Milwaukee upgraded their M18 Fuel 7-1/10 cm circular saw with a completely new GEN 2 model2732-21HD. Is it better than the original? Lets find out in this honest review.
Ethics Disclosure
Milwaukee was kind enough to provide the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 7-1/10 cm Circular Saw 2732-21HD at no cost for review. As with all my reviews I am not required to write a positive one. Based on my experience and knowledge, this review represents my opinion about the product. My review will include my thoughts and opinions. I will do my best to provide you with an unbiased review.
Manufacturer Features and Specs:
- 5,800 RPM
- 5/20 cm arbor
- maximum bevel capacity
- length 42 cm
- 5 kg with 12.0ah battery (tested and confirmed)
- about 4 kg more or less baretool (tested)
- 2-1/2 in. of cut depth at 90 degrees /1-7/20 cm at 45 degrees
- POWERSTATE Brushless motor: purposely built for the M18 FUEL 7-1/4 in. circular saw to generate the power and performance of a 15 A corded circular saw
- REDLINK Plus intelligence: ensures optimal performance and provides overload protection to prevent damage to the tool and battery during heavy applications while still maintaining compatibility across the entire M18 system
- REDLITHIUM HIGH OUTPUT HD12.0 battery pack: provides 50% more power and runs 50% cooler versus standard REDLITHIUM HD packs. superior pack construction provides the industrys best protection against jobsite conditions
- For maximum durability, wear a Magnesium shoe with guards
- LED light for greater visibility and accuracy
- Protective integrated dust port and included vac adapter
- Electric brake for stopping blade after trigger is released
- Compatible with all M18 batteries and tools
My Thoughts on features and build quality:
Milwaukee released the original M18 Fuel 7-1/10 cm cordless circular saw back in 2014 and back then it was one of the first cordless circular saws to sport a full size 7-1/10 cm blade and a brushless motor. It had class leading performance in the 18V segment however the competition has hit hard with higher voltage models such as Makitas original brushed motor X2 36 volt saw using dual 18V batteries that outperformed the original M18 Fuel model. Since then others such as Dewalt has made 60V cordless circular saws with their two Flexvolt models and Makita fired back with a X2 brushless model of their own with the rear handle worm-drive look alike style cordless circular saw model, all of which take cordless circular saw performance to a whole new level, not seen before. Milwaukee upgraded their original model in 2022 with a Gen 2 model 2732-20 or 2732-21HD, which is available as a baretool and a kit that includes the latest 18V battery technology, the high-output HD 12.0 Ah battery. When paired with the 12.0 ah lithium battery, the Milwaukee M18 Fuel circular saw will offer similar performance to a corded 15amp saw. Well see if the claims are true or not in the performance section below.
Many of the same features that made the original M18 Fuel 7-1/10cm circular saw so great are carried over to the Gen 2 2022 model. In fact, so much so that its hard to tell them apart. Each model has a hook that can be used to hang the tool near a 24. Both models have LED lights to help illuminate the cut line for beginning cuts. However, this light is only for the shoe cavity so it cannot illuminate the path ahead of you. However, you will still need sufficient light to make the cut. A laser is not available that casts a line on the cut line ahead but in all fairness, this feature is reserved only for budget saw models for those that are inexperienced to the point that they need a training wheel feature such as a laser to aid with the cut. You will not find such a feature on a pro tool such as this Milwaukee saw.
Milwaukee did very well with the construction of the saw and have not skimped out on quality as this saw features strong yet light magnesium shoe and blade guards. You wont find no cheap metals or plastics here. I also like that they included a stamped metal ruler guide in the front rather than a sticker label like Makita did with with the original X2 brushed motor circular saw (XSH01Z). It looks similar to the original model, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The shoe allows the saw to bevel up to 50 degrees and allows the user to lock into place at any bevel angle however it does not have any detents for positive angle stops at any of the popular angles such as 45 and the like. You might consider Makitas X2 models if this is a problem. They have excellent integrated bevel stops and detents at all popular angles. The fact that the Milwaukee doesnt have any bevel detents doesnt bother me as I never cut bevel angles with a portable circular saw as I leave that job to my table saw however if I did use portable circular saws Id greatly miss the detents. The Milwaukee’s shoe does have a bevel degree system that will help you find the angle you want, but with no hard stops.
A slot is included in the shoe to attach rip fencing guides. The knob can be used to tighten fence guides. However, a rip fence is not included in the package and must be purchased separately. I am not the only one who might be disappointed by an included rip-fence guide. I also use my table saw to make straight cuts at specific widths. For everything else my cuts are straight enough with a portable circular saw.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel saw comes with a key to change blades. It also has a storage compartment for the key, so it is always at hand. It has a similar handle with a hefty grip that allows you to hold onto the blades and a fine texture rubber overmold for a secure grip. I dont know if its just in my head but the new saws handle seems a bit slimmer, hard to tell but still good. The trigger is also activated only after the thumb safety button is activated with a thumb safety button on either side of the grip for right and left handed users.
