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sorry icer, posted at the same time.You just gotta go to the website and see what's on sale. I just went there and noticed that the Milwaukee M18 fuel brushless hammer drill is on sale. 4.0 amp batteries, charger and case. $50 off for $249 through September. Good deal. They have the 5 amp kit for $299.the only Ridgids they had only had the 2 amp batteries with the hammer drill and the 1.5 amp battery with the compact. neither were on sale.You can go on their website and find what you are looking for and save it to your watch list, they will notify you if it goes on sale.
i didn't know of this new release (7/16/2015) when i was answering your question about ridgid drills. so ridgid is NOT the strongest drill again. they must have released this soon after the new gen5x to corner that end of their market too.the ridgid gen5x is 65 FOOT pound (780 INCH pounds)the new fuel m-18 is 100 FOOT pounds (1200 INCH pounds) (PEAK) meaning up to. that would depend on factors not given on thier site like load and temps.adding the word "peak" sounds off to me. the same thing about measuring two ways in other things like boat motors can be measured at the shaft while others are measured at the prop. and measuring watts from a transmitter can be peak or rms (average), same goes with sonar watts. normally peak can have a PTP or peak to peak measurment.i know i will buy one and put it thru its paces and return it, to see if its a marketing ploy to use super high numbers and add a word not used in measureing the out-puts of drills before now. the added amp will for sure make it stronger so long as the motor can use it and it should. the extra amp would make ridgid stronger too, but not by nearly double. laws are vague about out put measurements. i remember when i was a teen and they sold those car stereo/equalizers that was about the size of a pack of cigs and rated for 300 watts for 30$. no law to protect the end user then either.another gimmick of sorts is flashlight LED emitters. on paper specs is what is used to sell flashlights, not the actuall lumens from the reflector to a light meter. no law there either.you can have too much torque. too much can break your bones. plenty of times drilling wood with basket saws and getting them caught would try to break your wrists. that last turn or so cutting ice with the auger getting caught or trying to just before it gets thru all of the way.https://www.milwaukeetool.com/press-releases/new-m18-fuel-drilling-and-driving-products-set-industry-benchmarkagainhttp://www.milwaukeetool.com/system/m18-fuelwhen your batteries wear out, and they do, they can be had for 130$ each or 200$ for a pair @ HD. if you get 5 years from them, that will cost 40$ a year in batteries to use the drill if nothing else wears out.Manufacturer Warranty 5 Year on Tool, 3 Years on Batteries makes you think about costs in power/portable augers. would be nice to have someone make a comparison table in say a 5 and 10 year run time between dedicated cordless/power head, gas and drills. like how much does 40$ in gas/oil get you a year or does it cost nearly that much to operate gas augers per season. 40$ a seaon in gas at 2.5$ a gal is 16 gallons minus the oil costs. seams like 16 gallons should drill lots of holes and for more than one year, maybe several.also, the warranty problems (extra costs from manufactures refuseing to honor warranties and shipping), if any, during those times. i heard some thing about milwaukee counts the charges or some thing like that in their batteries when in for a replacement last year.ridgid is still a one time purchase and NO OVER HEAD COSTS other than electric to charge the batteries like any other battery operated unit does.
I read through the press release link you posted and couldn't find the word "peak" anywhere when referencing the torque of the next gen 2 Milwaukee Fuel. I would say if anyone is concerned about breaking bones with too much torque, just put it in a clam plate which gives you much better control anyway. I know Milwaukee advertised the gen 1 Fuel at 725 in/lbs... when in fact independent you tube tests showed it to be closer to 750 in/lbs. I was looking for a fantastic drill not a fantastic warranty..... a warranty won't drill a hole in the ice for you. Like Tommy Boy said "That guarantee on the box means you just bought a guaranteed piece of s##t!"
I do not plan to upgrade until my Fuel drill goes kaput, but when it does I'm will absolutely be looking at performance more than warranty.