I'm guessing, but it probably has something to do with both the cost and long-term reliability of the alternatives, especially in a tool that sees load and very high RPM.
The Milwaukee addiction thread! :)
- Thread starter JustinsGr8
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22000+ post in this thread, crazy.
I mean every 4.5" grinder, chop saw, circ saw has this option, why cant they integrate it into a grinder, a tool you are constantly changing bits in?
If I ever meet a tool engineer.....
I was in HD, and decided to grab the M18 fan since I've been thinking about getting a fan to use in the garage anyway. It's probably going back. (A) it's pretty loud/buzzy, even at the lowest setting and (B) the AC-compatible requires an AC-adapter brick that's just going to get lost if the thing is mobile at all.
Kinda bummed...
Kinda bummed...
Noise I don't mind but yeah I was bummed about the external AC adapter too. 12ah batteries are too tall for it too but no big deal. But I got mine for Christmas last year so I'll be keeping it.
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
So you know... the Ridgid fan is FAR superior. It has a TRUE speed from near puff to wind. Milwaukee only has positive stops on their knob. Their low isn't really low enough.
Ridgid is near silent.
Milwaukee is not.
*sigh* that's disappointing
I'm not putting another battery platform in my garage. I don't mind getting a more conventional fan - will be quieter and more powerful, but the idea of one that could go along with me was tempting enough for the price.
Oh well...
Definitely a miss on Milwaukee's part, I bought mine last summer and it's been pretty disappointed so far. You can buy a $20 fan at any store that will work twice as good but not portable
subarub4
Well-known member
Lol I keep looking at the fan thanks for the heads up on it.
I really want the fuel 1/2 ratchet but I feels it’s a little overpriced.
I really want the fuel 1/2 ratchet but I feels it’s a little overpriced.
I have the 3/8" FUEL ratchet and I really like it. 3/8" seems the better working range of sockets for the kind of stuff I use it for. Every once in a while I think about the 1/4" or 1/2" but I'm using roto/swivel head ratchets for that kind of thing and 1/2" that isn't covered by my 3/8" sockets seems pretty big to be using the tool for.
But I'm glad I own the 3/8"
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I prefer the NON fuel ratchet, to which I have a 1/4". The head is that much smaller... to make a huge difference.
DFB
Well-known member
I have one of each ratchet in 3/8" form. I like the overall strength of design the Fuel ratchet seems to offer, but still prefer the non fuel for many chores.
IMO the Fuels are just heavy in alot of applications.
IMO the Fuels are just heavy in alot of applications.
For what I'm using it for, I haven't really hit any issues with size of the FUEL 3/8" - I'm pretty addicted to swivel/rotos in tight spaces
Milwaukee M18 addict since ~2013 when I finally swapped out my nicad dewalt for Milwaukee Li-ion. Started with drills, then saws, then trimmers, then blower, in the past year replaced my gen1 drills with gen3 drills. Newest addiction is the chainsaw. No intervention please
danski0224
Well-known member
I don't get the whining about the Milwaukee fan.
I just picked one up from the orange store, at a reduced price.
It works just fine.
Yes, the cheesy AC adapter does ****. But if it had a real cord on it, then what? Detachable? Where would it be stored on board? Adding charging circuitry might cost $2.50 at wholesale, but the retail price would certainly go up $50 or $60.
Yes to not many options to hang it.
It might run all day (8 hours) on high off of a 9.0. Medium didn't use up half of the battery as far as the indicators go.
I just picked one up from the orange store, at a reduced price.
It works just fine.
Yes, the cheesy AC adapter does ****. But if it had a real cord on it, then what? Detachable? Where would it be stored on board? Adding charging circuitry might cost $2.50 at wholesale, but the retail price would certainly go up $50 or $60.
Yes to not many options to hang it.
It might run all day (8 hours) on high off of a 9.0. Medium didn't use up half of the battery as far as the indicators go.
ryobi's hybrid is $50 (goes on sale a few times a year for $30 after a battery combo return), and it's a 120V hybrid. So if TTI can do it for $50 in green they can do it in red for a little more. I can't say how it compares but I've been happy with mine
DerekV
Well-known member
There is enough room inside the fan to stick the transformer inside and hard wire a cord out the back. I performed this modification a few years ago and posted pictures to this thread. Still works great, use it all the time.
Nice! I've been wanting to do the same, just haven't got around to taking a peek inside. Thanks for confirming.
Yea the ratchets are really expensive. I have the 1/4 fuel and I’m sending it in for repair for the 3rd time (once my fault, last two times a coworkers. Last time I leave that stuff out). I’ve noticed even before the final time that I need a 3/8 or 1/2 to complement the 1/4. Really want the long reach but honestly, 220 is pretty close to snap on prices.
Have been waiting for a sale of any sort on the extended but if they don’t do one for the Father’s Day run, I can’t imagine there will be one anytime soon
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
That is what swayed me to go w/ the non-fuel 3/8". I'm just a home gamer and didn't buy it to bust nuts/bolts loose, I bought for the times I don't want to spend swinging the d@mn ratchet around for hours on end! It works great on 10/12/14mm nuts/bolts but I do partner it with my 3/8 SO ratchet when I think it will need more torque to bust it loose then what I feel I should be putting through the Milwaukee.
Yeah - I don't use mine to break nuts unless I know they're relatively easy-off, but I do use it to tighten. Sometimes I'll do final torque with a hand ratchet for better "feel", but where it isn't important I'll just use the FUEL.
