If you haven’t heard of the Milwaukee Fuel system, get out from under that rock you have been hiding. The Fuel system utilizes a PowerState brushless motor. With a brushless motor you get more power, more run time and less maintenance. Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? Well Milwaukee didn’t just design and engineer the PowerState, they also created the Redlink system. The Redlink system allows the tool, battery and charger to all talk with each other which gives you a more efficient tool. Okay, now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about the Milwaukee M18 Brushless Hammer Drill model 2604-22.
Have you been looking for a bad ass hammer drill? If so, this is it. This drill puts out a whooping 725 in-lbs of torque, so you better make sure you use the side handle when jamming with that much power. The brushless motor powers the all metal ratcheting locking chuck at 0-550 and 0-1850 RPMs. Not to mention the hammer function hits 31,450 times per minute.
The drill has great balance where it’s not too heavy in the front or back. This is very important for two reasons. First, your arm won’t get as fatigued as quickly, so you can work longer. The second reason is as a user you will have more control over the drill. This is huge especially when dealing with so much power. The whole tool with battery only weighs 5 lbs. One thing to note, you can use the XC or the compact battery with this drill.
Now we could go on and on about this drill, but see for yourself. Go into any local Home Depot and they usually have it set up for testing purposes. You can try this drill out for yourself and see how powerful this drill really is. If they don’t have one set up, just rip open a box and try one for yourself.
Milwaukee M18 Brushless Hammer Drill Specifications
| Volts | 18V |
| Torque | 725 in lbs |
| Speed | 2 Speed |
| RPM | 0-550 / 0-1,850 RPM |
| BPM | 31,450 BPM |
| Chuck Type | 1/2″ Metal Single Sleeve – Ratcheting Lock |
| Metal Sleeve | Yes |
| Ratcheting Lock | Yes |
| On Board Fuel Gauge | Fuel Gauge on Battery |
| LED Light | Yes |
| Battery | REDLITHIUM™ |
| Batteries Included | (2) M18™ HIGH CAPACITY REDLITHIUM™ Battery Packs |
| Charger | NEW M18™ and M12™ Multi-Voltage Charger |
| Charge Time | 1 Hour |
| Tool Length | 8.1 in |
| Tool Weight (w/battery) | 5.0 lbs |
Includes
- 2604 M18™ FUEL 1/2″ Drill/Driver
- (2) M18™ HIGH CAPACITY REDLITHIUM™ Battery Packs
- Multi-Voltage Charger
- Carrying Case
Hi, guys–I was reading over the specs and noticed you show it being able to run at 31,450 bpm, which sounds high. I did the math, and that’s equivalent to 524 beats per second, which sounds nigh impossible; did you perhaps mean 3,145 bpm? Also, you show a “torque” rating of 725 inch pounds, which equates to 66.4 foot pounds, which sounds inordinately low. However, 725 foot pounds sounds rather high for a battery-powered device, so perhaps another number is correct?
We double checked with Milwaukee’s website and the box and that stats are correct. When I first saw the BPM, I did a double take to make sure. In regards to the Torque, that is on the higher end. The Bosch 4 pole motor does 700 in-lbs. Some other brands are 600 in-lbs. Thanks for watching out for us.
I hate to be the guy to say this but how is this a review? Dont get me wrong, I like this site very much and enjoy your youtube videos but other than your mention of this hammer drill being weight balanced, all the other info can be found on the items retail box and website. You say this is a bad ass hammer drill, well explain how. I would love to know what makes this bad ass other than manufacturer specs like an in depth review of real life performance. Also a comparison with other comparable hammer drills would be nice to see how it stacks up against the competition.
Good Point. We actually have two articles for this drill. The one we released was suppose to be the overview of the Milwaukee Brushless and the next one is the actual review. We usually always have a video attached to the review article to provide more information. Our reviews actually go into more detail where our overviews are shorter. Thanks for catching the mistake in the title.
I would like to say that this m18 fuel brushless drill beats my dewalt 36 volt, ridgid 24 volt, milwaukee v28 and milwaukee m18 super heavyduty m18 650 inch lbs of torque drill when i put a 3 5/8 inch self feeding boring bit into it and drilled completely through a pressure treated 4×4 with it!!!. None of the other drills could even think about doing that! They just stalled when the cutter blade made contact with the wood!, and yes they were also in low gear with fully charged batteries that were not old. This is truly an awesome drill! Just use the side handle in low gear or it will whip you when it jams! All the techs. in my company is switching over to this drill because its so awesome in power, run time and compactness.
As for the touque, this drill kills it. It is a Hammer Drill not an Impact Driver. The Fuel Impact Driver has 1,600 in./lbs of torque. I used the Hammer Drill the other day to use an 18″ long 5/8″ ship auger bit through a 2″x 12″ length wise. Pretty impressive for a cordless product.
I am a Milwaukee FAN!!! I own several Milwaukee tools, and am very happy. I drill and tap LOTS of holes in 1/8″ aluminum at work. So, I was excited when my boss handed me this new Milwaukee M18 FUEL. GREAT power and speed!!! Happiness short lived. As I am tapping a series of 10-32 holes, after bout a dozen or so, my tap has come loose from drill and left in aluminum. I took it out, put back in drill, put as tight as I could: within next 20 holes, chuck loosened up again, leaving tap in plate. I checked w/ several of our other techs. They also have issues w/ having to re-tighten the chuck on their drills.
I noticed when switching forward and back, speed 2, when I SLOWLY pull trigger, you can see the chuck do a “double pump”, start – hesitate – then continue w/ a hard knock. You can feel the hard knock switching directions. It seems this could be directly related to the chuck loosening.
Please research this. Looking to buy new 18V hammer drill for myself. But, I can’t spend this kind of money for a drill w/ this issue.
Thanks,
Bill