The Milwaukee addiction thread! :)

[Steel_Rain]

Thanks for the heads up @Gangly & @Lowlevel2021.

Well...

I guess I need to buy these now, especially since they are now on sale for $439 for the set:

Milwaukee continues to skyrocket pricing in 2026. This set is now $600 bucks god damnit:



I want these, but have they lost they're mind?

 

[gearhead1960]

That's only $20ea!

 

[danski0224]

That's only $20ea!

A steal at twice the price.

 

[Rusty67]

I think the 700 dollars cheaper than the equivalent SnapOn sets add up to. Must still be a good price right?

 

[67CarGuy]

For those with the M18 inflator, have you used it for non-inflationary things, such as a brad nailer where you only need to shoot a few brads? Looking for something less cumbersome than my pancake compressor that I can easily bring up and down stairs, etc.

 

[Rusty67]

So 3 things. First off I'm not sure that would really work very well without some sort of reservoir for the air, the only storage you'd have is the hose between the inflator and the tool so you'd probably only get 1 or 2 shots at best. Second, Milwaukee does make an M18 compressor with a tank and it is super light even compared to a pancake compressor. And third, maybe just get a M18 version of your pneumatic tools and ditch the hose all together? Big red has a bunch of different nailers/staplers these dayts.

 

[67CarGuy]

Thanks - that's about what I thought. Can't justify buying replacement M18 tools for all of my pneumatics just yet, and the pancake compressor I have now does the job, just weighs more than I want it to. Guess I'll keep moving it around for now.
Or maybe I'll just buy longer air hoses...

 

[mobiledynamics]

For those with the M18 inflator, have you used it for non-inflationary things, such as a brad nailer where you only need to shoot a few brads? Looking for something less cumbersome than my pancake compressor that I can easily bring up and down stairs, etc.

What about pancake downstairs with just a longer hose


Red Nailers have replaced all my Hitachis and Max.
I was just looking at my stash of hoses, bags of Prevost fittings and what not and planning to do d a spring purge

 

[Odd-job]

Are you guys having any issues with m18 chargers? I just had my third one bite the dust with no lights and no signs of life. 2 of them are rapid chargers and 1 is an original slow one. The worst part is 2 of them are screwed on the backside of a wall control panel which is going to take me some motivation to address. On the bright side my first, most used, slow m18, from 12 years ago or so is still going strong. It is so well used the batteries slide soo nice off and on.

If for whatever reason I can summon extra motivation am going to try doing a discectomy before sending these to the electronics recycler. Am curious if anything popped on the board.

 

[Rusty67]

I had my second M18 combo charger die recently, this one was an OG. That reminds me, I have to see if I can warranty that charger....

 

[67CarGuy]

What about pancake downstairs with just a longer hose


Red Nailers have replaced all my Hitachis and Max.
I was just looking at my stash of hoses, bags of Prevost fittings and what not and planning to do d a spring purge

It would need to be at least a 100' hose... but certainly do-able. Mainly just trying to figure out if it's better to spend the $$ on a new tool (this is GJ, after all) or spend the energy to move heavy-ish / awkward things up and down stairs for small jobs.

Let me know when you're getting ready to purge, maybe I'll be in the market for some new-to-me hoses...

 

[pbon]

Are you guys having any issues with m18 chargers? I just had my third one bite the dust with no lights and no signs of life. 2 of them are rapid chargers and 1 is an original slow one. The worst part is 2 of them are screwed on the backside of a wall control panel which is going to take me some motivation to address. On the bright side my first, most used, slow m18, from 12 years ago or so is still going strong. It is so well used the batteries slide soo nice off and on.

If for whatever reason I can summon extra motivation am going to try doing a discectomy before sending these to the electronics recycler. Am curious if anything popped on the board.

I have not had any charger fail and have about 10. I do not have any mounted vertically on a wall, however, and do not know whether that affects heat management.

