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Why Milwaukee? Why Not?


fm2176

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It is my understanding that the current 9.0Ah HD battery employs 18650 cells (15 of them) but the new 6.0 and 12.0 Ah HO batteries are employing 21700 cells.  I have several of the 9Ah batteries and they work fine for my OPE and circular saw etc...but I to am going to pickup a 12.0Ah and see what if any difference it makes besides the longer run time benefits of the unit.

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3 hours ago, ChrisK said:

So I am curious how the 12ah High Demand is going to work with the chainsaw when it gets here.  I can tell you first hand the 9.0 will power the transfer pump for about 35-40 minutes.  Are the 9.0 batteries a different cell than the new 12.0? For Milwaukee tools now I have the 10" Mitersaw (it aint the Kapex but I like the saw, seems really well built), the transfer pump the surge and the new mid range impact wrench.  I am really excited by the chainsaw.  I really was torn with the Dewalt, the Makita X2 (I have the brushed 12" bar - love it) and the Milwaukee.  Regardless what will be interesting is how long my 9.0s power the chainsaw.  They are awesome in the miter. 

 

They are. 9.0 has more power than the 5.0 by running the additional 18650 cells in parallel, 12.0 gains it by the running the new 21700 cells and also running in parallel to gain Ah. I'm not sure what the max Watts of the 12.0 but it should be a substantial increase. Definitely worth an upgrade. I'd love a new 6.0 and 3.0 with the 21700 cells.

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@ChrisKThe 12.0 uses 21700 cells, the 9.0 uses 18650, the 12.0 will be far more efficient, much more than the 33% you would expect going from the numbers.

 

The Milwaukee chainsaw seems to check all the boxes from a marketing standpoint. I love that it has spikes, and proper studs for the bar (unlike the FlexVolt). I can’t wait to see it in the hands of everyday people for honest feedback. 

 

@BMack37 the 12.0 will be 216 watt hours, and the cells stay cooler; they have crazy discharge rates for power output when necessary and better thermal management. 

 

@OldDominionDIYer I think the 12.0 will really wake up your circ saw and OPE; I expect you’ll have a tougher time stalling your circ saw, etc. 

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13 hours ago, Bremon said:

@ChrisKThe 12.0 uses 21700 cells, the 9.0 uses 18650, the 12.0 will be far more efficient, much more than the 33% you would expect going from the numbers.

 

The Milwaukee chainsaw seems to check all the boxes from a marketing standpoint. I love that it has spikes, and proper studs for the bar (unlike the FlexVolt). I can’t wait to see it in the hands of everyday people for honest feedback. 

 

@BMack37 the 12.0 will be 216 watt hours, and the cells stay cooler; they have crazy discharge rates for power output when necessary and better thermal management. 

 

@OldDominionDIYer I think the 12.0 will really wake up your circ saw and OPE; I expect you’ll have a tougher time stalling your circ saw, etc. 

 

These cells are definitely worth the hype, I really hope they bring them into lower Ah batteries...I know it may be confusing but I think it would be very worth it, specifically for stuff like the compact impact wrenches and saws.

 

Dewalt's Flexvolt chainsaw looks like an absolute joke. I hope Milwaukee's will be better. I don't think I'll ever buy a chainsaw but Team Red gotta Team Red.

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On 7/5/2018 at 4:30 PM, D W said:

They have bigger cells so they can draw high amp at 18V like Milwaukee, or they can use the same battery and go 36V. They can also double up batteries like Makita and go 72V. 

Multi Volt is basically Flexvolt except you can switch between 18v and 36v instead of 18v and 54v? All 18v tools will work with Multi Volt batteries but if I am not mistaken a Multi Volt specific tool only works with a Multi Volt specific battery?

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4 hours ago, Jronman said:

Multi Volt is basically Flexvolt except you can switch between 18v and 36v instead of 18v and 54v? All 18v tools will work with Multi Volt batteries but if I am not mistaken a Multi Volt specific tool only works with a Multi Volt specific battery?

 

That's right, and what @Bremon said.

 

Most Hitachi owners are probably more likely to be OK with buying a new battery because their old ones don't have any gauges!

 

I was incorrect in saying Multivolt "can draw high amp at 18V like Milwaukee". They likely can't because they only have 10 cells and not 15 like Milwaukee does (5 more cells to draw from at the same time). It would be better compared with Metabo LiHD (10 big cells).

