Milwaukee impact

[SteveL]

Looking at buying a group of Milwaukee cordless stuff . My 20 year old DeWalt stuff is ready for the retirement bin. When it comes to the 1/2" impact everybody likes do you need the big one or does the stubby one work? Plan to use pulling tires and stuff that I usually use the air impact for.

 

[bfoldy]

Good call on the Milwaukee brand. I have the stubby version and, while I’m not a heavy user, it’s been solid and more than enough for what I need. When I’m dealing with anything that requires around 100 ft-lbs or more, I typically reach for the long-handle ratchet by default.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[EPB72]

Daily user most 3-7 years old ,, if you hand torque as you should or use a torque stick even with the big is pretty accurate if your dealing with the 80-100 ft lbs variety I find even my 3/8 impact can remove lug nuts at a later time ,, so the stubby 1/2 should do pretty good ,, the big gun gets heavy and air power with a good gun is hard to beat ,, but have quite abit of Milwaukee at home and work,, no issues

 

[toddz69]

Looking at buying a group of Milwaukee cordless stuff . My 20 year old DeWalt stuff is ready for the retirement bin. When it comes to the 1/2" impact everybody likes do you need the big one or does the stubby one work? Plan to use pulling tires and stuff that I usually use the air impact for.

I'm on my second round of Milwaukee stuff (retired my circa 2000 18V impact/sawzall/drill a few years ago). This time I went for a 12V stubby 1/2" drive ratchet. 99% of the time, it takes the Bronco's lug nuts off just fine. I also used it to loosen the lug nuts on my Superduty a few nights ago - did just fine. It's so much nicer to take to the junkyard with me than the old 18V unit was....

Todd Z.

 

[SteveL]

It's sounding like I want the stubby. Also the 18v drill for regular use. I like the hammer drill feature for setting anchors. Also the 3/8 ratchet. I was talking to the Milwaukee rep at depot the other day and she said right now if you buy $1k of Milwaukee tools you get a $400 rebate

 

[Broncobowsher]

YouTube
Torque Test Channel.
They have data on just about every impact out there. Some interesting stuff as well. Also flash lights and horns. But they do there own testing and compare to what they claim.

 

[jamesroney]

Milwaukee sucks. Horribly. Not the worst ever, but certainly very poor.

My definition of "sucks" means that compared to "others" ...on the scale of best to worst, of what is currently available, of competitive products and service.

For a hand tool comparison, Craftsman also sucks. YouTube Torque test is largely irrelevant between "rational competitors," because some of the actual tools are largely similar, designed by committee, engineered by the Chinese, built in the same factory.

So the decision making becomes a purchasing decision that has very little to do with the actual tool. My primary motivator for cordless tool selection is BATTERY. Because once you select a battery, you constrain yourself to a tool family. And it turns out that everybody has crappy batteries...all built by the same Japanese owned company manufactured in China. So the real issue boils down to battery warranty, and customer service. Which gets me back to my primary complaint with Milwaukee.

Don't get me wrong...I do actually LOVE my 12V Milwaukee 3/8 drive ratchet. I am currently on my 4th. I liked it so much that I bought the exact same model when my first one failed and gifted it. I live in a major metropolitan area, and we have a local service center. Useless. They demanded my original receipt to prove something. (what?) Then claimed it was out of warranty, because it was too old. Of course the warranty was 5 years, and the product was only on the market for 2 years. So it couldn't possibly be older than the warranty. But zero help. So I had to mail it back east. About a month later, and dozens of correspondence...I got a brand new on in the mail! But this one now only had a 3 year warranty. and no proof of ownership based on serial number. The second one broke the ratchet head off after a year or so. But great warranty service this time. Didn't even try the local branch. Did it all by internet. Now I'm on #4. No clue how long it's warranty is good for. But I know I'm not happy.

