The Milwaukee addiction thread! :)

[mobiledynamics]

Granted there are flukes, where did you buy your XC 5.0. From a retailer or FB, eBay, CL...

I have like 40+ batteries, mainly 5/6.0, but a good amount of 9 and 12.
While I don't leave batteries on the chargers for extended periods, I don't second guess them charging.....although I have thought about maybe storing them all in metal cases every now and then.

 

[Blackbyrd]

Im in a similar boat, ive got a pair of 8.0's and a pair of 6.0's. They charge without issue, but it seems the 8.0's are starting to rundown faster than the 6.0's when used on the same tools.

 

[autobon7]

Im in a similar boat, ive got a pair of 8.0's and a pair of 6.0's. They charge without issue, but it seems the 8.0's are starting to rundown faster than the 6.0's when used on the same tools.

My 8s have been doing the same thing. All when using the string trimmer, pole saw, hedge trimmer.

 

[Blackbyrd]

shop vac and grinder for me

 

[gjuser23]

Granted there are flukes, where did you buy your XC 5.0. From a retailer or FB, eBay, CL...

I have like 40+ batteries, mainly 5/6.0, but a good amount of 9 and 12.
While I don't leave batteries on the chargers for extended periods, I don't second guess them charging.....although I have thought about maybe storing them all in metal cases every now and then.

Bought it from Home Depot during some of the November/December sales.

 

[mikeinri]

I leave my charger plugged in, in my unheated garage, usually with a battery in it (M18, 3, 5 or 6 Ah). You're making me think I should at least put it on a lamp timer.

Mike

 

[mobiledynamics]

Im in a similar boat, ive got a pair of 8.0's and a pair of 6.0's. They charge without issue, but it seems the 8.0's are starting to rundown faster than the 6.0's when used on the same tools.

it's been Eon's but I have a fancy pants LIO iCharger when my kiddo's was tinkering with their kiddo toys
Not worth it to DIY the this and try to rebalance the cells...


Just in all my years of Red....and I'm deep in it, this would be the 1st battery to fail . I've gotten good use of it, so like my original reply, it's had a good life. Just threw me for a curveball and for the -heckuva- it, I tried running my M18 Dual Battery blower and it doesn't not run with just 1 battery. So for sure, it's just the 1 pack gone bad

 

[gjuser23]

I was going to upload a video, but that's not an option. Here's a screen grab of a wisp of smoke from the bottom of the battery. I got a few seconds of video, unplugged it, and took the battery outside on the driveway right after this.

 

[mobiledynamics]

I cannot ever recall a time me ever looking at a battery while on charger. I just throw it on , walk away and get to it End of Day/End of Project when I'm doing cleanup. And or it might even sit overnight and I'll get to it the following morning. You post reminds me of the many times I have thought about LIO fires....and a more contained storage on my stash of batteries

 

[Signing off]

My power tools are stored on a metal rack against a concrete wall. So maybe I'm ok in case of SHTF..... maybe. Do I need containment?

 

[1320]

I got a 2967 Gen 3 High Torque.



Here are some comparison photos with the Gen 1 2763, Gen 2 2767, and Gen 3 2967.











The new one is shorter front to back, but a bit taller. It weighs about 1/2 an ounce less.

 

[Badger 13]

Thank you for the great photo comparison of the 3 generations. How does the vibration battery insert feel, and what do you think of it ?

 

[mepstein]

I recently bought a gen 3 high torque. It’s a beast. I don’t use it much but always pleased with the results when I do.

 

[1320]

Thank you for the great photo comparison of the 3 generations. How does the vibration battery insert feel, and what do you think of it ?

I don't have any experience with it yet, but it seems like a good idea.

 

[jonesg]

What do y’all do with your excess chargers ?

give them away or just toss them.
i have more than i'll ever need anyway.

 

[pwschuh]

BANDSAW DILEMMA:

I have an old, Harbor Freight stand-mounted bandsaw. It was cheap and had two speeds; one for metal and one for wood. That's the extent of the good points. It's never really worked right and throws the saw band frequently. It needs to go.

