Fuel hole hawg opinions

I’m in the market and just looking for opinions from guys who use it. Ive read some mixed reviews specifically about power and runtime.  I have all 5.0 batteries so I’m not too concerned on that end, and I’d mostly use it for 1″ and under holes so I know its capable, but I’m worried to buy it and use it and find that my hammer drill has more power then I’d probably be disappointed. The flexvolt s&d drill would be my next choice and to be honest I don’t think I’m even interested in the super hawg.

AnonymousJoe wrote:

I’m in the market and just looking for opinions from guys who use it. Ive read some mixed reviews specifically about power and runtime.  I have all 5.0 batteries so I’m not too concerned on that end, and I’d mostly use it for 1″ and under holes so I know its capable, but I’m worried to buy it and use it and find that my hammer drill has more power then I’d probably be disappointed. The flexvolt s&d drill would be my next choice and to be honest I don’t think I’m even interested in the super hawg.

I picked up the super hawg to fill a niche in my tool kit, and would not consider it for smaller holes in general. I can’t comment on the regular hawg, but the super is more weight than I would prefer unless it was the only tool I had that would fit into a particular space that needed a hole cut that a smaller unit would not have the power to do so. I use a Makita side drill for 5/8″ and 3/4″ auger style bits and it works fine in that capacity. Haven’t tried it with the one inch bit yet. For holes where I do not need a side drill, I use a standard drill for up to one inch plus hole sizes (up to 3″ hole saws). So in the end, I think that unless you need a side drill specifically, the hawg might be overkill in the price department for what you may or may not gain in power.

Guy at work has the hole hawg, but it gets used with 2″ and larger hole saws, and it’s easier to get into places than a drill. Although i mainly use my fuel drill with the same sizes of hole saws and don’t have a problem. I have been debating getting one myself and know it would be a beautiful addition, but just not at this time…

I’ve tried to talk myself into one for at least 6 months now and just can’t. The regular Hole Hawg rated accessory specs are comparable to a DCD996, and I also have a 2704. If it was a 2 speed transmission so it had some beefy low end torque to it (instead of just pork?) I could do it. A single speed right angle drill mainly meant for ship auger bits and small to medium hole saws? Doesn’t make sense for my usage.

Super Hawg is a beauty but $$$ and its awkward length limits storage options. I’d love to see a gen 2 Fuel Hole Hawg that’s like a lighter duty version of the FlexVolt. I like the Hawg form factor better but DeBeast has a lot of power crammed into it. 

The final nail in the Fuel Hole Hawg coffin for me was KnarlyCarl explaining how efficient Big Hawg hole saws are. I’d rather put $200 CAD into better accessories that a multitude of my tools can use than $300 CAD into a drill that’s going to see minimal service because it’s single speed and has no safety clutch built in like the big boys do.  

Bremon wrote:

1 hour ago, Bremon said:

I’ve tried to talk myself into one for at least 6 months now and just can’t. The regular Hole Hawg rated accessory specs are comparable to a DCD996, and I also have a 2704. If it was a 2 speed transmission so it had some beefy low end torque to it (instead of just pork?) I could do it. A single speed right angle drill mainly meant for ship auger bits and small to medium hole saws? Doesn’t make sense for my usage.

 

Super Hawg is a beauty but $$$ and its awkward length limits storage options. I’d love to see a gen 2 Fuel Hole Hawg that’s like a lighter duty version of the FlexVolt. I like the Hawg form factor better but DeBeast has a lot of power crammed into it. 

 

The final nail in the Fuel Hole Hawg coffin for me was KnarlyCarl explaining how efficient Big Hawg hole saws are. I’d rather put $200 CAD into better accessories that a multitude of my tools can use than $300 CAD into a drill that’s going to see minimal service because it’s single speed and has no safety clutch built in like the big boys do.  

