Getting a smaller battery for Milwaukee driver

[signcrafter]

I recently picked up a new Milwaukee fuel drill/driver kit with the 5.0A batteries. I love it and the power is amazing. But for some things I think the bigger battery might be overkill and make the driver a little heavier then it needs to be. So I was thinking about picking up a smaller 2.0A battery for the light duty driver stuff like driving smaller screws. Thinking it might make the drill a little lighter for the times I don't really need the power. I'd still have the bigger 5.0A batteries for times when I need the longer run time and power.

First question is can I use the 2.0A battery with my new drill and driver? And also will my charger charge the 2.0A battery? And for those with the 2.0A battery is the driver pretty light with that battery compared to the 5.0A batteries? Just looking to make the driver a little lighter and more compact for the times I don't need the 5.0A power and run time.

Sound like a good idea or no?

 

[03protege]

First question is can I use the 2.0A battery with my new drill and driver? And also will my charger charge the 2.0A battery?

Yes and Yes.

Typically the high-power tools such as circular saws, angle grinders, and impact wrenches do not work with the compacts but drills and drivers are fine.


Personally, I bought some compact batteries for my Makita 18v and just the other day I was wondering why I even bought them. It makes the tool marginally lighter and makes it seem top heavy.

For applications where I don't need the power or need the lighter tool (overhead work) I use my Milwaukee m12 drill/driver. Which is probably about the same cost as your compact battery.

 

[Tenex]

I recently picked up a new Milwaukee fuel drill/driver kit with the 5.0A batteries. I love it and the power is amazing. But for some things I think the bigger battery might be overkill and make the driver a little heavier then it needs to be. So I was thinking about picking up a smaller 2.0A battery for the light duty driver stuff like driving smaller screws. Thinking it might make the drill a little lighter for the times I don't really need the power. I'd still have the bigger 5.0A batteries for times when I need the longer run time and power.

First question is can I use the 2.0A battery with my new drill and driver? And also will my charger charge the 2.0A battery? And for those with the 2.0A battery is the driver pretty light with that battery compared to the 5.0A batteries? Just looking to make the driver a little lighter and more compact for the times I don't need the 5.0A power and run time.

Sound like a good idea or no?

Yes you can use the 2.0 batteries. Yes the charger is universal across all M18 batteries. I can't say how much lighter the system is with a 2.0 battery.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Typically the high-power tools such as circular saws, angle grinders, and impact wrenches do not work with the compacts but drills and drivers are fine.

Why would you say that ?

Volts are volts, amps are amps. A smaller battery will simply not be able to deliver the necessary volts at the required amps for as long (run time) as a larger battery.

 

[signcrafter]

For applications where I don't need the power or need the lighter tool (overhead work) I use my Milwaukee m12 drill/driver. Which is probably about the same cost as your compact battery.

I thought about picking up an M12 driver also but after just spending the money on this kit I thought maybe getting a smaller battery would be a decent option. I'll look into the M12 driver.

 

[Ign]

Any M18 battery will fit/charge/interchange w anything else M18.

The compacts DO help the balance and bulk of the tool.

As the holidays come 2-packs of the 1.5ah may go cheap; I wouldn't rule them out. Your drivers will still be fine on 1.5ah, you might just have to swap batteries a bit more.

Or search HD for "Milwaukee free" and see if there are any combos you want to throw together w a free battery (although all the free batt offerings may be XC?).

Also the new brushless 2701 drill is pretty cool for compact, and the kit comes w two 2.0's

 

[frankush]

I have both in the 18V lineup. I really like the compact batteries. I do find them to be less tiring when used for longer periods. They won't hold a charge forever doing heavier tasks but are more than adequate for most anything. I replaced a full size 1/2" hammer drill with the Nmh batteries for a fuel version with the compact Li batteries and never looked back. A night and day difference in weight alone. I generally use the larger batteries in the sawzall.

 

[03protege]

Why would you say that ?

Volts are volts, amps are amps. A smaller battery will simply not be able to deliver the necessary volts at the required amps for as long (run time) as a larger battery.

If I am not mistaken, the XC batteries are capable of discharging at a higher rate. (higher Amp-hour rating?)

The other reason I say that is some of these tools literately will not accept the 2.0 batteries. I know the early big dawg 1/2" Milwaukee impacts had a tab on them which prevented the 2.0 batteries from attaching. Things may have changed, I have not been keeping up on the M18 series like I use to.

EDIT: Looking online it appears Milwaukee may have removed the extra tab from the newer (2.0) compact batteries. If you look at an original red lithium (1.5amp?) you can see the top of the battery near the back has two ridges, it appears now the batteries only have one ridge.

 

[Fcvapor05]

Why would you say that ?

Volts are volts, amps are amps. A smaller battery will simply not be able to deliver the necessary volts at the required amps for as long (run time) as a larger battery.

A drill/driver motor is much smaller than a circ saw motor, meaning it requires less current. They get from 2.0 to 5.0 Amp/hr by adding cells in parallel. Battery with more cells in parallel can deliver more current. It is absolutely possible that one battery would run the tool and one would not, based on current draw.

 

[rlitman]

Why would you say that ?

Volts are volts, amps are amps. A smaller battery will simply not be able to deliver the necessary volts at the required amps for as long (run time) as a larger battery.

You have made the fatal assumption that batteries have finite energy storage, but infinite power. That is simply not the case. For a given power output, the current draw per cell doubles (roughly), when you halve the number of cells. Since these batteries have a maximum current draw (with a safety cutoff if it is exceeded), there are high draw tools that simply cannot run on the smaller packs.

But back to the drill/driver set. I have 3.0AH XC batteries that came with my drill, and 4.0AH XC batteries I got afterwards. I also have some 1.5AH and 2.0AH small battery packs. Supposedly, the higher current potential from the XC batteries maximizes the drill's torque output, but the impact driver will work to its full potential with either (with a longer runtime obviously on the XC batteries).

Yes, the small batteries make the driver feel much lighter. They also stick out less, which helps it to fit into places better. I almost never put the small batteries on the drill, but you'll often find them on my impact driver and caulk gun.

 

[Sal Bandini]

^^ That is true. Yes volts is volts and amps is amps but there is also current draw. Batteries have a "C" rating, which is usually not listed. C rating is proportional to the Ah rating so therefore a lower Ah battery will have lower C rating, given the same battery technology.

I look at it like going to a smaller battery is like putting in smaller fuel pump. Your car might or might not be affected by it. In the case of drills, probably not, but circular saws, they might be affected.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Or search HD for "Milwaukee free" and see if there are any combos you want to throw together w a free battery (although all the free batt offerings may be XC?).

I'm looking for a deal on the M12 Fuel 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless 3/8 in. Impact Wrench Kit with Free M12 3/8 in. Ratchet (Tool Only) before Christmas. It says 2 2,0 batteries.

 

[Soslow]

I bought some 2.0 batteries just to make the tool smaller and lighter. I don't use my impacts for hours on end so the lack of run time hasn't bothered me yet.

 

[tt350z]

I use the compact 2.0 batteries all the time with my 2754 and 2668. The 2754 will still take off lugnuts without breaking a sweat. The overall smaller and lighter setup comes in handy when I'm on my back under a car getting fasteners. I honestly haven't even used it below 50% so the decreased runtime isn't a big deal to me. If it dies I can just swap to another 2.0 or 5.0's and finish it.

 

[Inabox85]

My drill/impact driver set cam with 2 small batteries and on big battery. The only difference is the bigger battery takes longer to discharge all the batteries have the same 18 volt output.