Power Tools Brand - Milwaukee versus the rest

[t0y0ta]

Bros, hoping for some opinions from actual users of Milwaukee tools.

Growing up, most of the power tools used in SG are Bosch or Makita, with the odd Hilti or De Walt occasionally appearing.

From the US youtube videos of DIY and car repairs, most of them swear by Milwaukee tools which specializes in cordless stuff like impact wrench.

I recently realized that Milwaukee now is quite widely sold and distributed in SG, but once you buy a single brand of cordless tools, I will be locked into the ecosystem as the batteries are proprietary and quite expensive.

Wonder any bros have tried and compared?

[Kb27]

I have a few m12 and m18 Milwaukees, drill, impact drivers, right angle drivers, ratchets.

1 m12 fuel (brushless motor) impact driver -> very powerful for its small size.

All are bought from Amazon and ebay. m12 and m18 batteries have been standardized over the years. You can use the same old battery with any  new tool.

 They generally worked well. No complains. I haven't pushed them to the limit, so they are all still in good working condition.

I have a 115 -230Vac transformer, so I just use their 115Vac charger on this.

Unlike deWalt, I get screwed when I buy the 18V system, then they suka suka switch to 20V. The new batteries cannot fit the old tool.

Milwaukee has probably the largest range of tools. If you buy into their system, you're "safe"

Example, I wanted to get a ratchet, deWalt don't have, only Milwaukee, and later on Makita have.

 

However, if you use a hex/impact driver, the local/Japanese variant bits have a longer shank 3/8". Only Makita will fit. The rest all use 1/4" length. So that's one up for Makita, it can take both types of driver bits.

[t0y0ta]

14 minutes ago, Kb27 said:

I have a few m12 and m18 Milwaukees, drill, impact drivers, right angle drivers, ratchets.

1 m12 fuel (brushless motor) impact driver -> very powerful for its small size.

All are bought from Amazon and ebay. m12 and m18 batteries have been standardized over the years. You can use the same old battery with any  new tool.

 They generally worked well. No complains. I haven't pushed them to the limit, so they are all still in good working condition.

I have a 115 -230Vac transformer, so I just use their 115Vac charger on this.

Unlike deWalt, I get screwed when I buy the 18V system, then they suka suka switch to 20V. The new batteries cannot fit the old tool.

Milwaukee has probably the largest range of tools. If you buy into their system, you're "safe"

Example, I wanted to get a ratchet, deWalt don't have, only Milwaukee, and later on Makita have.

 

However, if you use a hex/impact driver, the local/Japanese variant bits have a longer shank 3/8". Only Makita will fit. The rest all use 1/4" length. So that's one up for Makita, it can take both types of driver bits.

Thanks... any reason to go for 12v rather than the more powerful 18v system?

[Kb27]

2 minutes ago, t0y0ta said:

Thanks... any reason to go for 12v rather than the more powerful 18v system?

If you read garagejournal forum, a lot of discussions.

Many people like the 12V bcuz it's small, lightweight, gets into tight space and very easy to use. If you need power, the brushless motor like Milwaukee Fuel gives you that power without the heavy weight penalty of the 18V.

If you lug around 18V tool, it's bulky, you'll soon get tired, if you have to drill many holes, for example.

After all, using cordless tool is about cutting the cord and the weight.

I also have a 18V deWalt 300 ft-lb torque driver, intending to use it to remove wheel nut. It's heavy even with the lighter weight lithium-ion battery. But soon, I found I just need a manual breaker bar to loosen the nut, and then use m12 driver to spin it out. So that deWalt is no longer useful.

[Volvobrick]

I have a few Milwaukee M12 Fuel (brushless) tools - drill, rotary drill, saw, impact driver. More than powerful enough for home use.  The M12 Fuel is equivalent to old 18V.  In fact the drill is too powerful for screwing. I end up using old cheap China drill for that.

I bought from Lelong Malaysia as a set. No need transformer. Can buy cheap batteries from Aliexpress etc. 

So far so good! 

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Volvobrick

[t0y0ta]

I realized there are 4 systems - 12, 12FUEL, 18, 18FUEL, what are the practical differences in these 4?

[UncleAtas]

I only have IKEA power tools.

[Kb27]

24 minutes ago, t0y0ta said:

I realized there are 4 systems - 12, 12FUEL, 18, 18FUEL, what are the practical differences in these 4?

Only 2 systems, m12 and m18

The same battery can go into a Fuel or non-Fuel (normal) tool.

However, within a m12 or m18, you can have a few size (capacity) of batteries like 1AH, 2AH, 4AH, 5AH etc. Of cuz, the more AH, the bulkier, heavier it becomes, but you get a longer run time.

 

[macrosszero]

I am on Bosch (cordless drill and impact wrench) and like that there is a local repair centre that takes a few days to turnaround a repair as they are supporting tradesmen who depend on their tools for a living. 
 

Perhaps it’s the same for the other brands, I don’t know.

[Kb27]

Milwaukee charger that can charge m12 and m18 battery. But it charges in sequence, not both at the same time.

