Milwaukee M18 battery date codes ????

[mrtoolfool]

Does anyone know how to read the Milwaukee M18 Red Lithium Batteries date codes.

They have serial numbers but I don't know if the date is encoded in there somewhere.

I recently changed over from Dewalt 18 volt and those batteries were easy to read. They had the Year_day of year stamped right on them so you knew how old they were.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rodm1]

The date is in there no idea how to read. Battery's have a 5 year warranty I think.

 

[malibu101]

Sroll down to 3rd page of this link-
http://www.milwaukeetool.com/CMS/ServiceAlerts/Recall.pdf

NOTE- This is NOT for the new Li-Ion batts but maybe a help.

Hope it helps!

 

[cajunfirehawk]

On a similar subject, I purchased a new MIL 18v combo when I found a killer deal and have yet to charge the batts, the combo is still in the box, am I at risk for not charging the batterys and some sort of way harming them?

 

[truckdriver]

Don't know about date codes but the Red Lithium has only been out for a year so they can't be older than that.

 

[franzdom]

Li-Ion have a really long shelf life.

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Don't know about date codes but the Red Lithium has only been out for a year so they can't be older than that.

I think those are the ones refereed to as "FUEL" , the ones I was speaking of are the older M18's...

 

[rlitman]

I think those are the ones refereed to as "FUEL" , the ones I was speaking of are the older M18's...

The "FUEL" drills (and now impact driver), come with the RedLithium batteries, however there are no batteries marked "FUEL", and the RedLithium batteries came out before the FUEL brushless tools.

 

[Greatbear]

I'm curious of this as well. What has my interest piqued even more is how to decipher the LED "flash codes" that can be accessed by holding down the battery level button until they all flash together. The first set of flash codes appears to change daily. A second set does change as well, but I haven't figured that one out yet.. The remaining codes remain the same.

 

[mrtoolfool]

I'm curious of this as well. What has my interest piqued even more is how to decipher the LED "flash codes" that can be accessed by holding down the battery level button until they all flash together. The first set of flash codes appears to change daily. A second set does change as well, but I haven't figured that one out yet.. The remaining codes remain the same.

Hmmmm Very interesting. I did not know that they did this.
I will have to try that out on a battery and see what happens.

I did get a private message from someone that said the batteries had a chip that recored the date they were first charged (at the factory I assume) and that it recorded the number of charge cycles it had gone through.

It would then make sense that this might be the way to access that information.

Thanks

 

[mrtoolfool]

For those wondering, I am refering to the newest "Red Lithium" batteries that come with all the M18 tools now. The new FUEL brushless tools also have this same battery. It looks like the old lithium but now says "Red Lithium" on it.

Note: I have seen a lot of kits for sale on eBay that are NEW but have the older batteries in them. Milwaukee made the change without changing the part numbers of the kits. They updated it as a running change. So if you are buying any kits, including
M12 you should make sure you get the newest batteries.

 

[mrtoolfool]

On a similar subject, I purchased a new MIL 18v combo when I found a killer deal and have yet to charge the batts, the combo is still in the box, am I at risk for not charging the batteries and some sort of way harming them?

I have read a few places that the best way to store Lithium Ion batteries longterm is at about 50% charge. I can neither confirm or deny whether this is good or bad.

I have noticed that EVERY battery pack I took out of all the tools I have recently bought. (about a dozen batteries)
have ALL been at 2 bars not the 4 bars indicating a full charge.

 

[dillwiggle]

The tools should have a 13 character serial number, the 6th and 7th digit from the left is the YEAR, the 8th & 9th digit is the Week.

Although I found some newer batteries have 11 characters (5 (a space)then6)
Still trying to get info on reading those cause not all make sense.

A Milwaukee authorized service center emailed me detailed info on the 13 digit serial number how to read. I think all the tools should be 13 but some batteries have 11.

Cheers !

 

[Ign]

There is a link here somewhere directly to Milwaukee's site w a chart explaining how to read the date code on basically every battery they've ever made. They don't try to keep it a secret. They simplified it a bit along the way w the heat stamp, otherwise it's in the serial # on earlier versions.

I printed the page, had it laminated at Office Depot, and keep it in the shop.

I think the link was in Hot Deals where the guy bought the Christmas M12 kit 2494-22B and wound up w one where the batteries had been swapped and the kit returned. Sorry, not searching on my phone right now.

 

[G_P]

On a similar subject, I purchased a new MIL 18v combo when I found a killer deal and have yet to charge the batts, the combo is still in the box, am I at risk for not charging the batterys and some sort of way harming them?

