When we saw the new Milwaukee MX FUEL breaker in action at the NPS19 media event, jaws dropped. The Milwaukee MX FUEL breaker demo hammer seems to do several things very well. First, it reduces vibration to the user. It also demos up to two tons of concrete per charge. The MX FUEL breaker certainly surprised Pros with respect to its power and how long the battery lasts.
Introducing the Milwaukee MX FUEL Breaker
Milwaukee Tool delivered the MX FUEL breaker to several job sites. On one, a worker used the cordless demo hammer to cut an 80-foot long 10-inch wide trench in 6-inch concrete. When he finished, the battery still showed half of its life remaining. For a cordless battery-powered tool, that’s a decent amount of work on a single charge.
Several of the interviewed construction workers also compared this battery-powered breaker to traditional air-powered breakers. Matched against those, it meets or beats the weight of a pneumatic breaker. It also doesn’t vibrate nearly as much. Overall, Pro contractor feedback indicated the tool provides much more control over corded or hosed tools.
Weight and Noise
As a bonus, the side handle lets you carry the tool one-handed from the mid-point. With the battery and chisel point installed, the tool balances evenly.
Noise also showed up as an advantage. The MX FUEL breaker operates with less noise than air hammers—plus, there’s no compressor. Overall, this new breaker seems like it may change expectations regarding what a cordless power tool can accomplish.
More Features
Milwaukee placed an LED light on the nose of the breaker to light up the work area at night or indoors. Milwaukee One-Key integration means you can inventory your tool. You also have a fighting chance at tracking it down if it’s ever stolen. Finally, you’re buying into the same battery platform that can run a cordless core drill and MX FUEL 14-inch cut-off saw.
What Pros Say About the MX FUEL Breaker
Clearly, MX FUEL represents a huge development as a pneumatic breaker replacement. Several tradesmen acknowledged this was something entirely new in the industry that they’d never seen. Some were shocked at just how long the battery lasts. The amount of power generated by this tool also made a splash—something they didn’t expect from a cordless battery-powered solution.
In fact, we kept hearing that the breaker had plenty of power. Power enough for tons (literally) of concrete breaking. The Milwaukee MX FUEL breaker kept up with regular jackhammers connected to compressors. In terms of the numbers Milwaukee Tool has put out, this matches up to the impact energy of the Hilti TE-3000-AVR breaker—but with even less vibration. That’s an amazing matchup for a first-generation piece of battery-powered equipment!
Check out some of the phrases we heard from the job site:
not too much kicking – just working smooth – breaks up concrete perfectly – not as heavy – it doesn’t vibrate nearly as much – you’re able to control it much easier than corded or hose tools – battery operated, but lightweight – not that heavy – you can carry it with one hand – you just move
Getting Work Done
In terms of work, the Milwaukee MX FUEL breaker cut an 80-foot long 10-inch wide trench in 6-inch concrete with half its battery life remaining. Milwaukee says you can take out a 40-foot long trench 12-inches wide of 6-inch concrete on one XC extended-run battery. Put another way, you can take out more than two 6-inch deep sidewalk slabs measuring 5′ x 4′.
The MX FUEL CP203 battery recharges in 45 minutes and the XC406 battery recharges in 90 minutes.
Details
- Impact energy: 50 ft-lbs
- Impact rate: 1,300 BPM
- Power supply: MX FUEL battery
- Chuck Size: 1-1/8 in. Hex
- Vibration-reduction system
- Dust collection accessory compatible
- Soft-start
- Milwaukee One-Key tool tracking
- Battery level LED gauges (4-bar)
- Side carry handle
- Vibration: 4.9m/s²
- Dimensions (LxWxH): 32.2 x 25.1 x 11.6 in.
- Warranty: 2-year equipment & battery
- Includes: Cart (3600M), three chisels, MX FUEL Breaker, MX FUEL RedLithium battery (MXFXC406), MX FUEL charger (MXFC)
- Release date: May 2020
- Price: $2,499
Conclusion
You can order the Milwaukee MX FUEL breaker kit with cart, XC battery, charger, and bits for less than $2,500. That’s less than the Hilti and you get a battery-powered solution with less vibration and (apparently) the same rated impact energy.
For more information on Milwaukee MX FUEL, check out this link.
