Generic batteries for the Milwaukee M!2

[PWC Repair]

I did not NEED another M12 battery. I NEEDED a power adapter so I could easily power up 12v auto stuff. I just got a cheap battery as well to try it out. Here is the OH-SO-handy adapter and the generic battery.

 

[PWC Repair]

Believe it or not, the battery works great. Charges just as fast, and seems to hold power almost as long as my actual Milwaukee battery. The PROBLEM with a cheap battery is the plastic they're made from. After only 12-15 recharges, the tangs that hold the battery in snapped off. It WAS very cold out but I was using all my M12 tools and none of the Milwaukee batteries did that.

 

[PWC Repair]

Then it got me thinking.......I wonder just how close these are in design to an actual Milwaukee. Here is the cheapo apart, and housing next to the real deal.

 

[PWC Repair]

So it seems, at least this brand, has copied the housing to the "T". Here is the cheapo battery assembly slipped up into the Milwaukee housing. So, in conclusion, this is a cheap alternative if you need batteries. Even if the tangs break off, you can just slip the battery part into the Milwaukee housing!

 

[Chipm]

My cheap M12s all lasted about a year of daily use, but the plastic kept breaking as you noted. Old milwaukee plastic was the same, the newer ones seem like a different plastic and have a little more flex. I only buy genuine Milwaukee now.

 

[PelicanPines]

I did not have luck with the cheaps... I require my batteries to run medical equipment for myself... I can't screw around. Got half a dozen 6ah OEM batteries 4 or 5 years ago... Use those six on a rotating basis every day... ONE battery failed... Took it to my guy at Batteries Plus... He put in new cells and all is great.

I tried cheap batteries for a bit along the way... Didn't have issues with the plastic but agree... Its weaker. The cells just stopped charging. Tried jumping them with little or no success.