I agree with all this but I’ll add that I will be using it for its intended purpose of roughing in electrical

I have the standard M18 Hole Hawg  with the standard chuck and not the quick connect. I choose the standard chuck because I have so many different bits I can use them all. I have used everything from 1/2″ bit up to a 6″ hole saw with no problem. It all boils down to what you are going to use it for.  

AnonymousJoe wrote:

2 hours ago, AnonymousJoe said:

I agree with all this but I’ll add that I will be using it for its intended purpose of roughing in electrical

Any my opinion is still that it’s expensive for the a single speed drill that’s mainly intended for 7/8″ and 1″ ship augur bits. Not only that but I’ve read far too many reviews mentioning it jamming up doing it’s “intended purpose”. 

Bremon wrote:

Any my opinion is still that it’s expensive for the a single speed drill that’s mainly intended for 7/8″ and 1″ ship augur bits. Not only that but I’ve read far too many reviews mentioning it jamming up doing it’s “intended purpose”. 

HT 7/16″ is much safer to use than the hawg as well

I have a 1/2″ to 7/16″ adapter for my 2763. Put some hearing protection on and away you go. That big brute always puts a smile on my face. 

Bremon wrote:

I have a 1/2″ to 7/16″ adapter for my 2763. Put some hearing protection on and away you go. That big brute always puts a smile on my face. 

So, on a sort of unrelated note, why does 7/16 even exist? Why wouldn’t you just go bigger with 1/2 or smaller with 3/8? Is there some specific reason there’s a 7/16 set of sockets?

khariV wrote:

2 hours ago, khariV said:

So, on a sort of unrelated note, why does 7/16 even exist? Why wouldn’t you just go bigger with 1/2 or smaller with 3/8? Is there some specific reason there’s a 7/16 set of sockets?

Most 1/2 inch chucks won’t fit a 1/2 inch hex bit because the points of the hex are a little more than 9/16 inch wide whereas the points of a 7/16 inch hex bit are only a tiny bit more than 1/2 inch wide.

JimboS1ice wrote:

12 hours ago, JimboS1ice said:

Adapter kind of sucks with a hog ring though does yours come off from time to time?


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This one is pretty tight but I imagine as the ring wears in time that could become an issue. 

jeffmcmillan wrote:

11 hours ago, jeffmcmillan said:

Most 1/2 inch chucks won’t fit a 1/2 inch hex bit because the points of the hex are a little more than 9/16 inch wide whereas the points of a 7/16 inch hex bit are only a tiny bit more than 1/2 inch wide.

That makes sense for the 7/16 shank on bits for the HH, but I was actually thinking about 7/16 impact drivers.  Specifically, I’ve seen this one around and was wondering what it’s used for:

[External image (cdn.milwaukeetool.com), not copied]

Just drilling giant holes?  Wouldn’t this thing kick the HH’s butt up and down the street for self-feed bits and augers, of course assuming that clearance isn’t an issue.

khariV wrote:

 

That makes sense for the 7/16 shank on bits for the HH, but I was actually thinking about 7/16 impact drivers.  Specifically, I’ve seen this one around and was wondering what it’s used for:

 

[External image (cdn.milwaukeetool.com), not copied]

 

Just drilling giant holes?  Wouldn’t this thing kick the HH’s butt up and down the street for self-feed bits and augers, of course assuming that clearance isn’t an issue.

 

JimboS1ice wrote:

Safer to use yes, more powerful yes because it won’t jam up and kick you but not everything is impact rated, not sure if you could run self feeds on this either


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. I don’t think it’s the kind of tool you would try to use with a hole saw, answering the above question as to why you would need the HH if the 7/16″ HTIW did the job. I adore my HH and run augers,self feeders, and now my Big Hawg hole saws, it definitely will get you into those hard to reach places, that a drill will not let you get into. I personally feel even though mine was a gift(I was planning on buying one) it has payed for itself. I typically still run my dw124 during initial rough in. And if there’s changes to the layout, or holes missed I’ll bring out the m18 HH


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NicolasRamos wrote:

Noah Racette, Hvac_artisan on IG uses this same tool with the Milwaukee switchblade self feeders, and claims no issues


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khariV wrote:

18 hours ago, khariV said:

 

That makes sense for the 7/16 shank on bits for the HH, but I was actually thinking about 7/16 impact drivers.  Specifically, I’ve seen this one around and was wondering what it’s used for:

 

[External image (cdn.milwaukeetool.com), not copied]

 

Just drilling giant holes?  Wouldn’t this thing kick the HH’s butt up and down the street for self-feed bits and augers, of course assuming that clearance isn’t an issue.

