Tool Box Buzz

The Milwaukee M18 Rocket Dual Pack waterproof light.

LEDs have drastically changed the way we bring light into homes. Both in terms of light fixtures and in terms of job site lights. LEDs are far superior to their halogen and florescent counterparts. They use less power to generate more light with less heat or risk of fire, and far greater durability. The lower power draw of LEDs has also drastically expanded the capability of cordless jobsite lights. Allowing a cordless light to provide whole room lighting rather than small area and task lighting. This technology has been taken a step further with this Milwaukee Rocket waterproof light. Making a tool that has all day run-time with 9.0 Ah batteries and is waterproof!

M18™ ROCKET Dual Pack Tower Light w/One Key

Manufacturer: Milwaukee
Model number: 2120-20
Price: $599.00
Power source: M18 Battery
Weight: 18.95 lbs

On the jobsite

The design and ergonomics of this light are great. The light sets up and adjusts in height in seconds without fiddling with knobs. And it folds up into a compact size that is very easy to carry rather than the mess of tubes and wires of most job-site lights. The on/off and power adjustment buttons are easy to operate and very intuitive. There is also a button for Bluetooth operation in case you want to connect with the Milwaukee One Key app. The battery compartment latch is straightforward to open and close and has a gasket seal to keep out dust and water.

The Milwaukee Rocket waterproof light also has a great deal of flexibility in terms of positioning and setup. The light can be extended up to about 5.5 ft and the arm can be swung in an arc over the base. The head swivels in all directions allowing you to get the light where you need it really easily. You can even leave the legs collapsed and extend the arm and have a ground light for spotting irregularities in floors or looking under equipment or furniture.

I used this light on a variety of jobs doing interior trim and finish work as well as lighting unfinished spaces like a barn attic where I was re-framing the roof. In those small and sometimes awkward spaces the lack of a cord was a big plus. And this one light was able to provide plenty of light in all of those spaces.

On a commercial project the Rocket waterproof light easily lit up a vestibule I was working in. I was installing baseboard and was able to get plenty of light by simply setting up the light and pointing it at the ceiling. The result was even, bright light that allowed me to install pre-finished baseboard with minimal hassle and no cords getting in the way.

Serious light for serious work

The Milwaukee Rocket waterproof light is very bright. With a claimed 5400 lumen output on high multi-workday run time on the low (1600 lumen) setting this light will keep your job site well-lit for hours. In smaller spaces it can be used alone to light your work space. It’s not too heavy or cumbersome and can be easily moved around either when fully extended to 5′ 5″ or folded down into a neat compact size. Because it is so bright I have been able to get away with using this light on the lower settings almost exclusively.

Connectivity and tracking

The Milwaukee Rocket waterproof light is One Key enabled. Milwaukee’s proprietary One Key app allows you to track the tool and when connected via Bluetooth the app has a battery gauge that shows approximate remaining run-time and a slider to adjust the brightness of the light.

Dust and waterproof down to one meter

This tool is IP67 rated this is an international standard. IP stands for Ingress Protection, The first number corresponds to the dust ingress rating, 6 is the best rating for dust ingress and means the tool is totally sealed against dust, the second number corresponds to the water ingress rating, 7 means the tool is waterproof to a depth of 1 meter. We decided the best way to test this was to dunk the light in a bathtub full of water and hold it down there while the light was on. We had no problems whatsoever and when I pulled it out and opened the battery compartment it was bone dry.

Downsides

Price. Milwaukee has a bunch of lighting options. But this one is special in that it can be used in wet environments with no problems. Much safer than a corded light! So while it is expensive if you work in wet environments I think the cost is pretty well justified in the safety factor alone.

No corded option. To make the light waterproof (and safe) Milwaukee needed to forgo a corded option. So this is a trade-off. You get a cordless waterproof light but you simply cannot plug it in.

Run time. You’ll need two 9.0 Ah batteries to get the most out of this light. On 5.0 Ah batteries it simply doesn’t last. But if you have the batteries the runtime is outstanding!

Overall

The Milwaukee Rocket waterproof light is expensive but it brings some very unique features to the table and for contractors and tradespeople that need a waterproof light it will quickly become their go-to cordless worklight.

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