The general philosophy at Milwaukee is that your warranty is equal to your service life. This is a toxic company culture that has zero business in a tool company. A product warranty is intended to cover abnormal conditions, but the service life of a product is is FAR beyond the warranty. The tire people started this nonsense, and it is wending its way into other products. Some idiot invented a 50,000 mile tire warranty...and it just needs to get across the finish line. So now car makers give you a 3 year warranty, and if your airbag doesn't kill you by then, they will give you an exact duplicate that might kill you later on. If you buy a new car with a 7/70 warranty, and the engine fails at 6 years, then your "new" engine is only warranted for 1 year???

So back to tool selection. Last year, I decided to start over with my cordless platform. I was heavily invested in DeWalt, but my 18V packs had high failure. My buddy had Milwaukee Fuel, and loved them. Other buddy owned a fleet of Milwaukee tools, and literally dozens of dead tools / batteries in a closet. Other buddy offered me his complete collection of Ryobi since he was changing. I selected...

RIDGID!

Limited lifetime battery warranty to the original owner. I bought the 1/2 inch high torque impact wrench. It hits HARD. Has several incomprehensible impact modes. It's heavy, and awkward. It does serve as an excellent wheel chock. I think I'll buy the smaller one next time. I much prefer to have a smaller gun that hits predictably soft, than a clumsy one that hits hard. If I run into a stubborn situation, I can always up-size. So far, my Battery life is awesome. It's registered in my Daughter's name...warranty should be good for many years.

(...one detail. The socket drive end on the impact wrench does not free-spool like a pneumatic gun. You only get a very small amount of rotation without running the motor. So if you are trying to put a wheel lock socket on a Gorilla nut, and you need to index the socket until it fits over the spline...it is VERY awkward. I you are used to an air impact wrench, (like my venerable CP-734) don't expect to spin the socket with your off-hand to engage the nut. So you rotate your wrist, or you cheat, and try pulling the trigger to rotate the socket. Either way, it slows me down.)

 

[eb-nutt1]

Im on my 2nd rd with Milwaukee tools over a 12 year span, still have the og 1/2" impact and 3/8" drill as backups....the fuel batteries are better than the og 18v were, but being in a industry that deals with batteries daily, I know that not matter what any mfg says about their battery, it only has a set number of life cycles in it before it eventually depletes and needs to be trashed.

 

[Apogee]

I used to run a bunch of DeWalt 20V XRP stuff, and then they discontinued that line and as my tools died, I replaced them with the Milwaukee Fuel 18V stuff. I've been pretty happy with the Fuel stuff for what I do, which I would classify as moderate use. I do some general automotive stuff plus assembly for my work, some fabrication and machining work, in addition to general building maintenance and construction. FWIW, I killed both of my DeWalt 1/4" impact drivers when I was working on constructing a couple of 12000 square foot warehouses, and it wasn't a battery issue...it was a internal mechanical problem on both of them. I was able to combine the two broken units into one working unit until that one failed as well, but the Fuel impact wrenches lasted the rest of the job and are still kicking.

 

[msmith]

Milwaukee sucks. Horribly. Not the worst ever, but certainly very poor.

My definition of "sucks" means that compared to "others" ...on the scale of best to worst, of what is currently available, of competitive products and service.

For a hand tool comparison, Craftsman also sucks. YouTube Torque test is largely irrelevant between "rational competitors," because some of the actual tools are largely similar, designed by committee, engineered by the Chinese, built in the same factory.

So the decision making becomes a purchasing decision that has very little to do with the actual tool. My primary motivator for cordless tool selection is BATTERY. Because once you select a battery, you constrain yourself to a tool family. And it turns out that everybody has crappy batteries...all built by the same Japanese owned company manufactured in China. So the real issue boils down to battery warranty, and customer service. Which gets me back to my primary complaint with Milwaukee.

Don't get me wrong...I do actually LOVE my 12V Milwaukee 3/8 drive ratchet. I am currently on my 4th. I liked it so much that I bought the exact same model when my first one failed and gifted it. I live in a major metropolitan area, and we have a local service center. Useless. They demanded my original receipt to prove something. (what?) Then claimed it was out of warranty, because it was too old. Of course the warranty was 5 years, and the product was only on the market for 2 years. So it couldn't possibly be older than the warranty. But zero help. So I had to mail it back east. About a month later, and dozens of correspondence...I got a brand new on in the mail! But this one now only had a 3 year warranty. and no proof of ownership based on serial number. The second one broke the ratchet head off after a year or so. But great warranty service this time. Didn't even try the local branch. Did it all by internet. Now I'm on #4. No clue how long it's warranty is good for. But I know I'm not happy.

