the world keeps making everything cheaper they could be the same, but in the past the quality was better, not i. Home Depot. It across from Home Depot, which where J.E. Smith used to be, if you remember that. There are not too many lumber yards anymore since Home Depot monopolization. Anyways I try to buy stuff there when I can, to support a small business, even from a couple states away.

Will do..thanks

The batteries are interchangeable. Your comment about it being not brushless, in case you were not aware, Milwaukee's brushless line is Fuel.

My personal opinion which others might disagree, for the price and weight savings, the non Fuel M18's should do the job, no problem. The extra performance & price from Fuel is warranted on some tools (power hogs like a grinder, circ saw, SDS hammer, or if you were drilling with a 2" spade bit all day) but not a regular drill and impact driver.

If the holes you are drilling and screws you are driving are not super large, and weight is important, maybe check the M12 out. They might do what you need at a big weight savings. With multiple batteries, you should never have any issues.

Yes I was aware of that..as I mentioned after the part you highlighted, I was stupidly hoping a half fuel, half non-fuel combo might be available. As to a non-brushless driver or the M12 line...no and no. The screws driven can range anywhere from 2 - 6 inches, 3 or 3 1/2 being the most common. Having been using a higher voltage and bigger battery brushless drive for years and with the type of usage it gets, I doubt I'd be happy with the M12 driver.

Not to veer off topic, but what type of material are you working with that requires pilot holes? There are "high performance" screws available from Spax and GRK that do not require pilot holes.

We use GRK screws pretty much exclusively . Not everything is pre-drilled. But lots of "toe screwing" is done conventional and engineered framing material. The crappy material that's being produced today will split if you so much as look at it wrong and the engineered material can actually splinter when toed. Basically it comes down to having more control and the avoidance of splitting. And before anyone turns this into a **** storm and starts talking shear strength.....our building techniques, which are often atypical....have come under heavy scrutiny from numerous building officials, inspectors, engineers and probably some of their relatives. Everything we do meets and usually exceeds any codes or building requirements.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[chrisexv6]

I feel like I just can't put all my faith in 12v only. As much as I like my m12 fuel impact I just have a suspicion I'll need 18v power one day. As such I bit on the 150 off deal at HD. was hard to find direct comparisons of the fuel vs non fuel drills but even the fuel 18v hammer drill is a couple pounds lighter than what I have now. If I ever got the 2ah packs it would be even lighter still.

I think the best (albeit most expensive) solution is 12v (fuel or non) for overhead/lightweight work and 18v for everything else. I prefer the fuel stuff because I "upgrade" so infrequently the extra cost gets watered down over the years

 

[BFHtime]

Even though there is some weight savings with 12V vs 18V, I think the biggest issue is fitting the tool in tight places, where the bulk of the larger tool may be an issue. Since lithium batteries are much lighter than the old Ni-CAds, the weight is not as much of a trade off vs the extra power. The size for the confined spaces is where a smaller tool shines. At least for me the weight is not the issue. I would go M18 fuel. I have the Makita brushless from before Milwaukee came out wih theirs, but Milwaukees tool selection and quality makes it an easy choice. That is why they are so popular.