M18 fuel batteries?

[n8n]

Good afternoon everyone

I have a M18 Fuel 1/2" impact and since I had that I also bought a M18 Fuel string trimmer. The former comes with a 5 Ah battery and the latter an 8 Ah although they are interchangeable.

I've moved and now I use the string trimmer for all lawn cutting as a lawnmower would be impractical and dangerous (back yard is one big hillside.) Last night I found that if I try to do everything all at once I got the little front cut, all the sidewalk edged, and maybe 1/2 of the back yard done before the battery pooped out. I am going to have to go by the Orange Colored Store tonight for a few things anyway so I thought I'd see if they have another battery in stock because a) that'd let me do it in one go and b) I'm not sure I could find my impact quickly and c) extra batteries are nice. Well, I find that the string trimmer is $200 and a Milwaukee 8 Ah battery pack is... $200?

Amazon has it for $95, can I trust that it's good/not counterfeit?

Is there anywhere I can get another 8 Ah battery pack for a better price? Are any of the aftermarket ones acceptable?

While I am cheap, I'm also squirrely about Li-Ions. I noticed last night when I took the pack off the charger it was warm thus reinforcing at least in my mind that caution around them is not misplaced (never mind that when my buddy's shop caught on fire, the suspected cause was a mechanic's Snap-On drop light being left on the charger)

thanks for any help!

 

[imagineer]

My experience with off-brand or imitation cordless batteries has been all bad.

In an effort to save a few bucks, I've purchased off-brand or imitation batteries for both Milwaukee and Porter-Cable cordless tools and none have performed even close to the original batteries. One died and would not take a charge after only a month.

Next time I need to replace a cordless tool battery, it won't be with a cheap one.

 

[Jasmith801]

My experience with off-brand or imitation cordless batteries has been all bad.

In an effort to save a few bucks, I've purchased off-brand or imitation batteries for both Milwaukee and Porter-Cable cordless tools and none have performed even close to the original batteries. One died and would not take a charge after only a month.

Next time I need to replace a cordless tool battery, it won't be with a cheap one.

Also cheap batteries and also chargers can be a possible fire hazard as they could have no battery protection in them

 

[tjansson]

Right now Home Depot has a free 8.0 battery deal if you buy the 2833 circular saw. You return the saw and the battery comes out to $110 or so. Make sure with these deals it shows in your cart as 2 items with 2 discounted rates - that means you can return them separately.

 

[n8n]

Right now Home Depot has a free 8.0 battery deal if you buy the 2833 circular saw. You return the saw and the battery comes out to $110 or so. Make sure with these deals it shows in your cart as 2 items with 2 discounted rates - that means you can return them separately.

Amazon actually has it for about that so I wouldn't have to go through those shenanigans, annoyingly it's gone up $6 since lunchtime

Amazon.com

although this is possibly a better deal even thought I already have two chargers

Amazon.com

I'm tempted to pull the trigger now, just want someone to reassure me they're the real thing (and also that these new "redlithium" batteries are compatible with my tools, I assume they are)

 

[tjansson]

Amazon actually has it for about that so I wouldn't have to go through those shenanigans, annoyingly it's gone up $6 since lunchtime

The reason to buy from HD is you know it's recent product, and you know it's genuine.

 

[bwringer]

The risk of counterfeits on scAmazon is extremely high. I wouldn't say it's certain you'll get counterfeit batteries... but it would be surprising if you don't.

 

[PelicanPines]

OP: On Amazon... always look at who the seller is. One of the sellers for one of your links is "Jeff's Garage"... yea... that's suspicious.

I have had no issues with Amazon/Amazon purchases. Shipped from/Seller

 

[n8n]

That's why the price changed. I just refreshed it twice and it's a different seller every time. Good looking out, I'm going to see if it's reasonable with Amazon as the seller.

Edit: none sold by Amazon although they all seem to ship from there.

 

[username2]

I am going to have to go by the Orange Colored Store tonight for a few things anyway so I thought I'd see if they have another battery in stock because a) that'd let me do it in one go and b) I'm not sure I could find my impact quickly and c) extra batteries are nice. Well, I find that the string trimmer is $200 and a Milwaukee 8 Ah battery pack is... $200?

