Not necessarily motorcycle related, but TOOL. (cue Tim Grunts...)

Downeaster

Downeaster

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I got some gift cards for Home Depot for my imminent Natal Anniversary. Wouldn't want them to get moldy so I hied meself off to the local Big Orange Box Store.

Plan A was to get a battery powered ratchet - Milwaukee like all my other battery tools. Once fondling said object, I just couldn't muster up any love for the 12v aspect. I have a 12v recip saw and while it works well, one heavy cut is about all the battery is good for.

So, I went with Plan B - a bigger impact wrench. I have the 1/4" hex drive impact and it's a workhorse, but from time to time I either have get that initial POP with a big honkin' breaker bar or dig out the pneumatic and fire up the air compressor.

I looked at the 3/8ths drive mostly because it was cheaper but again just wasn't convinced it was a big enough step up to be worth the shekels it would take to make it mine.

Then I found the 1/2" Milwaukee Fuel tool only (I have a raft of batteries) and between the savings over the kit, my military discount and the gift certificates, I could stretch the budget a little and grab it.

What a BEAST! Rusty lug nuts on a boat trailer that was used to launch in salt water for years. THUMP...THUMP...THUMP...WHIRRRRRRRRRR and off they came. Color me impressed. Not sure my IR air impact would've done it that quickly.

It's a heavy beast and the balance is terrible but for as much as I'll use it I'm sure I'm going to like it!
 
Nice!! :cheers:

My IR 1/2" air gun gave up the ghost a few yrs ago and I never replaced it. This summer I picked up a Ryobi 1/2" 18V.... like your Milwaukie's DE, I got a ton of batteries for 'em. What a beast... and not draggin' a hose behind is pure joy.
Didn't have the gift cards like you, so that really hurt, but I'm sold on battery stuff. Just ordered an 18V handheld shop vac. Supposed to be here tomorrow. Hope I like that as much as the rattle gun.
 
I bought a pair of Ryobi's for the garage after I moved everything down to the shop. Drill/Driver and Impact. Very attractively priced and they've done well so far.
 
Downeaster said:
Also, I have a blower with the big honkin' 8AH high output battery. With that plugged into the impact I could probably reverse the rotation of the Earth!
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No blower, but I have the 8AH and a pair of 5AH batteries to power my fleet of 18V Fuel Milwaukee drills and drivers. A big 👍 on the Milwaukee stuff from me.
 
Downeaster said:
I got some gift cards for Home Depot for my imminent Natal Anniversary. Wouldn't want them to get moldy so I hied meself off to the local Big Orange Box Store.

Plan A was to get a battery powered ratchet - Milwaukee like all my other battery tools. Once fondling said object, I just couldn't muster up any love for the 12v aspect. I have a 12v recip saw and while it works well, one heavy cut is about all the battery is good for.

So, I went with Plan B - a bigger impact wrench. I have the 1/4" hex drive impact and it's a workhorse, but from time to time I either have get that initial POP with a big honkin' breaker bar or dig out the pneumatic and fire up the air compressor.

I looked at the 3/8ths drive mostly because it was cheaper but again just wasn't convinced it was a big enough step up to be worth the shekels it would take to make it mine.

Then I found the 1/2" Milwaukee Fuel tool only (I have a raft of batteries) and between the savings over the kit, my military discount and the gift certificates, I could stretch the budget a little and grab it.

What a BEAST! Rusty lug nuts on a boat trailer that was used to launch in salt water for years. THUMP...THUMP...THUMP...WHIRRRRRRRRRR and off they came. Color me impressed. Not sure my IR air impact would've done it that quickly.

It's a heavy beast and the balance is terrible but for as much as I'll use it I'm sure I'm going to like it!
Click to expand...
I just bought a DeWalt 20v 1/2 drive impact, I bought the smaller 300 lb/ft one and it took the big 'ole front axle nut off my wife's 360k mile, never been off before 2010 Ford Escape, with ease. All of my stuff is 20v DeWalt. I would have preferred Milwaukee, but once I started down the DeWalt road....you know.
 
46th Georgia said:
I just bought a DeWalt 20v 1/2 drive impact, I bought the smaller 300 lb/ft one and it took the big 'ole front axle nut off my wife's 360k mile, never been off before 2010 Ford Escape, with ease. All of my stuff is 20v DeWalt. I would have preferred Milwaukee, but once I started down the DeWalt road....you know.
Click to expand...
When I retired my retirement "present" from the company was a set of Dewalt 18 volt tools. I'm thinking they got a deal on them as just a year or so later Dewalt went to the 20 volt version of those tools! I see they do sell adapters to use the 20 volt batteries on the old 18 volt tools. But so far the cost of buying the adapter, new charger and new batteries does not seem worth it.
 
As I've noted before I'm drinking the Milwaukee M18 Kool-aid.
Bought the medium size 1/2" impact and zero regrets. I didn't get the biggest one which is for, Idunno, strip mining equipment or something. For most DIYers the smallest 1/2" would be plenty.
My only waffle was yard tools/Stihl, but M18 is covering that sector more n more. I want one set of batteries/chargers for all the various appliances. Even brushing, limbing chainsaws are getting there, aerial arborists are going battery.
To date the biggest lack; a good stick/hand vac. the M18 models so far are meh.
 
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