webscrounger
Well-known member
Anyone know of a flat battery pack alternative for the M12 heated vest and opposed to the cylindrical M12 battery? Most I see on Amazon are 5v or 7.4v but didn't run across a 12v pack.
Milwukee M12 Heated Vest/Jacket Battery Alternative
- Thread starter webscrounger
- Start date
OP
webscrounger
Well-known member
Ah. Good idea. Something to look into.
I haven't seen the heated jackets. What does the connector look like for the battery? Would it be as easy as cutting off the connector and soldering on a plug to match your LiPo?
Also, I wonder about the low voltage cut-off for the 12v milwaukee tools (jacket) and how close that is to the low end for a LiPo.
javyLSU
Well-known member
If you want to stay with original Milwaukee batteries, you can actually use an M18 battery as well, if "flat" is what you're looking for - but a small M18 battery (2.0 and less) won't be much thinner than the M12 power supply, so the benefit is minimal.
You could rig up something with a USB PD powerbank with a voltage selector.
I don't know what the amp draw is on the M12 battery, but you're not supposed to do more than 5A on that board. So ~60W max.
I don't know what the amp draw is on the M12 battery, but you're not supposed to do more than 5A on that board. So ~60W max.
OP
webscrounger
Well-known member
All good but I'm trying not to cut the vest wires or rig anything that might be questionable. There are several mfrs making heated vests using flat rechargeable battery packs and mfrs that make replacement battery packs that seem to be less bulky and fit their purpose a bit better and may also have more power available. But I haven't seen one (yet) that's 12v that I could adapt to the Milwaukee connector. I don't want to mess with the vest itself, damn things are expensive! Actually the M18 adapter might be the trick. Might be heavier but could provide longer lasting power source. I may look into that,
Last edited:
rlitman
Well-known member
The connector is just a standard 5.5mm barrel plug. The same as is found on all sorts of 12VDC stuff.
OP
webscrounger
Well-known member
OK, Thanks!
rlitman
Well-known member
Yeah, it's way less. When I bought my jacket, I didn't want to spend on M12 batteries, so I picked up the M18 power source (pictured above) to go with the batteries I already had (plus I wanted more run-time on high). It fits in the pocket with a 4AH battery, thjough the lump is large.
Anyway, I'd gotten to using the 12V source with a number of other things, from my Celestron telescope (way better than 8 AA batteries) to cameras, etc. Recently, I tried to power a very small pump with it, and that was the rapid death of the 12V circuit. The pump ran for a fraction of a second, and the 5V 2.1A USB port still works. As I discovered, the 12V output is not designed to exceed 1A, so figure on more like 12W.
Since then, I've bought a 15-24V -> 12V DC-DC buck converter with a 5A output that I wired into an M18 battery adapter meant to run a PowerWheels for my portable 12V needs. It has no trouble running the same pump, which seems to draw about 1.7A.
Other threads have been posted about cross-compatibility between these powered jackets. It seems that some brands reverse polarity, and some have some sort of pulse expected from the battery to start up. Milwaukee matches the standard polarity of the barrel connectors and requires nothing special.
OP
webscrounger
Well-known member
For kicks I'm going to try the M18 power source adapter and see how that goes.
rlitman
Well-known member
It'll work. If I were buying one today, I'd get one of the knockoffs that has a built in flashlight too.
But with the thin cell packs, it's still thicker than an M12 and power source. Though it is flatter.
Keep in mind that the 18V power sources need to be switched on and off manually. They will drain your batteries if left on.
Last edited:
Ign
Well-known member
Yep, Milwaukee will power DeWalt and Bosch. As mentioned above, if it's a Bosch heated product you have to plug and unplug three times. The jacket expects to see three hot pulses before "initiating"
I learned this from GJ, wasn't smart enough to figure it out myself
My wife actually prefers her Bosch but the zipper crapped out
I learned this from GJ, wasn't smart enough to figure it out myself
My wife actually prefers her Bosch but the zipper crapped out
OP
webscrounger
Well-known member
I ordered a knock-off 12v M18 power source battery adapter from Amazon for $12. It's not a complicated device. If it works OK, fine. If not, the Milwaukee adapter is only about $30. Whether it's actually worth 3 times the price of the knock off or if you're just paying for the Milwaukee label is a question.