I came across a great deal on the Milwaukee M12 Fuel 4-in-1 installation drill/driver. Buy the kit, and get a free tool!
Or, if you choose the LED worklight as shown above, you get the light for free and a $10 discount off the price of the tool kit.
The Milwaukee M12 Fuel Installation drill/driver features a brushless motor, 2 speed settings, and of course its modular tool head.
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It comes with 4 attachments – a drill chuck, an offset driving head, a right angle driving head to which the drill chuck can also be attached, and a quick release driving head.
While it’s not my favorite cordless screwdriver, with such honors going to the Dewalt 12V Max Xtreme model, the M12 Fuel is a fantastic and much-liked problem-solving drill/driver.
Its design is unconventional, but handy. The tool is lightweight, and has plenty of speed and torque for all of the small to medium duty driving tasks I’ve thrown at it.
With the current promos, you can get the tool kit for $199, with 2x compact M12 batteries, a charger, and carrying case, and choose a free bonus tool.
Here are the freebie options:
- M12 Soldering Iron (Home Depot)
- M12 3/8″ Ratchet (Home Depot)
- M12 Oscillating Tool (Home Depot)
- M12 Right Angle Drill (Home Depot)
- M12 Rover Service Light (Home Depot)
Acme Tools has the 3/8″ ratchet, Rover LED light, and oscillating multi-tool as free tool options.
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Price: $189-199
Personally, I think that Home Depot’s bundle with the Rover LED worklight is the better of the deals, as it gives you a universally-useful tool plus $10 savings compared to the price for just the M12 Fuel drill/driver kit by itself.
Note: Home Depot has a 90 day return policy. I figured I would remind you of this, in case anyone is worried a better deal might come along over the upcoming holiday shopping season.
MKY
Why is the Bosch equivalent marketed as a 5-in-1 as opposed to the Milwaukee 4-in-1? Appears they have the same attachments.
Mike (that one)
Bosch is likely counting the base 1/4 hex port all the heads click into a driving option.
fred
Yep
My complaint about the Bosch – is that the attachments click in – but then have a propensity for falling out.
Steve L
Have learned to be very careful clicking them in. A locking mechanism seems to engage once you “learn again” how to click and then twist a bit more.
My least favorite feature
Munklepunk
I’ve had the Bosch for a few years and use it a lot, I’ve never had an attachment fall off. Are you guys doing it right? When you put it on it twists solidly on.
What I don’t like is the backwards way the bits are inserted and removed.
Jeremiah D
Same with mine, i think I didnt engage an attachment properly one time.
They may be discussing the different qr chuck also. The bosch you need to pull back the sleeve when inserting bits many others the bit will just push in.
fred
Mine is the GSR12V – bought 6 years ago. I keep it at my summer house. Next time I’m there, I’ll fiddle with it to see if I’m doing something wrong.
Blocky
After years of chucking up drills, my habit was to blindly grab the full chuck with my palm and give a twist. With the gentle lock detent on the 12v flexiclick, I was turning it loose without noticing, dropping the chuck the next time the drill was pointed down. This happened 4 or 5 times before I developed the habit of grabbing a narrower section with the web of skin between thumb and index finger and visually confirming.
The 18v has a much more confident mechanism and the 12v sds attachment also binds on very snug.
I don’t love the 1/4” quick collets though. Of course it’s backwards from others, but mostly I’m not happy with the amount of runout.
I use them a fair amount, and like them, but still maintain that most functionality of a 4-in-1 can be had by purchasing a 6” bit holder and a right angle adapter.
Nate
Yes, I am sure they are. And rightly so. I’ve used several times this week to squeak into a tight space to drive a fastener. Just wish they made the hex port magnetic. Driving Torx screws, I’ve found it’s easy to pull the bit out of the driver.
I haven’t had issues with the attachments falling off, but it may be because it took me a minute or two figuring out the locking mechanism when I first got the driver.
Mike (that one)
This is a great driver. I have had it a few years now and it almost always has enough power. The last time I time I used my full size drill it was only because the Milwaukee’s chuck was too small for the bit. I paid $200 with a 2 and 4 mAh battery.
MM
Agreed, it’s a great tool. I don’t think I’d want it as my only or my first drill/driver but it certainly does the majority of the jobs I’d use a drill for and the attachments make getting into tight spots handy. It’s even useful for automotive work.
