A couple of days ago, someone asked me when we might see a Milwaukee M18 cordless power station.
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Shown here, Dewalt has a 4x 20V Max portable power station.
Ryobi just announced their 40V Max portable power station.
Ego recently announced their 2000W continuous Nexus portable power station.
So, when can we expect to see something similar from Milwaukee? Thank you to Ron for the great question!
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Let’s start by asking some different questions.
Is This Something Milwaukee Tool Can Do?
Sure. Combine the voltage of a couple of M18 cordless power tool batteries, pass the higher voltage through a DC to AC converter, and voila, you have an AC power source, derived from DC battery packs.
DC power sources are convenient, and have been growing in popularity. There’s no noise compared to a gas generator, and although batteries wear over time and need to be replaced, they’re quick to plug in and charge up at the end of the day.
For heavy use, gas generators are still king. But for light or even medium demand applications, a battery-powered source can be useful. You won’t get all-day use out of a set of batteries, or maybe you can depending on the types of tools or applications, but there are conveniences compared to utilizing a gasoline generator.
Can Milwaukee come out with a cordless power tool station right now? Absolutely.
Is This Something Milwaukee Tool Wants to Do?
Here’s the thing – Milwaukee Tool and other brands have been striving for a cordless jobsite. There are still plenty of corded tools and equipment, many of which don’t yet exist as cordless tools. Other times, users’ needs might vary.
If you want a cordless air compressor, you’re limited to just 3 brands.
Related: The Best Cordless Air Compressors
If you want a cordless 10″ table saw, you’re out of luck – for now.
Cordless 12″ sliding miter saw? There’s only one brand available right now.
Full-sized dust extractor?
Full-sized router?
Maybe your favorite sander isn’t yet available as a cordless sander, or if it is, maybe you’re not happy about the price.
Discover: Festool Hybrid-Powered Sanders
While a DC to AC cordless battery power station doesn’t quite “cut the cord” in the way that professional power tool brands have been moving towards, it can simplify jobsite setups in a lot of different settings.
I think that a cordless power station is something that Milwaukee could very well want to do.
Jobsite adoption of a portable power station might not be very widespread, at least at first, but there are also very many Milwaukee M18 users who would be happy to have an M18-equipped power station that can be used into the weekends too.
If you ask me, I think that a Milwaukee cordless power station is something they might be willing to do.
Why Haven’t We Seen One Yet?
Well, if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right and make it as compelling as possible.
With their new M18 High Output battery packs, especially the HD 12.0Ah pack, a Milwaukee M18 portable power station is going to be very effective, or at least much more effective. A full kit featuring 12Ah battery packs would likely require a hefty investment, but the XC6.0, HD9.0, and maybe even XC5.0 battery packs still hold a lot of charge capacity.
Milwaukee takes pride in their “everything fits” philosophy, and so you can be sure that even if their High Output batteries might provide top performance and runtime, their other M18 batteries will still work.
Still, although cordless power tool battery packs now hold more charge capacity than ever before, and other brands have apparently seen fit to develop portable power stations, an eventual Milwaukee model is not guaranteed to be on their roadmap. Will customer demand be great enough to justify development and marketing of such a product?
What Might it Look Like?
Milwaukee’s Packout modular tool box system launched two years ago, and they announced new products for the line last year.
Maybe we’ll see a rolling power station, similar to their rolling tool box, meant to the bottom of a stack of a Packout tool boxes. Maybe it’ll be a mid-section box. Or maybe it’ll be a top-section device, similar to Dewalt’s portable power station.
It’s very reasonable to assume that if Milwaukee does come out with an M18-compatible portable power station, it’ll be compatible with their Packout storage system.
That said, raise your hand if you’d like to see a Packout-compatible vacuum. Packout-compatible cordless air compressor? Products like these might only be a matter of time.
The Likelihood of a Milwaukee M18 Cordless Power Station?
Well… if it’s not on their roadmap, perhaps Ryobi’s portable power station will be treated as a test of the market. While Milwaukee cordless power tools are developed by Milwaukee product managers and engineers, and Ryobi power tools are developed by TTI North America, we have seen evidence of communication between the brands, at least at high levels.
