4 Milwaukee Power Tools You'll Find Useful If You Live Off The Grid

With great technological finds, you can live off-grid with an abundance of freedom and the opportunity to use natural sources of power, saving you from any aggravating issues that come with being connected to the power grid. However, I've learned from living off-grid in a camper that issues that you may not expect from living outside of the societal norm can still arise. For example, you may have to monitor your power supply and alter its use when you run low due to cloud coverage.

Other areas of the peaceful lifestyle can be easier with the use of some power tools — just because you live off-grid doesn't mean you can't use some of the most useful tools technology has to offer from Milwaukee. Based on professional reviews from ProTool Reviews, a reputable publication in the industry, as well as user reviewers, here are four Milwaukee power tools that I believe would come in handy if you live off-grid. A more in-depth explanation of our methodology can be found at the end of this list.

Comfortably living off-grid tends to mean that you are not connected to any local power source. In fact, you more than likely have solar panels and a healthy battery supply at your disposal. To add to your power collection, Home Depot sells the M18 3,600/1,800 Watt Battery Powered Power Supply by itself for $699. However, living off-grid you're going to need as much power as possible to keep your electronics working, so you could opt for the power station that includes four 12.0 Ah high output batteries for $1,649 to help beef up your battery collection, especially if you're working with multiple Milwaukee M18 power tools.

ProTool Reviews discusses that you have to connect four M18 batteries for the power source to work. It helps to ensure you have enough for power-hungry electronics, like Starlink, which can need anywhere from 60-100 watt-hours. It also helps protect your batteries because four of them can share the load of what is plugged in. A fridge would drain one battery fairly quickly. The professional review also brings to light that this power supply can turn into a charger for the M18 batteries. This means you can hook it up to a bigger battery system on your off-grid property with the included power cord, or bring it to a local business to charge while doing some work.

This power supply is pure sine to protect your sensitive electronics and comes with several styles of outlets for connection. Just be aware that the 3,600-watt allowance is for starting watts only. The running wattage is 1,800, so make sure to keep an eye on your power output.

Whether you're living in a small travel trailer with a power bank or you've built a tiny home with solar panels to power it, you more than likely have lighting installed inside the home. However, off-grid tends to mean that outside can get dark since you can't rely on streetlights or other forms of lighting that usually come from the power grid. Milwaukee makes an M18 6,000 Lumens Rocket Dual Power Tower Light with Charger which can turn into your land's personal streetlight. It comes with a 4.8 out of five-star rating from over 900 users, with many positive written reviews. Even ProTool Reviews gave the light a 9.6 out of 10 score, with no reported drawbacks.

This light is a pricey investment at $449. The specs don't state how much area the light can reach, but looking at images in the reviews, it seems like a fair amount. Additionally, using an 8.0 Ah battery on medium, you can get 3,200 lumens for five hours. The light heads are multidirectional as well, so you can adjust them to shine wherever you need. It can also extend up to 7 feet, which allows for higher coverage. However, the light is only water-resistant, so you may want to steer clear of using it during torrential rainstorms.

A string trimmer can be useful when living off the grid, but the most useful tool is one with a power head that can accept several different attachments, so multiple jobs can get done. For $159, the M18 FUEL String Trimmer w/ Quik-Lok – with a 4.5 out of five-star rating from over 6,700 users — is a nifty device because it has the power of a traditional string trimmer with the ability to switch out for different outdoor attachments like an edger, a blower, and even a rubber broom. Each of the 13 attachments available would be useful when working on your land.

The most important component of Milwaukee's Quik-Lok system is the power head. It comes with a brushless motor and can sustain power under load, so it doesn't bog down. There's also a two-speed control and a viable speed trigger that translates to all the attachments. The biggest complaint about it, though, is the run time. However, one user stated that they used at least an 8.0 Ah battery, and it always provided them with enough run time to get the job done. That being said, when living off-grid, your battery size does matter. The smaller the battery, the more often you'll need to charge, which can use up more solar than you want. If you use a larger battery, you can get jobs done in a timely manner and wait for a good solar day to charge them back up.

Living off-grid usually means you have to deal more with nature and the events that come with it. Trees and thick branches can fall, and you'll need something to help you cut them up for firewood or move them out of the way. Either way, a chainsaw is one of the most necessary power tools when handling wood. Milwaukee's M18 FUEL 14-inch Brushless Top Handle Chainsaw is an affordable option at $349 at Home Depot and with a 4.7 out of five-star rating. Relative to size, this chainsaw is fairly small, which is great for storing it in your truck bed if you're traveling or in a shed on your land. However, the 14-inch blade still gives you enough space to cut down bigger chunks of wood than a pruning saw.

ProTool Reviews recently did a review on the chainsaw, and they were impressed by how quiet the chainsaw was compared to gas-powered ones, as well as the throttle speed — the tool got up to full speed in less than a second. During field testing on a 10-inch diameter log, they put as much force behind the cuts as they would a gas tool, and it didn't stall once during the dozen cuts they made with it. It does have a maximum cut diameter of 13.5 inches, though, so keep that in mind when you're in the woods cutting trees.

These tools were selected based on situations I have run into or are prepared for living off-grid and what kind of power tools helped with the project, chore, or issue. In terms of reviews and ratings, of the tools mentioned, some were chosen based on reviews from ProTool Reviews, a dependable online publication who have written thousands of in-depth reviews on various tools and tool brands. Additionally, some of the items have high user ratings and positive written reviews.

Living off-grid doesn't mean you are completely disconnected from the world and the technology that it provides for daily use. With the use of highly rated solar panel kits and reliable gadgets, you can easily take care of your home, whether it be a tiny home or an RV, while finding peace in nature away from society.