 

When you’re 20+ feet up in the air after climbing a pole working utilities you don’t want a Hole Hawg to toss you to your demise or serious injury. You use a high torque impact with augers to power through holes; the clip on it is so you can’t drop the tool and kill someone. 

khariV wrote:

18 hours ago, khariV said:

 

That makes sense for the 7/16 shank on bits for the HH, but I was actually thinking about 7/16 impact drivers.  Specifically, I’ve seen this one around and was wondering what it’s used for:

 

[External image (cdn.milwaukeetool.com), not copied]

 

Just drilling giant holes?  Wouldn’t this thing kick the HH’s butt up and down the street for self-feed bits and augers, of course assuming that clearance isn’t an issue.

 

Those use a 7/16 hex because the auger bits already were 7/16 and no one wants to pay for multiple auger sets.  Cordless impacts for utilities work are a fairly recent development, but 7/16 hex bits have been around a long time.  Someone posted an ancient 7/16 hex twist bit they found recently but I can’t remember where.

As for why they use 7/16 hex with an adapter to 1/2 square and not the other way around,  a 1/2 square to 7/6 hex adapter will fall off when you pull the auger out unless you have a pin detent which is a pain to change up on a pole.

jeffmcmillan wrote:

Those use a 7/16 hex because the auger bits already were 7/16 and no one wants to pay for multiple auger sets.  Cordless impacts for utilities work are a fairly recent development, but 7/16 hex bits have been around a long time.  Someone posted an ancient 7/16 hex twist bit they found recently but I can’t remember where.

 

As for why they use 7/16 hex with an adapter to 1/2 square and not the other way around,  a 1/2 square to 7/6 hex adapter will fall off when you pull the auger out unless you have a pin detent which is a pain to change up on a pole.

NicolasRamos wrote:

I believe that Milwaukee has the 7/16″ receiver built in.


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JimboS1ice wrote:

They do have a model with a 7/16″ chuck but Jeff mentioned on the adapters available that using a 1/2″ to 7/16″ doesn’t work well unless you have a detention pin model, when you back bits out it pulls the adapters off hog rings


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NicolasRamos wrote:

28 minutes ago, NicolasRamos said:

That I understood, but i meant the model shown in picture has the 7/16″ built into the tool, and I’ve always understood that you wouldn’t wand to adapt it to a 1/2″ anyway. Not that you couldn’t


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Yeah I was just explaining that since it’s not a problem many people run into.  Square drives fall short when it comes to bit retention.  In the days of SDS, starlock, sawzalls that will shoot your hot blade across the room, and even tool free grinders, we’re somehow stuck with friction for impact wrenches.

Well got my hole hawg today with quik lok chuck and 9.0 batteries so I figured I’d add to my thread as I use it and let u guys know what I think of it.

initial impressions: just pulling the trigger this thing feels powerful! I actually first threw the 9.0 in my hammer drill and put it to a stump with an 18″ auger and I will say the power increase from a 5.0 to the 9.0 is noticeable. Tried out the hole hawg next and it powered thru the stump no problem. The rpm’s  are slower but its definitely more powerful so I’m happy. 

The kit also came with a huge bag that I feel like I can fit 4 or 5 hole hawgs in but I have a smaller bag that came with my sawzall that I’ll probably use.

the 9.0 batteries actually don’t seem as big as I thought they were and feel pretty light to me. One thing I noticed tho when charging was that the rapid charger was making a buzzing noise and getting pretty hot.

i have a new house to start roughing in tomorrow so I’ll post more as I use it.

