Milwaukee has a new M18 Fuel cordless dust extractor coming down the pipeline, featuring dual battery power, automatic filter cleaning, and a Packout-compatible top deck.
The new Milwaukee 0888-20 cordless dust extractor will also feature VACLINK for integrated wireless dust control tech that allows for remote activation.
This means the Milwaukee M18 Fuel dust extractor will automatically turn on and off according to the control state of connected tools or a separate remote.
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It will also have a low-flow alarm for alerting users when suction airflow is no longer effective.
Milwaukee says that their new 9-gallon cordless dust extractor has “corded capabilities” and that the automatic filter cleaning will help to maintain air performance levels and sustained suction.
Original ETA: Q4 2024
Updated ETA: Q2 2025 (as of 1/22/25)
Discussion
Details are still scarce, but I can see enough to be optimistic.
Remote activation? Check.
Packout compatibility on the top deck? Check.
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Dual battery ports? Check.
Looks pretty good to me. I have tons of question, most of which likely won’t be answered until the dust vacuum is closer to launching.
Is it HEPA rated? Will there be filter bags for dust collection? Which tools will feature built-in remote activation? What does the remote look like, and where does it go – the hose-end similar to Festool’s?
Will there be new M18 cordless power tool batteries with VACLINK built in?
Finally, while I rarely use caster brakes on my dust extractors, they are nice to have. I LOVE the unique foot brake on Milwaukee’s Packout 4-wheel dolly. Festool has a neat foot-activated brake on their corded dust extractors. Maybe Milwaukee can put those two ideas together and come up with something better than tiny caster lever locks.
What is the noise level like?
This looks good. I have found that the more questions I ask, the more excited I am about a new tool. There’s a good chance this might replace my corded dust extractor, but I’ll need to learn more before deciding.
Wayne R.
Remember when we used to “run the vacuum”? Now we “activate the dust extractor” like we’re on the Death Star or something.
James
Haha I chuckle at the name too.
I love my Bosch 14 gallon and the L-Boxx compatibility is so great for spare filters and accessories.
This is the best I’ve seen so far if/when that thing ever goes, but I would love to see an AC option on this for extended runtime when applicable.
David Bell
This one has AC mode and DC mode
Doresoom
The patent they filed mentions an embodiment that has both an AC motor and a DC motor, for using either power source. It’s possible that feature made it into the final design, with the description of “corded capabilities” that Stuart mentioned. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20220151447A1/en
Big Richard
Found some TTI Vietnam parts that appear to be made for this, they all mention they are for an “M18 ACDC dust extractor 0888-20”. Here are a few:
549970001#&Battery box plastic case-BATTERY BOX BOTTOM , PLASTIC-018814 M18 ACDC DUST EXTRACTOR 0888-20. New 100%
549959001#&Multi-function vacuum cleaner parts – Plastic water tank- TANK , PLASTIC-018814 M18 ACDC DUST EXTRACTOR 0888-20. New 100%
549975001#&Plastic and steel frame (plastic is the main) fixed- MIDFRAME , PLASTIC-018814 M18 ACDC DUST EXTRACTOR 0888-20. New 100%
That is not conclusive by any means, but it does support the patent info that it may be AC capable. I’ll see if I can get some more definitive answers.
Big Richard
Oooh, I missed one that may be a better tell:
551675001#&Plastic cover for charging outlet-AC INLET HOUSING COVER OF ROW , PLASTIC-018814 M18 ACDC DUST EXTRACTOR 0888-20.100% Brand New
James
Interesting. Love how people do so much digging and know so much here. It never ceases to amaze.
With PO compatibility and AC/DC function, this would be a home run.
Time will tell…
4 casters would also make more sense…not sure why they would change that to 2 & 2. Those pullout handles can be backbreakers.
Franco
Saw a 360* of it. It has a 3 prong 🔌 for an extension cord to run on A/C.
James
💥
Kev-bot
Ill informed here. What are the differences in a shop vac with bag vs. a dust extractor?
(Other than HEPA rating) Why should I buy one over the other if I’m a “use it for everything” kind of guy.
kent_skinner
A dust extractor is designed to connect to a tool and capture dust at the source. They are generally designed to not let any dust escape the system, turn on when an attached tool (bluetooth or via electrical cord) turns on, and are much quieter than a Shop Vac.
I have 2 Rigid vacs, and they suck well. They also leak air – I can smell mold when I run one that I used as a wet vac. They are LOUD. The hoses aren’t designed to connect to a tool, although they might fit. The hoses aren’t smooth on the outside, so they catch on things – this is bad if it’s connected to a tool you’re using.
In short, I paid $100 for a loud, dusty but effective mess cleaner. I paid $800 for a quiet, dust free tool designed to quietly remove the dust as it’s being created.
For a home user, a DE is a bit of luxury. For a finish carpenter or cabinet installer it would be a requirement.
Matt
This is not even close to correct. What you are describing is a direct air vacuum. All dust extractors made today are bypass machines where the air is filtered prior to entering the motor.
A direct air is great for CFM, but horrible for sealed vacuum (suction). There is no way one would work as a tool dust extractor.
Source? I own a vacuum shop.
kent_skinner
I am using the terms that companies use to describe their products – vacuum vs dust extractor. Not sure why you think I said what path the air takes or a “direct air” system.
Pro tip: if you’re going to reply to a long post with multiple paragraphs and say “This is not even close to correct” you might want to specify what part isn’t correct. I’m amused that a vacuum cleaner salesman doesn’t know jack about shop vacs vs dust extractors, even though they are industry terms.
For example:
Home Depot has a category called “Shop Vacuums” https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Shop-Vacuums-Wet-Dry-Vacuums/RIDGID/N-5yc1vZc2f8Z18g
Makita has a vacuum that connects directly to a tool and has a high efficiency filter – they describe it as a “dust extractor”
https://www.makitatools.com/products/tools/corded/dust-extraction/cordless-corded-dust-extractors
Craig
Unfortunately you have no idea what you are talking about, nor do you seem to have a foundation of knowledge to draw upon. I’m sorry to tell you that your comment was vexatious and uncalled for
Andy
The other thing that is common on extractors is self-cleaning of the filtration system – that is not typically included on vacuums, and is required to keep the performance consistent.
Saulac
Technically, in an extractor, the particles (dust, chips, smoke, air…) go through the impeller, vs in the vacuums they do not. There is no vacuum inside the waste container of an extractor.
James
I did not know that about the impeller. Thanks!
Andy
Same, something good to learn!
Koko The Talking Ape
Fantastic! Good to know.
So on my old Kirby vacuum cleaner, there’s an impeller that draws air up through the head and roller brush, and PUSHES it out to the bag. And it’s made of CAST ALUMINUM, I guess to withstand all the debris, and even so, it’s all dinged up from all the loose change and loose nuts and bolts it’s been hit with. So I guess it’s actually an extractor?
So the difference is whether the motor is upstream or downstream of the filter. I wonder if one approach has any advantages over the other. On my Kirby, sucking air through the bag would require a big airtight (and resealable) enclosure for the bag, which might be heavy and trouble-prone. OTOH, that cast aluminum impeller is probably an expensive part to make. But some vacuums use those little pleated box filters, and then maybe a “vacuum” approach would be more feasible.
Joatman
The old upright Sanitaire vacuums used an impeller, too, except it was made of plastic. The Kirby is a tank. It’s the only vacuum that I know of that has a transmission. Both are outstanding machines. The Sanitaire has its limitations and the Kirby has its…….uh, weight. I don’t know much about dust extractors except what I read in the last 3 minutes.
eddie sky
If it backs up and zooms away with a beeping-droid noise, yup, You are on a Deathstar.
The cheap locking wheels on the front, clearly an after thought.
I need a vacuum that sucks, uses 15amp motor, and HEPA. Having remote start with device is nice. Needing packout? Not sure, but that might apply to the Milwaukee contractor.
Now, if this could be a feature to store in a truck to clean the truck….
Jason
I don’t need a dust extractor but this is what the other vacuums should have been. Super bummed they didn’t have Packout tops on the 6 and 9 gallon vacs.
Sds hammers, vac attachments with Packout cases coming soon.
MFC
Yeah, I totally didn’t understand why they failed to do that. I guess they wanted people to spend more money on these.
Seth Goodson
I agree 100%. Love my 6 gallon but they missed some pretty big features.
Cubbie
I purchased their shop vac with the single battery over the holidays. I’ve been impressed with the suction and noise levels. Even does a great job pulling dust surface grinding concrete (with a bag).
Will have to see if it’ll be worth the switch come fall.
Jronman
It is about time they have wireless activation. I doubt it would work with other brands but it would sure be nice. Ideally any tool with One Key works out of the box and any tool without could either have an adapter or use bluetooth batteries
DC
All I need is something that will clean up the shop and my vehicles. The Milwaukee tackle box vacuum or my Ridgid 14 gallon oaf does the job.
John E
My initial thoughts are this is designed with the European/overseas market in mind where classes L, M and H are stipulated. Low flow sensor is required on classes M and H and HEPA filter on class H so I’d guess it will be HEPA capable. Maybe theyll just throw the HEPA filter in to begin with.
Being 9 gallon, hopefully it’ll use the same bags as their red ‘Nilfisk’ extractor. That’d be nice. Then again, there’s money in propietary bags.
I’m guessing it’ll be around 125 CFM so can be used with 5″ surface grinders. Any more will drain batteries fast.
This one looks to be battery only as there is no tool plug socket on board, ergo no 120/240V.
$499?
Jason Ingram
If you go on milwaukeetool.com and look up this exact vacuum it actually says it includes the HEPA filter and a plastic filter and all sorts of other things.
Steve
If it has ac/battery capability, I’m in…
MFC
Yeah, if they failed to do that then it’s a big miss in my opinion. The patent shows it, but of course they might not have followed through with that part…
Matthew
You can plug it in. It doesn’t have a cord at all so you’ll need an extension cord for it.
JoeM
I’m giving props to Milwaukee, Again, as a DeWALT user. This thing both looks like, and seems spec’d like, something Milwaukee has been waiting a long time to assemble into one place.
-Packout top (Take That, Festool! Let a Real Container System Have Its Due!)
-Battery Or Wired, by the sounds of it? (Small Workshop Use, Or On-Site Use, It’s the One You Want! Again, Festool? Move Over!)
-Wireless Activation… Perhaps via Bluetooth/OneKey and/or a remote Strap (Probably Better Tech than Festool!)
-Am I wrong in interpreting the info as saying it has a self-reversing filter to blow the excess dust into the main container occasionally? HEPA or not, that’s something DeWALT did a while back, and that is just brilliant! (I don’t intend to say DeWALT did it first in a bad way, I mean it worked great for DeWALT shopvacs with HEPA filters, so it’s tried, tested, and true to be a major efficiency boost!)
-Dual Battery M18? If it’s Forge compatible, that would seriously boost the power available to this thing in a pinch… Imagine loading an M18 standard in one port, and a Forge in the other? Power draw when you need it, long lasting when you need it… I don’t see Festool’s dust collector equivalents with pouch cell wattage boosts!
Overall I see this as huge. Deeply important, and I would like to high-five the Milwaukee folks that finally put this set of features together on their dust collector units! (Yes, I’m still a DeWALT guy, and will likely never use such a system myself. The TSTAK and ToughSystem dust collectors are too small, and aren’t on wheels like this one. I do hope that some day they will adapt their Rolling XL carts, for both systems, into dust collectors, or at least cyclone bins for the smaller dust collectors. But, until then, DeWALT is behind here, and I’m okay with that for now. But still, Kudos to Milwaukee, and I genuinely mean it!)
Jason Ingram
What do you mean by forge compatible? All that is is just the battery platform all fuel tools will be automatically able to take advantage of the new battery platform. Not to mention the 6.0 that they have is a cell phone batteries but the new 12.0 that they’re about to release sometime the spring supposedly will be the new tabless cylindrical cells. I’ve seen that rigid has already dropped their version of it although they’re smaller in size. I’m more hyped about these new 12.0 batteries coming out with this new technology. Because they said that the rigid version of it gets two to three times more power. So if you can do the same with the new 12.0 then my top handle chainsaw and my table saw especially are going to be absolute beasts and I am all for it. My table saw is already a beast as is but with something like that behind it it will be phenomenal. Although with more power output comes faster drain but then again you should be able to recharge the battery in 30 minutes what I guess with a TTI employee at home Depot. He also said he believes the new batteries will be between $250-300 which will be more than worth it to me I have four twelves already but the two-year warranty sucks having the new batteries with the 5-year warranty on them will be amazing.
Doresoom
Awesome, another patent prediction come to life!
I found this one back in August: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20220151447A1/en
Phranq
I would prefer 4 casters vs the 2 casters and an axle set up. Always have, always will.
John S
Little late Milwaukee! I just got the XGT and it’s the only cordless vac that’s ever packed the appropriate power for a real deal dust extractor. I’ll be curious to see the CFM/Lift numbers on this one though.
Sky
Is this a wet vac also?
MFC
No, dust extractors are not for wet use (none that I know of at least).
Julian Tracy
All of the festool vacs are able to be used as wet vacs
cornishlee
The Mirka’s are, too.
Paul K
It’s exciting to see. I hope to see a smaller unit for those of us who have limited space available for larger dust extractors. I currently have the Festool MIDI and the 2 gallon xgt.
Koko The Talking Ape
I’d never heard of VACLINK. So it’s a direct wireless signal between the tool (say a sander) and the vacuum? And it’s not Bluetooth or wifi? Is it one-way? And it only works between Milwaukee tools?
“Will there be new M18 cordless power tool batteries with VACLINK built in?”
Just spitballing, but I would guess not. I think it would make more sense to put that wireless circuitry in the vacuum instead of the batteries, because not every tool will need that communications capability. Maybe most tools, even.
Julian Tracy
Filter cleaning additons are useless to me as I always use a bag on my dust collectors and/or vacs.
I recently picked up the Milwaukee fuel single battery cordless vac on the HD daily deal and while it’s impressive in suction with fairly low noise levels, the amount of bulk in the design is just plain silly. That, and the removable caster base, while nice to be removable, must way close to 15lb’s just by itself.
The entire unit is a F-ing tank of design, bulk and weight, for no good reason.
I appreciate my Fein and Festool vacs for their small footprints, simplicity and quality.
The M18 fuel vac is a vac for folks that don’t know better.
Paul K
Totally agree with you on the Fein and Festool vacs, efficient designs, easy to store in a van or truck. Hopefully Milwaukee releases a 4 gallon version sometime
Chip
Like the delayed tracksaw,it comes rather late for some.
For volume in dust “extraction ” the discontinued Ridgid dual battery loud dust vac is hard to beat,unfortunately it’s loud and doesn’t except any modular boxes on top.
I did buy the m18 non-packout 6 gallon version of the above.
Cons #1 weird proprietary hose that do not fit 30mm tooling without adapters,#2 very short hoses…solved both with centec 16 ft hose and adapters.
#3 not PO compatible.
Solved latter by removing the top, and through-bolted a crate for hose storage and PO compatibility.
The top is very thin relying on ribs vs thickness, did cut 1/8 aluminum as large washers to spread the pullout force.
It’s a tadbit tippy,and not super strong with a 4ft stack above.
As a cabinet installer I don’t have may back to back cuts like a shop would.
Cordless fits my particular work flow better.
For sitework, bags are a requirement for me.
James
Yeah the Bosch gets tippy with a tall stack also. In fact the manual says max 1 box (maybe 2?) for this reason….but….i got all these boxes and they gotta get to the site or the truck so….
The conversion with the crate is fantastic and gives me some ideas. Somewhat unrelated but I’ve been meaning to cut the bottom out of a crate to make a double height for some big stuff. I haven’t followed through yet, in part because they’re all always full and at $69 CAD a pop, I’ve hesitated. But we just picked up 8 this weekend for a project so when that’s done I’ll follow through. I wish they would make a deeper one because I do find it a tad shallow.
cornishlee
I’ve been waiting years for an M18 dust extractor. There’s just one thing that will keep me from getting one as soon as it’s available – it’s got to have a socket to power my corded tools, the same as my existing DE. One Key’s great, but not only are my current sanders not One Key (or Milwaukee) but Milwaukee doesn’t even make any professional equivalents. Having the flexibility to use it effectively with currently owned tools is crucial to transitioning.
Chip
@cornishlee
For site work the 12v Bosch sander is as smooth as a Festool or Mirka,and it has a great dust bag.
I install pre-finished cabinetry ,my dust makers are.
M18 tablesaw/grinder with flapdisc/belt sander.
Makita 18v miter/trac/jigsaws and router.
M12 omt/hackzall.
Bosch 12v planer/ro sander.
I cut outdoors when possible, otherwise I use packout vac on the tools indoors.
Being completely cordless is expensive, but is extremely efficient.
Bringing the tool to the work and immediately go to work.
BTW vacuums are power hungry at start-up,I don’t see any scenario where a cordless vacuum would ever power a corded tool.
cornishlee
I use two Mirka DEROS sanders (3″ & 6″) and a DEOS detail sander. Almost always outside, always using a dust extractor. The rest of my tools are all Milwaukee M18 or M12 (because I’m not investing in multiple battery platforms). I work in automotive body repair, so keeping dust out is a practical concern as well as a health & environmental one.
The DE then gets to moonlight as a DIY tool at weekends, when it can work with my M18 saws!
cornishlee
PS – it’s because of power use that I’d eventually like to be all cordless. It’s no fun continually tripping customer’s houses.
jake
Have you heard any estimate updates regarding when the M18 FUEL 9 Gallon Dual-Battery Dust Extractor will be available?
Stuart
It’s launching later this year – the current ETA is Q2 2025.
jake
Thank you!
Stuart
You’re welcome! Thanks for the question – now’s a good time to update the post.
jake
Acme site now shows pre-order with estimated June 30 ship date.