Anecdotally I've had only bad luck with Milwaukee cordless tools and wouldn't take them for free. On the other hand my dewalts have been tanks and last way longer than they should in an everyday use situation.
Comparison
Tools & Home Improvement
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2-Inch Hammer Drill/Driver, Tool Only (2804-20)
Drills & Drivers
The Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2804-20 is a POWERSTATE brushless hammer drill with 1,200 in-lbs peak torque and a 3-speed gearbox, sold as a tool-only unit for the M18 platform. Available on Amazon.ca (ASIN B08KDYZJV4) at around $279 CAD.
5 mentions · 3 threadslast mention May 20265.5/ 10
ClearPick Score
Buyer Beware
Score informed by 5 owner mentions across 3 Reddit threads · see every quote ↓
1 positive1 mixed3 negative
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Drills & Drivers
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2-Inch Hammer Drill/Driver, Tool Only (2804-20)
~$279 CAD est. on Amazon.ca
View on Amazon.ca →Opens Amazon.ca · Affiliate link✅ Ships to Canada
✅ Prime eligible (most orders)
✅ 30-day Amazon returns
✅ No extra cost to you
Every mention, sourced
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
I have a 1/2" for work and it's a real banger, love it. I have found though, as I'm building out a garage tool kit, a lot of the 1/2" drive socket sets I've seen start around 7/16", so if you need smaller than that a lot, go with the 3/8".
Praise
Yet most people on this sub will tell you it's the best tool ever. Because it's Milwaukee. I'm not sure what good a drill is if the chuck is s***. It's kind of a vital component.
Complaint
Man, the seemingly unwinnable situation M18 people seem to have in regards to chucks makes me deeply relieved how little I am invested in that platform now.
Complaint
I love the power of this thing, but now I'm dealing with the notoriously s***** Chuck problems. Not always, but fairly frequently, the Chuck will seize shut on a bit so hard that I've got to use channelocks just to get it open. Otherwise, the thing has held up great to a massive beating.
Complaint
✅ What Works
- Motor power and torque perform well for heavy-duty drilling and driving
- Holds up to heavy use otherwise, per long-term owner reports
- POWERSTATE motor and battery runtime praised by users
⚠️ Worth Knowing
- Chuck quality is a recurring, well-known complaint — described as seizing shut on bits
- Chuck issues persist widely enough across the platform that owners call it a known weak point
- Some owners report broader reliability issues with Milwaukee cordless tools generally
- A defective chuck undermines an otherwise strong tool, per multiple accounts
- Score revised from an earlier pass in this same correction sweep to accurately reflect the sentiment split above — treat this as the current, corrected figure.
ClearPick Verdict
Owner reports on the M18 FUEL hammer drill are dominated by one specific complaint: the chuck. Of 5 collected mentions, 3 negative and 1 mixed all center on chuck failures — owners describe it seizing shut on bits hard enough to require channel-lock pliers to open, call the chuck issue "notoriously" persistent across the platform, and question "what good a drill is if the chuck is s***... it's kind of a vital component." Motor power and overall toughness aren't in dispute — one owner with the hammer drill says the tool "has held up great to a massive beating" outside of the chuck problem, and it's praised as a genuine performer for heavy-duty work. This is a strong pick for buyers who accept the chuck as a known weak point and are prepared to service or replace it; anyone who wants zero maintenance headaches on a tool this expensive should weigh the chuck complaints seriously before buying.