Also just like the original model, the blade is to the right of the saw like a traditional sidewinder model. Although I prefer the blade on my left side, I don’t think it matters as much since most right-handed users are used to blade right circular saws. I do however wish that Milwaukee would make a right handed version of this saw with the blade on the left side.
There were three physical differences that I found on the new model. The first is the larger motor, which is roughly twice as big as the original model. This also leads to the second difference: weight. The new saw weighs in at around 4 kg without battery. It is about the same weight as the original model, with a 4.0 Ah battery but without a battery. When you install the included battery which is around 1 kg by the way, it makes it a hefty saw at 5 kg with battery, yikes! That has always been one of the positives about cordless circular saws is that they were always lighter than a corded model, but that has changed with the Gen 2 model. The saw is still lightweight at 5 kg, even with a fatpack battery such as an XC 4.0, 5.0, but Milwaukee claims that it’s as powerful as a corded 15-amp saw with a 12ah battery and not a 5.0ah. But dont worry, I compare both 12ah and 5ah batteries in the performance section to see if there is any difference in performance depending on battery size. But either way you look at it, this is a heavy saw for cordless when paired with a 12ah battery. Luckily the handle is closer to the center of the saw making it evenly balanced and not front heavy when holding. The same is not true about Makitas X2 rear handle saw which weighs about the same but because the handle is extended to the rear, makes the saw unwieldy when holding with only one hand since its entirely front heavy. Still, its too bad the Gen 2 Milwaukee Fuel model isnt lighter.
The last difference I found on the new Gen 2 model was that the side dust chute on the upper blade guard now has a plastic insert installed. Why does the insert of plastic material cost so little? Its so that you can swap that out with an included vacuum port accessory for cutting with less mess when using a vacuum. This is a very well designed accessory and when used with a vacuum will lead to cleaner jobsites and less mess to pick up at the end of the day. This feature is usually found only on UK circular saws. It was traditionally absent from French models. This is an important feature for Americans.
Pricing
The Gen 2 Fuel circular saw is priced at in the one 12ah battery kit. It is slightly more expensive than some of its peers, but it’s still affordable and comparable to one of its competitors. For example the Makita XSR01 kit is priced at and it comes with two 5ah batteries and dual charger making it an entire benjamin cheaper than the Milwaukee kit, however I will say that the single 12ah Milwaukee battery is larger in capacity than two 5ah Makita 18V batteries by 2 whole amp hours so the difference in price isnt that big after you factor in that the Milwaukee though pricier offers a larger battery. The next on the list is Dewalts 60V Flexvolt electric worm-drive circular saw. It is priced at in a kit with one 3ah Flexvolt lithium battery, which is 9ah in 18-volt terms. Priced exactly the same however the Milwaukee offers the better value as its bundled battery has a larger capacity by 3 amp hours more than Dewalts. So Milwaukees price point for the kit is actually not bad considering the bang per buck.
Sidewinder Not Worm-Drive Style
It is interesting to see that other brands, such as Makita and Dewalt, came out with fake worm-drive cordless circularsaws. Im sure they no doubt went with these fake worm-drive styles to give the impression that they were more powerful cordless versions. I was able test the Makitas X2 rear-hand circular saw with fake worm drive styling. And yes its worm-drive looks are fake as it does not have a worm-drive and is actually a sidewinder saw made to look like a worm drive saw. The Makita X2 rear-handle saw proved to be a strong cordless circular saw that is even stronger than the original X2 model. So while the worm-drive style looks do give users an impression of strong performance, that model does have the performance to back up its looks, its fake worm drive style looks have nothing to do with its performance, but instead has to do with a strong motor in a sidewinder configuration.
Going back to Milwaukees 2022 Gen 2 M18 Fuel circular saw model, Milwaukee did make it stronger motor over the original Fuel model but yet kept the standard sidewinder style. This direction is my favorite, as it doesn’t try to trick you into buying something it isn’t. However its traditional sidewinder looks do not tell you its more powerful over the original especially since it looks almost identical to the original, only Milwaukees marketing department does. Luckily for you guys, Ive tested this saw out and can tell you if its actually more powerful over the original and by how much AND if it can keep up with the higher voltage competition including the pseudo worm-drive look alikes. Please complete the performance section.