Between the different TTI brands, components and parts are different, production methods likely also differ, and resultant quality is also different. But it would be foolish not to look at release trends and not make the assumption that information and even data is shared between the brands, at least perhaps on a limited or case by case basis.
For instance, there are four cordless oil pulse drivers on the market, and three of them are made by TTI. There have been numerous instances where Milwaukee Tool, Ryobi, and Ridgid have followed each other’s innovations and entry into new markets and product categories.
Doubts
Is this something that Milwaukee Tool can produce? Yes. Are they interested in developing such a tool? I’d say the answer is yes. Can they do so at a competitive and compelling price point? Bosch launched a mobile battery bank for the European market more than 3 years ago. Can you find that Bosch product in the USA? No.
The market has to be open to a product before it can be realized. Meaning, the question isn’t so much whether Milwaukee Tool can and wants to come out with a portable power station, but whether enough pro users want to buy one, to justify its existence.
Thus, the answer to “when will Milwaukee launch a cordless power station?” really depends on the answer to another question. So, let me ask YOU:
(When) Would you buy a Milwaukee M18 cordless power station?
Other Thoughts
All this talk is about the potential for a Milwaukee Tool portable battery-powered AC source, for powering corded tools and devices.
What about an AC adapter for their cordless power tools?
Hitachi, or rather Metabo HPT, has come out with an AC adapter for their MultiVolt cordless power tools. Los Gatos, a now-defunct 3rd party company, made a similar product with different brand connections, but they seem to have disappeared in the years since.
Dewalt has such an adapter for their 120V Max cordless power tools, namely their two FlexVolt 12″ miter saws.
We might very well see something like this from Milwaukee, but probably not until or unless they come out with some kind of battery-multiplier system, such as an M18 x 2 table saw or similar.
Personally, I think a DC battery-powered AC source is more likely than an AC-powered DC source.
Update: Glossary
To clear up some confusion that came to light in the comments section:
Portable Power Station: The focus of this post is on a hypothetical Milwaukee Tool M18 portable power station, a device which would utilize M18 cordless power tool batteries to output an AC electrical source for the operation of corded power tools in the absence of a typical AC outlet.
A portable power station uses DC battery sources to output AC electrical power.
For instance, a portable power station could potentially power a corded router, worm drive circular saw, table saw, or shop vacuum.
Charging Station: An existing product that is plugged into an AC source for recharging M18 cordless power tool batteries. Portable power stations usually have battery charging capabilities, but charging stations can not power corded tools. Charging stations use AC power to recharge DC batteries.
A charging station can only charge batteries. At most, some also have USB charging ports.
Note: THIS is probably why some brands describe their portable power stations as battery-powered inverter generators.
Doresoom
Your hypothesis about a rolling Packout compatible power station is right on. I’ll just leave this here: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/7e/b0/f1/fc1e6ab6d838e5/US20180323621A1.pdf
PETE
Is your name – Kyle Harvey? lol
Doresoom
Nah, just a nerd who surfs through patent applications in my free time. ?
Chris
That’s A LOT of free time!
Ryan Baiad
I started reading this story and I immediately thought about your post on Instagram the other day. I was gonna mention it but I see you already beat me to it! 🙂
Stuart
I only skimmed that now, but WOW.
“In the illustrated embodiment , the solar charging array 78 is stored in the elastic storage compartment 74…”
Thanks! Looks like I have some heavy reading to do tonight.
Doresoom
I put a bunch of links to other recently published Milwaukee patents in the description of the video I just made about them as well: https://youtu.be/1GHhPPBh-Yg
Other notable finds were an M12 chainsaw and GIANT M18 tower light that looks like it’s aimed to compete with the balloon lights that road crews use.
PETE
The m18 balloon light would be awsome! Have a link?
PETE
Nevermind i went to your youtube. Funny- i follow you on instagram…. now i know its YOU on here lol.
Doresoom
Yeah, it’s me and not just some imposter!
clayton
where does one search for that kind of info?
Doresoom
I used Google Patents.
