Sheet metal, appliance venting and pipe hanger hardware are where the Gen-2 impact shines for me," Aune told us. "My work has me bending, stretching and reaching in all directions all the time which makes heavier, bulkier full-size impacts a pain, in addition those larger drivers are almost always over-powered for my work. "The original M12 Impact driver has long been a favorite of mine its compact size somehow houses aggressive power that works all day for me thru nearly every task in the boiler room. Many in these fields will value the convenience of size and weight over the ability to drill large diameter holes and drive large fasteners.įor a more direct perspective on the subject, I reached out to Mechanical Hub’s Eric Aune, who is not only a successful mechanical contractor, but also an Instagram All-Star: In concrete, a ½” bit will push the drill to its limits.Īs mentioned above, the target audience for the M12 drill and driver platform is mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, home remodelers, and service technicians. In wood, you won’t want to use it with a bit larger than 1” very often. The Hammer Dill/Driver is a good option for light and medium duty tasks. A large majority of users will never need more power than this driver can handle. You won’t notice a lack of power in the driver unless you try to push it with very long, large diameter fasteners. With regards to the M12 impact driver and hammer drill, I believe the new impact driver made much bigger strides to catch up with the 18 volt tools. As we discussed in our review of Milwaukee’s M18 Hackzall, smaller tools are starting to bridge the gap between size and power. With 18 volts versus 12 volts, you should expect a much greater performance in 18 volt tools. If you only expect to use these tools in predominately light to medium duty tasks, there’s little need for a full performance tool. The new M12 Hammer Drill & Impact Driver kit (2598-22) retails for $229. An M18 Fuel Hammer Drill & Impact Driver kit (2897-22) will cost you $399. However, if you’re in the market for a new kit, I believe that the slight upcharge for Gen 2 is a worthwhile expenditure. The Gen 1 tools were a favorite for many for good reason, so, unless you need the smaller size, these upgrades don’t necessarily mean you should drop your Gen 1 tools and immediately buy Gen 2. I don’t believe this will be a huge problem for many users, unless you opt to purchase only this tool without also buying a driver. Gen 2 combined the clutch with the mode selector, so you won’t be able to move between drilling and driving as quickly. Gen 1 had a separate mode selector ring behind the clutch, which allowed the user to quickly switch between drilling, driving, and hammer drill modes. In order to cut additional length off of the gen 2, Milwaukee made a change that users may or may not like. Torque remained the same at 350 in/lbs and max RPM stayed at 1,700. The hammer drill didn’t get quite as many updates on performance, but gen 2 did also get a size reduction of about an inch in length. In total, you’re getting a smaller, lighter, more powerful impact driver as compared to the previous version. The self-tapping screw mode starts slow to keep the screw from walking, then ramps up to full speed, and eases up again after the screw sets to reduce overdriving. Now with 3 different speeds and an additional self-tapping screw mode, Gen 2 gives you more control for different applications. Gen 2 also added two more mode options, for a total of four, whereas Gen 1 only had two speed options. Gen 2 also got an upgrade in max RPM (2650 vs. Milwaukee took around an inch off of the length of the Gen 2 and also removed close to 0.2 pounds. The most obvious difference between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 is size. Gen 2įirst, let’s start with the difference between Generation 1 and Generation 2. The drill/driver is yet to be released as of the publish date of this article. The hammer drill and impact driver were since released in January 2018 and we’ve had the opportunity to test the tools for ourselves. At Milwaukee’s New Product Symposium in June of 2017, the company then showed their commitment to the 12-volt platform with the announcement of the Generation 2 M12 Hammer Drill and Impact Driver.
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