M18 FUEL 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Drain Cleaning Snake Auger with 1/4 in. and 3/8 in. Cable Drive Kit

Over the years I have spent lots of money on renting drain augers and I have used corded and cordless augers for drains ranging from sinks and showers to commercial kitchen drains. I own several properties and decided to purchase my own auger. I decided to go with the Milwaukee M18 Fuel version as opposed to the M12 version, which was half the price. This drain auger is all that you can ask for to get the job done quickly and efficiently. This kit comes with the auger, a storage case, battery, and charger. I personally did not need the charger and battery because I own a ton of batteries, but the storage case was a huge bonus for me. Being able to clean drains, which is an extremely messy job, and minimize the amount of clean up on the job site, means less time spent on the job which equals more money. The auger is extremely powerful and runs well with a 2.0 battery. I was able to easily clean three drains, running the cable at least 25 feet each time, on a single charge with the 2.0 battery. Being cordless I no longer have to worry about extension cords or the need for an outlet, which makes any job more convenient. The drum on the auger is fully enclosed which means less mess and less dirty water splattering. The auger has a flat base which allows for you to place the tool on the ground and run it with one hand and frees up your other hand to hold a rag to clean the cable as you retract it. The auger has a built in automatic feed system which makes feeding and retracting the cable very easy. The tool also has an LED built in which sufficiently lights up the area that you are working in. You can easily clean drains that range from 1 1/4” - 3”. The kit comes with. 5/16” cable, but I purchased a 1/4” cable and replacing the cable was very easy. There are four screws that hold the drum together and once you unscrew them you have easy access to the inside of the drum. This tool is powerful so I always keep the tool flat on the ground when running it for greater control and ease of use. As soon as I am done cleaning the drain, I drop the tool into the bucket for minimal mess and get the tool out of the location of the drain. I always make sure to clean the drum and cable after every use before storing. Investing in my own auger was an easy decision. Because I own and manage so many different properties, recouping my investment was very quick. I own a huge collection of Milwaukee tools and this drain auger meets the extremely high expectation that I have for all Milwaukee tools. The quality is excellent and most importantly it gets the job done!!

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

I have used some snakes to resolve the plumbing issue, this is the best one, auto feed function is great for reduce your arms fatigue, stronger cable and easy to clean, So happy to bought this.