 

[Volvobrick]

35 minutes ago, t0y0ta said:

I realized there are 4 systems - 12, 12FUEL, 18, 18FUEL, what are the practical differences in these 4?

Batteries same, Fuel are more powerful (brushless motors I think). 12 and 18 refer to the voltage. 

[t0y0ta]

53 minutes ago, Macrosszero said:

I am on Bosch (cordless drill and impact wrench) and like that there is a local repair centre that takes a few days to turnaround a repair as they are supporting tradesmen who depend on their tools for a living. 
 

Perhaps it’s the same for the other brands, I don’t know.

Bosch should have the best support system in town as they are definitely the most commonly used tools by contractors and consumers here.

Why I start to consider Milwaukee is that they now seem to have significant presence in SG so should have some after-sales service and easy of buying accessories.

[Watwheels]

The thing you have to know is a lot of Youtube videos on products are "paid" videos. Makers pay these youtubers to advertise them. Unless you know it's those amature videos or reviews done by regular users. 

Guys tend to "overbuy" power tools because of the mentality we have. If you are not a pro handyman there's no need to buy until so good. 

[t0y0ta]

23 minutes ago, Watwheels said:

The thing you have to know is a lot of Youtube videos on products are "paid" videos. Makers pay these youtubers to advertise them. Unless you know it's those amature videos or reviews done by regular users. 

Guys tend to "overbuy" power tools because of the mentality we have. If you are not a pro handyman there's no need to buy until so good. 

Totally agree.

But it is like buying car... in reality we only need a reliable set of 4 wheels but we fuss about 0-100, looks, number of interior lighting colors etc etc.

[ER-3682]

2 hours ago, t0y0ta said:

Bosch should have the best support system in town as they are definitely the most commonly used tools by contractors and consumers here.

Why I start to consider Milwaukee is that they now seem to have significant presence in SG so should have some after-sales service and easy of buying accessories.

Chee Fatt,the Agent for Milwaukee Tools have invested alot on it's Service...I know the Poh Family well.

[Kb27]

In terms of warranty and service, well, I dunno exactly.

But most authorised distributor would have a margin to cover profits and any warranty claims. That's why their pricing is always higher.

When I used to work for MNC, we would give the distributor a sum of "warranty money" based on a certain failure percentage, around 5% for example. If there's no warranty claim, they are "lucky", they get to pocket the whole sum of money, otherwise, they have to bear all warranty claims. So obviously, they will be tight on warranty claims from buyers.

So if you buy a professional grade tool, what happens when it breaks and you try to claim warranty ? Either the distributor tries to repair it by replacing parts, like PCB, switch, motor, clutches, gears, etc. or they simply give you a replacement, which may be old, may have been repaired, but unlikely to be new; to save on cost, whichever is cheapest to them. And you can't complained what you get in return. And warranty does not cover normal wear and tear.

If you're not using the tool much, you'd probably run out of warranty period before it breaks, or even if it breaks, depending on the quality of tool. So you're unlikely to need a warranty in which case. It's just like paying for insurance, whether you pay more in the beginning or you pay less.

So, it's up to you to decide what kind of tool you want. You can always buy cheap chinese tool, use and throw away.

[Mkl22]

41 minutes ago, Kb27 said:

In terms of warranty and service, well, I dunno exactly.

But most authorised distributor would have a margin to cover profits and any warranty claims. That's why their pricing is always higher.

When I used to work for MNC, we would give the distributor a sum of "warranty money" based on a certain failure percentage, around 5% for example. If there's no warranty claim, they are "lucky", they get to pocket the whole sum of money, otherwise, they have to bear all warranty claims. So obviously, they will be tight on warranty claims from buyers.

So if you buy a professional grade tool, what happens when it breaks and you try to claim warranty ? Either the distributor tries to repair it by replacing parts, like PCB, switch, motor, clutches, gears, etc. or they simply give you a replacement, which may be old, may have been repaired, but unlikely to be new; to save on cost, whichever is cheapest to them. And you can't complained what you get in return. And warranty does not cover normal wear and tear.

If you're not using the tool much, you'd probably run out of warranty period before it breaks, or even if it breaks, depending on the quality of tool. So you're unlikely to need a warranty in which case. It's just like paying for insurance, whether you pay more in the beginning or you pay less.

So, it's up to you to decide what kind of tool you want. You can always buy cheap chinese tool, use and throw away.

Which I why I buy from wherever is the cheapest online. Heck about local warranty. Not worth my trouble to deal with local warranties. Buy the cheapest is still the way to go for me. 

[Gnahp]

nice topic and discussion, will camp here to learn more

I was resisting the temptations from battery operated tools for many years. 

As a hobbyist, time and convenience are secondary plus the dollar$ per use of a cordless tool is too high for me to swallow 

I have a corded (230ac) makita impact wrench for many year because I don't want to pay for the battery 😁

Having said that, I bought my first cordless tool recently because it has what I want within my budget, brushless motor + lithium battery