Performance
To get an idea of the power and runtime, I test all my circular saw reviews while they are being cut at 210 cms. This saw was powerful as I made the first few cuts. It was so powerful that it could cross-cut 210 cms in under a second each cut. And with very little drag, even with an average blade. Milwaukee supplied me not only with the included Milwaukee OEM blade but they also sent me one of their fancy new white blades but I test new circular saws with the same type of blade on each saw (but new) not only for consistency but I choose an average quality blade (Avanti Pro framing blade) so that I can determine how strong a saw is rather than blame excellent cutting performance due to a better blade if the blade is engineered to cut faster and smoother.
I also constructed a new test board piece made up of 5 stacked pieces of OSB glued together. The thickness of this piece is 2-1/10 cm and the length is 61 cm, so each cut is 61 cm long at a thickness of 2-1/10 cm inch. Although the original Milwaukee fuel was capable of cutting through similar tests, it was only 4 OSB pieces stacked and not glued together. This is a tough test for any circular saw, and yet, the Gen 2 2022 model was capable of passing the cut in just 4 seconds. The Gen 2 model is a serious contender! If you don’t believe me, you can watch both the tests in this video.
As I commented earlier, Milwaukee makes the claim this saw hasperformance similar to a corded 15 amp circular saw when paired with the new 12ah battery. This claim is backed up by the saw’s performance. But then that got me thinking, would this same saw perform the same or similar with a smaller battery? Many of you still own XC 10cms and XC 13cms, even though the newer 23cms has just been released. The new 12.0 was only recently introduced so how does the saw perform with a smaller fatpack XC battery. I ran the same stacked OSB test with the XC 5.0 ah to find out and surprisingly this saw is just not nearly as powerful as when paired with the 12.0 ah battery. In the same test but with 5.0 ah battery, it took the saw over 9 seconds to do the same stacked OSB cut test. Thats more than twice the time it took the saw with the 12.0 ah battery. This saw can be used with the larger 12.0 Ah battery.
As you can see, smaller batteries can be used as it is backwards compatible for all M18 batteries. However, if you want to get the most out of this saw’s raw performance, a 12.0ah battery is required.
It also has an integrated dust blower that keeps the line of sight clear ahead. This saw works well with it. It does exactly what it is supposed to without any problems. It also has a side dust chute which does a pretty good job at spitting dust outward to the side as it cuts. Some of the dust does not make it to the side dust port, and some ends up behind the saw. This was a problem for me as I had to clean the workpiece several times. It wasn’t the most exciting deal, but it was necessary and something I would prefer to not do.
Performance VS the Competition
I recently had the opportunity to try Makita’s latest cordless circular saw, a rear handle XSR01z model. This saw was by far the best I’ve ever used. This saw is much more powerful than the X2 brushed motor model XSH01z. However when I tested that saw and previous saws, I had run out of the board I had built with 4 stacked pieces of OSB, that and I forget to measure how long the cutting length was so I couldnt recreate that cut perfectly on new tests. I have the Makita X2 brushless rear-hand saw, as well as other saws. I am able to test my 5 stacked OSB pieces that I have glued together. The fastest cut on the new test piece was about 4 seconds with the Makita X2 rear handle saw using a pair of 6ah batteries which is still very darn fast and powerful, however the new GEN 2 2022 Milwaukee M18 Fuel model surpasses even the Makita X2 rear handle beast just by a bit making it slightly more powerful. What doesnt make sense is that the Milwaukee is an 18V saw while the Makita is a 36V saw, so how could it be an 18V model is more powerful? Whatever it is, you have to give props to Milwaukee for doing the impossible.
To satisfy your curiosity, and mine, I also tested the original Makita M18 Fuel model with the new 12.0 batteries and the original Makita Makita X2 brush motor circular saw XSH01z with two 6.0ah batteries. What was interesting is that the Makita XSH01z kept up very well just slightly behind the new brushless X2 rear handle model at about 5 seconds, no doubt thanks to the pair of 6ah batteries. The original Milwaukee M18 Fuel saw was easily the slowest at 8 seconds with the same test cut. This shows us that the new 12.0 ah battery is not the only reason the new Gen 2 model is so powerful, its also because of a stronger motor as well because the new larger battery doesnt automatically make the older M18 Fuel model perform like the 36V saws.
Although the Gen 2 Milwaukee M18 Fuel 20022 circular saw model is technically quicker than the Makita X2 rear-handle saw in handling difficult cuts, I’ll admit that the Makita X2 brushless model seems to be faster in real life use. How so you ask, especially since the above comparison video shows the Milwaukee Gen 2 model beating all others? Its simple really, because even though the Milwaukee is technically faster, the motor sounds like its getting pushed to the limit when making demanding cuts and sounds like it will give out at any moment unless you slow down the cut. The Makita on the other hand, even though slightly slower, doesnt feel strained when making demanding cuts as you can hear the motor whizzing at full strength throughout the cut. The Makita inspires confidence when making a demanding cut and makes you feel like you can push the saw harder, although you cant go faster than the above video even if you tried otherwise it will overload and stall (yes I tried it and thats what happens). The Milwaukee Gen 2 is faster than the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2022 Gen 2, but you have to slow down to avoid overloading the motor. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2022 Gen 2 model can not only keep up with the big boys but can also outrun them.
