Avi wrote in, as he’s in the market for at least one more Milwaukee M18 cordless tool Li-ion battery.
He wrote:
Advertisement
I got the first generation fuel hammer-drill/driver and impact driver kit a while back and it came with two XC 3.0 Ah batteries. This past summer (I think) home depot had the 1″ D-handle sds plus rotary hammer on sale for 150 (an amazing deal) so I picked up that bare tool. Now I keep tools in two locations, the hammer-drill for home use and the impact driver and rotary hammer for work, and each location has one battery. That is getting a bit cumbersome at swapping my one battery between two tools on the job.
I am in the market for an additional battery, what do you recommend? The whole long intro was to illustrate that I could go for a compact battery (for home use or impact driver) or another XC. Another side note is a set with a charger won’t really be of benefit because the use will be in a 220 volt region.
Things are a little complicated when it comes to Milwaukee M18 battery packs. There are occasional promotions, but it’s rare to see discounts on battery packs.
If you want an M18 2.0Ah battery, for example, it’s $79. That’s quite pricey. But if you look at the holiday season brushless drill or impact driver combo kits, you get a tool, charger, and 2.0Ah battery for $99 (or even less sometimes).
Home Depot, as part of their Black Friday 2018 sale, will have the M18 12Ah battery for $149. That’s a large battery, though, not ideal for use with smaller tools.
The 5Ah battery (48-11-1850) is available from several vendors, for $99. Compared to your 3Ah batteries, it’ll give you a sizable boost in runtime – if that’s something you could use. The 4Ah battery is more expensive at the moment. Or, you could buy a 2-pack of 3Ah batteries for $139, but if you only want (1) new battery, the 5.0Ah will cost less.
Advertisement
When it comes to cost-per-amp-hour, the 5Ah is $19.80 per Ah. To buy (2) 3Ah batteries, it comes out to $23.17 per amp-hour.
The compact batteries are quite pricey – I wouldn’t get one of those outside a kit, to be honest.
Right now you can also buy a 5Ah battery with Rapid Charger for $99 (48-59-1850R). If there’s a chance you might ever use the charger, you can opt for the 5Ah battery or 5Ah battery with charger for the same price. The holiday season is always a little weird like that.
If you want (2) 2.0Ah battery packs, it’s almost worthwhile to look at the M18 compact brushless drill and driver kit plus Packout deal, which gives you (2) 2.0Ah batteries which would otherwise cost $158. So for $41, which is a rather sizeable bump-up in cost, you get 2 brushless tools and tool box, plus a charger that as you mentioned you probably cannot use.
If you want (2) 5.0Ah battery packs, there have been recent flash sales where last-generation M18 Fuel drill and impact driver kits were priced at $199. With that, you’re spending $1 more than what it would cost to buy (2) new 5.0Ah batteries at promotional pricing.
So, if in your shoes, I would decide whether I wanted (1) 5.0Ah battery or (1) 2.0Ah battery. The price of one or two 1.5Ah batteries isn’t quite as good as for the 2.0Ah battery, which is not good at all in my opinion, and the same can be said for 3Ah and 4Ah batteries compared to current pricing for the 5.0Ah XC pack.
If you want (2) batteries, then it becomes harder to recommend buying just batteries, unless there’s a particularly good deal (which is rare). Otherwise, it’s an opportunity to get a new tool at a steep discount (if you could use one), and sometimes the price difference is extremely small or even negligible.
For instance $198 right now gets you (2) 5Ah XC batteries, while $199 gets you an impact driver kit with (2) 5Ah batteries (deal ends 11/15/2018).
Or, $158 gets you (2) 2.0Ah compact batteries, while $149 gets you (2) 2.0Ah batteries and the last generation of M18 Fuel brushless impact driver, plus a charger and a case (2753-22ct via Acme Tools). That deal also ends today, 11/15/18.
I hope this helps! I should note that things are different for other brands. For instance, you can buy a 2-pack of Dewalt 2.0Ah batteries for $79 right now. Milwaukee’s promos aren’t quite like that – which isn’t a bad thing; they just do things differently.
What does everyone else do when it’s time to buy a new cordless power tool battery?
Greg
I’m debating the same thing – it’s hard to find decently priced Milwaukee batteries.
