Milwaukee M18 Lithium Cordless Drill / Hammer Drill review

[mpc1209]

The DeWALT DCD985L2 has all metal gears...

[lcrc661]

I just bought the hammer and impact drill with the cordless sawzall and the flashlight! M18

[Johnnysshop]

@lcrc661 Awesome! Get a deal on them?

[a7ctlwq9]

Does anybody have experience using these batteries in cold weather? The V18 lithium are pretty much useless below 50 degrees F. Milwaukee claims the lithium red work down to 0 degrees F, but I don't trust any of their claims.

[Johnnysshop]

@a7ctlwq9 I leave mine in my van 90% of the time, 2 weeks ago we were down to 19 degrees F and it worked fine. Always has.

[Jaaammmbbbooo]

These drills are AWESOME. Recommend to anybody!

[Johnnysshop]

@Jaaammmbbbooo Dewalt has a pretty slick new one I've been eyeballin'. About 300 just for the drill though.

[udinasexy]

with the warranty i bought the exactly same drill, i was astonished witht he warranty i got a five year drill warranty, and a 3 year battery warranty. its great deffiantly stick to milwaukee for now :)

[Johnnysshop]

@udinasexy Nice!

[schell7508]

I've heard that the slim line batteries only last about 10 minutes. Do you know anything about this?

[Johnnysshop]

@schell7508 If you were drilling non-stop into metal, concrete or something like that for sure. Probably wouldn't last 10 min. Again, non-stop with no breaks.

[mackworld5000]

hey bud, i just ordered this drill, and the sawzall. the sawzall #2620-20 i just got it today. but my battery #48-11-1815 does not work with the sawzall. im thinking the drill might be the same way. but i see you are running the slim line batt with your drill. i wonder did milwaukee convert all of the hammer drills to work with the m18 xc batts?

[Johnnysshop]

@mackworld5000 It's kind of hit or miss from what I've learned. Some models that aren't listed to work with the slimline batt do, others don't. Here is the list that Milwaukee has come up with the are guaranteed to work. 2601 2602 2632 2650 2651 2652 2625 2790 0880 2735 2710 49-24-0171 48-59-1801

[Ga7cun7sSUCK]

this isent the heavy duty impact drill driver its the handy man one you can get a heavy duty construction one for use on site and i have that one and the hex impact driver and thay smoke any drill ive seen onsite the boys have said they are the best drills thay have used the better heaby duty one has red numbers on the tourqe setting and has a full metal chuck thats how you tell the difference my boss even went out and bought the same ones as me as they are so good you did get a good deal but.

[victoriadish]

the m18 drill that has the white letters is more of a compact design and the ones that have the red letters are heavy duty and they also come with a side handle

[redneckrollercoast1]

the dewalts do have all metal gears too

[YoGi661]

yeh boss got me one as well ive used it in the metal shop and runs sweet love it but i dont think its as powerful as dewalt

[Johnnysshop]

@YoGi661 Yeah, I was noticing the other day when drilling with a hole saw it doesn't seem as powerful as my buddies XRP. Still powerful enough though.

[calisaetia]

I heard from another apprentice that the battery pack starts to come loose (over time) when drilling into ceilings and the battery cuts out. I hope it was just him not taking care of his drill.

[Johnnysshop]

@calisaetia Me too! So far so good and I use it often..

[robcrussiii]

I can smoke this drill in 2 batteries drilling 1/2" arbor holes in 2x4's. I bought the combo set and in 1-1/2 months have smoked the drill 2 times... The drill gets extremely hot quickly and something inside melts and ruins the drill during heavy use. I can run a dewalt 18v all day long doing the same task with no problems, I am disappointed with this drill and if you use a drill for construction this one is not for you.

[Johnnysshop]

@robcrussiii So far I guess I've been lucky. I used it for almost an hour straight (had to change batts a few times obviously) drilling concrete with no major issues. It did get hotter than a mofo but didn't smoke.

