Hilti has at least one new Nuron 22V cordless rotary hammer on the way.
They provided details on several new or recent rotary hammers – two with SDS-Plus chucks and one SDS-Max.
This is all the information, details, and images that Hilti provided us with. If you have any questions, maybe Hilti’s influencer partners, who attended an exclusive event and have reviews up on social media, can help.
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Hilti TE 8-22 Cordless Rotary Hammer
Here’s what Hilti shared:
- Strongest Hilti power class rotary hammer for concrete and rebar
- Fastest rotary hammer in the Hilti power class, with lowest vibration level
- Up to 30% faster drilling speed
- The best power-to-weight ratio in its class
The new Hilti TE 8-22 cordless rotary hammer (SDS Plus) is shown with an on-board vacuum system (TE DRS-22), which they say provides stronger suction power and a bigger collection box than their current DRS.
Hilti TE 30-22 Cordless Rotary Hammer
Features for the Hilti TE 30-22 cordless SDS-Plus rotary hammer include:
- Faster drilling in concrete and rebar, with lowest vibration in its class
- The lowest vibration in its class
- Up to 30% higher performance
- Superior performance-to-weight ratio compared to predecessor
Hilti TE 70-22 Cordless Rotary Hammer
The Hilti TE 80-22 SDS-Max rotary hammer features:
- Highest performing rotary hammer in its class
- Highest work-per-charge compared to industry average
- Same performance as a power tool in the same class
Our Pick for Cordless Rotary Hammers: Milwaukee M18 FUEL
Milwaukee has a huge selection of high performance M18 FUEL cordless rotary hammers – and also M12 FUEL. They’re our go-to recommendation for professional and commercial-use rotary hammers.
Their SDS Plus and Max rotary hammers pair well with M18 tabless cell FORGE 8Ah and 12Ah batteries.
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Also See: Bosch 18V SDS MAX
Bosch’s cordless rotary hammers are also worth considering. Shown here is their 18V Profactor SDS-Max (1-7/8″) model, with brushless motor, 9.3 ft-lbs of impact energy, and an anti-vibration system.
Bosch is well known for high-performance rotary hammers and breaker tools, and the GBH18V-45CK27 should hold true to that reputation.
It’s kitted with Core18V 12Ah batteries and a turbo charger.
Hon Cho
Once again, while Hilti USA has provided ToolGuyd with minimal information, additional information is available on the Hilti Germany website, at least for the TE 30-22. There are other Nuron powered rotary hammers , but the TE 8-22 and TE 70-22 did not appear in my searches. Perhaps they have different model numbers for the European market?
For the TE 30-22
https://www.hilti.de/c/CLS_POWER_TOOLS_7125/CLS_ROTARY_HAMMERS_7125/r10481228
Stuart
I searched for more and found different tools than shown (for the TE 30-22), and nothing at all for the others.
Maybe some of Hilti’s TikTok influencers have some more info, but I was only given what was made available to the media – and it was of course much appreciated.
Nathan
So the dust collection bit is still an addon? Or is it integrated?
Stuart
Hilti didn’t say and I don’t have a way to find out.
They also listed this TE DRS-22 dust box, and it looks identical to the one attached to the TE 8-22, and so I assume that’s what it is. Maybe the TE 8-22 rotary hammer has its own dust collection attachment, but I don’t think so.
Hilti people check in on ToolGuyd content regularly – maybe someone there can chime in.
Jim Felt
I know a (very) few larger general contractors that still support Hilti mostly because of their (once?) much vaunted sales rep’s personal tool delivery and exchange efforts.
But how would, say, Home Depot ever begin to provide anything similar?
Harrison
I can’t speak to Milwaukee’s smaller SDS hammer drills, but I have extensive experience with both of their SDS Max rotary hammer models, and I would not recommend them.
I’ve ran into serious issues overheating both the 1 9/16” model, and the 1 3/4”. I expect the new Forge batteries to be an improvement on the battery front, but will do nothing to fix the overloading of the motor and electronics.
I understand the point these articles are trying to make about Hilti’s weird shift to influencer marketing, but I would do a bit more research before recommending a product in this area.
Bosch, Dewalt, Hikoki, Makita etc all manufacture SDS Max cordless hammers that are designed to run continuously provided one has the batteries and charger to feed them.
Milwaukee does not sell a cordless product that competes in the SDS Max category.
Stuart
I haven’t heard about any issues with respect to M18 Fuel rotary hammers continuously used for drilling or chipping. Which specific models did you have problems with?
Also, please confirm that you’re not affiliated with Hilti.
Harrison
I have no affiliation with Hilti or any my tool brand. I do own one of their lasers and a few 12v drivers, but have never invested further as they are too limited in the areas of fine framing and finish carpentry.
My partner and I run a small building company, focused on high-end cabins and country homes. Our start in the industry was pier foundation replacement, a common problem with older homes & cottages in the area.
This work usually involved chipping out old failing pier block or mortar and stone piers, and replacing with reinforced concrete, tied to bedrock.