Amazon has it for $95, can I trust that it's good/not counterfeit?

As long as your fire insurance is up to date, you might consider it.

My approach would be to double down and get some tool on sale that comes with a biggish battery.

I see that you can get:

"M18 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Compact Drill/Impact Combo Kit (2-Tool) w/(2) 2.0 Ah Batteries w/5.0 Ah Battery"

for $239 at home Depot.

They probably have better sales than that.

 

[n8n]

I guess I'll just go home and see if I can find my impact wrench... in any case I don't NEED it tonight

I could actually buy another string trimmer for the same price as the battery that comes with the string trimmer; that is silly but I get your point.

I'm assuming there's enough safety factor built into these things that there's not a huge danger using the 5 Ah battery in a tool that originally came with 8 Ah? I know that Ah is capacity and the difference between the tools is amp draw, but I know that batteries have a maximum current draw for a given chemistry that will be a multiplier of the capacity. Also I wouldn't be surprised if the string trimmer drew the same or less but it comes with a larger battery because it's likely to be used continuously for longer periods of time.

 

[BSWS]

I can't find it right now but in just the last few months there was a discussion about Milwuakee batteries that might be counterfeit. I'm not 100 % sure it was proven but it sure looks likely to me. The packaging was nearly perfect and there were very small details in the batteries themselves that gave it away. I wouldn't consider these reproductions since they also faked the Milwuakee logo. From what I remember there was a statement on the package, along the lines of "Fits All". I saw these available in many places online, including the biggest name places.

 

[n8n]

Well maybe I do need to **** it up and get another battery, Went to finish the hillside last night and the battery ran out again before I did. Only lasted maybe 15-20 minutes although I was admittedly chewing through some thick, weedy bullcrap. I looked for my impact gun and didn't find it, I hate moving. I did find my pruning shears though, a couple hours after I'd bought new ones and used them.

 

[pbon]

For longer higher power work like that, the old 5ah are not a good choice. You want a few of the newer tech 8ah. 8ah is a good balance. 12ah provide even more runtime but are heavier and you may feel that weight over time.

 

[username2]

I guess I'll just go home and see if I can find my impact wrench... in any case I don't NEED it tonight

I could actually buy another string trimmer for the same price as the battery that comes with the string trimmer; that is silly but I get your point.

I'm assuming there's enough safety factor built into these things that there's not a huge danger using the 5 Ah battery in a tool that originally came with 8 Ah? I know that Ah is capacity and the difference between the tools is amp draw, but I know that batteries have a maximum current draw for a given chemistry that will be a multiplier of the capacity. Also I wouldn't be surprised if the string trimmer drew the same or less but it comes with a larger battery because it's likely to be used continuously for longer periods of time.

Perhaps there's some outlet store, like CPO Outlets, that has a sale now and again. I've gotten some Makita 18v stuff from them that was really cheap. I admit that they seem light on Milwaukee.

String trimmers strike me as an edge condition for batteries compared to gas or corded being one of those few gadgets that is expected to run continuously. Also, it's kind of outrageous how much a cordless string trimmer costs compared to one of the larger corded ones.

 

[pbon]

Clark’s Tool can be good. The HD sales where the 2 items are listed separately and you can return 1 or the other (keep the battery in this case), or the occasional and expensive 3 battery sales where you get the $10 per AH price or close to it — but you usually have to spend $200-400 for the package.

 

[n8n]

Perhaps there's some outlet store, like CPO Outlets, that has a sale now and again. I've gotten some Makita 18v stuff from them that was really cheap. I admit that they seem light on Milwaukee.

String trimmers strike me as an edge condition for batteries compared to gas or corded being one of those few gadgets that is expected to run continuously. Also, it's kind of outrageous how much a cordless string trimmer costs compared to one of the larger corded ones.

Agree on edge case but it would be a real problem to use a corded one in this scenario. But the same one I have is $200 right now at HD, and ISTR there was a similar sale on it when I bought it. It just makes me laugh that the battery literally costs as much as the tool, right now I'm trying to rack my brain to think of another cordless tool that I could use. I couldn't find the deal on the circular saw on HD's web site.

