Hydraulic Impact Driver – Should You Have One In Your Kit?

When you hear the term “Hydraulic Impact Driver “you either know exactly what I’m talking about or you wonder if it’s some weird industrial tool hooked up to hydraulic hoses like a giant concrete saw. Well, I can assure you that if you do any work indoors, you should take a closer look at this tool.

What Is a Hydraulic Impact Driver?

So what is a hydraulic impact and how is it different from a regular impact? First off, a regular impact has three main parts a hammer, anvil, and a spring. As the hammer portion turns, if there’s resistance on the anvil, the spring loads up until it releases and the hammer strikes the anvil in the direction of rotation delivering that impact force into the fastener. The hammer and anvil mechanism is all metal so it is pretty loud when activated in quick succession. Check out this video excerpt from ToolStop where a Bosch employee demonstrates the impact mechanism.

A Hydraulic Impact is different in that it uses oil to build up pressure, when the pressure is high enough, pawls get pushed out on the anvil mechanism so that the hammer grabs them as it rotates. Then the pressure decreases, and the pawls retract until the pressure builds again. This results in a much quieter operation.

Benefits of a Hydraulic Impact over a regular

The first and biggest benefit is that they are half as loud as a regular impact. The new Dewalt boasts a 57% decrease in sound over their regular impact when driving 3″ screws into a pressure treated 4×4. That is a significant number. I can guarantee that all of us tradespeople will have some hearing loss over our careers, using a quieter tool when possible only makes sense.

The second benefit is the hydraulic mechanism due to the way it’s constructed, has more sustained torque. A regular impact is like hitting the end of a wrench with a hammer, a hydraulic impact is like putting a cheater pipe over the wrench and giving it a bunch of half-second tugs. Both will tighten the fastener, but one has torque on the fastener for a longer duration.

Killer Applications for Hydraulic Drivers

The obvious applications are anything indoors. MEP Rough-ins, steel stud framing, accessories (mirrors, grab bars, soap, paper towel dispensers, etc), device-ing out, and even doors and hardware. It isn’t just new construction either. Remodeling of existing occupied spaces can always benefit from decreased sound and vibration.

I do a ton of healthcare remodeling, hospitals, clinics, etc. Places that have to stay open even during construction. They always appreciate reduced noise and vibration, especially considering many places have normal sound levels rivaling the local library.

The last killer application is casework (cabinetry). Any time your head is close to the fastener being driven, the quieter the tool, the better it is for you in the long run.

Limitations of Hydraulic Drivers

There are some applications where hydraulic drivers are not the best choice. Longer and larger diameter fasteners like concrete screw anchors (TitanHD) and timber screws are hard for hydraulic impacts (and regular impacts) but in these cases, I usually switch to an impact wrench anyway.

The other area that hydraulics suffer from is extreme cold. I’ve had two Milwaukee Surge hydraulic drivers over the 8 years they’ve been out. The first one only lasted like 3-4 months because I left it on the job in the double digits below zero and I think the oil was too viscous and leaked out when I started using it for the day. I’ve never got an official confirmation from the brands that cold is detrimental for these types of drivers but I’ve read other reports online of similar scenarios.

Who makes Hydraulic Impact Drivers?

Up until a few months ago, Makita and Milwaukee were the only brands that made hydraulics. The drawback to this was that there has been no updates to these tools in the 8 years since they’ve been out. Now Dewalt just released theirs and it boasts quieter operation, less vibration, and more power than the Makita and Milwaukee. I don’t know if this new release from Dewalt will trigger updates to the Makita and Milwaukee.

What I do know is that if you’re on Milwaukee M18 or M12, Makita 18V LXT, or Dewalt 20V a hydraulic impact driver should have a spot in your tool kit.

Where To Buy (ACME Tool)

Milwaukee M12 Surge Bare Tool

MilwaukeeM18 Surge Bare Tool

Makita 18V LXT Bare Tool

Dewalt 20V Quiet Hydraulic Impact Bare Tool

Hydraulic Impact Driver – Should you have one? is a post from Tool Box Buzz

Milwaukee M12 Surge – Inventing A Unicorn

The tale of the M12 Surge… Join me in my time machine for a moment if you will and lets wind the clock back three years. The year is 2016 and the M18 Surge has just hit the market. I remember when it first came out thinking, “How great can this tool really be?” and “Are impacts really that loud?” I imagine a lot of other tradesmen had similar thoughts. It wasn’t until the videos started hitting social media that I knew I needed to get my hands on one as well.

Then came the true moment of realization when I finally got one and used it for the first time. It’s like the tool just willed the screws into the wood. I mean, I was used to all the noise and rattling with a regular impact, the Surge just didn’t have that. I’m sure a lot of other tradesmen had the same realization. I know they did because I started to see less and less impacts come out on the jobsite except for particularly long or difficult fasteners.

It also didn’t take long for guys to start longing for an M12 version. If driving fasteners can be this nice on M18, why can’t it be for guys on M12? After all, they’re the ones reaching into the small, confined spaces to drive fasteners. As the next couple years went by what once seemed like a pipe dream now started becoming that tool that contractors asked for on the regular.

The Wait Is Over

Finally the red team in Wisconsin has heard our pleas and has delivered the M12 Surge. It is as you would expect from a M12 driver, it’s light and compact but not toy like. It has the pod style battery that is a signature of M12. Putting the batteries in the handle (unless you’re running an XC pack) helps contribute to the tools ability to get into small spots.