I don't really need a portable bandsaw, but I'd love a Milwaukee solution. Is there a way to convert a Milwaukee 18V bandsaw to stand use?

Thanks.

 

[darkzero]

BANDSAW DILEMMA:

I have an old, Harbor Freight stand-mounted bandsaw. It was cheap and had two speeds; one for metal and one for wood. That's the extent of the good points. It's never really worked right and throws the saw band frequently. It needs to go.

I don't really need a portable bandsaw, but I'd love a Milwaukee solution. Is there a way to convert a Milwaukee 18V bandsaw to stand use?

Thanks.

SWAG Portaband/Chamfer Tables & Accessories

Portable band saw, Band saw, table, metal fabrication, welding, milwaukee, dewalt, harbor freight, table saw, weld, metal fab tool, diy, makita, garage, offroading, off road

www.swagoffroad.com

Or you could make your own table/mount. I'm not for sure but I would assume there are videos on YT for DIY solutions.

 

[assassin10000]

BANDSAW DILEMMA:

I have an old, Harbor Freight stand-mounted bandsaw. It was cheap and had two speeds; one for metal and one for wood. That's the extent of the good points. It's never really worked right and throws the saw band frequently. It needs to go.

I don't really need a portable bandsaw, but I'd love a Milwaukee solution. Is there a way to convert a Milwaukee 18V bandsaw to stand use?

Thanks.

The new harbor freight hercules portable stand mount.

I have one for my m18 deepcut, I like it. I'm not sure it'll fit the compact ones tho. Due to battery placement.

 

[fishwatcher]

For those who gave me advice in the Milwaukee Deal thread on a regular Fuel or Surge 1/4” impact driver.. thanks again!

I thought I wouldn’t have a ton of regular use so could get by with the regular Fuel. I realized I could buy hex shank wire wheels and then I’d have a lot more use for doing things like stripping paint from old vises.

The lower noise would definitely be helpful when I do this for an hour at a time. It also helped that HD got the $149 deal for the Surge with two batteries back in stock. I guess it’s on Amazon for the same price. Oh well.. I’m happy I got the Surge.

 

[mobiledynamics]

Has Any of you Ever Seen the Milwaukee Battery Diagnostic Tool

In hindsight, I would have taken a screenshot....

It connects to the battery terminals similar to the M18 Top Off , etc. There is a 2 sets of cables connected to the Milwaukee computer...

It shows date of production, 1st date battery was in use, how many *full charge cycles it has* and I cannot what else but more importantly of all, it did confirm my 9AH had a short cell.

 

[Rusty67]

Never seen that, were you at a repair center in person?

 

[mobiledynamics]

Yeap. Service Center. It was not as large as a Top Off. Just an adapter plate that fits onto the battery terminal and there was at least 2 sets of leads coming off of it. One had to be a USB C or USB A to data back to the computer. I should snap some pics for us GJ RedHead Nerds. The info that the computer spit out was pretty -comprehensive-

 

[Odd-job]

Haven't seen a diagnostic tool before either, but would be pretty cool to see how many cycles my batteries have been through. 9.0's usually go out of balance... did the the tool identify a specific cell or bank of cells?

All of my 5.0s are still going strong after 10+ years meanwhile I have just about decommissioned my fleet of 5 or so 9.0s. One 6.0 HO appears to be going lame.

 

[mobiledynamics]

There was a field that said short. I cannot recall of it had total cycle count but I expect *yes*. I do recall the field where it said Full Charge Cycles ..

With that said, that does mean these batteries does have some sort of brains-logging on them and they are just not LION's, wired, enclosed in a plastic case and that's it...

 

[Odd-job]

Thanks @mobiledynamics. M18 definitely has a BMS (battery management system) on top, but it sounds like it does more than the battery charge indicator.

M12s are definitely dumb(er) batteries. Am wondering how those switch between banks in the larger M12 batteries now that I think about it. Guess it's built into the tool somewhere to keep the form factor of those batteries small.