AnonymousJoe wrote:

1 hour ago, AnonymousJoe said:

Well got my hole hawg today with quik lok chuck and 9.0 batteries so I figured I’d add to my thread as I use it and let u guys know what I think of it.

initial impressions: just pulling the trigger this thing feels powerful! I actually first threw the 9.0 in my hammer drill and put it to a stump with an 18″ auger and I will say the power increase from a 5.0 to the 9.0 is noticeable. Tried out the hole hawg next and it powered thru the stump no problem. The rpm’s  are slower but its definitely more powerful so I’m happy. 

The kit also came with a huge bag that I feel like I can fit 4 or 5 hole hawgs in but I have a smaller bag that came with my sawzall that I’ll probably use.

the 9.0 batteries actually don’t seem as big as I thought they were and feel pretty light to me. One thing I noticed tho when charging was that the rapid charger was making a buzzing noise and getting pretty hot.

i have a new house to start roughing in tomorrow so I’ll post more as I use it.

Sweet, I want to jump on that deal from HD as well, just trying to talk myself out of it, knowing i’ll probably regret not getting the keyed chuck variant….

Well just playing around with it the quik lok doesn’t seem perfect.  When u insert a bit it goes in too far if that makes sense which leaves the locking mechanism partially disengaged.  For a positive lock it needs to stay in the middle but easily pushes past that point.  The bit is still locked in tho. I don’t know if it’ll be an issue or not but we’ll see. Here’s a video I found, you’ll see the guy push the bit in all the way but if u look close you’ll see the locking collar doesn’t pop up all the way into the locked position. It’s still locked in just not in the sweet spot.

KnarlyCarl wrote:

37 minutes ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Sweet, I want to jump on that deal from HD as well, just trying to talk myself out of it, knowing i’ll probably regret not getting the keyed chuck variant….

Same. I really want to find a deal on one with a keyed chuck. Too stubborn not too.

@AnonymousJoe thanks for the feedback on the Hawg! I love how compact it is compared to the Super and DeBeast, but have read it’s easy to stall on a 5.0. I imagine the extra row of cells helps avoid voltage drop and allows it to power through tougher situations. Thanks for the video as well!

Bremon wrote:

Just now, Bremon said:

Same. I really want to find a deal on one with a keyed chuck. Too stubborn not too.

 

@AnonymousJoe thanks for the feedback on the Hawg! I love how compact it is compared to the Super and DeBeast, but have read it’s easy to stall on a 5.0. I imagine the extra row of cells helps avoid voltage drop and allows it to power through tougher situations. Thanks for the video as well!

Screw the self feed bits, I’ll use carbide-tipped hole saws and that will never be a problem

KnarlyCarl wrote:

2 minutes ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Screw the self feed bits, I’ll use carbide-tipped hole saws and that will never be a problem

Most of the stalls I’ve read about were with 7/8 ship augers actually lol. Red or yellow Big Hawgs are still on my shopping list though lol. 

I only use 3/4 augers but I’ll try a 5 and the 9 and see what happens

AnonymousJoe wrote:

Well got my hole hawg today with quik lok chuck and 9.0 batteries so I figured I’d add to my thread as I use it and let u guys know what I think of it.

initial impressions: just pulling the trigger this thing feels powerful! I actually first threw the 9.0 in my hammer drill and put it to a stump with an 18″ auger and I will say the power increase from a 5.0 to the 9.0 is noticeable. Tried out the hole hawg next and it powered thru the stump no problem. The rpm’s  are slower but its definitely more powerful so I’m happy. 

The kit also came with a huge bag that I feel like I can fit 4 or 5 hole hawgs in but I have a smaller bag that came with my sawzall that I’ll probably use.

the 9.0 batteries actually don’t seem as big as I thought they were and feel pretty light to me. One thing I noticed tho when charging was that the rapid charger was making a buzzing noise and getting pretty hot.

i have a new house to start roughing in tomorrow so I’ll post more as I use it.