 

[dchawk81]

Good afternoon everyone

I have a M18 Fuel 1/2" impact and since I had that I also bought a M18 Fuel string trimmer. The former comes with a 5 Ah battery and the latter an 8 Ah although they are interchangeable.

I've moved and now I use the string trimmer for all lawn cutting as a lawnmower would be impractical and dangerous (back yard is one big hillside.) Last night I found that if I try to do everything all at once I got the little front cut, all the sidewalk edged, and maybe 1/2 of the back yard done before the battery pooped out. I am going to have to go by the Orange Colored Store tonight for a few things anyway so I thought I'd see if they have another battery in stock because a) that'd let me do it in one go and b) I'm not sure I could find my impact quickly and c) extra batteries are nice. Well, I find that the string trimmer is $200 and a Milwaukee 8 Ah battery pack is... $200?

Amazon has it for $95, can I trust that it's good/not counterfeit?

Is there anywhere I can get another 8 Ah battery pack for a better price? Are any of the aftermarket ones acceptable?

While I am cheap, I'm also squirrely about Li-Ions. I noticed last night when I took the pack off the charger it was warm thus reinforcing at least in my mind that caution around them is not misplaced (never mind that when my buddy's shop caught on fire, the suspected cause was a mechanic's Snap-On drop light being left on the charger)

thanks for any help!

 

[pbon]

Agree on edge case but it would be a real problem to use a corded one in this scenario. But the same one I have is $200 right now at HD, and ISTR there was a similar sale on it when I bought it. It just makes me laugh that the battery literally costs as much as the tool, right now I'm trying to rack my brain to think of another cordless tool that I could use. I couldn't find the deal on the circular saw on HD's web site.

With many battery tools, the battery is a big part of the cost. That is why it is good to stick with one platform and share batteries among your tools.

Buy a computer printer and you will learn that the printer is the cheap part and the ink is the expensive part. There are probably other analogies.

 

[n8n]

Clark’s Tool can be good. The HD sales where the 2 items are listed separately and you can return 1 or the other (keep the battery in this case), or the occasional and expensive 3 battery sales where you get the $10 per AH price or close to it — but you usually have to spend $200-400 for the package.

You are a beautiful man.

Milwaukee 48-11-1880 M18™ REDLITHIUM HIGH OUTPUT™ XC8.0 Battery

Our M18™ REDLITHIUM™ HIGH OUTPUT™ XC8.0 Battery Pack provides you with 50% more power and runs 50% cooler vs our other M18™ REDLITHIUM™ XC battery packs. The optimized combination of smaller size and increased power of the 18-volt battery provides you with a great solution for the entire range...

clarkstool.com

I've never ordered from them before but this is a price I can deal with. If I have two, I can hopefully work indefinitely as they do not take long at all to recharge.

 

[n8n]

If only what I were working on were only that steep! I really hate it, but I live there for reasons.

With many battery tools, the battery is a big part of the cost. That is why it is good to stick with one platform and share batteries among your tools.

Buy a computer printer and you will learn that the printer is the cheap part and the ink is the expensive part. There are probably other analogies.

Yeah I am considering sucking it up and getting a Brother color laser because I'm also sick of cheap printers becoming nonfunctional because I don't use them enough. When I moved I shitcanned my HP all in one which was actually nice, but because I only printed maybe once a month one of the colors stopped working and a cleaning cycle wouldn't fix it. No more inkjets, (redacted) that noise, I'll pay twice as much for something that works.

 

[dchawk81]

If only what I were working on were only that steep! I really hate it, but I live there for reasons.



Yeah I am considering sucking it up and getting a Brother color laser because I'm also sick of cheap printers becoming nonfunctional because I don't use them enough. When I moved I shitcanned my HP all in one which was actually nice, but because I only printed maybe once a month one of the colors stopped working and a cleaning cycle wouldn't fix it. No more inkjets, (redacted) that noise, I'll pay twice as much for something that works.

I bought a Brother mono laser printer 20 some years ago and it was the best "discovery" I ever made. When it became no longer supported and I wanted batch scanning I got a Canon mono laser (within the last couple years) and it too has been awesome.

Back then I printed a lot of packing slips and these days I print a lot of bills of lading.