 

[LS1-IROC]

Are you guys having any issues with m18 chargers? I just had my third one bite the dust with no lights and no signs of life. 2 of them are rapid chargers and 1 is an original slow one. The worst part is 2 of them are screwed on the backside of a wall control panel which is going to take me some motivation to address. On the bright side my first, most used, slow m18, from 12 years ago or so is still going strong. It is so well used the batteries slide soo nice off and on.

If for whatever reason I can summon extra motivation am going to try doing a discectomy before sending these to the electronics recycler. Am curious if anything popped on the board.

Yes, I have had 2 fairly new chargers bite the dust.

 

[danski0224]

Looking for something less cumbersome than my pancake compressor that I can easily bring up and down stairs, etc.

Harbor Freight has a small and super quiet compressor that works great for trim stuff.

 

[67CarGuy]

Harbor Freight has a small and super quiet compressor that works great for trim stuff.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out next time I'm there.

 

[MichaelP]

Harbor Freight has a small and super quiet compressor that works great for trim stuff.

Do you mean Fortress Ultra Quiet?

 

[danski0224]

Do you mean Fortress Ultra Quiet?

Sounds about right.

Edit: Yes, I have the 1 gallon version. Runs pneumatic trim guns just fine. Super quiet and does not pop circuit breakers.

Way cheaper than buying those fancy battery powered nailers, and the pneumatic ones that you already own are way lighter than those cordless ones.

 

[MichaelP]

Thank you.

 

[LopezBart]

Not something I usually see in the NY Times....

Fire Ruined My Husband’s Woodshop. Everything in His Milwaukee Packout Survived.

The Milwaukee Packout toolboxes click together for convenient and highly customizable storage. Since they withstood both fire and flood, they’re also seemingly indestructible.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Odd-job]

Great story. Wish my wife bought me packout.

 

[LXCam]

Not something I usually see in the NY Times....

Fire Ruined My Husband’s Woodshop. Everything in His Milwaukee Packout Survived.

The Milwaukee Packout toolboxes click together for convenient and highly customizable storage. Since they withstood both fire and flood, they’re also seemingly indestructible.

www.nytimes.com

Sounds and looks like horseshit to me. First off, I don't see any smoke or fire damage to the boxes, nothing but a dust collection. And to add to that, a deluge of water yet no evidence of it on the packouts and to boot the fire burned for a week. Ya ok

If this story is true, my bad and my apologies Jamie.

 

[Rusty67]

TTC did a video with the new M18 Surge. Disappointing results for me vs the gen 1. I've really never wanted for torque with the Surge because I'm not using it on cars, just using it around the house to drive screws/lag bolts. I've driven 3" #10s and 1/4"x2.5" lags with my M12 Surge and sometimes it struggles towards the end but I've almost ALWAYS gotten the screw all the way in. For automotive stuff I use a gen 1 mid torque and I've been happy with it overall so I've never upgraded. What I REALLY want is a Gen 2 M12 Surge that actually gives me a reason to upgrade. A little extra speed, slightly more compact and better lighting don't make me care enough to upgrade.

Apparently the DeWalt version is a torque monster by comparison but is terrible at driving screws which is like 99% of what I use mine for. I'll be sticking with my M12 for 95% of the stuff I do. The M18 Surge doesn't punch much different than the M12 so it got relegated to doing almost nothing for no other reason than the M18 battery gets in the way all the time and the M12 lets me get in tight to the wall or whatever else I'm working on with no battery interference.

 

[Odd-job]

Agreed a v2 m12 surge would have gotten me more excited. With the power of the M12 stuff I'm not sure if M18 is worth it in 1/4 impact form. I gave my m18 fuel impact away a while ago, but have since bought a mid and high torque in 1/2 form which can handle the higher torque.

 

[hammlm]

Sounds and looks like horseshit to me. First off, I don't see any smoke or fire damage to the boxes, nothing but a dust collection. And to add to that, a deluge of water yet no evidence of it on the packouts and to boot the fire burned for a week. Ya ok

If this story is true, my bad and my apologies Jamie.