Go Team Red!!! Milwaukee hits another home run! I got this tool back in November but have waited 6 months to write my review on it because I wanted to get the chance to use it as much as possible and get a good feel for it and really test it out! Now you can read the stats above so I am just going to tell you what I personally really liked about the unit and the whole kit. Lets start with the unit itself. -The whole unit is just extremely well built and is very ergonomic and intuitive and very easy to operate. All the features work in unison to make this unit run extremely well, the Powerstate brushless motor in combination with the RedLink Plus intelligent electronic system and the RedLithium battery all work together to make sure the machine is always running at peak performance and maintains plenty of power and does not bog down under load. -The enclosed drum is an amazing feature and I love how there is no mess involved and I am not worrying about snagging my arm or clothes on a moving drum. I think this is one of my favorite features. Even though the drum is fully enclosed it is still super easy to clean, first off when you put the unit back inside the bucket face down all the water will drain from the unit into the bucket and then you can simply wash the bucket out. It is recommended that you regularly clean and oil the cables which is super easy because the cables can be removed to be cleaned super easy and in less than a minute and once they are clean can put them back into the unit just as fast and easy. To clean the drum you can flush a little water down the front of the unit and put it in drive and spin it around in the drum but it is just as easy to take the front cover off the drum since you only have to take out 4 screws to do so and then you can clean out the drum super easy. -The LED light is a great feature to have so you can have some light when your working in dark places like under sinks and things like that. -The foot on the bottom of the unit is a great thing to have, that way you can set the unit down and it will rest in place without falling over and the you can also rest it on the foot when using it as well to help keep your arms from getting to fatigued, and since the foot is rubber you can set the unit down or even lean the foot against something while using the unit and not have it damage the surface it's touching. -The handle and trigger are great, they are both very ergonomic and there is a switch for forward, reverse and a lockout mode as well and the trigger itself has excellent response and the variable speed on it is very easy to control. -The Cable-Drive system on it is absolutely amazing, it automatically adjusts to the diameter of cable your using and then it has and automatic feed and retract system that will run the cable in or out at 8 inches a second and then once you hit the clog you simply twist the collar on the Cable-Drive system and move it to the rear and put it into lock mode so that the cable will spin in place and you can work then clog and with the Cable-Drive system there is no lever to hold down or anything, once you lock it in place then it will feed and retract or spin the cable by itself with no need for you to hold anything down. Also if you don't want to use the Cable-Drive system to feed or retract the cable you don't have to, you can simply pop the collar into neutral and then feed and retract the cable or even run it by hand. Onto the Cables -The cables are very nice and are inner core with a rust guard plating on them. -The kit comes with 2 cables, a 1/4 inch by 35 foot bulb head cable and a 3/8 inch by 35 foot cable that has 4 different heads, a bulb head, drop head, c-cutter head and a spade head. -The cables are super easy to take out of the unit and also super easy to install in the unit, it literally only takes a minute to take one out or install one. -A really great feature that they have designed into the cables is about 3 feet from the end of the cable there is a small bulb so when you are running the cable in feed mode and it hits that small bulb it will not let the cable out any further which prevents you from accidentally running the cable out of the machine and losing it down the pipe which is an excellent feature. Now for the accessories -Of course the RedLithium 5.0amp extended capacity battery pack is nice, it has the fuel gauge on it which is a great feature and when it comes to battery technology I think Milwaukee is on top. -It also comes with a dual voltage M12 and M18 charger to charge your battery. -The bucket is such a cool feature, it holds the unit in it perfectly and allows all the water to drain out of the unit when your done using it and you put it in the bucket, the fact that the unit has a fully enclosed drum so there is no mess when your operating it and then you have the bucket to put it away in and pack it out of the house in makes it a completely mess free operation which is great. Not only does the bucket house the unit perfectly but at the bottom of the bucket you can store your second cable that isn't in the machine and it also has an accessory tray that goes on the top which will hold 2 batteries as big as 5.0amps the dual voltage charger and then there is a free slot which I carry all the heads for my 3/8 inch cable in and that also has room for other things say a pair of gloves, safety glasses, some screwdrivers or other tools etc. and once you get everything put away in the bucket you simply latch it shut with the 2 latches on it and then carry it by the handle on the top and everything you need to clean a drain is all contained right there in the bucket. In Summery -This is an absolutely amazing machine and in my opinion it is hands down the best handheld drain snake on the market today! -It is a fairly expensive unit and if your just a run of the mill homeowner then it's probably more than you need, that said you don't have to be a professional to have one, I am not a professional drain cleaner or plumber but I own 3 rental units and a house so I have quite a few drains to maintain and of course once my friends found out that I got this bad boy they wanted me to come do drains for them so I have used it well over a dozen times in the last 6 months so I have used it enough that it has paid for itself twice over by now! -It will take up to a 50 foot cable but I have done just fine with my 35 foot cables and this machine has done everything I have asked of it and more without breaking a sweat from badly clogged drains to slow running drains it takes care of them all quick and easy, I have actually nicknamed mine THE BEAST because of what a powerhouse it is lol I have not come across a job that it can't handle! I have just typed my guts out here trying to list everything I love about this machine and I just can't type anymore, if you want an even better look at this bad boy then I highly suggest you CHECK OUT MY VIDEO for a really in-depth look at it!!!

If you're like me and manage 20+ units, this tool may help you finish jobs faster. Plumbing is a common problem in multi-family rentals. This product is nice to have but not absolutely necessary. For most homeowners, a $20 auger is plenty for sinks and tubs if you know your typical problem is just hair around the P-trap. For the pro, you may want an extremely heavy duty auger. There is no, "one tool fits all". This tool falls in the middle. It's a bit too expensive for most homeowners, and right in the middle for professionals. You may need a 2nd battery, especially if you have multiple jobs or a difficult clog. I like how it's capacity stands at: 50 Feet x 1/4 in, 5/16 inch. at 35 feet, it can handle 3/8inch. 5 year warranty for the tool is very nice to have, but again, the 2.0 battery may not be good enough so you should get a 2nd one. I'm a big Milwaukee fan, so I have 2 extra batteries from other tools. The LED light is nice, but you should still wear a headlamp(I have a super nice Milwaukee headlamp). You only have to do 3 jobs to pay it off, but it's still a lot of money to fork out at once. I have a heavy duty toilet auger, a $15-20 hand auger, and those two get the job done 90% of the time. This tool is good for when the hand auger doesn't work and it's too tiring.