The membrane switches and the design of the grip take some getting used to but it’s a great tool overall. At this point I only have two gripes with it and they are both minor: First, the chuck won’t hold drill bits smaller than about .060″. Second, the fwd/rev membrane switches seem to go to ‘sleep’ if the tool is sitting for a while. Normally you just press either button once to select fwd/reverse. But if it’s been awhile since you switched directions or operated the tool you have to click the button twice: once does nothing other than wake up and illuminate the LED showing which direction the tool is currently set. Then you have to press the button again to actually change it. It’s confusing that sometimes you press the button once to change direction while other times you have to press it twice.
Adam
This is the promo for the quarter, will end right before the holiday sales kick in. Other M12 Fuel kits that qualify are the Impact & Drill, Surge, & SDS
Strange the single sku bundle w/ rover light is only $189, verse $199 for the others or when done with separate skus.
Derek
I’ve been on the fence about buying this for a while. Can’t decide if I want my first M12 tools to be this or the Fuel Drill/Impact Driver kit. I like the attachments for this but the regular drill would fit in my tool bag better.
Already have the Dewalt 20v Drill/Impact if I need more power.
TomD
The M12 Surge has been my go to since I got it, and I have the installer driver and the drill and the festoon equivalent.
Surge beats them all.
Derek
That’s an interesting idea. Most of what I’m looking to do is screwing/unscrewing things around the house, not running new fasteners in new holes.
What are you using the Surge for?
TomD
Just everything – mainly screwing without drilling pilot holes anymore
TomD
To add – it’s an impact but very quiet comparatively. Wonderful for inside use.
Derek
Thanks. I think that could work for me. I do need to get hex drill bits anyway.
jsbson
I have the M12 Fuel drill/impact kit. While overall I like, it the driver is not easy to ‘feather’ even on lowest power and maked driving small fastners problematic. On the otherhand it works well with fastners into concrete block. For any lessor torque uses I’d go with the surge.
At our primary home I have an Hitachi tripple hammer and it is easy to ‘feather’ and handles concete. Doesn’t seam much heavier in use.
Steve L
Deals like these always need some comparison shopping.
Amazon has “regular” pricing of $143 for the M12 Fuel Drill Driver kit and $83 for the bare M12 Rover Service Light which totals $226 before tax
Home Depot is cheaper at $189. You save $37 compared to Amazon but you are not saving the $79 claimed by Home Depot.
I bought the Bosch 12V 5-in-1 long before this Milwaukee model was out. Very helpful to have when space is limited. If buying today I would get this Milwaukee with higher max torque and RPM
Stuart
Amazon is not an authorized Milwaukee tool dealer, so what you’re buying there are likely kits purchased from Home Depot and parted out.
If you notice – https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2505-22-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Installation/dp/B07YKW2Z6K/?tag=toolguyd-20 – none of those sellers are via Amazon directly or any other authorized dealer.
I don’t price compare against Amazon 3rd party resellers, ebay, Craigslist, or the like.
At authorized dealers, the price is $199 for the kit and varying prices for the free bonus tools.
Steve L
Wow, managed to totally miss that
Saw Prime and stopped there
Have never had a warranty claim so this was never an issue.
Thanks for the heads up
Adam
It’s not a true comparison, when HD is an authorized reseller, & no one on Amazon is. There is always going to be savings due to this alone. HD isn’t also claiming those savings on another site, that’s based off the regular price of the light from HD.
A majority of those tools on Amazon came from HD anyway. People/businesses buying these deals from HD, and splitting up to sell.
But nonetheless good idea to shop around, however depending on the savings, some are going to rather pay the little extra to get their full warranty. I only just started seeing 2023 batteries in kits, so most will be at least “a year” old in the eyes of Milwaukee warranty process.
SWobig
It’s a good tool, I have one and I’ve used it a few times for odd/right angles and such. The Surge is my every day tool as I tend to drive my fair share of 3″ screws in wood and this might be able to do it, but the Surge has much more power. For what it is, this is a good tool for those oddball situations…
Stephen
The M12 installation driver is great! The handle is very ergonomic and the magnetic piece in front of the trigger is icing on the cake. My only complaint is Milwaukee made the reverse mechanism a button on the top instead of – like every other cordless drill in existence – a switch near the trigger. Reversing the drive direction is an awkward affair.