I agree. I wonder what Milwaukee paid for that placement. Journalism is dead.

 

[tarbellb]

Not something I usually see in the NY Times....

Fire Ruined My Husband’s Woodshop. Everything in His Milwaukee Packout Survived.

The Milwaukee Packout toolboxes click together for convenient and highly customizable storage. Since they withstood both fire and flood, they’re also seemingly indestructible.

www.nytimes.com

Suspiciously void of any actual interior fire photos of the shop?

The real news is that apparently plastic doesnt melt anymore








Now if they said something like "packout keep tools dry", well that makes more sense.

 

[MichaelP]

Milwaukee uses Phoenix plastic for the Packout.

 

[LXCam]

Milwaukee uses Phoenix plastic for the Packout.

I most impressed by its ability to recreate the dust as well.

 

[MichaelP]

True! The modern chemical engineering achievements are impressive, indeed.
Besides, Packouts fully eliminate any need for a fire and flood insurance. It leaves money in your pocket to buy more Milwaukee tools.

 

[mikeinri]

AI is already succeeding in making a lot of people dumber... Which for some people is pretty hard to do!

Mike

 

[neophyte]

Suspiciously void of any actual interior fire photos of the shop?

The real news is that apparently plastic doesnt melt anymore








Now if they said something like "packout keep tools dry", well that makes more sense.

Not all plastics melt,
although I do find it unlikely that Milwaukee would use one of those plastics that don’t melt to make toolboxes.

 

[Odd-job]

Anyone willing to try burning their packout for "science"?

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Anyone willing to try burning their packout for "science"?

DeWalt or Makita dealer?

Influencers. I guarantee you there is one of them up for doing this.

That's the mission, for whoever chooses to accept it - get an influencer to set a packout on fire.

 

[Rusty67]

So I bought the nexus vac off the deal here:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-FUEL-NEXUS-6-Gallon-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-with-PACKOUT-Compatibility-0915-20/335190539

Which came with a free battery. I also bought the dust extractor addon. I failed to check if this vacuum was vac link compatible because I figured you could just add it to any vac later. I was not correct. The motor head needs the equipment in it from the factory. You can pair replacement remotes but it seems like you can't add it to an existing power head. If you are shopping for a Nexus, keep that in mind. I'm sure down the line someone will figure out how to add it in but it will probably cost as much or more than just buying the right power head in the first place.

 

[TerryH]

Splurged on my first ever Milwaukee purchase. They are actually really nice.

 

[rmsg0040]

Picked up the 3053-20 ratchet today

 

[Badger 13]

You will have to give us your thoughts on the new 3053-20 ratchet after you use it.

 

[AndreaW]

Splurged on my first ever Milwaukee purchase. They are actually really nice.

I pre-ordered this one.

 

[OldCarGuy]

My Milwaukee power tool addition.
I've been a huge fan of Milwaukee power tool for 65 years. When they were made of all aluminum and long before they were made of plastic and used a battery. I presently own 47 Milwaukee power tools plus twelve M12 (I.5 Ah to 5.0 AH) Batteries, and ten M18 (I.5 AH to 12.0 AH) batteries. Every time I figured that I pushed the Milwaukee boundary. I'm facing another got-to-have tool.



I purchase all my Milwaukee power tools and batteries from Factory Authorized Dealers. Making sure none are knock-offs. The fake drills are less reliable. And the batteries aren't up to snuff. And could be a huge fire hazard. Additionally I store all my batteries in a fire rated safe when not in use. That has a timer on the charger so batteries are never over charged.

 

[Rusty67]

thats a nice setup, I love the organization. Now I have something to show my friends when they give me a hard time about my Milwaukee habit lol.

 

[308guru]

I finally found a 3053-20 ratchet at Home Depot and got my hands on it. Just the ergonomics and feel are a huge improvement over the older "high speed" fuel (2567-20) model. I wasn't able to actually try it out. Just wondering who's been able to give one a run?

My 2567 will be on FB marketplace asap with proceeds going to purchase this ratchet.