Jim Felt
This is exactly what the camera brand specific “Rumors” sites do. They re-publish various country’s patent and compliance registration sites for what’s possibly coming. And many times does.
It’s kind of like X-raying Christmas presents. Dangitall.
Jason Frederick Erminelli
They have the 6 pack charger plus one how many do you need . That’s what I use
Avi
From a personal perspective I think metabo hpt’s AC adapter is the greatest thing ever, every company should make one.
My biggest hurdle for buying a cordless version of a tool versus a corded is, do I use it often enough and the lack of cord or outlet convenience to justify having to buy a new one when the batteries or battery system dies out.
For the weekend warrior who really only needs to buy one circular saw for their lifetime and also doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of charging batteries that haven’t been used since last summer just to trim down a few 2x4s, an ac adapter would be the game changer to never buying another corded version of a tool ever again. The two main fears of is my battery charged/will the charge last and do they still make my battery are taken care of.
I get from a business perspective that might not be the best, you want to keep selling people tools, not just the one to last a lifetime.
But I can dream, Milwaukee please.
Patrick Comerford
Better question is “Why are the batteries so damned expensive?” Ahh I get it the tool is the hook and they’re hoping you take the line and sinker too.
Jim Felt
I’m pretty sure that no tool company owns even an interest in any battery manufacturer. And compared to the EV companies like Tesla and all the others tool manufacturer’s battery orders are perhaps not all that important?
Jason Gaskin
Milwaukee was the first to “inhouse ” their battery technology instead of subcontracting it to another company. They invented liion smart tech that everyone is using now.
John
*eyeroll*
*facepalm*
JoeM
I have to ask… Do they NEED to produce such a power supply? Last I checked, Milwaukee have nothing to prove to anyone. Whether or not they produce one will not change anyone’s minds or experience with Milwaukee. And I mean that in a very positive way. They’ve always done things a little bit tweaked, or oddball, compared to everyone else. They’ve always done things THEIR way. “Your charger can charge one battery at a time? That’s adorable. Here’s our new one that charges 6 at once, AND you can carry it around with one hand, no problem.”
You want proof of why I ask this? Look at the DeWALT ATOMIC article. Count how many times DeWALT is countered by a statement about a Milwaukee kit, versus how many times DeWALT is countered by ANY other brand. You’ll find Milwaukee, without needing an equivalent product, is THE Go-To Example of what people don’t like about DeWALT, or any other brand.
There is a REASON the biggest competition is “Red Vs Yellow” in Tools. The Big Two are VERY well established, and don’t have as much to compete over.
Stuart
I think you might be looking at things the wrong way.
Milwaukee seems to be largely about responding to users’ evolving needs and wants, and not necessarily reacting to competitors’ activities.
However, sometimes a competing innovation sparks ideas. The question “what can we develop to better serve the needs of our customers” doesn’t change all that much whether it’s in the context of a new innovation, or an emerging market where a competing brand or brands were first to break into.
“Is this something our users want or need? If so, what can we do to best serve those needs?”
Competition is healthy for brands and customers alike. Look at smartphones. Winter jackets. Fast food value menus.
Would Milwaukee Packout have existed if not for the Dewalt ToughSystem?
In the long run, it doesn’t matter who is first (unless there are heavy patent protections), what matters is who makes the better product.
It would be wrong to say that Milwaukee wouldn’t follow a competitor’s direction, because there are times when they have, or at least it seems that way. That’s not a bad thing, it’s only bad if the reasoning is flawed.
JoeM
Oh, I have no doubt they’ll come out with one. The only thing I GENUINELY question here, is whether WHAT they produce will be at all capable of changing anyone’s minds about the company. Will anyone even notice it, aside from seeing it enter their shopping carts?
It’s Milwaukee. Is it fair to demand to know when they’ll release one? I mean, yes, we’d all (including myself, despite not buying Red tools) be interested to see what they come up with as their… “Answer” to this particular solution. But, we’ve asked all sorts of questions about such a thing in this article (well done, by the way, Stuart.) and I figured this would certainly be an interesting thought experiment to add to the conversation. They’re Milwaukee. Do they NEED one? Or will the Red Fans be fine without it, happy to have OTHER innovative tools in their packout cases? If I’m not mistaken, Milwaukee has that very sleek, Pneumatic Impact Driver is it? That came out of nowhere while DeWALT and Makita were working on better Brushless tools than they offered before.
