Milwaukee M18 Big Battery Sale

At Thomas Tool and Supply

Buy a M18 12.0 HO and get a free M18 8.0 HO.

Great for you guys running drill augers.

Locations in Burnsville, Rochester, Sartel, and New Brighton.

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Does anyone know: Is this deal available from other vendors? I had a pop-up ad from toolnut.com (sold out) and a review noted that Home Depot had the same deal…but I’m not finding it on-line.
Thanks! Thought I’d ask before driving all over the place

You can definitely try to see if HD will match the deal. Otherwise I’d try calling around.

On a side note;has anyone ever used the knock-off version of these batteries?I see them on feebay and Amazon with mixed reviews.

I have zero first hand experience, but everthing I’ve heard, the listed capacities are overstated by a significant amount. Like +30%.

The only positive reviews I’ve read are folks on jobsites (with chargers on hand), where they see an advantage to having more batteries available.

I have a bunch of M18 and M12 clone batteries from Amazon and they have done well for me, but they are less than two years old so time will tell.
However, I haven’t seen any of the HD battery knockoffs for sale yet, only the standard XC battery copycats. I am not certain how much difference there is, but my M18 Fuel circular saw actually says that it will only run at a full 5800 rpms with the HD batteries, and will only run 5300 rpm with the non-HD M18 batteries, so I believe the HD batteries actually run a bit more voltage, and I’m not sure that any Chinese knockoffs will be developed for the HD batteries.

The biggest difference between the OEM batteries and clones are the clones typically DO NOT have an over-heat or over-current protection circuit built into them. That will shut the battery down if something were to happen with the battery, charging, or you’re pushing the tool too hard. Instead of causing a possible fire.

I was referring to the difference between the XC and HD M18 batteries.
Somehow the HD battery gives the tools extra power over the XC batteries.

mojo wrote:

I was referring to the difference between the XC and HD M18 batteries.
Somehow the HD battery gives the tools extra power over the XC batteries.

I was responding to milemarks question on the clone batteries.

The HO batteries give a slightly better performance on some tools over the HD which gives a slightly better performance over the XC. If you compare them side by side on something like a drill or circular saw you can hear a noticeable sound/rpm difference.

You are correct, it’s the HO batteries that give more power.
Do you know how this is achieved? Do they run at a higher voltage (would seem to me they must)?
I have been waiting for the 12.0 ah HO battery to drop in price, since I have a circular saw and grinder that I run regularly and it would be nice to not have to grab another battery in the middle of a job, but it’s not $200 nice. I considered the smaller HO batteries, but decided if I am going to spend that much on a battery, I should probably just get the one that has the longest life. Cheapest I’ve seen is around $135 on ebay, when they go below $99, I’ll buy.

Here is an excellent breakdown by Milwaukee on how they achieve the higher power. Basically it’s the electronics of the battery allowing more power to the tool if the tool is designed to handle it.

munchy wrote:

The biggest difference between the OEM batteries and clones are the clones typically DO NOT have an over-heat or over-current protection circuit built into them. That will shut the battery down if something were to happen with the battery, charging, or you’re pushing the tool too hard. Instead of causing a possible fire.

I went with a genuine M18,just don’t want to chance it with the chickity clone battery.Some are worded “XC”,or nothing at all.I suppose you get what you pay for.