Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 48-11-1830 V18 18-Volt 3.0 Amp Hour Lithium-Ion Slide Style Battery

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I chose to give the V18 3.0ah Milwaukee battery a 2 star review because... When you're in the middle of drilling a 4-1/8" hole in a piece of 3/4 plywood you don't want you battery to shut down. When I say shut-down I mean completely quit working.

Here's my story - I am in the construction industry; framing, trim, cabinetry, remodel, whatever... I've have a set of Milwaukee V18 cordless tools for at least 2 and 1/2 years - that includes: the hammer drill with 550 in/lbs of torque, impact driver with 1,440 in/lbs of torque, recrocating saw (sawzall), 6-1/2" circluar saw, flashlight, and impact wrench with 240 ft/lbs of torque, and I have 7 BATTERIES - (4) V18 3.0ha and (3) NiCd 2.4ah batteries.

All of these Milwaukee tools have a tremendous amount of power for 18V - The drill is unbeatable (although a little heavy), as is the impact driver (that is a little louder and heavier than other brands - however more powerful, the circular saw and sawzall don't see much use (but have preformed when needed), the impact driver is the BOMB (seriously, it has a lot of power - and, by the way, how do you use a hand ratchet anymore - really?, really?), the flashlight is better than the rest (but it's just a fashlight).

And the batteries. They last, and last, and last - the V18 Lithium-ion batteries have a charge indicator, and they are gauranteed for 2000 charges (before 1000 charges you get a new battery, and btw 1000 and 2000 charges you get a replaced battery at a pro-rated cost). The 2.4ah NiCd batteries have almost nearly the same power as the V18 batteries, but they don't last as long. An upside of the V18 batteries is they last longer, the downside is that once they die, they die, no warning, nothing - the bit stops turning, the blade stops mid-spin, and the screw stops moving. The V18 batteries also SHUT DOWN.

Getting back to the TWO STAR REVIEW
- The V18 Lithium-ion batteries shut down. What I mean by "shut down" is a fresh, newly charged will shut down under these circumstances - you're using a sawzall and the blade gets stuck, you let off of the trigger, when you try to get the blade out of the work and pull the trigger again, the battery shuts down because it is operating under a load and "too much" torque is put on the tool. Another example, you are drilling a big hole into a thick piece of metal - the drill is plenty powerful enough, and the bit is razor sharp, but when you get to the end of the cut and the metal lets the bit punch through and then catches on the backside, the V18 battery shuts down because the drill undergoes too much torque. A similar sinario incurrs when using the circular saw and the grain of the wood pinches the blade - the battery shuts the saw down becuase it is operating under too much load.

The point is that I would trade my (4) V18 batteries for (2) NiCd batteries because at least with a NiCd battery you can remove your bit or blade from the workpiece if the battery dies or is under too much stress. Oh and by the way, in order to revive a fresh yet shut down V18 battery you just have to put it back on the charger. My question is - what if I don't have 120v power to plug my charger into?

Don't take this review as a knock on Milwaukee tools - I love my milwaukee tools, they are the most reliable and powerful tools made. The V18 Lithium-ion batteries are powerful, but not reliable because they SHUT DOWN. I recommend the NiCd batteries to work with this set of 18v tools - - - I haven't tried the new M18 tools from Milwaukee - they look a little non-heavy-duty to me, and I'm a little disappointed that they changed the battery platform; because what if the new M18 batteries shut down in the middle of doing something? - then you don't have a NiCd cousin for backup. Think about that!!

I Hope this review helped in your researching efforts.

I bought these to provide an upgrade over my old 18v nicads. Number one, 3.0ah vs 2.4 on the old. Really, the old ones run longer than these. Secondly, I have gone thru 4 of these lithiums in under 3 months! Milwaukee has a great waranty that they honor but come on! My last one died because the trigger on the drill was pressed while the drill was in my tool bag. I heard some clicking noise and traced it down to the drill. Guess what? now the charger won't even recognize there is a battery loaded on to it. Charger works with all my other batteries. Over draining a battery will kill it? Sounds like junk. Lastly, these are BULKY. Why? They are very light but awkward, like they are filled with air. They don't seem like they need to be this big.
I too am angry about the new M series lithium tools that won't work with older batteries and visa versa. I read on Milwaukee's tool site that they have "perfected" the lithium ion battery. Do they know these are really bad batteries, the 1st gen lith's have only been on the market about 3 years! They know they have a junk battery here, that is why they changed the mounts on the tools too.
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am with these. Do they own the patent on the little LED charge indicator lights? I would have bought Makita in a second but I like the idea of grabbing a battery out of the bag and being able to check it. I am done with Milwaukee. These dumb things fit all my old tools except the Rockford boombox. WHY?
Don't even get me started on how terrible these things perform in the cold. Leave a fully charged one in the truck over a cold night and you might get 5sec of use before it says it is dead on the LEDs. Don't put them on the charger, just warm them up somewhere for an hour. Nicads don't have these issues.
The whole sales pitch of carefree use is something I have not experienced with these. They don't have longer run times. They don't seem to be capable of more charge cycles. They don't heat themselves up in the cold by vibrating. They don't charge faster, twice as long as the nicads on the same charger, actually.
Don't buy these because the more married to a tool system you get, cuz you have so many tools and batteries, the harder it is to do the right thing and get that divorce. I want to desperately get rid of all my Milw but I have several hundred dollars worth of this stuff. I can't start over new until the tools actually stop working not just the batteries. It's hard, isn't it?