What about unbranded batteries ? there are knock offs on Amazon etc … any risk to the tool itself in using an unofficial battery ? is the performance any good ?
Stuart
Personally, it’s a risk I’m not willing to take.
Milwaukee and other pro tool brands go to great lengths to create battery packs that are safe to use. I wouldn’t trust a no-name “replacement” brand.
John Patel
Regardless of what others say, money talks….too bad I didn’t have money, and everyone else was still right. Ebay faked m18’s. Out of China and I got burned bad…. Have M12 subs from Vanon 6 ah. They work fine, but I doubt they will last. But I realize from science to mfg quality, you can’t beat true Milwaukee batteries. Low money? Save longer, that’s my new model. No more cheap stuff
Greg
Thanks for your feedback. I wish there was a reputable brand manufacturing quality replacement batteries without the insane OEM markup.
VL
I purchased from Amazon 4 batteries Milwaukee 18 V and feel sorry.
Within 2 months 1 died later another one not holding charge.
As Electrical Contractor I do recommend Milwaukee Brand. Costy but in the long run you save time, headaches and u rely on it.
Made in China no name not reliable at all.
I will stay away forever from no Milwaukee
Is the only tools I trust.
Matt
In my experience, outside of kits and “buy this, get free batteries” type deals, Amazon has much better deals than the big box stores on most types of power tool batteries, especially if you only want one.
For example, an M18 3 Amp-Hour is $48.98 on Amazon right now, and a 2 Amp-Hour is $40. At HD, they’re about twice that.
Amazon typically can’t touch whatever the big box store offer on multi-tool bundles, but they do pretty well on bare tools as well. Likely has to do with shipping costs that they’re bundling into the price.
Bill
Avi, your SDS+ should be able to take advantage of the 9Ah HD battery, which is currently available at International Tool as part of their sale on “open box” items. I recently got two of them at $89 each plus tax with free shipping. I will also use them mainly for my new 1-1/8″ SDS+ rotary hammer.
I just checked and that deal is still valid.
A W
I would wait for a “buy this bare tool, get a free battery” deal.
I got one 5ah with an m18 rocket stand light, and another with an impact wrench, both just under $200.
Currently, the cheapest deal on acme in that category is a buy one 5ah battery for $129, get one free, but if you’re interested in any other tool and can be patient, that’s often the way to go.
A W
Looks like I misread the deal post on acme. There is not a buy one get one deal.
Sorry about that.
Mo
I just picked up a pair of 5.o for a hundred shipped form international tools.
Thanks for the tip @Bill
Bill
Thanks Mo, I missed that deal but no longer; now I have two on the way also.
Now I really want the six port M18/M12 Rapid Charge Station #48-59-1807.
International Tool has it $149 which is the best price I have seen so far this season.
Adam
No mention of the HO packs for reference? It might be too much of a jump in battery needs for the inquirer, but should be at least aware of it.
I would consider trying to find a deal on a new 6.0 HO. I’d rather get that now than any 5ah or 9ah, with it having more potential power. It doesn’t sound like you need a 9ah, but I’m not one to buy “old” technology. I know the non-HO batteries will be around forever, but then you don’t have to worry about any future tool purchases.
I know the 12ah will be $149 at HD on BF, but hope to find a good deal on a couple of 6’s.
Adam
I also only value a 5.0 XC at ~$60. There are tons of legitimate batteries available on eBay, offerUp, craigslist in this area. More in the beginning of my power tool purchases, I’d often find deals on kits and sell the batteries. I could get $80 or so for a 5.0, now it’s around $60.
Stuart
Seeing as how the question was more about compact or XC packs, I hesitated about venturing into high output battery territory.
Adam
Oops. Glanced over that qualifier.
Stuart, what’s your opinion on Mwk doing a new compact battery in the newer 21700 cells?
Stuart
It would all depend on the pricing, otherwise I’d feel pretty neutral. I’d probably prefer a 2Ah over a 21700 3.0Ah or 4.0Ah unless there was a significant cost benefit.
Vards Uzvards
I’m not sure about Milwaukee charger(s), but ones from Hitachi can be used both here, in the United States, and in Europe. You would just need a plug adapter, something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SY5O5K
Stuart
It really depends on the charger. The chargers in front of me at the moment (not Milwaukee) specify 110V and 60Hz.
