Milwaukee M12 car charger ?

[malibu101]

I am heavily invested in the Milwaukee M12 line like many here.
Please read my thoughts and rambling questions at the end.

Last weekend we went to the deer hunting cabin deep in the woods away from powerlines and we don't take a generator.
We used my M12 radio, light, and Hackzall pretty heavily along with some impact driver use.
My (5) basic 48-11-2401 1.5AH batteries were just enough to get us through. With deer season coming up and for all future trips and needs with these tools, I need more power.
Instead of buying more (and/or larger capacity batteries like the XC series) I figure the best thing right now is buying a 12VDC car charger like in the link below that way I can always charge any and all of my M12 batteries for years to come.

My 1st question- Who has used a charger like in the link below? Would you reccomend it to a friend? How many batteries have you charged before worrying about draining the trucks battery without running the engine? Assuming a decent condition V8 truck battery.

Another last big question- Should I just skip this specific battery charger and just get a 12VDC to 120VAC power inverter so I can plug my existing 120VAC charger into it AND then be able to also power other 120VAC items within the inverters rating.
Again, how power hungry would this be to the truck battery?
I'd hope I could get about 5 M12 charges without having to run the truck to charge it's battery.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...cle-Charger-2510-20/202043588?keyword=2510-20

 

[cheechi]

I was going to order it through Home Depot; I saw they had a Milwaukee rep and asked him about it. He recommended against it for me. He asked me how long is my commute and if I have a work vehicle that would be running the whole time its charging. In the long term the battery's life would decrease from the charging cycle being interrupted.

It might be great for you but it wasn't for me. I do have an inverter but I don't use it to charge the battery but if it was necessary and I could do it right I would.

edit in case its unclear: whether the inverter or the milwaukee charger, if you are going to use it from start to finish without interruption then go for it. If not then don't.

 

[Syntax_Error]

I have an inverter in my truck and have been charging my batteries this way job site to jib site for two years with no adverse effect to my batteries. I say that with confidence because is use the same batteries with my heated milwaukee sweet shirt with no degredation of time to heat. And have been using this on my ryobi batteries for far longer.

 

[logixjock]

Converting from 12Vdc to 120Vac back to 12Vdc would be kind of inefficient, but, you can get a good 150W inverter for around 30 bux or so and use you're existing charger. It will put out about an amp and a half at 120Vac so you won't be able to use it for much more than that (or charging a laptop), though.

 

[Ign]

I have the M12 charger 12VDC. It has a multi-plug so you can use it at home on 110. I love it. No idea how quickly it pulls the vehicle battery down. Best I can remember I've charged maybe 3 compact batteries in a day, truck still starts (shrug). Tiny battery on an EFI 351, WAY smaller than its supposed to have, like 500 CCA. I was cheap and bought the cheapest battery at Napa in '10.

To me the compact M12 batteries are everywhere and not super valuable, who cares if you might shorten their life a bit thru incomplete charge cycles. I don't.

Clif notes: CHARGER GOOD

 

[malibu101]

I appreciate all the real world advise.
I would charge from start to finish without stopping.
I figured that a "good" car battery would be able to charge a couple M12's without killing it.

I'm leaning towards an inverter due to cheaper price and ability to power other 120VAC devices (within the inverters rating) if the need came up in the future. Win win.
I didn't know if inverters put out "clean" enough power for the charger.

 

[Ign]

I'm also wanting the 2710 charger for M18 now that I'm into that platform. Inverters are great, but anything I like for an inverter is hard wired straight to the battery. With these chargers I can charge my cordless tools from my work truck, tow rig, daily driver or wife's SUV. Of course a baby inverter could do that too, I'm simply not satisfied with ones that plug into a cigarette lighter.

Here's another thought: grab a dead M12 battery and make an adapter that alligator clips onto your battery or into a cigarette lighter. Now unfortunately your cordless tools have become corded but can be powered straight from your vehicle. Pros: potentially free.

 

[malibu101]

For closure to this thread-
Today I picked up this 425W inverter for $35. http://www.kmart.com/diehard-425-wa...W002592555000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I charged (2) M12 batteries and a V18 with it. The truck started just fine after it too.
The only other thing I had in the garage to plug in (that was under 425W) was an incandescent trouble light and the bulb lit up.

So anyway, it has passed its initial test and does exactly what I need it to do which is just to charge batteries from the truck when away from AC power.
It charges anything that I want, and it was much cheaper than a dedicated charger to 1 battery style.

Thanks for letting me bounce the initial question of you guys and the answers you gave.
On the first day, I am very happy with my decision.

 

[truckdriver]

It should work great. I use the M12/M18 combo charger in my semi to charge my batteries. If you look in the manual it states you can power the charger with the inverter. Never had any problems with it. My inverter is a 350 watt unit.

 

[Thumper68]

I'll just chip in for anyone else who needs to make this decision. I bought my first 12v vehicle dedicated charger in 91 for my Panasonic 9.6 worked great since then whenever I have had the chance to buy a dedicated charger I have and if the platform didn't offer one I picked up a second charger and used a inverter.

Being able to charge batteries away from 110 is a blessing I have worked with guys who had to drive 30+ miles to go back to a clients home to pick up the charger and batteries they left plugged in.

As far as use the only vehicle battery I have seen killed by a dedicated charger was in a buddies truck and he must have charged 20 18v NiCad dewalts over the course of the day.

With the inverter I have killed the battery I have in my service body a few times, but that's why it's there so I can run anything within reason and not effect the starting batteries.

 

[kctyphoon]

What I was going to suggest, is you could buy a jump pack for your car instead.. The craftsman one I have has 2 12vdc cigarette type plugs, and 2 110vac outlets with a 400 watt inverter too.. Also has a light and compressor.. This way you can keep it with you in a tent or cabin, and gives you a fail safe for the vehicle too.. I also use mine to sometimes power my snap on LED floodlight. 2000 lumens and only draws like 20 watts on the inverter..

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I didn't read all this ****...but GET AN INVERTER. Even the little 480 is awesome. I have one on front column in 4x4 that we run two laptops off of. Then the big dog in the back.

Inverters are so awesome. Especially if you're out in the wild...all kinds of stuff to use with it.

 

[malibu101]

What I was going to suggest, is you could buy a jump pack for your car instead.. The craftsman one I have has 2 12vdc cigarette type plugs, and 2 110vac outlets with a 400 watt inverter too.. Also has a light and compressor.. This way you can keep it with you in a tent or cabin, and gives you a fail safe for the vehicle too.. I also use mine to sometimes power my snap on LED floodlight. 2000 lumens and only draws like 20 watts on the inverter..

I glanced at these for the very good reasons you listed but passed as my thoughts were this-
Assume I need more battery life than the the jumppack has to power my small inverter needs over a few days.
How do you charge the jumppack? Via 12VDC from the truck or via 120VAC?

At least with the inverter I can charge and run anything (within rating) and just run the truck awhile if my needs are large enough to drain the truck battery which is unlikely as all I need to do is charge power tool batteries and don't see any other need that 425W can help me with.

EDIT- Not to mention they were a bit more than the $35 I spent for the inverter to do exactly what I needed to do.

 

[DFB]

The AC Delco 59-204 400W power inverter I have has a low battery alarm warning and automatic shutdown feature.

M12 chargers don't really draw much for amps so should easily be able to do several I would think.