The general philosophy at Milwaukee is that your warranty is equal to your service life. This is a toxic company culture that has zero business in a tool company. A product warranty is intended to cover abnormal conditions, but the service life of a product is is FAR beyond the warranty. The tire people started this nonsense, and it is wending its way into other products. Some idiot invented a 50,000 mile tire warranty...and it just needs to get across the finish line. So now car makers give you a 3 year warranty, and if your airbag doesn't kill you by then, they will give you an exact duplicate that might kill you later on. If you buy a new car with a 7/70 warranty, and the engine fails at 6 years, then your "new" engine is only warranted for 1 year???

So back to tool selection. Last year, I decided to start over with my cordless platform. I was heavily invested in DeWalt, but my 18V packs had high failure. My buddy had Milwaukee Fuel, and loved them. Other buddy owned a fleet of Milwaukee tools, and literally dozens of dead tools / batteries in a closet. Other buddy offered me his complete collection of Ryobi since he was changing. I selected...

RIDGID!

Limited lifetime battery warranty to the original owner. I bought the 1/2 inch high torque impact wrench. It hits HARD. Has several incomprehensible impact modes. It's heavy, and awkward. It does serve as an excellent wheel chock. I think I'll buy the smaller one next time. I much prefer to have a smaller gun that hits predictably soft, than a clumsy one that hits hard. If I run into a stubborn situation, I can always up-size. So far, my Battery life is awesome. It's registered in my Daughter's name...warranty should be good for many years.

(...one detail. The socket drive end on the impact wrench does not free-spool like a pneumatic gun. You only get a very small amount of rotation without running the motor. So if you are trying to put a wheel lock socket on a Gorilla nut, and you need to index the socket until it fits over the spline...it is VERY awkward. I you are used to an air impact wrench, (like my venerable CP-734) don't expect to spin the socket with your off-hand to engage the nut. So you rotate your wrist, or you cheat, and try pulling the trigger to rotate the socket. Either way, it slows me down.)

I've had Ridged for a few years and really like the brand. The reason I went the Ridged route was it impressed me how durable they were. We abused them bad when I was a power lineman. The thing I don't like is the warranty. I bought a couple of tools, a 3/8 impact, and a router, to go with the rest of my kit. A few days later, when I got around to registering for the warranty, my missus had thrown away the box and receipts, therefore I had no way of registering these tools. Of all the tools to give up on me, it was the 3/8 impact. It arbitrarily will not reverse and will be like this for weeks then will work properly again for a few days then back to forward only. Well now I am needing to do some work on some trailers and my Ford 4610 tractor and don't have a working impact, so I check the only Home Depot within 50 miles, and they don't have one in stock, so I check the next closest one 60 miles away and they don't either. Guess who has a 3/8 impact in stock? All four of the Harbor Freights within 50 miles of me. So for $256 I invested in a Hercules impact, two batteries, and a charger. 5 year warranty on the tool, 3 years on the batteries and charger. Warranty is over the counter and includes normal wear and tear. The person at the checkout said to come back in 5 years to get a new one. We'll see how it pans out. I'm going to get the 3/8 ratchet and the compact 1/2 inch impact next.