Some AC devices can be used at 110V or 220V if a plug adapter is used, others require a voltage converter.
hangovna
Milwaukee has separate 220V chargers for the Europe and Australian markets.
Dave
As for Avi’s question, I picked up that same SDS+ hammer last year, and was cycling my 3.0 packs through while chiseling up a bunch of thinset off some hardie backer I was going to lay fresh tile on. Even with two rapid chargers cycling batteries as quick as I could replace them I was having to take frequent breaks to wait for charging and/or overheating the packs.
I’m not saying that he’s pushing his SDS+ that hard, but I did break down about halfway through the job and buy a 9.0 pack, which was the premier battery Milwaukee was offering at the time. Not only did it extend my runtime, tool performance was noticeably improved. So while the 9.0 might be overkill for a regular drill or impact, if there’s a deal to be had on one and a little bit of extra weight won’t be a bother it might be a good pairing. It seems like he’s mating each battery to a single tool here, so that’s how I’d approach it.
As far as the best battery deals, I mentioned this on another post but I’ve had luck with in-store demonstrations. They actually just got me again this morning – I’ve been on the fence for a solid year now about the Packout three-piece kit (I know it’s great, but is it really TWICE as good as the Ridgid/DeWalts that are going to be $99 in a few weeks?), and had been wanting to try the chainsaw. Any case, the chainsaw seemed as solid in person as it’s seemed in several positive reviews I’ve read (granted, they were letting us test with a new chain and a pretty dry 4×4 post), and they were offering a free 12.0 battery to go along with the 12.0 in the kit. I got the rep to throw in another 5.0 battery and one of the full-width slim organizer boxes on top of the advertised promo. Oh, and a hat.
So, free 12.0 battery ($150) + 5.0 battery ($100) + organizer ($30) + hat ($0) and I got stuff I’d been wanting for a while anyway. Not bad given demand around here seems to be high enough that I haven’t seen much in the way of discounting on up to this point. Seriously, if you’re somewhere that has a traveling factory rep and you don’t need to buy right away, they’re pretty much always ready to give you a free battery if you buy something.
Robert Pennington
M18 3.0 ah 2 pack for $99 at HD on BF.
OfferUp. You can find a lot of stuff for cheap on OfferUp if you are in a metropolitan area.
Robert Pennington
Also, NEVER BUY anything electrical (batteries, tools, sensors, car parts) from anyone other than the Original Manufacturer. Electronics can be made cheaply, ie batteries, but there’s a reason they’re cheaper. They will fail, burn up, or burn out your tool/cpu.
Knock-off M12, M18, 20v, etc. Have a proven history of failure.
hangovna
They almost always use lower quality or older cells. You have no way of knowing what you’re getting. Lithium ion degrades over time and most batteries only have a useful life of 6-8 years.
aaron
5.0 is $72 from Home Depot through the end of the year with only minor shenanigans.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Featured-Products-Tiered-Tool-Milwaukee-Free-Tool/N-5yc1vZclbb?Ns=P_REP_PRC_MODE%7C1
Buy the kit and the 5.0 battery, return the kit. This will work purchasing online or in store, though obviously returns are easiest if you have a brick and mortar nearby.
Seamus
That’s pretty hinky for even me to try. 🙂
Don’t think it will work though. When I add the kit and the battery in my cart, the kit shows as 200 and the battery as 75. They must have caught onto these types of shenanigans.
Seamus
Never mind. I read your post as implying the battery would be free. My bad.
Don
Least expensive is to buy the 2.0 for $79.
It sounds like there isn’t a capacity problem running one battery between the two tools, so no reason to go bigger.
If you don’t like having mismatched batteries at work, keep the smaller new battery for home and use the matched pair at work.
