Re: Milwaukee Batteries

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

On 10/1/2020 10:10 AM, Jim Davis wrote:
 > On Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 8:16:53 PM UTC-4, Bob La Londe wrote:
 >> 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?
 >
 > I never had need for heavy duty tools like Milwaukee and have used De
Walt for years. About a year ago the 20 volt batteries started to get
weak and I almost flipped when I saw the  price. $79,00 (if I remember
right). I didn't buy them but a good thing I didn't. About a week or so
later I see an add in a mail flyer from True Value Hardware down in town
for a new drill and two batteries for $99.00 with a trade in of old
batteries. So ---- now I have TWO drills and a new set of batteries for
close to half the cost of two batteries. If this continues I could wind
up with lots of extra drills !
 >

Well, my heavy duty drill is probably the 1" spline drive rotary hammer
I bought to drill through several feet of reinforced structural
concrete.  Those M18 Milwaukees are nice, but I only picked them over
DeWalt because I had helped with warranty issues and some non standard
chuck issues with DeWalt when I worked at Tool & Supply.

As a contractor I always tried to buy the best tools when I could afford
them so I wouldn't be left high and dry when I didn't have the cash to
buy a replacement.