M18 Fuel 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Drain Cleaning 3/8 in. Switch Pack Sectional Drum System Kit

Easy to use, I really like the compact size, felt very strong. I've used it for about 7 jobs now and it has failed to disappoint.

Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this unit. It has surpassed my expectations in every way, and has several very nice features. Drum is detachable, makes portability a much less daunting task. Heavier snake systems can be a pain to haul into a job, especially on older houses where utility quarters are not too kind. The drum is fully enclosed. This means you can fully retract the snake, have it confined within the drum, and then clean later at the shop. You do not drop gunk all over the house, and can contain the mess until appropriate to clean it. The foot trigger is actually surprisingly nice. At first I thought the black section where you press down would be a hard plastic shell, but it is actually a soft, flexible rubber-like material. This gives me a lot more confidence that it wont break from being banged around, and also makes activating the tool much nicer and more comfortable. I do wish there was on-board storage for the button. It comes with a nice variety of cleaning attachments, as well as on board storage. The system works through a drive belt mechanism that tensions up against a drive pulley mounted on the drum spindle. This is an ingenious solution to implement interchangeable snakes. I absolutely love it. Which leads me to my one negative point about this tool. I absolutely do not like that the latches to secure the barrel to the motor backpack are all plastic. The hinge, rod, latch, everything is plastic. I am fine with the latch being all plastic, if significantly reinforced. The pin in the hinge is plastic, and is around 1/4". This is a decent amount, but the flange is not nearly big enough, in my opinion. These two hinges not only hold the drum into the motor backpack, but is also the mechanism used for adequately tensioning the drive belt between the drum and the motor. This seems like a huge, glaring weak point to me. Please beef up these hinge flanges. I am afraid of shearing them off. A combination of everyday use, as well as just the right (or wrong) couple of bumps could break one of these flanges very easily, which COMPLETELY disables the tool. Aside from the flange issue, I am thoroughly impressed. Milwaukee has again added a huge value to my M18 battery line, and added speed and efficiency to my daily cycle.

This, like all Milwaukee cordless products, is a contractor-grade tool, designed and built to stand up to the rigors of job site use. Huge upgrade over the wheel-in units that I'm familiar with - not just in that it's cordless, allowing for use most anywhere, but also in its physical portability. Whether you need to access the drain system from up rooftop, or down in a crawlspace, you can get this unit in there and working to solve the problem quickly. This particular model comes with 3/8" inner core cable loaded in the drum, which is ideal for use with pipe diameters of 2"-3". Models are also available with other cable choices - and even with multiple cable choices - in both tool-only and kit form. Milwaukee sells cables for this unit with diameters from 5/16" - 5/8", both inner-core and open-wind, for use in pipes from 1-1/4" thru 4". Pre-loaded drums, as well as standalone replacement cables, are available.

This is a seriously professional tool for snaking out drains. It is very heavy with the full 100' cable installed in the winding case. The built in back pack straps come in handy for getting the unit near the drain you need to work on. Being cordless is a big plus, and it comes with the larger M18 battery, which gives you plenty of power/time for most jobs. A lot of thought was put into the design of the unit, as the cable easily detaches from the driver (backpack part). You can set up several size cables in different drums and quickly change them out for the particular job you are on. It can use most cables, but the ones made by Milwaukee are of high quality stainless steel. The foot pedal allows you to operate/ guide the cable with your hands while applying power with your foot. This is much easier than a trigger type pack. The drive motor is brushless for maximum power and long life. I have used big rental units that are very cumbersome and hard to use, and in my opinion, this is quite an upgrade just being able to carry it in and not needing a cord. Cleaning pipes is never a fun job, so finishing it quickly and easily is always a plus!

Very convenient. Wish it had more than one speed though. This is a pretty nice tool. Not much smaller than comparable tools, but much easier to transport and a bit more versatile. Runs on the M18 battery eliminating the need for power cords and receptacles. No need to drag cords around the outside of the house looking for the cleanout. Belt driven like the high end models eliminating and gears and potential for more things to break on a hang up. Foot paddle is small and light enough to be used by hand or foot and has a fairly long cord with storage. Backpack feature is nice to have when approaching a job and for larger crawl spaces, however it's not the best for constant use and would make it hard to wear in smaller spaces. Also weighs about 42 lbs with the battery and fully assembled ready to roll. The unit is pretty stable on its own when in use but there is also a bar that pulls out making it even more stable. Drum is removable, easily! The pack itself will work with many other dums made by Milwaukee offering different sized drums for larger or smaller jobs. Unit has forward and reverse though I wish it had a high and low or variable speed like many of the corded rivals. Comes with many different tips that have a quick connect feature for different situations or objects you may find in your way. Comes with charger and battery.

Milwaukee's M18 Fuel 18 Volt Cordless Drain Cleaner is Powerful. The Unit breaks down for easy cleaning of the cable. It weights a lot less than a traditional drain opener you would rent. Very Easy Operation. Flip the switch on top for forward or Reverse and Press on the Switch with your Foot or Knee. The cable feeds in and out smoothly. It comes with 5 attachments and has a 5 ah Battery that's compatible with other 18 volt Milwaukee Tools. Very Sturdy and Well made.

There is some weight to this drain cleaner, but that will help make it stable when in use. The whole thing weights 42 pounds. The backpack part weights 16 pounds and the drum section weights 26 pounds. The backpack and drum are easy to separate. Just lift the latch on both sides and then lift it out of the backpack. Little hard to put back together since there are two V-type guide slots that it needs to slide down into, but not bad. The battery is the same that works with all their other tools and the charger is the same. The cleaning end attachments just slide right on the end, very easy to do. It isn't that loud when running and has a smooth turn to it and not so fast that it is hard to feed into the pipe or back into the drum. The cable is easy to clean with a water hose. The foot pedal or knee pedal is easy to operate. I haven't run it long enough to see how long the battery will last, but so far seems to run plenty long enough to fully extend the cable out of the drum and back in after cleaning the clog and then cleaning the cable. Milwaukee has come up with a great product as usual.

Makes going on top of roof so much easier to carry up than a regular machine. So far, it has been working great.