Runtime
The runtime on this saw when paired with the new 12.0 ah battery is simply incredible as it was able to make 6oo cuts into 24 with one battery! It can make about 50 cuts an hour. People who have used cordless tools in the past, but not today’s cordless, always said that cordless has poor performance and a short runtime. Let me tell you, cordless tools are no longer able to deliver poor performance and runtime. The M18 Fuel 2 Gen model in this review is a fine example of this regard. 600 cuts per charge means that you can do at least three days of work, if not a full week of cutting without needing to change the battery. This makes it the saw that has the longest runtime of any I have tested. And Ive tested some with quite impressive runtimes in the past such as the original M18 Fuel 7-1/10 cm circular saw with 9.0 battery at 456 cuts into 24 making it 50.6 cuts per amp hour. The Makita X2 XSR01Z also got an impressive 458 cuts into 24 with a pair of 5ah batteries making it about 45.8 per amp hour in 18V equivalent terms.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Ive said it before and Ill say it again, Milwaukees been up to their technological wizardry by pushing the limits of what 18V can do and offer performance similar to high voltage cordless power tools and the 2022 Gen 2 Milwaukee M18 Fuel circular saw is yet another example. After trying the Makita X2 rear-hand circular saw, which is a 36 volt model, I was skeptical that any 18 volt tool could match its performance. But here we are today, with the Milwaukee coming in close in terms both of performance and cutting speed in high demand cuts, as shown in my 5 stacked OSB tests. The saw’s run time is amazing with 600 cuts in 24 with the included 12.0 ah battery. This is a full featured saw with quality components such as magnesium shoe and blade guards, integrated flip out rafter hook, LED light and brushless motor. All is not perfect though, as powerful and fast as the Milwaukee saw is it can handle very demanding cuts but it sounds like the motor is being taxed. It still competes with and slightly outperforms even the mighty Makita X2 rear handle saw however the Milwaukee doesnt exactly give you confidence when maxing out its performance, while the Makita X2 rear handle saw (with slightly slower cutting speed) gives the user confidence to power through demanding cuts because its motor does not seem stressed the slightest. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel Gen 2 circularsaw is one of most powerful and efficient cordless saws available. It’s hard to believe such strong performance can be squeezed from an 18-volt tool.
I do like that Milwaukees new Gen 2 Fuel Circular saw doesnt try to fool you into thinking youre getting something its not. They did not make it appear like a wormdrive saw, as Makita and Dewalt did. To make them seem better, Makita’s and Dewalt’s rear-handle worm drive saws have been deliberately made larger. They are indeed performance-oriented, but they don’t need to be as large as they offer a real-worm-drive configuration.
One big drawback of the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Gen 2 circular saw is that to take full advantage of its strong motor, you NEED to pair it with the new 12ah battery if you want class leading cordless performance. It will not perform as well with smaller batteries. Even with a smaller battery, such as an XC5ah battery, it is still a powerful cordless tool. However, it will not be as fast as the 12ah battery. It can still make difficult cuts but at a significantly slower speed. The 5 kg weight of the cordless circular saw with 12ah battery is quite heavy. Compare this to the 4kg of the M18 Fuel model with the XC4.0 battery. You can put a lighter, lighter XC battery on Gen 2 models to reduce the weight to 5 kg. However, this will result in a decrease in performance. It’s still a good weight (5 kg) and the sidewinder design makes it easy to hold one-handed.
However even though it has a couple of drawbacks, its still noteworthy that as a whole, it delivers not only outstanding performance in any voltage class, but the fact that its coming from only 18 volts is incredible. That plus extreme runtime and although its not exactly cheap at in a kit, it offers a good bang for buck value. Because its positives outshine a couple of negatives, I can easily give this saw a recommendation!
Pros
- outstandingclass leading performance outperforms higher voltage cordless circular saws
- Similar performance to corded saws 15 amps
- extreme runtime at a tested 600 cuts (24) per charge (50 cuts per amp hour)
- Protective magnesium shoes and boots
- Hook for rafters
- LED light
- Kit form includes a 12.0 Ah battery
- included hex key with built in storage
- Although it is heavy enough to be cordless, the balanced center of gravity makes it easy for one-handed use
Cons
- Cordless is too heavy at 5 kg and 12ah batteries
- Performance is affected by smaller batteries.
- no popular angle bevel detents
DISCLOSURE:
