Milwaukee's Stick Pump: How Long Can One Run On A Single Charge And Can It Pump Fuel?

The Milwaukee M12 Stick Transfer Pump appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a relatively simple power tool. It's a 36-inch aluminum barrel with a handle that you can use to drain small ponds, basins, water meter boxes, trenches, and sump pump pits. But its simple appearance belies a powerful motor and surprisingly complex design. This tool can pump up to 9 gallons of water per minute, proving that going electric doesn't always mean losing power. 

It's cordless nature also makes it easy to use in places that aren't near a power outlet, and it would certainly come in handy during a power outage if you ever have to deal with flooding. On top of that, it comes with Milwaukee's trademarked HydroPass filtration system, which is designed to minimize clogging without disrupting the flow of water. All you need to do is pop in a battery, attach a standard 3/4-inch garden hose for the discharge, submerse the pump head, and get to work.

That said, there are some questions that you might have about the tool that aren't answered on Milwaukee's product page before you decide if you want to add this tool to your DIY workshop. There is surprisingly little information about how long the tool can last on a single charge. The product page also doesn't tell you if the pump can be used on other liquids, such as fuel. These are important things to know before committing to a purchase.

One of the first things a lot of prospective buyers want to know about the Milwaukee M12 Stick Transfer Pump is how long it will run on a single charge. Can it pump out an entire swimming pool, or is this kind of tool better suited to puddles?

Milwaukee doesn't report an exact run time on the product page, but it gives us all the information we need to get an approximate run time. We know that the tool pumps 9 gallons per minute, and Milwaukee has also reported that it can handle 275 gallons per charge on an M12 Redlithium XC 4.0 battery. A little quick math tells us that means it can run for around half an hour on that battery.

Milwaukee also makes larger capacity, 5.0 and 6.0 Ah batteries if you want a bit more run time on a single charge, but these can be costly, and you probably still shouldn't expect to get more than an hour. Even so, 275 gallons is an impressive capacity for a powered hand pump, and those who've already invested heavily in the Milwaukee M12 battery system will usually have one or two backups sitting on the charger for when they run out of juice on larger projects.

Some of you might be wondering if you can use the Milwaukee M12 Stick Transfer Pump to transfer fuel. This would certainly be a handy device for removing gas from lawnmowers, generators, and other seasonal appliances if that were the case, but unfortunately, it wasn't designed for that.

The official Operator's Manual (PDF) clearly states that this pump is to be used for water only. "Do NOT use in a flammable or explosive atmosphere," the manual says. "Do NOT pump brine, laundry discharge, or any other application which may contain caustic chemicals and/or foreign material. Do NOT pump fluids such as petrol, fuel oil, or kerosene. WATER ONLY – Do not pump petrol or other flammable liquids."

This is unfortunate, but it makes sense. Many of the plastic components and rubber seals inside the tools probably weren't meant to withstand contact with caustic chemicals. Special precaution would also have to be taken in order to ensure flammable fumes couldn't access any electrical sparks inside the engine casing. The Milwaukee M12 Stick Transfer Pump simply wasn't designed for fuel transfer, and so using it in this way would likely damage the tool and may even be dangerous.