 

[Shaners256]

I bet you're talking about the one-key adapter. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/milwaukee-tool-m18-one-key-adapter/1001560531

I used to work at Milwaukee, and we used them for lots of diagnostics on tools.

 

[logixjock]

I bet you're talking about the one-key adapter. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/milwaukee-tool-m18-one-key-adapter/1001560531

I used to work at Milwaukee, and we used the for lots of diagnostics on tools.

That looks interesting

 

[mobiledynamics]

how does one get the *Diag App*

I just tinkered with the One Key App. I don't see any option to -read- a battery

 

[Rusty67]

I'd imagine that isn't something Milwaukee just lets out the door. You probably need to work for them to get access to it.

 

[Dr.JohnnyFever]

What is the best bang for the buck for getting into M18 right now?

I am going to need a cordless portaband in a few weeks and the deep cut M18 looks good for the purpose. I have lots of M12 tools and batteries. but for M18 I have a single XC5.0 battery that I use with a light and fan.

My 18V Bosch drill and impact driver are getting a bit old and this seems like a good time to replace them. Thus, a drill / impact driver kit with lots of batteries would be great.

I don't do enough carpentry anymore to justify a kit with a circular saw, multi-tool, etc, but I am not opposed to acquiring some M18 grinders or larger impacts.

 

[Shaners256]

how does one get the *Diag App*

I just tinkered with the One Key App. I don't see any option to -read- a battery

There isn't a specific "Diag App", depending on what you're looking for, each tool or series of batteries would need to have custom software written just for that tool. From what I saw, it was always some Windows program, it never had anything to do with the OneKey app.

 

[Cc_windsurfer]

The m18 deep cut is a beast, be sure that is what you need.

 

[Dr.JohnnyFever]

The m18 deep cut is a beast, be sure that is what you need.

Will be cutting pipe (up to 4"), tubing, angle, and channel. I only have a 16' trailer right now and everything comes in 20' sticks so will need to chop it before leaving the yard.

Edit to add: I do have a small generator that I could throw in the back of the truck and use a corded portaband, but cordless seems like a better option.

 

[Dr.JohnnyFever]

Following up a little, I went ahead and ordered the M18 Deep Cut as I could get the bare tool for $303. Now I just need a deal on a bucket of batteries or a drill / impact driver combo kit.

 

[Rusty67]

The deal on the 2x6.0 and 2x8.0 batteries just came and went so it might be a while before you can get a deal on a lot of batteries all at once. A drill driver/impact combo is probably your best bet, but you never know. Keep an eye out for the HD daily special buys and you might run into something.

 

[Odd-job]

Following up a little, I went ahead and ordered the M18 Deep Cut as I could get the bare tool for $303. Now I just need a deal on a bucket of batteries or a drill / impact driver combo kit.

Sounds like you have a good use pattern that justifies the bandsaw. Mine is permanently in a swag table and velcroing the trigger and futzing with the safety switch is moderately annoying. If they had some sort of blue tooth remote pedal switch I would have to buy one.

The 5.0 should be able to run the bandsaw just fine at least until a good battery deal comes around again. It seems to be a lower draw tool and I don't notice a difference between the HOs and my XCs.

 

[Cc_windsurfer]

I have no issues running my m18 deep cut on 5.0s.

 

[Cc_windsurfer]

But the Milwaukee blades are junk. I've been running Lennox 44 7/8

 

[mikeinri]

Mine is permanently in a swag table and velcroing the trigger and futzing with the safety switch is moderately annoying. If they had some sort of blue tooth remote pedal switch I would have to buy one.

Can the case be opened so you can hard-wire in a remote switch? You could install a quick-connect so it doesn't always have to be used.

Mike

 

[Shocker]

I just busted out my M12 caulking gun. Awesome tool. I have been installing 4x8 1" blue board insulation on concrete. Made it super easy to spread all that adhesive on the board to stick it to the basement walls.

Works perfect. Love it.