It’s purely a philosophical question amidst all this. A little fun for the brainy types like me. I’ve changed my tune over the years, and I’m not as one-sided on the tools now. I OWN some Yellow tools, and I’m not about to switch over (It’s too expensive for that.) but I do really RESPECT Milwaukee and Bosch for their work. Makita, I’m still slightly iffy, but that is a lack of experience with the brand on my part.
Stuart
Which ToolGuyd post did you discover, bringing you to the site for the first time? What if that was a post I didn’t “need” to write? What post led you to comment for the first time? What if that post was written differently?
The complexities behind product development and launches go well beyond what I was able to see at the surface, so long ago.
There are so many complexities and lines of thought as to why Milwaukee would not develop a product like this, that it is far easier to ask the question “why wouldn’t they?” That’s a lot easier to answer. There are no longer any obvious technological obstacles or limitations, and so it likely comes down to end users’ needs, wants, and willingness (or unwillingness) to pay the price such products would command.
A product like this would not necessarily be intended to solely appeal to existing Milwaukee M18 users. How much is it worth it to Milwaukee to tie a new customer into their M18 cordless power tool system? (That’s why FIOS can charge existing customers $140 a month for services new customers can get for $80.)
JoeM
It’s just a fun question to ponder, though, isn’t it Stuart? Let’s start with the funny fact that this article asked a LOT of questions at once, so there’s a smile on the reader’s face to start with. Then you have to ask “What DIDN’T Stuart Ask? That was a very thorough interrogation he just did!” to which I could really only come up with… “Do they, Hypothetically, and just for fun in asking yet another question, really NEED to release one?”
It’s all in good fun. Just to get a smile or two going. It’s a great article! Nothing needed to improve it! Just having a little philosophical fun in the comments section, that’s all. 😉
Corey
Milwaukee is constantly locked in petty response and one-upsmanship with plenty of other companies haha their”first ever lineman” impact, this power station, the embarrassing flexvolt harassment- their marketing self adulation irritates me to no end.
Luis Saldana
I’m an electrician, I do a lot of commercial work. With all the lay out I do, I want to know when will Milwaukee come out with a crossline laser? DeWalt has a nice green crossline laser, and Klein Tools just released a very nice crossline with plumb laser which I am considering, but all my power tools are exclusively Team Red Milwaukee. I need answers!
Michael Polk
Milwaukee used to have a M12 cross line laser years ago! I’ve been on the hunt for a used one for a while. Hopefully they have something planned for the near future.
Michael
Milwaukee cordless is the go to for Plumbers, myself included, that said I’d still like to see a cordless hot glue gun, plumb Bob and green line laser, please. The only thing I charge on a job is my phone, Milwaukee has that covered (let’s up the amperage to 4 or 5 though). In commercial construction, power is usually one of the first things on site, followed by water, at least in Chicago. I have in inverter in my van for my battery chargers, microwave and fridge (yes, I have and use a fridge). Anyway, not taking away from them,zCan but DeWalt will never keep up with Milwaukee, in my trade at least. I only have they’re cordless laser
Nate Bezanson
You can adapt the M18 batteries to the Surebonder/Ryobi gun, with an adapter sold by Surebonder. It’s $20. Don’t know about the laser stuff, sorry.
Michael
My buddy has that, I just like to stick to one platform.
Joe framer
Dewalt is made for construction, framing, remodeling… Where milwaukee is made for plumbers.. while both may attempt to go into other trades, both don’t really succeed at it.
Michael
Plumbing is construction, just sayin…
ToolGuyDan
So is nearly everything, really. That said, it’s a… *ahem*… measuring contest. The idea that plumbers require differently-shaped and -colored bits of plastic around their impact drivers than electricians do is a bit of a stretch. Far more likely it’s just the good ol’ network effect kicking in; if I show up at a job site with a dozen people with red tools, I’m going to have to justify why I have yellow ones (and, on a practical note, I can no longer loan out batteries).
