Milwaukee Batteries

[Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>]

I've got a couple Milwaukee 18V Fuel cordless drills that were long
serving great lasting tools as a contractor.  One is from the very first
release of the M18 Milwaukee tools, and the other is only a year or 2
newer.  I did finally have to replace the brushes in one of them, but
both are going strong... but not at the same time.  Out of the several
batteries I had for them only one still takes enough charge to be
useful.  I can still buy the batteries, but they are still expensive.

Who has the best price on these batteries?

I like the drills, but (I hate to admit this...) I bought a pair of
Harbor Freight Bauer cordless 20V drills and several batteries for the
shop.  I could get a drill and battery with a charger for less than the
lowest AH Milwaukee battery.  They work great for shop use.  I don't
know if they would hold up bouncing around in a tool box on my truck,
but in the shop at a year old they still look like brand new and they
get used all the time.  I also picked up a few other Bauer cordless
tools and service lights to use the same batteries.

I'm not trying to be a commercial for Bauer drills.  What I want is to
find the best price for some M18 Fuel Milwaukee batteries.  There are
times when more than 2 cordless drills would be handy and my wife throws
a temper tantrum if I borrow her Makitas from the house.  Also on the
front assembly bench in the shop (where all 4 drills and their chargers
live when not in use) it would be really handy to leave each one with a
different commonly used tool in the chuck.

So far the only places I've found even a hint of a discount is from MSC,
but you have to buy six batteries at once.  There is an after market
battery substitute, but I read a couple reviews indicating they may not
hold up.  Could also be tool dealers posting trash reviews.
Unfortunately a lot of that happens.

So anyway, who has the best price on the Milwaukee M18 batteries?

I have also considered just going down to Harbor Freight and buying two
more Bauer drills.  They hold up fine (so far) for shop use.  The
Bauer's feel ok in the hand, but not as nice as the Milwaukee.  They
have plenty of torque, and the larger batteries have decent battery
life.  The only thing I actually dislike about the Bauer's is the smell.
  It doesn't give me a headache or anything, but its noticeable.  Like
it has an aromatic mold release they didn't wash off the injection mold
parts before assembly.

So again, who has the best price on the Milwaukee M18 batteries?