Milwaukee M18 18-Volt 5.0 Ah Lithium-Ion XC Extended Capacity Battery Pack

Sup the Pipeline Inspection System was straightforward. The “Operators Manual” is 70 pages long, and provides clear and detailed setup, operating and usage instructions. The M18 2974-22 doesn’t include the “Wireless Monitor (display)”, however you can easily use your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Android Tablet as a monitor/display. Simply download the “Milwaukee Pipeline Inspection” app, install it on your phone or tablet, and connect to the M18 500 GB Control Hub over WiFi. The “Pipeline Inspection” app functions almost identically to the “Milwaukee Wireless Monitor” and provides a reasonable alternative.
The Milwaukee Pipeline Inspection System incorporates a modular design. The heart of the system is the 500 GB Control Hub. You can swap in/out 2 different drum reels – a 120 foot reel, and a 200 foot reel. The shorter 120 foot reel with a 25mm camera best handles 2 to 6 inch pipes, and the 200 foot reel with a 34mm camera handles larger 3 to 10 inch pipes. You can swap reels while the control is running and maintain the connection to the wireless monitor. You can also hot-swap the batteries without having to shut down the system and potentially lose your recording in progress.
The system employs a digital, self-leveling camera that supports 1080P HD video, and hi-resolution images, and is protected by a rugged spring assembly. Two camera skids, a smaller 3″ skid for smaller diameter pipes, and a 4″ skid for larger diameter pipes, can be used to help keep the camera centered in the pipe as you push the cable down the pipe. For pipe location and tracing, a sonde transmitter is built into the camera head (512Hz, 640Hz, and 33KHz), and a line tracing transmitter is also built in (33KHz and 83KHz). To use the Sonde and Line Tracing function, you would need the separate “Milwaukee M12 Pipeline Locator”. The Sonde and Line Tracing transmitters support standard functionality and should be compatible with other brand locators in addition to the “Milwaukee Pipeline Locator”. I don’t have a locator and was not able to test the locator and line tracing capability.
I tested the Pipeline Inspection system on a gutter drain. The drain pipe is 4″ PVC and about 100 foot long. The images below were captured at various distances along the pipe with a final image at the pipe exit about 100 foot at the far end. Image clarity is excellent, and the rugged camera and cable was not difficult to push through the pipe or pull back. As you can see, there is a bit of sediment and sand along the bottom of the pipe, and some residual standing water from a recent rainfall, but the pipe is clear and no visible breaks or damage were found. The 5 AH batteries provide plenty of power and should operate for ~ 6 – 8 hours before a charge is necessary. The system is easy to use, and provides many useful features and functions to assist in the pipeline inspection process. I give the overall system 5 stars for rugged construction, solid engineering, modular design, and excellent quality overall.

Awesome tool for around the house.

Milwaukee’s 120′ pipeline inspection system kit comes with all the options and features that you need to be able to efficiently pipes up to 120′. It comnes with a 25 mm HD camera and a 10 mm push cable making it ideal for pipe sizes from 2-6 inches. The kit comes with a 120′ inspection reel, 500 GB control hub, 2 M18 XC5.0 batteries, M12/M18 rapid charger, tablet mount, a small and medium camera head skid, and a grounding stake with lead clamps and cable which allow you to better find your camera sonde in PVC.
The 120′ inspection reel comes with two handles, one on the top and one on front, which makes for easier handling of the reel. It also comes with removable backpack straps which makes transportation to your job site easier. All the components including battery weighs 48.4 lbs so the backpack straps make moving the tool much easier and hands free. The inspection reel can be turned while sitting up or laying on it’s back.The reel also has a look so that the reel doesn’t spin while you are transporting it. There is also a built in clamp for your tablet mount or M18 wireless monitor. The tablet mount that is included also has a magnetic plate that adheres to the back of your device so that it stays secure to your tablet mount. The push cable does not come with a warranty.
The 500 GB control hub is the main operating center for the tool. From here all of your data is stored while using the inspection camera. The hub will wirelessly transmit live images in 1080 HD to your device up to 200′. The control hub is interchangeable between the 120′ and 200′ reel with a simple push of a button on the handle. There is an on board USB and USB-C port so that you can export all your data on the control hub to a USB device and you can directly connect your wireless device to the hub. The control hub also has a built in transmitter that helps to provide a trail to make locating the camera sonde more efficient. You can choose your sonde frequency of 512 Hz or 33 KHz. The sonde and transmitter are controlled by Milwaukee’s app or the M18 wireless tablet, which is not included in this kit. The sonde is insulated so that it doesn’t affect or distort your images from the camera. The control hub also has a camera test port on the back of the hub so that you can diagnose if you have a problem with the camera or push cable. The control hub is also has ONE-KEY technology which allows you to track the tool’s location and also lock out the tool to protect your investment.
The 25 mm camera head has a stainless steel housing to protect against side impact as you are pushing the camera through the pipe. There is also a sheath that goes over the camera head to also further protect against side impact. The lens is made of sapphire that is scratch resistant. Included in the kit are two different size skids that attach to the camera head to help keep the camera out of water or debris while inside the pipe and to also keep it better centered inside the pipe. The camera is also self leveling and has LED lights which you can control the intensity. The camera has a 1 year warranty.
All of your work can be viewed through the M18 wireless monitor which is sold separately or through your tablet using Milwaukee’s pipeline inspection app. Functions and features of the app and M18 monitor are the same. Through the app or monitor you can view, record, and edit findings and save them directly onto your control hub. You can digitally zoom and pan to help you better focus on specific points of interest while doing your inspection. Through the app/monitor you can enhance your images and also adjust your LED lights to have a better view inside the pipe. You can create presets and custom labels, you can edit and trip videos, and add audio to your files. The app/monitor also lets you know how many feet you have deployed the push cable. All this is done through the app/monitor which is very easy to navigate. The app/monitor really helps to keep all your work organized and easily accessible.
I recently purchased a building that was built in the 70s and a lot, if not most, of the drains and pipes are not functioning properly. I purchased this kit to not only inspect all the pipelines in the building, but to also line trace all the different pipes all over the property. Setting up the tool was pretty easy and self explanatory, getting to know how to use the app and all the functions is what took the most time to learn. I didn’t get the M18 wireless monitor, but instead used my iPad with the app, to use the tool. Once I learned how to navigate through the app it was pretty straight forward using the tool. It’s an expensive tool so make sure to be very careful with operating the tool, don’t be rough while deploying the push cable. I feel like for the price you are paying for the kit the skids could be made of better quality material. I ran inspections on over 40 different pipelines and didn’t run into any issues operating the tool or getting the push cable down the pipe. Being able to save each inspection and assign job names helped me to keep all my inspections organized and made the overall process of fixing broken lines much more efficient. Carrying the reel onto the roof up a ladder using the backpack straps was easy, especially since the tool weighs a good amount. I have used other brand inspection tools and by far Milwaukee is top of the class in pipeline inspection. It’s an awesome investment and worth every penny!!!

They have worked great and has delivery the extra power needed. You can instantly feel the extra kick comparing to the regular CP2.0. when getting project done. If you just need a little more but not a bigger battery that will make your drill heavy, then this Xc3.0 its what you need. Just enough juice to get your project done in one day. However, it does take forever to charge but still a great battery.