 

[bronco italiano]

I've had Ridged for a few years and really like the brand. The reason I went the Ridged route was it impressed me how durable they were. We abused them bad when I was a power lineman. The thing I don't like is the warranty. I bought a couple of tools, a 3/8 impact, and a router, to go with the rest of my kit. A few days later, when I got around to registering for the warranty, my missus had thrown away the box and receipts, therefore I had no way of registering these tools. Of all the tools to give up on me, it was the 3/8 impact. It arbitrarily will not reverse and will be like this for weeks then will work properly again for a few days then back to forward only. Well now I am needing to do some work on some trailers and my Ford 4610 tractor and don't have a working impact, so I check the only Home Depot within 50 miles, and they don't have one in stock, so I check the next closest one 60 miles away and they don't either. Guess who has a 3/8 impact in stock? All four of the Harbor Freights within 50 miles of me. So for $256 I invested in a Hercules impact, two batteries, and a charger. 5 year warranty on the tool, 3 years on the batteries and charger. Warranty is over the counter and includes normal wear and tear. The person at the checkout said to come back in 5 years to get a new one. We'll see how it pans out. I'm going to get the 3/8 ratchet and the compact 1/2 inch impact next.

That is hilarious. I bought the HF Bauer brand years back and think it's better than the Hercules.

 

[msmith]

That is hilarious. I bought the HF Bauer brand years back and think it's better than the Hercules.

I ALMOST went with the Bauer but watched the Torque Test videos in YouTube and went with Hercules. I think either one would be fine

 

[jamesroney]

I've had Ridged for a few years and really like the brand. The reason I went the Ridged route was it impressed me how durable they were. We abused them bad when I was a power lineman. The thing I don't like is the warranty. I bought a couple of tools, a 3/8 impact, and a router, to go with the rest of my kit. A few days later, when I got around to registering for the warranty, my missus had thrown away the box and receipts, therefore I had no way of registering these tools. Of all the tools to give up on me, it was the 3/8 impact. It arbitrarily will not reverse and will be like this for weeks then will work properly again for a few days then back to forward only. Well now I am needing to do some work on some trailers and my Ford 4610 tractor and don't have a working impact, so I check the only Home Depot within 50 miles, and they don't have one in stock, so I check the next closest one 60 miles away and they don't either. Guess who has a 3/8 impact in stock? All four of the Harbor Freights within 50 miles of me. So for $256 I invested in a Hercules impact, two batteries, and a charger. 5 year warranty on the tool, 3 years on the batteries and charger. Warranty is over the counter and includes normal wear and tear. The person at the checkout said to come back in 5 years to get a new one. We'll see how it pans out. I'm going to get the 3/8 ratchet and the compact 1/2 inch impact next.

I am very interested in your future experience with Ridgid customer service. Hopefully you can mail your defective tool along with a note to:
RIDGID c/o Emerson Professional Tools, LLC in, Elyria, Ohio,

I am betting that they will fix or replace the impact wrench for free, with no questions asked on the receipt/registration. I’m hoping that they behave like Snap-on, or Mac, or Matco, or even Craftsman and honor the lifetime warranty without drama. I hope that they do NOT behave like consumer companies. Honest companies find a way to honor their warranty. Crooked companies find a way to avoid the warranty.

 

[Speedrdr]

At present I’m using Rigid 18V and also Ryobi One+ 18V and like both brands. So far there’s no complaints. Have a large supply of batteries for both brands.

 

[Madgyver]

I'm all Red. Helps when everything you have is milwaukee,. old batteries get cells tested and good cells (18650) gets reused as in rebuilt m18 packs. and/or reused in other electric stuff that i use with 18650 cells. i have several impacts, 3/8" and 1/2" drives, angled and pistol grip.

 

[SteveL]

I bit the bullet and got em. 1/2" impact, 1/2" drill driver kit with 2 batteries, sawzall and 4 1/2" grinder and one of the newer beefy 18v batteries. Also got the 3/8 ratchet and a 1/4" impact kit because it came with 2 12v batteries and charger(also earned me an extra $100 off). Total was $1500 and change - 500 in discounts so ended up just over :$1k.

 

[mustanggarage]

I have several milwaukee tools, some 18v and some 12. I like them, but I tend to grab my makita drill and 3/8 impact more often than the milwaukee if I'm honest. The makita is a great tool for the most part, and with the small 18v battery is very light weight but powerful, lighter and more powerful than the milwaukee, the major downside is the battery does not have any indicator light to tell you how much charge you have, and they are sensitive to charging and tend to just stop charging occasionally requiring buying new batteries which is why I have both I guess.