MikeF2316
Well-known member
There's so much in that video I'd be buying if it were red!
In addition to the mower, the backpack and power sweeper too!
Firefighter1406
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2016
- Messages
- 415
My dad surprised me today. He went and picked up the 8ah/6ah starter kit and the free grinder he passed my way. Very kind of pops. He is the one that got me hooked on Milwaukee stuff in the first place.
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danny_barkley
Well-known member
subarub4
Well-known member
I would love a cordless hammer Before I got rid of my air tools I wanted to get an air hammer.. I can’t see how hard it would be to make? It would be like a hackzall but a hammer.
javyLSU
Well-known member
You know the fuel ratchet works as a manual ratchet too, right? Mine is my go-to for doing oil changes on my FJ Cruiser, and I always manually torque the fasteners back on with the 3/8 fuel ratchet... Works great.
jmhinkle
Well-known member
Had to send my Dad's 3/8 Fuel ratchet in for repair over the weekend. Got it for him for Christmas and he had only used it twice. It stopped turning anything with the slightest tension on it. You could hold a socket in your hand and it wouldn't turn it forward or reverse. Kind of disappointing. None of the ones I've gotten for myself or brother have been a problem yet. He was super impressed with the M12 1/2" impact. Took off a mower bolt his Ryobi wouldn't turn. His Ryobi always worked better than mine, but I've been telling him the M12 is stronger.
If you haven't seen AvE's BOLTR on an air hammer I think this one is the one where he really gets into how they work:
Making an electric motor the does what an air hammer does might not be as easy as you think. Maybe I'm wrong but it my head I feel like a linear motor driving an eccentric cam or even a simple back and forth motion wouldn't work the way you would want it to.
Then again I'm not a mechanical engineer so maybe it would work just fine.
Hmmm....I wonder if that power broom would move decomposed granite. The previous owners surrounded the house with it and I couldn't hate something more then I do that d@mned granite. Shoveling it isn't horrible, but it would be nice to make larger piles and then scoop from the piles into the wheel barrow.
Those clipping piles it was leaving behind were so big it looked like he was trenching. The redundant battery system seems neat but other than that I don't know why you'd blow $570 on that ($700 with batteries). Looks like it has basically no lift or mulching capability and its a loss of 30% of your cutting area vs a 22" deck.
15lb backpack ($600) to run, what would be an entry level performance in gas, trimmer/hand blower seems like a mildly stupid decision as well.
Cordless still has a long long way to go to match gas in yard tools for power and/or ergonomics.
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WittHay
Well-known member
Stihl has had a backpack system for a few years now along with cordless lawnmowers. Older picture they have added quite a few new models in the last couple of years.
Its for the contractors in the "ban gas powered equipment " areas whether in Europe or in North America. Some people like electric cars , the same way some people might prefer cordless lawn mowers. Cost is not really a concern. I am surprised Milwaukee has not released one yet
Its for the contractors in the "ban gas powered equipment " areas whether in Europe or in North America. Some people like electric cars , the same way some people might prefer cordless lawn mowers. Cost is not really a concern. I am surprised Milwaukee has not released one yet
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I think we're saying the same thing for the most part. I use it a lot, but I don't always find it the best thing. Anything needing a lot of crank on/off gets started with something else, and sometimes I want the feel of a regular ratchet.
(i.e. Yes - I'm aware, but I don't use it for a 100% replacement for manual. The feel is better with a manual, and of course if you have to use a torque wrench anyway...).
/semi-caffeinatedresponse
Me too! Top on my list would be the mower. I love the functionality with the 4 banks of batteries. Can you mix and match them? I bet you can. I have an array of batteries for M18 it can eat.
Black300zx
Well-known member
It says that the processor inside will prioritize which batteries to use based on what tool is connected. I assume that means if you have an HO battery in the backpack and are using a tool which would benefit from an HO battery, it will use that one first and then switch to non-HO batteries if needed.
Voi
Well-known member
If you mean mix & match based on amp-hour rating, then yes. I specifically asked that question when I bought into the X2 system.
I don't have that mower, however. I have the first generation X2 mower. It takes three & sometimes four sets of two batteries to get through my yard. Since I often also have two Makita string trimmers, the blower, the chainsaw & maybe even my reciprocating saw going I sometimes have no choice but to mix 4.0 & 5.0 batteries in the mower to get the yard done.
Voi
Well-known member
My yard is a nightmare but I do love it. I have 1.5 acres but cut only a small portion of that. Unfortunately the parts I do cut are very spread out and have a significant elevation change. Enough of an elevation change that a riding mower or even a self-propelled mower would be mostly useless.
I have a gas push mower that appears to have died late last summer. I had planned to tear into it during the Covid shutdown but got wrapped up in other projects. When it was our only mower I had to stop to fill it twice and sometimes even a third top off was needed. To be fair, those weren't fills from empty but rather just convenient times to stop and fill as we moved to a different part of the yard. If you didn't stop and fill you would certainly have a long walk back for the gas can if you forgot it.
Ideally we'd have two push mowers going and my first gen, 40 lb Makita is nearly perfect as a second mower. But I'm just going to suffer through this summer and re-assess this winter.
Voi
Well-known member
Not sure. I have a hiking app on my phone. I'll try to remember to run it next time and see how far I walk. Might also check and see the elevation change from the lowest to highest point.