If you print shipping labels, consider a 4x6 thermal from Zebra or even a cheapie on Amazon. You'll save a boatload because there's no ink and they last forever.

 

[dnschmidt]

If you're going to buy an 8.0 battery buy the FORGE. The 8.0 and 12.0 Milwaukee High Output batteries are complete garbage. I've had four of them die just sitting on a shelf. The new FORGE batteries are superior in every possible way. If you're going to spend $200 get the latest technology and that's the FORGE batteries. The reason Home Depot is bundling the old 8.0's with tools is they are trying to get rid of them. I'm red through and through but Milwaukee has produced some really ****** batteries including the M18 8.0, 12.0 and the M12 6.0. I've never had battery problems with Makita, Bosch, DeWalt or Metabo.

 

[pbon]

I thought the 9ah was the bad one and that 12ah have had some issues, but the 8ah was newer tech and good? I have over 100ah of M18 batteries and have had to toss only 1. Some are pretty new and some are 10 years old.

No Forge yet in my collection. They can handle greater demand and charge faster but my understanding is they don’t offer longer run time. Woot had the Forge 12ah for $180 or $190 recently and that tempted me but I have enough batteries and resisted.

 

[n8n]

Follow up, apparently almost a year later

I cut my back yard yesterday and it's quite a PITA. Using two XC8.0 batteries it still takes me about four hours, I do have to take breaks after the first two rounds but that's OK because it's a bit of a workout (trying not to fall down while swinging a string trimmer is hard on the legs)

I now noticed that a) it's 50/50 when the trimmer quits if the battery says it's dead or overheated (flashing 1/3 - 2/4) they are warm coming off even when it's only 75-80F (it's been one hot summer, which is why I haven't trimmed as often as I should, probably making it a worse job when I do) and 2) more concerningly, I'm seeing some mild deformation of the case around the one contact. I am NOT seeing this on either the charger or the string trimmer. What are your thoughts on this?

I do plan on taking some pics and sending to Milwaukee as well, although I'm certain their response is going to be "those aren't safe to use, you need replacements" and I certainly can't afford that - and I'd be annoyed as one is a couple years old and the other obviously has only been in service for a year.

I started putting the batteries in the freezer when they die so that by the time the next battery is fully charged the one in the freezer comes out appx. room temp.

 

[kngelv]

I would not freeze your batteries. Old wives tale that can do more harm than good. Get a Forge battery like @dnschmidt advised. I have a 8.0 Forge that I use only in my yard tools and it lasts way longer than my regular high output 8.0.

James

 

[gahrajmahal]

I cut my back yard yesterday and it's quite a PITA. Using two XC8.0 batteries it still takes me about four hours, I do have to take breaks after the first two rounds but that's OK because it's a bit of a workout (trying not to fall down while swinging a string trimmer is hard on the legs

I also have a hilly yard and started cutting it again after I retired. I created a thread asking about what shoe to wear on a hilly slope. The winner was baseball cleats. I have been using them for two years ago and I really like them. Got them at “Play it again sports” . Here is the thread with photos and the long story.

Grass Cutting Shoes?

Retired now and we fired the lawn cutting service we have had for many years. Wanted the exercise and control of cutting our own lawn. We have a very hilly yard and the lawn cutting service ruined the grass that renewed itself in the spring by driving their heavy commercial mower on the lawn...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[n8n]

I would not freeze your batteries. Old wives tale that can do more harm than good. Get a Forge battery like @dnschmidt advised. I have a 8.0 Forge that I use only in my yard tools and it lasts way longer than my regular high output 8.0.

James

I'm not actually freezing them, just cooling them down to ~room temp so that they will charge as soon as the other battery is full. If I put a hot one straight on the charger, I'll get an overheated error from the charger. Also, holy balls one of those batteries costs nearly as much as I paid for the string trimmer, charger, and first battery!

 

[tyyost]

Reading this thread you seem like an excellent use case for the old fashioned ice powered trimmer, preferably with a harness and bicycle handle. I get the concept, but 4 hours of trimming doesn’t sound like an intended use for a cordless trimmer.

