Milwaukee Tools

When I did my original Bing search on the issue, the faulty LED indicator came up a lot. So if there is no degradation in performance you are probably right. I'll update as this plays out.

 

I’ve had this happen to one of my 8.0’s. My wife loves to run the blower till the battery is completely dead no matter how many times I’ve told her not to do that. Brought it back to full charge using this method but eventually drops back down to 3 bar and have to do it again.
https://youtu.be/fwHBsttSaZk?si=e1rW4op7mSW4gGgb

 

The newer batteries aren't hurt by running them dead. I do it regularly.

Edit: at least, it's my understanding that the internal circuitry won't allow it.

 

It can happen.

 

Kidding aside, I sometimes have to force myself to walk past without looking. It's usually when I'm working and I have to run for parts. I'll go to the supply house when there's one nearby. But, they have Milwaukee tools also!

 

Its hard.
I don't have an air compressor. As well as other things.
I need to down size.

 

i've got an old 9.0 and one of my newer 12.0's that came with my mower both do it. running the dual 12.0's in the mower, i do notice a reduced capacity to the other 12.0. but considering the cost, i'm not doing anything about it.

 

I have a 9.0 that only ever shows 3 bars. Looks like it was perfectly dropped in a way to take out the last indicator. Have a 5.0 that doesn’t show the same trauma. They both work fine. Doesn’t seem to affect performance. They are out of warranty. So I’ll use them till they’re junk and buy more most likely while swearing.

 

I have generally been pretty happy with the service life I've gotten out of Milwaukee batteries. I started buying Milwaukee tools at the end of 2016, and most of those batteries are still good.

 

It's not necessary to let them fully drain. They don't develop memory. At home, I usually throw em on a charger at 2 bars. Simply because I want them fully charged for the next work day. On-site, I'll run them until (if) they're done then slap in another.

Rinse & Repeat.

 

I wish Milwaukee made a m12/18 vacuum that also had 120v. Dewalt makes one, heck even Hercules makes one.

Looks like Milwaukee will be coming out with a 9 gallon vac that does both but it’s way too big.

 

watch the home depot deals, and the general seasonal sales. most times you can get any of the batteries for something around $50-70/battery.

home depot just had a m18 drill/impact combo super sale with 3 5.0's for $267, which is basically 3 5.0's for $90/ea with a free drill and impact. or depending on your perspective, a drill and impact for $134/ea, with 3 free 5.0 batteries...

m12 5.0 high outputs are trending on ebay, new in the package, for $62-65. i just bought 4 of them this weekend, because all my m12 batteries are at least 5-8 years old, and showing every bit of their ages.

typically, ebay seems to be the great averager for power tool batteries. lots of people buying the promo's with cheap/free batteries and then selling them, but then milwaukee's constant promo's keeps them from marking them up too far, so prices stay pretty consistent.




my most recent 'why not' purchase is this "brushless" m18 grinder

$46 HLiePiHa Cordless Angle Grinder for Milwaukee 18v Batteries,7000RPM Brushless Electric Grinder,3 Variable Speed Metal Grinder for 4.9''Wheels with Adjustable Auxiliary Handle for Cutting, No Battery

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFLXR7T9

for $45, it's perfect for all the coworkers that want to borrow my tools. i get to keep my real milwaukee tools, and if they break it, it was always going to be a $200 grinder.

i'm quite sure it's actually brushed,with the way it spins up. it doesn't have anywhere near the balls the real deal has, but it has enough to get most jobs done. it's easily on par with any harbor freight grinder.

 

I won't say I have a bunch of Milwaukee tools because compared to some of you I have practically nothing. But... in the past few years I have gotten some M12 & M18 tools. Almost all of them are fuels

 

I hate Home Depot and Amazon. eBay has its place for things. I use acme for the vast majority of my purchases. Partially because they’re an “official” dealer. Am always worried about getting that Milwaukee tool from an unauthorized dealer and them telling you to screw off.

Though in my experience unless you have a local outfit that tries to take care of you the Milwaukee warranty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Have a few tools that had warranty and could be fixed (really miss my 7.25 rear handle saw) doing the internet warranty things just feels empty. Maybe I do like people????

 

that was literally why i started looking to ebay more. and also why i'm far more interested in the knockoff tools that use the same batteries. i view my tools as being invested in the platform connection method, and have very little interest in the brand behind that connection method. my interest is always bang-for-the-buck.

i used to be really hardcore about getting genuine milwaukee tools from genuine certified resellers.

but i got a bad drill that the transmission started popping out of gear within the first few uses. no worries, i paid real prices for the real warranty, i'll send it in! it ended up taking 4 months from RMA to receiving the replacement. what was i supposed to do for 4 entire months?!? tell customers and my bills "yeah, they're working on it, i'll be there as soon as i get my drill back". that's not how work or bills works.

i ended up panic-buying another drill 2.5 hours away at full price(none in the area) after a week because that's the reality of using tools for work-- no tools, no work. no work, no money. no money, no food. no food, no life. my ethics for paying more for authorized resellers go as far as my bottom line. when they as a brand start messing with my capability to perform my job, and put food on my table, i'm left questioning what my benefit in the entire thing is.

after that fiasco, i just plain stopped buying from genuine resellers unless the sale price justifies it. there's absolutely a quality and power management difference from the knockoff's that justifies the genuine products over the knockoff's, and used/questionable tools off ebay can have some issues as well. so it's not entirely without risk.

the way i look at it is that i could buy the genuine article from a genuine reseller, and i'll be stuck in a 3-6 month loop if i have an issue. if i can get a new-in-box 'fell off a truck' deal on ebay for half that cost, i can get that product in 2-5 days. if that product fails for any reason, i've already saved money versus the genuine channel, and can afford to purchase a second 'fell off the truck' deal, which is a maximum of another 2-5 days away from my doorstep--all without needing to deal with another person/process. "tool broke. need new tool."

in all, i figure with this method i can end up at the same overall cost, but am self-funding my own 'guaranteed replacement' within 20 days of the original order, cutting a full 2-4 months off the genuine resellers warranty process.

 

TL;DR but I’m lazy.

 

lol. i don't expect everyone to read everything i post!

but this assignment seems fun for a sunday. i'll edit it for brevity just for your special heiny highness..

 

Two things:
1 Since going exclusively Milwaukee I’ve yet to have a problem or need of warranty service on any product.
2 I’ve yet to pay full price on any Milwaukee product. Always buy at discounted prices at Home Depot or mostly at Northern Tool.

Having said that I do currently have a XC8.0 that’s only charging to 3 bars that I’m investigating. It’s one of about 15 Milwaukee batteries that I own. I also have a couple Milwaukee knock offs that are total garbage.

 

Too many discounts to pay full price