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  • 8 months later...

Dewalt was my go to tool brand for many years, we used to say: "If it's not yellow and black, send it back" unfortunately the 12v and 18v Nicad batteries were junk. 

 

I switched to Makita 18v Lithium Ions when I realized how much better the batteries were, and I switched over to Milwaukee when I realized their batteries were almost as good as the Makitas, but they had, for my purposes, a better selection of tools.

My cordless tools are mostly all Milwaukee, except we still use Makita impact guns and drills. 

 

My Dewalt battery tools are almost all gone, every year when my local tool supplier has a trade in deal I give him a handful of dewalt tools in exchange for a pair of batteries or $100 off a Milwaukee kit. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It’s all about battery management. If you can work corded or pneumatic, do it! It’s vastly cheaper. Then brand doesn’t matter at all. I work out of my truck and often do jobs on circuit breakers so corded is a huge pain for me.

e have a whole slew of mid grade brands Rigid, Porter Cable, HPT. They are just as good as the premium brands but much cheaper. But you won’t find a Hole Hawg or a PEX expander in their tool line.

So I look at it this way. If I can buy the 5 tool combo kit and this contains every tool I need, don’t buy Milwaukee! You are wasting your money. HPT or Porter Cable is just as good without the huge premium price. My father in law who is more of a high end DIY was happier at Christmas with the
Rigid combo set over Dewalt and Milwaukee. Chances are he will never need a specialty tool or if he does, renting makes more sense.

But if you need cordless specialty tools like a high torque 1/2” or larger impact wrench, PEX Expander, right angle drill, and so on but you don’t use these tools constantly so buying a complete separate charger and batteries to support the tool doesn’t make sense at over $150 for two batteries and a charger, then you should seriously consider Milwaukee, Dewalt, or Makita.

The final factor is your trade. Milwaukee caters specifically to plumbers and electricians. Recently they’ve surpassed Dewalt in many areas for industrial mechanical work. They make excellent saws and but hands down Dewalt is the better way to go for carpenters as an example.

It changes over time. Pre brushless motors, mechanics were better suited with Dewalt. Back in the days of NiCd Makita was top of the line. Dewalt was pretty on a construction site but their motors and batteries constantly burned up. And all during that time Milwaukee was king of corded specialty tools. Most guys call it a Sawzall no matter who the brand is and they were the premium branded heavy duty D handle drill but I would never have bought a Milwaukee anything with batteries. Right now I’m heavily invested in Milwaukee but I wouldn’t hesitate to rotate it out if somebody can match or beat them. It’s not the first time I’ve jumped brands. My Milwaukee tools are in Dewalt Toughsystem boxes because I couldn’t justify paying twice as much to color coordinate my tools.


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  • 9 months later...
On 4/7/2019 at 8:34 AM, paulengr said:

...So I look at it this way. If I can buy the 5 tool combo kit and this contains every tool I need, don’t buy Milwaukee! You are wasting your money. HPT or Porter Cable is just as good without the huge premium price. My father in law who is more of a high end DIY was happier at Christmas with the Rigid combo set over Dewalt and Milwaukee. Chances are he will never need a specialty tool or if he does, renting makes more sense.

But if you need cordless specialty tools like a high torque 1/2” or larger impact wrench, PEX Expander, right angle drill, and so on but you don’t use these tools constantly so buying a complete separate charger and batteries to support the tool doesn’t make sense at over $150 for two batteries and a charger, then you should seriously consider Milwaukee, Dewalt, or Makita.

 

...My Milwaukee tools are in Dewalt Toughsystem boxes because I couldn’t justify paying twice as much to color coordinate my tools.

 

Good points, most DIY types don't need to spend $500 on an M18 Fuel kit when they can get the same types of tools in a $150 Ryobi kit.  With the benefit of hindsight, though, I think we can say that Porter Cable's 20v Max system is a bit risky as a long-term investment  now that SBD is pushing Craftsman.

 

Sorry for cutting up your quote, but I wanted to highlight those parts.  As to your recurring theme, investment versus returns do mean a lot.  I have some Packout boxes but even now I use my ToughSystem ones for most jobs.  Prior to the ToughSystem dropping in price, I was perfectly happy with my Ridgid boxes.