 

[n8n]

Reading this thread you seem like an excellent use case for the old fashioned ice powered trimmer, preferably with a harness and bicycle handle. I get the concept, but 4 hours of trimming doesn’t sound like an intended use for a cordless trimmer.

Thing is, they've already outlawed ICE leaf blowers here and I'm guessing all lawn equipment is coming soon.

 

[tyyost]

Thing is, they've already outlawed ICE leaf blowers here and I'm guessing all lawn equipment is coming soon.

Outlawed the sale or outlawed the use? Never mind, just did some quick Google Fu, and gound this -
Montgomery Cty FAQ

Outlawed with a $500 fine per use, seems incredibly short sighted, but what do I know. I would hesitate to buy any new ICE landscape equipment too if I was in your shoes. Looking at your OP I’d probably bite the bullet and buy the new trimmer and 8ah battery, as it makes the most sense in your use case.

 

[jar944]

+3 on the forge 8.0s.

They were basically free last year for black friday if you bought a few specific tools from home depot.

 

[dchawk81]

Outlawed the sale or outlawed the use? Never mind, just did some quick Google Fu, and gound this -
Montgomery Cty FAQ

Outlawed with a $500 fine per use, seems incredibly short sighted, but what do I know. I would hesitate to buy any new ICE landscape equipment too if I was in your shoes. Looking at your OP I’d probably bite the bullet and buy the new trimmer and 8ah battery, as it makes the most sense in your use case.

I'd move.

 

[reader2580]

I've never had battery problems with Makita, Bosch, DeWalt or Metabo.

I wish I could say the same about Makita. I bought Makita LXT shortly after Home Depot started selling LXT in the mid 2000s. All of the original batteries died within three years. Makita came out with upgraded LXT batteries around 2010. None of the ten newer LXT batteries I have purchased have died yet.

 

[n8n]

This is relevant again... did first cut of the season yesterday and unfortunately since the people next door got evicted now I have MORE to do (landlady owns that house too, and I've been helping her with fixit stuff for brownie points)

I've already ordered another charger as it would appear that my Fuel impact is gone and lost forever. That pisses me off. So I only have a string trimmer and leaf blower and I chose these primarily because I already had the impact - which I don't have :/

I have two High Output XC8.0 batteries, one that came with my string trimmer and one that I bought from Clark's last year. I see that Clark's has a Forge XC8.0 for $139.00 (but only if I search for "battery" - with other search terms it comes up as over $200? weird) and I'd have to pay for shipping. Anyone have any better deals out there? I found that it takes about 75 minutes to charge each battery but I'm only getting maybe 30-45 minutes of runtime depending on how thick/wet the weeds are, so I would like to have two chargers and three batteries so I don't have to spend all day cutting, waiting, cutting, etc.

I'm tempted to pull the trigger because $139 from a known good source really isn't hateful...

 

[Beerhippie]

I hate to have to say this as I love the Stihl battery line trimmer at work, but it sounds to me like you might just need a gasoline trimmer. For the price of a couple of batteries, you can get an awful nice Stihl or whatever. Get one with the bicycle bars on it--trust me, if you're using it for hours on end, those will change your life for the better.

 

[n8n]

I hate to have to say this as I love the Stihl battery line trimmer at work, but it sounds to me like you might just need a gasoline trimmer. For the price of a couple of batteries, you can get an awful nice Stihl or whatever. Get one with the bicycle bars on it--trust me, if you're using it for hours on end, those will change your life for the better.

Point taken, but see above where even as of July of last year, Montgomery County (where I used to live) banned gas powered leaf blowers and actually the City of Baltimore (where I live now) had banned them even earlier although it is not in effect until December of this year I believe. PG County doesn't have a county wide ban, but a lot of municipalities have banned them. The whole State of MD is banning sale of them starting next January. I don't think anyone has banned string trimmers *yet* but I have a feeling it's coming.

Also, I do not want to live here forever. I'm actively looking at buying a place, where hopefully I can use a proper lawnmower and/or just plant the "yard" with violets and such like and not worry about it.

Yes, I do use a leaf blower as well as I have a lot of sidewalk so that makes clean up much easier, and it is also a Milwaukee.

I keep moving to houses on corner lots, why? I don't think about this at all until it's time to shovel snow or cut the "grass"...