[KodyC217]

@robcrussiii stupid fucking dewalt fanboy. shove your bumblebee drill up your ass milwaukee is the way to go

[WordWiseful]

@robcrussiii, I'm not surprised, as DeWalt uses an all steel transmission encased in a metal gear case.Various competitors use plastic shifting rings and house their transmissions in plastic cans, which insulates the transmission, keeping heat inside and killing efficiency and durability over time.DeWalt's all metal case is pulling heat away from the transmission, translating into a cooler running transmission and longer lasting tool.

[calisaetia]

I got mine for free, because i'm an apprentice electrician and the government is cool like that.

[Johnnysshop]

@calisaetia Must be nice!

[ciriusblackinfernal]

@calisaetia for real??

how you did it ?

im an apprentice,  too

[calisaetia]

@ciriusblackinfernal In Australia, the government gives you money to go buy your tools. Because there is a shortage of Tradesmen, i've noticed a lot of the tradesmen on the site im on are from the UK. SO Australia is putting a lot of cash into training up it's own Tradesmen.

[imtooKOOLtohaveAname]

@calisaetia No way that is so cool. How did you do that? does it depend on the state that you live in? Do you have to be an apprentice electrician? Because Im going to be an apprentice HVAC tech in a few days and I want a free drill too!

[calisaetia]

@imtooKOOLtohaveAname Well, thats just what happens here in Australia, not sure about the USA. Ask your employer about any incentives for apprentices ie. Tool Allowances, Monetary Incentives. I got paid $800 tax free bonus after the first 3 months of my apprenticeship, at 12 months I get another $1000 tax free bonus, and more until my four year apprenticeship is up! all from the government. So yeah, find out as much as you can about anything like that

[riga744269]

in australia the m18 range have different code my drill is a 'hd 18 pd' and yours is '2602'. its also say on it 'professionally made in china' just wondering if you know why this is??

[Johnnysshop]

@riga744269 Hmm.. Not sure.

[MrMeanderthal]

those interested in using both size batteries need to use this model.. 2602-22.. the other drill, model.. 2611-24 that looks very much the same will only take the XC batteries. the other difference is.. this one, 2602-22 has 450 ft lbs with the compact battery and 550 ft lbs with the XC batteries installed and 1700 - 4500 rpm. the 2611-24 has 650 ft lbs and 450 - 1800 rpm

I bought the 2611-24 and was slightly disappointed to find out it does not work with the compact battery.

[Johnnysshop]

@MrMeanderthal Good to know.. I was thinking of getting another so that info helps a lot!

[dean103]

My employer provides this drill with 2 of the bigger batteries to use on my job as a sattelite TV installer. The clutch/chuck on these wears out after a couple months use. Im on my third drill in the past year. Other than that, its a good hammer drill

[Johnnysshop]

@dean103 So far I haven't had any issues. I'll keep my fingers crossed...

[vinney471]

The torque difference is in the battery. The milwuakee batteries/M18 tools are advanced and smart, it knows which battery is in. When using the larger XC battery, it puts out 550 ib/lbs torque, when using the compact battery the tool realizes the different battery and cuts back to 450 in/lbs of torque to give you a longer run time on the smaller battery. So unless you need the insanely long run time or the max torque of the xc bat, pop in the compact bat for a smaller lighter tool to work with.

[Johnnysshop]

@vinney471 Ahh.. That makes sense..

[jekyll1776]

Very nice drill johnny. i almost got me a small milwaukee for work. just a little something to help remove stupid door panel bolts and interior trim. But i got me a slighty larger dewalt drill that can fit in tight places and drill into walls n such. So worked out great for me. I also got the Dewalt work radio, which i use to charge my batteries ;-). Nice review keep em coming.

[Johnnysshop]

Thanks!

[GarrettJDB]

in my opinion Milwaukee are the best electric tools

[Johnnysshop]

This is my first. Everything else has been Makita. Love it so far.