We talked about the excellent job Milwaukee did launching the M18 Fuel back in November at the 2011 STAFDA trade show. However we have seen big power tool launches that have not lived up to the hype. The first two M18 Fuel Tools are on the shelves now; Hammer Drill 2604-22 ($299, Ohio Power Tool) & Drill/Driver 2603-22 ($279, Ohio Power Tool) and already moving fast. The big question remains, how do the Milwaukee M18 Fuel tools handle in real world field testing?
One of the regions largest utility companies showed an immediate interest in the M18 Fuel system as a way of finding a better solution to one of their common applications. That application is drilling holes into utility poles with an Auger bit (11/16” x 17” in this case), a basic need for all electric, telecom and other utility companies. While they currently use several different brands of cordless tools powerful enough to complete the task (Including Milwaukee, Hilti, etc) they were not able to get more than 5-6 holes per battery charge with any of the 18v options.
The hope for the test was that the Milwaukee M18 Fuel might be able to get 10-12 holes and show a significant improvement over any of their current options. The result however was truly astounding in power and performance, not only was it faster than even the high torque cordless impacts, it did not stop drilling until the 31st hole. Everyone was blown away by the performance (including us) and we left really trying to understand how that kind of performance jump was even possible.
Needless to say a few of the Milwaukee M18 Fuel units have made their way into the hands of some serious users this week and should have full reports in the coming weeks/months. The very compact brushless motors in the Fuel drills really seems to have some serious engineering behind them, especially given we were using the same M18 Red Lithium Batteries with other test tools. In addition to all of this the tool promises 10x longer overall tool life with less maintenance, out of the gate the Milwaukee Brushless Technology is really very impressive.