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Good points, most DIY types don't need to spend $500 on an M18 Fuel kit when they can get the same types of tools in a $150 Ryobi kit.  With the benefit of hindsight, though, I think we can say that Porter Cable's 20v Max system is a bit risky as a long-term investment  now that SBD is pushing Craftsman.
 
Sorry for cutting up your quote, but I wanted it to concise.  As to your recurring theme, investment versus returns do mean a lot.  I have some Packout boxes but even now I use my ToughSystem ones for most jobs.  Prior to the ToughSystem dropping in price, I was perfectly happy with my Ridgid boxes.


Agreed about PC but I was trying to avoid brand specific arguments.

When it comes to tool box systems if you can live with the smaller selection of Rigid it’s a better value than most others. Packout is certainly the most expensive but I can buy twice the Toughsystem boxes for the money and the general size of the Packouts especially internal dimensions is not very good. I’m now in a van. If I started there then all tool box systems are on the table. At the time working from a truck the boxes were going to be outside most of the time so it came down to Rigid, Packout, or Toughsystem. At twice the price, Packouts nest features are not enough to win me over. Rigid is just the opposite...too limited so Toughsystem won for me too. I’ve got about a dozen Toughsystem boxes that hold almost half of my on the road tools.
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7 hours ago, paulengr said:

 


Agreed about PC but I was trying to avoid brand specific arguments.

When it comes to tool box systems if you can live with the smaller selection of Rigid it’s a better value than most others. Packout is certainly the most expensive but I can buy twice the Toughsystem boxes for the money and the general size of the Packouts especially internal dimensions is not very good. I’m now in a van. If I started there then all tool box systems are on the table. At the time working from a truck the boxes were going to be outside most of the time so it came down to Rigid, Packout, or Toughsystem. At twice the price, Packouts nest features are not enough to win me over. Rigid is just the opposite...too limited so Toughsystem won for me too. I’ve got about a dozen Toughsystem boxes that hold almost half of my on the road tools.

 

 

Agreed.  I bought the Packout stack at the holiday price in 2018 and have since added a few other components.  Regardless, the merits of Packout over the DeWalt and Ridgid modular systems, I have to admit that the premium Milwaukee charges makes Packout a much lesser value.  Tool boxes get scuffed up inside and out, but my five-plus year old Ridgid and four year old ToughSystem boxes are still holding up despite costing much less.  The only major issue I've had was a loaded DS450 that a helper was carrying by the side handles.  One handle broke off, cracking the box, and DeWalt promptly replaced it.

 

That said, I have seen a few Packout boxes in the back of various work trucks in my area.  My first thought is that the owners are certainly trusting, as none have been secured and that bright red screams "steal me" to anyone with a passing knowledge of tool brands.  My second thought is that the boxes are more likely full of plumbing parts or rusty tools than they are of like-new Fuel goodness.  Call me paranoid, but every time I have modular boxes in my bed, they are individually locked and double cable locked to the truck itself, and usually partially hidden under materials.  If Milwaukee's black Packout components were to be released here, I might use them more.

 

 

 

 

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About the only thing missing is a m18 track saw , a m18 orbital sander with rectangular pad, a m18 compressor and possibly some of the cordless nailguns. Otherwise Milwaukee offers just about any carpentry tool DeWALT does.

 

I don't think going with a DeWALT, Milwaukee, or Makita is a bad idea for a diyer. Nowadays you can buy the $99 special DeWALT brushless drill kit which isn't much more if any than the midrange or homeowner brands.

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  • 1 year later...

I try buy good tools that last, by researching the tools and Manufacturer.  I'm willing to pay pay more up to a point, and Milwaukee has reached that point with their M18 line of batteries.

 

Last year, Home Depot had a good sale, and I bought a drill & impact driver combo, with 2 batteries: a 3ah and a 5ah.  The combo cost me $199.  I have been happy with my purchase, and the tools work great.

 

Lately, I'm seeing "sales" for a single M18 5.0ah or 8.0ah battery for close to $200, and that is just for one of them!  At the current prices, I'll be considering corded tool purchases.  It's not preferable, but my pockets are not deep enough to afford the M18 line anymore, and this is AFTER they have moved all of their manufacturing to China.

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