JimboS1ice wrote:

22 minutes ago, JimboS1ice said:

 

Yea that thing is annoying, all the rapid chargers do it it sucks


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So true. Charge your battery faster (don’t worry, you don’t actually have a brain tumor, it just sounds like it!). Alternative is running a yellow room fan that only keeps your battery comfortable, not you. 

JimboS1ice wrote:

1 hour ago, JimboS1ice said:

 

Yea that thing is annoying, all the rapid chargers do it it sucks


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Not my mother ship, it’s quiet!

KnarlyCarl wrote:

Not my mother ship, it’s quiet!

KnarlyCarl wrote:

2 minutes ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Not my mother ship, it’s quiet!

Hahaha man that thing is so awesome but so overkill for my purposes. 

JimboS1ice wrote:

1 hour ago, JimboS1ice said:

 

Yea that thing is annoying, all the rapid chargers do it it sucks


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Well that’s good to know, I haven’t used mine yet because @justinkendall’s Rapid Charge Station is always around and why charge 4 batteries when you can charge six! My Makita one has a fan that runs the entire time to keep everything cool, but it scared the hell out of me today. It finished charging and has a loud tone to let you know it’s done. I didn’t know this and was wondering who the hell was in the house using my microwave.

With the Dewalt it’s version of a microwave beep is the fan cutting out lol. Doesn’t seem like it would be noticeable but that fan is so loud it’s noticeable.

The Milwaukee squeals the whole time so when your tinnitus leaves suddenly you know the battery is charged. 

jtkendall wrote:

 

Well that’s good to know, I haven’t used mine yet because @justinkendall’s Rapid Charge Station is always around and why charge 4 batteries when you can charge six! My Makita one has a fan that runs the entire time to keep everything cool, but it scared the hell out of me today. It finished charging and has a loud tone to let you know it’s done. I didn’t know this and was wondering who the hell was in the house using my microwave.

KnarlyCarl wrote:

Sweet, I want to jump on that deal from HD as well, just trying to talk myself out of it, knowing i’ll probably regret not getting the keyed chuck variant….

NicolasRamos wrote:

2 hours ago, NicolasRamos said:

Bahaha just change the tone on the makita to Fur Elise


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Oh great, I can relive the days of owning a Nokia phone.

jtkendall wrote:

12 hours ago, jtkendall said:

 

Well that’s good to know, I haven’t used mine yet because @justinkendall’s Rapid Charge Station is always around and why charge 4 batteries when you can charge six! My Makita one has a fan that runs the entire time to keep everything cool, but it scared the hell out of me today. It finished charging and has a loud tone to let you know it’s done. I didn’t know this and was wondering who the hell was in the house using my microwave.

Holy shit that made me laugh lol I have got a jump scare from my charges too ???

My samsung washing machine plays a happy tune when it is done.

Well I am super impressed with this drill! I think this just became my favorite Milwaukee tool! Spent 2 days now roughing in a 3000sq ft home and this drill didn’t skip a beat. There is definitely a power difference with the 9.0 and to be honest I don’t think I’d like it with 5.0’s for power and runtime tho. In 2 days and about 90% of the house drilled out I used 2.5 batteries. It sound great but if u watch videos from when the hole hawg first came out with the 4 or 5.0 batteries a Milwaukee rep claimed that u could drill out a 2500 on one charge, I don’t see that.  So going into it I guess I expected more runtime from the 9.0 but now looking back I think it did good for the amount of work we did.

i was also right about the convenience of the tool. It actually feels heavier than I thought it would but it’s still light enough to one hand it and bit changes are so easy that I hardly ever picked up my hammer drill for a missed hole etc. and that was my goal with this thing so I’m happy. I even let my boss spend some time with it today and he liked it so much he’s ordering one for himself!

Is there that big a difference in power? I found it to bind up quite easily with a 4ah battery. I haven’t played around with it much since.