Eventually you need new tools. And I’m returning to doing more field work and contracting. The tools I currently have, well they’re really good for what they do in my shop, but they’re not all that good for onsite work. So I invested in a Milwaukee M18 Fuel kit.

If you followed my previous blogs you’ll note that I’ve generally a corded tool person but when I’m out at a site I really need something better. Dragging a cord around onsite is not always a good option because it takes extra time to uncoil and lay the cable then recoil and store it. And that is time that I’m not making money.

I’ve done a fair amount of research into tools and tool quality and end up settling on the Milwaukee M18 system. And because I have a project coming up soon that needs a hammer drill I decided to go out and pick up a kit.

Overview

This particular Milwaukee kit consists of a form-fitted carry, case two 5 amp-hr lithium batteries, a multi-function battery charger, a 1/4″ impact driver, and a hammer drill. While you usually get a fairly good deal when you buy a kit, this kit was still expensive. Let’s take a look at the batteries and charger.

Batteries & Charger

The kit comes with two XC 5.0 Red Lithium batteries which are capable of delivering five amp hours of power. According to the Milwaukee website these batteries. “…deliver up to 2.5X more runtime, 20% more power and 2X more recharges than standard lithium-ion batteries.” Each battery also has its own integrated charge indicator so you can check before you start your job to see if you’re going to run out early. And that is why I hate batteries. This all sounds great but we’ll see about it once I start using them.

The kit also comes with a charger. The charger is built specifically for their lithium batteries for the M18 system but it also has a port which supports their M12 battery system also. My guess is they want to make sure that I have every opportunity to buy their M12 system also. We’ll see, I actually like the M12 form factor and may end up with one or two of those tools.

Impact Driver

The kit contains their compact quarter inch impact driver which is capable of developing about 2000 inch pounds of torque. The driver head itself is just under 4 1/2 inches long. Around the front it has three LED’s that provide full lighting even in the darkest situation. This driver also has 4 selectable speed ranges one, two, three, and a fourth specifically for drilling so you never really have to take your hand off the drill just replace the bit. It is fairly heavy though with the five amp battery in place it weighs almost 4 lbs. I suspect this might lead to fatigue over the long haul so I may end up with a smaller battery set later on.

Hammer Drill

The hammer drill is the real reason I bought this kit. It has a lot of slick features including a nice light to illuminate your workspace, selectability with regard to hammer drill, drill and various torque settings for driving screws.

One of the things I really like about this hammer drill is that it has a clamp on auxiliary handle. The handle is long enough to provide a solid moment arm to keep the drill going where you want it to go. Especially since this drill develops 1400 inch pounds of torque all driven straight through the drill bit.

And in the event the drill bit binds, this hammer dril has an auto stop feature keep the drill from being ripped out of your hands or potentially injuring you. Again this is a heavy piece of equipment when using the five amp hour battery.

Comparison with current tools

To provide a bit of comparison here are a few photos to show you some of the differences in size. As you can see both units are smaller than my existing tools. The size difference is primarily because they’re using brushless motors which are far more efficient, compact, and use less energy to develop greater torque. Additionally the Milwaukee’s are far better built and I suspect both will survive better being tossed in my truck and dropped at the work site.

Overall I have to say at this point I’m very happy with the purchase even though it was expensive. I expect I’ll get both my use and my money out of these tools as I do more contract work.