Should I keep Milky?

[JASTECH]

I am debating taking all my Milky stuff back to HD. They are M12's and the 18v drill/hammer. Everytime I go to use them the Li-batts are almost dead. I took my SawZaw back already but it was 115vac and NIB. My thought is switching to Hitachi, what do you think?

 

[purplezr2]

That is weird, I have an M18, and never have any trouble with the batteries, my gun sat in storage from may to october and the battery still had a full charge, it goes weeks with out being used and still works great, maybe give milwaukee a call.

 

[ianguilly]

I love my 12v 1/4 impact goes days without needing a charge.

 

[walwalka]

I also own the 1/4 impact and it lasts weeks without a charge only using it every couple days..

 

[ilovetards]

I would take them back if you can. I had all milwaukee cordless tools, 12V and 18V and was a loyalist for the brand. The batteries ALL quit on me and my sawzall just up and quit working after a year. I have given up on that brand and have moved on.

 

[Syndicate]

I am going with you got a bad batch of batteries. I recently had some work done, adding 2 bedrooms and a new office. The workers all had M stuff, a lot of chargers running for them out in the shop. They seemed to work well. I have makita personally, but one day I asked to use a guy's, and he helped me build a deck. Worked just fine. Also got friends that swear by them. Might be worth it, instead of taking it all back, just take batteries back. Or call the 1-800 # and see what they say. I would think they would help you out.

Rarely, but every once in a while, the operator at the assembly plant goes to sleep when they bring parts to his station.

 

[BigJohn20]

My M12 batteries will last forever in my drills/impact. However, I need to use the XC batteries with my Multitool and Hackzall because I can burn through a battery in no time flat if I'm doing a lot of work. At that point, I ask myself if I really should be using a corded tool with all the work I'm doing.

Hitachi, while decent tools, are a step backwards in terms of quality IMHO.

 

[JASTECH]

Hmm, so the high end Hitachi tools are not as good? I like their 10 year to lifetime warranty on the tools. Wood forums say the new H's are the best.

http://www.cordless-drill-reviews.com/hitachi-cordless-drill.html

Anybody else?

 

[TheGrooveking]

I have 16 piecs of M12 gear and have had a few duds when it came to batteries. As to Hitachi, I have 5 piecs of their 18 volt LIon stuff and its all been bullet proof, I'd rate it equal/better than Milwaukee. Another good brand is Bosch, I have 10 pieces of their 12V stuff and I like their quality, IMO better than Milwaukee. As to the 18 volt, I have DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, Hilti and Hitachi, and the Bosch and Hilti is king of the road IMO. The Bosch recip and the Hilti hammerdrill are the tops.

TheGrooveking

 

[GTO]

I have been ourt of work since Dec 1.Both my M18 and M12 batts still have a charge.Mine can sit for months without a charge.
Like a previous poster said,I think you got a bad batch of batts.
Good luck

 

[housey]

Hmm, so the high end Hitachi tools are not as good? I like their 10 year to lifetime warranty on the tools. Wood forums say the new H's are the best.

http://www.cordless-drill-reviews.com/hitachi-cordless-drill.html

Anybody else?

Hmm, I have a hitachi DV18DBL drill, 12 months old that I will be taking in for warranty tomorrow (chuck has seized up). It gets worked pretty hard and other than that it has stood up well but I dont see it lasting 10 years. I also was under the impression that its only covered by a 2 year warranty.

When I look at this site its only a 1 year warranty offered:

http://www.sydneytools.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=15144&bc=no

Does anyone have any proof of a 5/10year warranty? If so I will definately be asking about it when I take it in for warranty

 

[5lima30]

+1 for the Hitachi Li-ion! I have friends who have the Milwaukee 12v and they have been happy with them.

 

[-Brent-]

I really like my 12v Milwaukee Impact Driver. It's one of my favorite tools.

 

[Al Bundy]

I have a lot of Milwaukee tools and they are all great. The batteries charge in 15 minutes. The only trouble I ever had was my charger quit after a year and a half. And that got replaced under warranty. Apparently it's 5 years for tools and a year for batteries.

 

[BJ42LX]

I'm pretty dissappointed in my M12 tools. The battery life is OK for the driver and drill, but the power of the tools puts them in the "light duty" category.

The HackZall is the worst. I was demo-ing a fiberglass shower stall last year. The hackzall made it through about 15 inches of wall before the battery was dead. And that fiberglass was pretty flimsy - thinner than a cardboard box. I had to finish the job with a wrecking bar (louder and messier, but about 10x as fast as cutting).

The driver will stall on 2.5" drywall screws going into 2x stock.

Milwaukee is now just another consumer level, big box store brand.

 

[JASTECH]

Update: Talked to Mgr. of HD yesterday, he said Milky Rep. would be in today and for me to bring my tools in and He would get the Rep. to help me. I arrived just after 15:00 and they called the Mgr. out to tool aisle to assist me. Well Rep. had left at 14:00! So Mgr. said he would try and help me. I explained the battery issue so he said Milky won't give him credit on my batts sence no reciept but he has seen me shopping alot in there (clearance items) and he would go ahead and replace 3 batts of mine with the new Red Lithions! So I will charge them tomarrow. I guess the Milky's get a second chance! Then the Hex Impact for screws and?

 

[-Brent-]

I will say that my M12 is a baby compared to the Hilti impact driver. If I needed one professionally, that's the one I'd go with. It's a BEAST as far as power is concerned. However, it's considerably heavier too. I like most of my tools to be more near industrial quality, but for what I do with my driver, it's impressed me as well as saving me time and energy.

 

[JASTECH]

Brent, I'm glad the HD Mgr. stepped up to the plate and replaced batts for me. They are now charged so I will test them with RED Lithium.

I need to restore the headlamp lenses on F-350, thinking of useing M12 Drill. Will this work?

 

[cderalow]

I swear by my Ryobi 18V one+ stuff.

I've got a set of 10 year old nice batteries that still hold decent charge for drilling holes in wood.

 

[ChrisF250]

A bit late but I love my hitachi tools. If the milwaukees dont work out again I'd try hitachi, lowes has been running some great deals as does big sky tool. Only buy the lithium ion slide batteries not the one with the post. The slide ones are the newer ones that the brand will develop around. They recently just came out with a brushless hammer drill that will also use an interchangeable 3.0 ah li ion battery similar to milwaukees line.