Milwaukee cordless drill experience

[hydro]

All,

I thought I would share this with you in case anyone is thinking about purchasing a cordless drill to run their auger. Last September I got a deal on an 18V Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" hammer drill, model 260420, and used it this season on a 6" Strikemaster hand auger bit. I can only say that it worked awesome, and that is after using a similar 18V/7" drill combo the last three seasons which worked pretty darn good as well.

Now, the bad/good part. The first time I used it the aux handle was apparently not clamped right and it tore the metal right off of the gear case housing. I could not find my receipt and thought I was out of luck on warranty. As a long shot I took the drill in to the Milwaukee service center in Eden Prairie and the rep took one look at it and said "we see that a lot". Without question, he took my drill and repaired it under warranty, and provided a new aux handle just in case there was an issue with the old one. My drill was back on my doorstep three days later.

Folks, there are many good tools out there and most will do the job, but it's service like this that makes it all worthwhile!

Hydro

[Jim Panfish Uran]

Good to hear!!! 

[WillieMN]

did you run the Milwaukee fuel on the K-drill set up or a Clam plate set up?

 

Milwaukee's come with a 3 year warranty and the batteries come with a 5 year warranty, something along those lines.

 

ive had my Milwaukee/clam plate set up for a couple months and have had zero issues as far as the drill goes. great set up. no stinky gas, not starting. the batteries are kind of a pain, but I throw them in a small lunch box with a hand warmer if its cold out.

[hydro]

I do not run the K-drill or the plate setup. I keep the system as light as possible and use adapters that I made on my lathe. The Hitachi is a 7" Mora and the Milwaukee is a 6" Mora/Strikemaster. Both work great, and the Hitachi is ideal for the larger drill as I can reduce the speed to match the size of the auger diameter.

[WillieMN]

that's a great set up. those mora bits cut through the ice like butter!

[Hawg]

Yours is a 2604 with 700 lbs of peak torque, that 2704 with 1200 lbs must be a monster! I've been contemplating but haven't pulled the plug yet.

[metro fisherman]

If were talkin tools the Milwaukee 3.0 will outlast an old yellow 3.0 significantly...

 

Edited March 14, 2016 by metro fisherman

[grab the net]

I saw a Milwaukee/Kdrill set up this past weekend.  Impressed with both.    

[Hawg]

Grab the Net-Do you know if it had the big fuel or smaller one? Was it an 8 inch?

Metro- the 2704 comes with 2-5.0 batteries.  Only problem is weight to me if I don't need all the capacity for small jobs.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Hawg

[HurricaneBill]

I have the 2704 with the the 5.0 hr batteries. Clam drill plate and a 6" and 8" laser hand auger. New to me this year, I bought this for the light weight set up and I love it.  We didn't have much ice this ear but I never went through a battery using the 6" auger, I'd get at least 50 holes through 15"-17" of ice. Maybe 35 holes with the 8" bit. I can't report any problems at all, will likely sell the gas auger next fall.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

The 2604 the poster has 700in/lbs + and will run an 8in auger no problem. I used an 8in auger on mine for 2yrs. with zero problems. Now, I just recently put the 2704 with 1200in/lbs. on my clam plate and plan to use the 2604 with a bit to raise my jacks on my ice castle when I leave/move.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Agronomist_at_IA