Overall I think this is a pretty good unit. For residential or light commercial you could probably get away with just having this. If you are a plumber and use it full time it's not going to replace your big plug in auger, but it is very transportable and clean for bringing on and off site easily. I let a friend who is a plumber borrow it as well and he said it didn't get through some tough rust and had to use his big plugin but that it was convenient and he'd probably keep one on his truck. For me and my home use it's always going to be enough. I used it on my 15 year old daughters tub right out which has been slow for ever and it's been perfect the last month. Took me 5 minutes start to finish!

This tool is another great innovation from Milwaukee. It has several feature not seen before in this class tool, name cordless design, power feed and no exposed rotating drum. All of these are important features when working in tight quarters under a sink. The tool is reversible for power retraction as well. I found it has plenty of power to auger through any drain clog one might encounter in their home. I used the 1/4" snake in my 1.5" drain line and it worked like a champ. The 1/4" snake has a bulb head, the 3/8" snake has interchangeable heads. The carry case is very convenient, and stores the tool as well as the battery and charger, and all accessories. An excellent tool! Very professional.

We got this snake to use on our rental properties we own. If you own a rental property, you know that there is often issues with the plumbing due to things going down the drain. We often get calls that the tub is draining slow or the sink is clogged. This snake auger is totally awesome! After calling and watching the plumber do it a number of times and charging me sky high prices, I am happy to now do it my on my own! The battery is powerful and gets the job done. I also love the carrying case it comes in, keeps the mess down.

Lightweight and efficient Milwaukee quality. Plenty of power for most jobs and so easy to control. I only have one negative and that is it only comes with one M18 FUEL 2.0 battery. While I have not run out of power yet I would prefer having a backup battery included. Of course if you have other tools you can easily “borrow” a battery. I have some M18 FUEL XC5 batteries that work just fine. Package includes a M12 and M18 Multi-voltage charger. Unit is fully self contained in its carrying case with room for a spare battery and work gloves and easy to transport. Entire unit, carry case and all is about 20 lbs and well balanced. With the standard forward/reverse thumb slide the variable speed is controlled by trigger. While unit is not real heavy they built a flat area on bottom so it can be set down during extended use or awkward places like my photo and maintain stability and better control. Cable feed is simple and easily controlled too. While one hand controls speed the other controls the feed direction and feed speed by simply turning the spindle sleeve and the sleeve locks in different positions. AND they even built in a light that shines from under where it is usually darkest. Light comes on when you touch the trigger and stays on for about 10 seconds after you let up on the trigger. One caution to beware of, the cable will feed completely out of the spindle. There is an end of cable warning marker 3 feet before the end of the cable but you gotta watch closely if you are feeding fast. They recommend and I highly back it that you rinse cable well and let it dry before storing for length of time. It will make for a much more pleasant experience the next time you need to use it.

M18 FUEL, 18-Volt Lithium-Ion cordless drains cleaning snake auger with 1/4 in. and 3/8 in. cable drive kit Meet the clog buster it is operating as it is described in operating manual, and more some. As a building maintenance I will receive calls about clogged drain pipe and usually I will have to deal with manual 25 to 30 feet snake (keep cranking my friend), if it is kitchen it can take more than 4 passes because the drain itself suffer from cholesterol clog and the kitchen had hart attack see attached pictures. Since I have to work from under the cabinet or from the crawl space my shoulders and arms will hurt for next couple of days from all that cranking. With this bad boy no more painful arms it goes right through the clog, one pass you open it second pass you clean the side walls and you are god to go for long time. The kit come with everything you need for 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches drain lines from 30 feet max on 3/8 in. cable to 50 feet on 1/4 in. cable. Both cables have bulb 2 feet from the end so that you can’t lose the cable in the drain smart move from designer. 1/4 in. cable comes only with auger where 3/8 in. comes with multiple attachments. The tool have auto feed and retract future and it can lock the cable in one place so you can work the clog, and the speed you can control on the trigger. The battery really can handle multiple jobs I would say more than 3 jobs. Everything comes in a really nice red box and it is sealed unit so no more dripping nasty drain water throughout the apartment. The cables are made from stainless steel which means no more rusty cable to touch, changing the bits is really simple, and I would recommended to wash the cable and drum after every use. I RELY LOVE THIS TOOL AND IT SAVES ME A LOT OF HASSLE WITH DRAINS. And trust me there is no enough words to say how good this tool is you have to try it for yourself to believe it and you won’t regret that you got it.