Indoor-Safe Screed
The battery-powered Milwaukee power screed has no gas fumes, making it safer to use inside.
Ditching an extension cord is nice, but there are even more benefits to replacing gas motors with batteries. These benefits are why I invested in the new Milwaukee power screed. This motor-free tool requires less maintenance, and I don’t have to worry about old or bad gas gumming up the carburetor or the noise of a roaring engine. And to me, the absence of harmful fumes, and being able to work inside without the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, is always a good thing.
Milwaukee makes screed bars from 4 ft. to 16 ft long. I have the 8-ft. and 12-ft. bars. I like the “clamp-on” bar design because it allows you to swap out bars fast, and you don’t need to totally remove (and potentially lose) nuts and bolts. I like that when I need to pause while using the tool, there is a handy kickstand to keep the tool out of the mud.
The manufacturer says that the 3-Ah lithium battery will run the 12-ft. screed for two hours per charge, which seems about right. The Milwaukee MXF381-2CP screed kit includes two batteries and a charger, and comes with a two-year battery and a two-year equipment warranty, which is nice to have for more expensive tools like this. I purchased mine for $2500. The bars are sold separately and start around $300.
— AJ Reyer; concrete contractor in Rosemount, Minn.
From Fine Homebuilding #324
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