ToolOfTheTrade
That’s because Milwaukee batteries are hardly ever decently priced. And they’re the only ones that have different batteries with the same voltage that will only work with certain generations of tools because of its power output capabilities. What a crock of sh_t! Only Milwaukee. Either way you’re taking a risk. If you buy the knockoffs they will likely begin to fail in a few months or less. But I think it depends on what brand of knockoff you get. Stay away from Vanon. If you buy Milwaukee batteries from HD or any of your popular online retailers, your going to pay an arm and a leg depending on the battery you want. Or you may not have the power capability for a battery even though it’s the same voltage. But like others have said if you can wait it out for a bogo or get it from a 3rd party for the low, jump on it.
aaron
TTI has shown strong commitment to legacy products in both Ryobi and Milwaukee… You’re basically bashing them for sticking with M18 instead of launching a new format (such as flexvolt or a new higher voltage line)
Instead of adding a new incompatible format they made it so that their high power tools can use the lower current batteries in a pinch but excel with the new high output ones. And the high output packs will work great in the tools that don’t need them.
Not sure what there is to complain about here. What am I missing?
by the way, thanks folks for pointing out that great price for 2x 5.0 packs at international, at first I didn’t realize you were meaning it was 2 at that price!
Stuart
I don’t know if you’ve been misled or are making inaccurate assumptions. You can use any M18 battery with any tool, although it’s not generally recommended to use the compact batteries with the heavier duty tools.
The new tools released with the high output batteries still work just fine with XC batteries. With heavy demand, the more powerful batteries will last longer or contribute to greater performance.
Take the new cordless table saw, for example. I tested it with an XC 5Ah battery, and it worked just fine, and it can probably use anything from the 3Ah XC to the 12Ah HD HO.
Adam
I can tell your complaining, but can’t understand about what. Makita runs everything on 18v, but has multiple ah sized batteries, yes you can double up on some tools but the battery is still the same. Hitachi is only 18v. Metabo/Hitachi are all 18v in various sizes.
And now thinking about, Makita had problems with their new or older batteries not working in the opposite (new or older) tools. Can you give an example of how Milwaukee batteries don’t work in some Milwaukee tools? And if you say a 1.5 doesn’t work well in their circular saw, I’d say the same about other tool companies.
I would also advise looking for a nice Dutch, Amish, or Jewish girl that can help you shop. It doesn’t take much work to find a decent deal on MWK batteries.
Chip
That was an awesome reply lol.
A buddy posted 10#5ahr batteries for $229 at HD yesterday…yes that is$ 22.90 per battery.
In this online world,finding the glitch in the algorithm can make for great savings!
Chip
Ok well, there were# 368 10 packs 2 hrs ago. They are out of stock!
Jordan
Hitachi/Metabo are launching 36v everything. The impact is already floating around.
avi
Just wanted to thank you all for the feedback, and Stuart for putting this up pretty fast. The HD batteries weren’t at the forefront of my mind because I was actually leaning towards a compact battery to lighten up my impact driver which mainly does light duty fastening into plastic concrete anchors, but you pointed out it seems to be not worth it outside of a kit. And I never envisioned chiseling with cordless, I only recently (a tad late in the game I’ll admit) started cordless concrete drilling.
For the curious I ended up (thanks to Bill and Mo) looking the HD 9.0 open box at 90 but ultimately going with 2 XC 5.0 @100 no tax or shipping.
But now I am curious what’s the difference between High Demand and High Output?
hangovna
The High Demand (9.0) uses existing (older) 18650 battery cells which have a lower amp rating than the newest (21700) cells in the high output i.e. M18 6.0 and 12.0. It’s a balancing act of quantity of cells and battery size/weight vs. performance (peak power vs. runtime).
So in conclusion, get the biggest battery you feel comfortable holding with the tool to get the best runtime and performance out of any tool you own. Lighting and anything with a fan depletes batteries quickly.
Drew M
I’d wait for early 2019 and hopefully Milwaukee starts doing promos with free 6ah XC High Output packs. I’ve been holding off on getting any M18 tools for this reason. The new 6ah packs will be roughly the same size as the current 5ah XC packs but they’re made with vastly superior cells.
I considered the promo at HD for a 12ah HO and a 6ah HO but the only tool on my list that would use the 12ah is the string trimmer and they’re still bundling that with the 9ah pack.
Sam
Lol i have two 6 ah ho packs. Theyre actually substantially bigger than the 5.0s… theyre beefier. Theyre like mid sized between a 9.0 an a 5.
Drew M
I checked them out at the store yesterday and you’re right. The 6ah is quite a bit larger than the 5ah. I’m curious how they compare for weight.