Yes, leaving some lithium packs sitting can kill them. Some packs have monitoring chips that draw power from one cell in the pack. Leave them sitting for very long periods of time, and that one cell will go dead. The charger then either cannot communicate with the chip and wont turn on, or the charger see's that one dead cell as an indication of a bad pack and wont turn on.

This does not apply to all packs.

 

[DieselSaves]

The tools should have a 13 character serial number, the 6th and 7th digit from the left is the YEAR, the 8th & 9th digit is the Week.

Although I found some newer batteries have 11 characters (5 (a space)then6)
Still trying to get info on reading those cause not all make sense.

A Milwaukee authorized service center emailed me detailed info on the 13 digit serial number how to read. I think all the tools should be 13 but some batteries have 11.

Cheers !

I've noticed on the batteries that omit the year code from the s/n that there is a hot stamped series of numbers on the top of the battery where it slides into the tool. Looking at my batteries and knowing when they were purchased and referencing other batteries with both the stamping and the full 13 digit code, it apears the first two numbers are the year of manufacture. I'm guessing the next numbers are month/day or day/month or week of manufacture.

 

[oldldh]

Being semi-organized...As I finish using my tools, I put the battery on the charger, so it will be ready, fully charged, the next time I need it...

I'm discovering that I've been using the 4AHr batteries, and leaving the 2AHr batteries in the case...I haven't used a 2AHr in four months...

Something is telling me, this is a bad idea...I just checked, and they're all still "green", when placed on the charger...

My question is this --- Should these new lithium batteries be completely discharged periodically???...

I'm new to the wonderful world of Milwaukee M18 stuff, and being an ancient DIY'er, am only semi-technically literate...This thread looked like a good place to ask the question, that's been nagging me for a while...

Thanks in advance...

 

[DieselSaves]

Being semi-organized...As I finish using my tools, I put the battery on the charger, so it will be ready, fully charged, the next time I need it...

I'm discovering that I've been using the 4AHr batteries, and leaving the 2AHr batteries in the case...I haven't used a 2AHr in four months...

Something is telling me, this is a bad idea...I just checked, and they're all still "green", when placed on the charger...

My question is this --- Should these new lithium batteries be completely discharged periodically???...

I'm new to the wonderful world of Milwaukee M18 stuff, and being an ancient DIY'er, am only semi-technically literate...This thread looked like a good place to ask the question, that's been nagging me for a while...

Thanks in advance...

I think it was on this site I read the best way to store these batteries is at around half a charge. I know every M18 battery I have purchased new has had two bars showing on the fuel gauge.

We normally use the 1.5/2.0 smaller bodied batteries on the impact driver or sometimes on the radio when all the bigger batteries are in use or charging. The size is nice for balance on the driver and the quick recharge time works fine with the slower draw of the radio. Keeps us in tunes while we keep working.

 

[LB-1911]

I'm discovering that I've been using the 4AHr batteries, and leaving the 2AHr batteries in the case...I haven't used a 2AHr in four months...

Something is telling me, this is a bad idea...I just checked, and they're all still "green", when placed on the charger...

My question is this --- Should these new lithium batteries be completely discharged periodically???...

I'm new to the wonderful world of Milwaukee M18 stuff, and being an ancient DIY'er, am only semi-technically literate...This thread looked like a good place to ask the question, that's been nagging me for a while...

Thanks in advance...

Maintenance and Storage
Page five (5) @
https://documents.milwaukeetool.com/58-14-1801d8.pdf



SUBJECT: Battery Pack Date Code – Where to Find – How to Read

PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN # 527

This bulletin is for informational purposes. This bulletin supersedes and replaces PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN #520
http://documents.milwaukeetool.com/TIY527.pdf


PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN # 520
http://documents.milwaukeetool.com/TIY520.pdf

 

[G_P]

Being semi-organized...As I finish using my tools, I put the battery on the charger, so it will be ready, fully charged, the next time I need it...

I'm discovering that I've been using the 4AHr batteries, and leaving the 2AHr batteries in the case...I haven't used a 2AHr in four months...

Something is telling me, this is a bad idea...I just checked, and they're all still "green", when placed on the charger...

My question is this --- Should these new lithium batteries be completely discharged periodically???...

I'm new to the wonderful world of Milwaukee M18 stuff, and being an ancient DIY'er, am only semi-technically literate...This thread looked like a good place to ask the question, that's been nagging me for a while...

Thanks in advance...

Toss the suspect 2AHr batteries in a drill and either drill a few holes or just hold the trigger down for a minute or two. Then recheck on the charger. They probably are still fully charged. 4 months is not an extreme amount of time for a fully charged lithium pack to be left sitting. Leaving them sitting for a long time when they are near fully discharged is what can cause issues.