Richard
Be warned: while the install driver is a FUEL model, most of the freebies listed aren’t. The right angle drill is not terribly good (and maybe redundant with the install driver), the oscillating saw Ian the fuel variant. Nor the ratchet (they now have high-speed and high torque fuel models).
I’ve not tried the soldering iron. The rover is legit, but the USB port is the old kind, not USB C.
TomD
I’ve used the soldering iron. It works fine for intermittent use, I wouldn’t solder for hours with it.
Richard
I’ve been eyeing a pinecil. It has great reviews but is usb c rechargeable (versus the m12 can swap batteries).
Mark
Another installation/assembly driver that I think should be talked about more it the Metabo HPT model #DB3DL2.
Its not the same stlye as this. Its great because its a Cylindrical design that you can fold into a right-angle gun-style shape as well, this lets you get into many tight locations something like this wouldn’t do. Maybe this style has alot more torque idk. Obviously the MKE has more attachments. Think the metabo is quite a bit cheaper.
FWIW – I have the rover light for maybe 2-3 years now. Its pretty awesome. Great for undercar work or work on a new house where you may not have lighting setup yet in a room – I’ve dropped it a bunch, and its held up pretty well, the magnets on the back are quite strong, etc. The ability to rotate the head makes it pretty easy to find a location that will light up my workspace well.
James
Just bought one from Amazon this week…walked into Home Depot tonight to see if there was any similar deals in Canadia…nope.
I’m eager to try it out on my next installation. I think it might come in handy for some funky under sink filter brackets and what-not…hard to find a bad review on this item, other than the standard (and understandable) gripes about the push button directional control..
Algon
Does this qualify for the Home Depot “return hack”? I’d like that rover light but already own the installation driver. Would I be able to return the driver and keep the light?
Stuart
No – these are single-SKU bundles.
But, you can try your luck with this listing (via Home Depot).
You get the same selection, but the bundle with LED worklight is $199 not $189. The link in this comment is to the “buy this get a free gift” SKU, which adds two items to your cart rather than a single bundle.
These aren’t words of endorsement, or confirmation the deal is hackable, but if you need to return part of your order for a prorated refund, you’ll want to go with the most expensive add-on accessory – the 3/8″ ratchet at $149.
With a “buy the tool for $199 and get a free tool with retail value of $149” type of promotion, the prorated return value of the $199 tool kit is $113.80, and the ratchet is $85.20. https://toolguyd.com/free-cordless-power-tool-deals-value-calculator/
You should see the same in the Home Depot shopping cart.
With one of the $99 freebies, the prorated return value of the M12 Fuel kit is $132.89. With the $79 light, the prorated return value of the M12 Fuel kit is $142.45.
If for whatever reason you need to return the free gift item, the ratchet has the highest returnable value, leading to the lowest “hackable” price for the M12 Fuel installation driver.
Algon
Thanks Stuart, I’ll give that a try!
Mark
Wow! I had no idea these calculators existed on toolguyd. Awesome tool to have for these kinds of deals!
Stuart
You’re welcome!
Maybe I’ll update/republish the calculator this year ahead of the holiday season.
Franco Calcagni
You have an article today or yesterday, about the Bucket Boss Drill Bit Case. In it you say…“wow I could totally use that!”…famous last words. Although usually happy with most purchases, there have been some where I was sure I could totally use it, then not.
Years ago, I had seen the Bosch, but did not want to get into another platform. When Milwaukee came out with this, sure enough…“wow I could totally use that!”. Thing is, it is a good tool and before buying it, there were so many times I had tight quarter issues, and this would be the answer.
The reality is that it is never around when I need it, or forget I have it. Sometimes I grab it and put it in my toolbox to use, otherwise it just sits.
Also, in general, I have many M12 tools, which I will tell anyone who asks, they are great and they are more powerful than most jobs require. And of course, the size and weight savings are great.
But in the past couple of years, when I open my tool cabinets to grab an impact or drill, I always grab an 18v. They have become more powerful, greater runtime, and more compact in size, compared to years ago, so I grab the 18v and rarely use M12 lately, despite knowing the logic for using M12 is still valid, and they are great tools.
The M12 tools I still grab are the ones that are unique and must use…my grease gun for my tractor, tube cutter for PVC tubes, my snake camera, and so on.
So I still believe M12 is great, but always grab 18v when it is a choice…even if it is not the logical choice.