Sam
Id go for 5.0s there around for good deals if you look.
Tojen1981
I’d stay with the genuine 5.0 ah xc packs if you need to buy now. Amazon has ’em 3rd party for around $55-60 pretty regular(I’ve grabbed a few as cheap as $48 shipped). Same for eBay. I picked up an OEM NIB m12 6.0 battery for $40 on there.
Milwaukee seems to have keep production down on the 6.0 xc packs. Not a lot of them out there, which is a shame because they seem smaller than the 6.0 hd packs.
I’m still waiting for Milwaukee to announce 3.0/4.0 m18 slim packs. They’ve dropped the ball there. That’s why I haven’t invested in the 2.0 batteries. Dewalt/Bosch/Hitachi all have them.
Chris
I don’t think it’s been brought up and I know there will be naysayers but go on OfferUp, eBay, or Craigslist and you can find great deals. You have to be able to spot potential fakes but it’s not that hard. I have purchased ALL of my Milwaukee batteries and most tools this way. Mostly through OU. You can find new or used. I picked up two 9.0ah batteries in their original packaging for $75 each. This was before the 12.0s we’re even announced. They can be had for lower now. I got used 4 5.0s for $25 each. The deal was 2 for $50. When I first started looking at Milwaukee cordless tools I purchased a used 2.0 for $20 and a charger for $20. I know some of you will immediately reject used batteries and some will be paranoid about knockoffs but I can tell you without a doubt I’ve never bought a fake and none of them have quit on me yet. I’m in Orange Coynty, CA and there are a lot of independent dealers who sell only new, original packaged tools for less than any store, online or brick and mortar.
Ryan
One last option to consider is going to a milwaukee storefront if there is one near you. They wind up with boatloads of barely used batteries that they bench test and resell for sometimes 40 to 50% off retail. I can’t remember the exact reasoning how they acquire the batteries but at the time it sounded legit. Theres almost always a bin full of used chargers and tote bags at my local store as well.
Lastly I stay far far away from CL, offer up and other local private sales because of the risk of winding up with stolen tools. I’ve have 3K of mine stolen before. Don’t need that Karma 😉
m. day
Don’t forget there are adapters that can go on the Milwaukee batteries and run the old ni-cad Dewalts, and the Makita lithium platform, and the black and Decker’s, and the ryobi’s lithiums as well…..and they come with 2.1 Usb charger incorporated…. I use them, no problems they are strong, and very well made I might add… I use the Mw batteries on my older dw nail guns, circsw and sawzall, plenty of us hated to see those go away,, and you can pick up these old tools from people who have no clues about the adapter, or the actual preference of the older models… I see the new 18v Makitas on sale, and with the adapter you can get them even cheaper as a bare tool and use the Mw battery..
JT Carpentry & Design
I’m not sure if this has already been mentioned but there are frequently deals at Acme and HD where the 2 pack of 3Ah batteries are only $99 for the set. And if it’s your first purchase from ayou can get an additional $10 off, which takes care of any tax you may incur. That’s about 16.50 per Ah. I’ve found that I’ve completely stopped using my 2Ah batteries altogether and use my 5Ah battery only when I’m boaring holes all day or using a tool that requires more sustained power, like my 7 1/4 brushless circ saw. Because of the form factor and cost, the CP 3.0 Ah batteries is my go to solution 85% of the time.
As a side note, from someone who has worked on the development of the 18650’s & 21700’s, the cells used in these batteries, who has both the standard charger and rapid charger, I ONLY use the rapid charger in urgent conditions on the jobsite. Typically, I’ll switch to the 5Ah as opposed to rapid charging any of them. Thermal damage is the leading cause off cell damage (even if the manufacturer suggests otherwise. Remember, manufactures are in the business of selling batteries, even more so than their tools).
My two cents and I hope it helps.
JT Carpentry & Design
If anyone is interested, I’ve put this together to help better understand what’s cells, in what layout are in each of these packs.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PeZBxrx1kwsHgVcvkHQCizb4wBqcuHKQ5D7UukZj8t4/edit?usp=sharing
***For reference only. These are my own educated guesses and in no way reflect data from the manufacturer***