Give Me The Deets

So what makes this thing special besides being small? It is 2x quieter than a normal impact. It has the same 450 in-lbs of torque as its M18 brother. M12 Surge has 4 driving modes like any of the other fuel offerings and one of those modes is a tek screw mode that’s perfect for steel stud or other tin applications. It only weighs 2 lbs. It fits in your tool bags. The surge has less vibration than normal impacts. Faster driving speeds for small to medium fasteners. The list of benefits just goes on and on.

How Do I Get In On This Action – Where to buy the M12 Surge

The tool doesn’t start shipping until the middle of August but you can preorder from the following retailers.

Milwaukee M12 Surge – Inventing A Unicorn is a post from Tool Box Buzz

Milwakee M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver

Cordless 1/4″ impact drivers have been overtaking the fastening marketplace for several years now with most trades adopting these as their “go to” tool for installing small to medium size fasteners. While impact drivers have completely changed the game on most job sites they certainly have room for improvement in noise, vibration, and size. Recently we’ve seen several companies introduce new types of oil impulse technology to their “impact driver” lines including Ridgid and Makita.

Milwaukee has just announced the M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver.

How SURGE Works

The new Milwaukee M18 FUEL SURGE is powered by FLUID-DRIVE Hydraulic Powertrain. Oil impulse technology uses pulses of hydraulic oil to create the impact which results in reduced metal-on-metal impact. This results in some significant improvements over traditional impact drivers including:

• Quieter Operation – SURGE is 50% quieter than standard impact drivers, operating at 76 dBA. This means that in most applications SURGE is under the OSHA requirement for hearing protection.
• Smoother Performance – The M18 SURGE has 3 times less vibration that standard impact drivers. This results in smoother operation and increased user control.
• Longer Sustained Torque – 450 in-lbs of longer sustained torque resulting in equal to or faster driving speeds when driving small to medium diameter fasteners.
• Increased Durability due to minimized wear

In addition to the new oil impulse technology, SURGE includes everything FUEL has to offer including:

• POWERSTATE Brushless Motor
• REDLINK PLUS Electronic Intelligence
• REDLITHIUM Battery Pack

Probably one of the most important things to note, this is yet again another tool on a vast platform of 18V tools. That means SURGE will work with the batteries from the entire line of M18 tools that users already own.

What Does Longer Sustained Torque Mean?

Power tools have become so sophisticated that users get lost in a sea of facts, claims, figures and specifications that make it tough to decipher. One of the really important things to understand with this new oil impulse technology is what longer sustained torque means and how it relates to the tools performance. Below is a graphic that shows the torque of a standard impact driver (shown in grey) vs the new SURGE Hydraulic Driver (shown in Red).

• Grey Line – For the standard impact driver shown in grey, the tool produces high torque values a very brief moments in time. The impact is happening at 3,000 impacts per minute (IPM).
• Red Line – The SURGE Hydraulic Driver shown in red. This tool reaches peak torque quicker and holds that torque much longer. Also, SURGE impacts faster at 4,000 IPM.
• The result is SURGE can perform equal to or faster than standard impact drivers when driving small to medium diameter fasteners.

The Future of Fastener Installation – Oil Impulse Drivers

Research shows that 90% of impact driver fastening in most trades is done with small to medium diameter fasteners. Below are some typical fasteners that many trades deal with an some average torque requirements for installing them:

• #9 – 3 inch deck screw: 40 in-lb
• 1/4″ x 3″ lag bolt: 53 in-lb
• 3/8″ x 3″ lag bolt: 160 in-lb
• #10-16 x 3/4″ Tek screw: 10 in-lb
• 5/16″ bolt: 324 in-lb

450 in-lb of torque the SURGE greatly exceeds the torque required to install these typical small to medium diameter fasteners. So while a standard impact driver might produce a very short duration 1,800 in-lb of torque, that amount isn’t necessary for installation of typical fasteners and it’s not nearly as sustained as the SURGE. The result is a MUCH more efficient delivery of the power needed day in and day out to do the tasks that the majority of us need.

When you step up to large diameter fasteners then you’ll need to step up to something like an impact wrench which is designed to handle higher torque applications.

First Impression – M18 FUEL SURGE Hydraulic Driver

We got our hands on the new SURGE just recently so we need more time to fully evaluate the tool. However, we’re really excited about the performance and drastic reduction in noise and vibration. While testing the tool using some common fasteners we also notice a very nice improvement on the smoothness of operation. The SURGE comes with 3 standard speeds along with a special 4th mode for installing self tapping screws. It includes the standard belt clip, bit holder, and LED light that we’ve grown accustomed to on the standard impact drivers.

This new tool will be sold in four different skews as follows:

• 2760-20: M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver $149
• 2760-22CT: M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver CP Kit $249
• 2760-22: M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver XC Kit $329
• 2899-22: M18 FUEL 2-Tool Combo Kit $429

Built on the proven FUEL platform we have no doubt this will be a home run for Milwaukee!

Milwaukee M18 Fuel SURGE Hydraulic Driver Video

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Milwaukee M18 FUEL SURGE Hydraulic Driver is a post from Tool Box Buzz