Anyway, if you want to see this effect in action in another context, watch what happens to the rest of the class the week after three junior-high girls show up to school wearing a new brand.
Michael
Settle down, cupcake, nobody’s going to say anything about your DeWalt stuff on my job….unless you want to use our charger.
Tony Rogers
You did not check Milwaukee’s website before writing this? I personally use this as I frequent been 18v & 12v
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Batteries-and-Chargers/M18-Batteries-and-Chargers/48-59-1807
Stuart
Please read the post carefully. What you linked to is a charger, for recharging M18 batteries.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-rapid-charging-station/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This post is about a portable power station, a battery-powered device that outputs AC power to enable the operation of corded tools when wall outlets (or otherwise) are absent, inaccessible, or otherwise not available.
RAF RAM
I hope Milwaukee does come out with one. I have plenty of batteries even as a non daily professional user.
Dave
Sub-$500, something like this would be a strong consideration. But it would probably be as much of a recreational toy as a tool – there are few instances when I need corded power in a location where I absolutely can’t get it, but using my existing batteries for low-power needs at a campsite is more appealing than rolling out the 3000w generator.
Todd
I skimmed over the patent application and the snap lock battery post terminals they came up with look interesting. Basically a tool free terminal that attaches to a car battery. I wonder if the idea with the big rolling unit is it ships without a battery and you purchase locally something like a optima agm battery.
Triston Currie
Finally this is brought up, I’m an electrical foreman, I put all the fires out, work out of state, and typically run all major outages. This tool is perfect because it can produce miricals in all situations, start up, trouble shooting and everyday grind. Plus would be perfect for camping or power outages. I am heavily invested in milwaukee( as of 3 years ago I had dewalt) this one product almost made me go back. Willwaukee needs to produce this product and it needs to be better then dewalt. Milwaukee hurry up and produce this
JL
Funny, you would think Milwaukee would jump at the chance to sell more batteries.
AC adapter would be a dream come true.
ToolGuyDan
In the article, you have: “it can simply jobsite setups in a lot of different settings.”
“simply” -> “simplify”?
Stuart
Thank you! *fixed*
aj
It would be a good way to showcase the power of their batteries if they made one that worked with a single battery like the Ego. Supposedly they can get over 2000 watts peak out of one 12.0 batt. Plenty of 12V inverters that can supply over 2000w, so no need for several batteries in series.
Stuart
The Ego 7.5Ah battery has 406 watt-hours of stored energy. The Milwaukee M18 12.0Ah has 216 watt-hours. A 5.0Ah has 90.
aj
They claim 420 but I believe it’s 378 since it’s really a 50.4V battery. You can get 56V out of it and you can get 7.5 Ah but the voltage will average 50.4 or less over the course of the discharge no matter how you measure it. But that’s beside the point.
The What?
I wouldn’t buy one because I already have 2 gas generators. If a cordless power station were able to provide adequate power similar to a gas generator, I may consider buying one. But with what is currently available, they are a long way from making something that is worth considering over a gas generator that would be worth the price. Especially for what Milwaukee would ask for one of these. But I don’t see a cordless power station ever having enough juice to run several power tools simultaneously that’s to be used throughout the course of an 8 hour day. I think Milwaukee is smart enough to know that they shouldn’t try to make a battery powered power station if it can’t be used to provide juice for corded power tools and that there’s no point in making something that is less than half assed. What’s available now can barely power a space heater. One space heater. They have a very long way to go if they are attempting to make any sort of cordless power station to be used on a job site. So while I’m sure that they could make one, they’re smart enough to come to the realization of what would be the point.
WM
Milwaukee already has a part number reserved for a 4 bay m18 inverter since 2019. You guys are funny with all the guessing. It will only be released if MX version sells well and is stocked by retail.
Stuart
A reserved part number does not mean much.
Plus, this post was published 3 months before the MX Fuel products were announced via NDA to media, and 7 months before they were announced publicly. Meaning, the MX Fuel power station did not exist at the time of this posting.