Milwaukee is by far the dominant tool brand at our local stores and rental outfits. As such, I’ve used every variety of the 2717 and 2718 cordless hammers. They perform well if given time to cool off between chipping or drilling, but will reach a limit after about 30 minutes of continuous work on a summer day. The motor housing of the 2717 will get so hot, I’ve resorted to pouring water on the tool to cool it off to continue working. The 2718 is more resistant to overheating, but it is still an issue. I returned to corded, before eventually investing in one of the other brands above, which does not suffer from overheating issues of the tool, or battery. I’m not endorsing any particular brand, though I’m sure you can figure out what tools we run from my post history.
Stuart
Thanks for confirming! For some reason I couldn’t see any comment history for your earlier comment; it was somehow flagged as a *first-time* comment, but I’m able to see it now. Sorry for doubting!
While the 2717 and 2718 are both SDS Max, I’d expect the 2718 to handle far better in chipping and demo tasks, as it delivers 62% more impact energy.
This is the first I’ve heard of them overheating – I’ll look into it to see if I can find more.
That Bosch is rated even higher with respect to impact energy. I am preferential towards Bosch hammer drills, but don’t have as much experience with their rotary hammers.
I also haven’t used either for long continuous stretches in full summer sun and heat.
Hilti is a good choice – masonry tools are their forte – but they affirmed their commitment to B2B and simply don’t seem interested in individual end users.
Milwaukee’s M18 battery system is still ahead of Bosch’s. Bosch has new Expert batteries – https://toolguyd.com/bosch-expert-18v-batteries-chargers/ – but it’s not clear whether they’ll match up to FORGE 8Ah or 12Ah, which so far seem unparalleled among professional-use cordless power tool systems.
Other brands have competent rotary hammers too. But if not M18 Fuel, I’d go with Bosch.
Harrison
No worries at all. I know these posts are a bit provocative from a brand shill perspective.
Aside from power, the 2718 is the more sophisticated hammer, with anti-rotation and vibration protection. The 2717 lacks those modern safety features. It is old enough that it originally bundled with the problematic HD9.0 packs.
This was frustrating as the smaller 2717 was the perfect size & weight for the work we were doing in confined spaces. The 1 9/16” size class is very versatile and the ideal power to quickly drill 3/4” holes in granite, without burning up bits. Sadly it just didn’t have the endurance, and we were worried about wrist injuries when it bound up.
I would like to point out, I just saw that Milwaukee has new 2917 & 2918 models listed as ‘Coming Soon’ on their site. I would expect these models to address all of my complaints, and should be competitive with the rest of the market. It is interesting that they still haven’t rated their flagship at 2” though.
Ironically, the only hammer drill that ever broke on us was a borrowed, nearly-new Hilti TE 6-A36 that ate its hammer mechanism. The other contractor had it repaired and back from Hilti in a few days, but it was definitely an eye opener that their tools are not above the rest of the professional brands.
I am a fan of Bosch tools too, but sadly we’ve chosen to admire them from afar as their distribution and support is sparse.
Back to Hilti, I find their marketing very confusing. The influencers they are paying are mostly of the amateur variety, and they tend to post the lifestyle-friendly products like chainsaws, and USB-C chargers. It’s a weird approach given what you say about their continued focus on B2B.
Like, why are they even trying to sell a chainsaw in their first place?
I like to joke that Milwaukee makes the best lawnmower for plumbers- Is Hilti hoping to corner the market of OPE for tool fleet managers to use on the weekend?
Stuart
I think that Hilti isn’t the tool brand pros buy, it’s the brand whose tools that a company buys and hands to workers as part of a large fleet management contract.
Hilti could be trying to appeal to individual tool users, but their B2B sales structure doesn’t seem to be changing.
There have been a couple of comments from Hilti folks (none I’d consider to be inappropriate). Yours appeared as a first-time comment, which was confusing, and it seemed prudent to verify.
Daniel M
What a refreshingly rational comment thread between you and Stuart, seemingly rare these days especially online.
In my experience, I could be wrong but I think Milwaukee tools can be relatively hit or miss depending on what team engineered them.
I have a 2915 SDS plus which I’ve had success with but my use case isn’t chipping or demo work.
I’m totally guessing, but I suspect Milwaukee often chooses to design tools that maybe are more powerful than their competitors, but at the expense of duty cycle. Most people tend to be more impressed with a lighter weight tool that has lots of power, many people who pay for their own tools don’t push tools hard enough, for long enough, to experience serious heat degradation in tool performance. I suspect that the designers of the rotary hammers you’re discussing focused too much on performance per lbs and were ignorant to the fact that a lot of SDS Max rotary hammers see different duty cycles than a SDS plus drills. They may have designing the tool around a scaled up scaled up SDS Plus mechanism, appropriate for drilling holes intermittently for something like concrete anchors. Not realizing that it’s more likely for an SDS max drill to basically be run continuously for hours at a time.
I just picked up the new M12 Fuel SDS Plus rotary hammer and so far I really like it for installing 1/4 anchors. It’s super light and handy and just fast enough to be worthwhile.
Even though I’m a Milwaukee user in some ways it’s actually the brand I think I’d trust the least in a severe duty application. The Germans and Japanese tend to be a little more conservative in their designs in my opinion. That being said I’ve had fewer failures on a per tool basis with Milwaukee over other brands I’ve owned including Hilti and Dewalt. The only brand I’ve never experienced a failure from is Hitachi that being said the sample size is one. Haha