Part of the reason I chose Milwaukee was reviews saying the batteries were all compatible. This item (V18 3 amp hour LI battery, 48-11-1830) claims to fit all Milwaukee tools except 1108, 3108, 5364, and 6516. Well, that's nonsense. My new 2601 drill has a completely different 18 volt lithium-ion battery, and the charger that comes with the drill isn't compatible with the spare battery I ordered. BUYER BEWARE - update as of Nov 18: Milwaukee confirms the new "compact" tools use a completely different 18 volt battery. New tools require 48-11-1828 or 48-11-1815, old tools will fit this battery (48-11-1830). They're not making it easy to know which batteries will fit, and the "customer service" person I spoke to at Milwaukee said they will not swap for a compatible battery... nor will they update their WRONG packaging that says the old batteries are compatible with all 18 volt tools. Quoting now: "Take it up with the seller." Not a good attitude.

Over the last ten years I have purchased around 12 of Milwaukee's 18v tools. I probably have 8-10 of their corded tools. Milwaukee's Lithium-ion batteries fit and perform as advertised(I have four now). Milwaukee is the only up scale tool manufacture to reto-fit the new battery technology to it's older products.
John Le Fever 12-31-07

I have owned 3 of these batteries for a few years now. I was thrilled when they first came out. They are much lighter and had some neat features. I own 2 Milwaukee 18v kits (the older and better ones before Milwaukee sold out to a Chinese firm and started throwing gray and plastic in and over every tool).

I really wish I would have figured these things out sooner as these new batteries are a headache and a half... That said I will explain why.

The Good: Way less weight than ni-cads. The battery indicator, which frankly I never use, but for some is useful. For me the best thing next to reduced weight is the pad on the bottom of the battery. This pad is great for not scratching fine surfaces and helping the tool "stick" on slightly angled surfaces when you set your drill/driver down.

The bad: These batteries have a "special" (yes its special alright) feature... They shut down if the battery is strained. Only one problem, any circular saw will strain the battery within seconds and it shut it down. On occasion it will also shut down my sawz all's. On my drill and on my impacts, no problems. None! Before I get any lame responses, let me tell you, my tools are ship shape. I have the saws to Milwaukee repair shops, and they run like new. When I explained the problem to the shop, the owner laughed and said "I bet you it is not the tool". But he was happy to take my money and go through the tools to make sure. He also said that his shop spends a lot of time fixing the new batteries. Apparently some terminals inside aren't soldered on and cause problems. They fix that by soldering it. He said I could do it (I am no novice with tools people) but it would void the 5 year warranty. My solution, and the only thing that gets these a two star instead of one... I use these only on my drill and drivers. For my saws, I use my 8 year old Ni-cads (yes I have 2 of 5 left that still work!) I don't know why they still go, but it may be that my 3 bay charger conditions them even when not in use... I also try to not let them sit unplugged for days on end, especially in a hot garage or car. But I still push them when working.

So what to do? I won't likely be buying any of these soon... I can handle the Ni-Cads extra weight. It makes no difference to me. A man can appreciate light weight at times, but frankly I like the "Heavy" in Heavy Duty... Those Ni-Cads are tough. I know the old batteries are being phased out, so I eventually I will have to buy more new l-ion batteries. When that day comes, my saws will be in a yard sale, and I will have to use a corded sawz all and circular saw. Why? No way this new firm running Milwaukee will fix this l-ion battery issue. Especially when so many claim these batteries are so great. It is sad that tools are becoming so disposable these days... What a waste when the technology is there to produce flawless tools, but the almighty dollar outweighs it...

I just purchased the saw kit and extra battery and really put the sawzall to work dropping dead scrub oak trees of 6-10", limbing and cording them with a ten inch pruning-type blade...Lots of power and Love the low battery reader. I did have one battery heat up [hot to touch and too hot to charge; I hope I haven't killed it. This would be a worrisome concern with my porter cable or makita...we'll see... The batteries are more powerful but last much less time than my two previous tools above. I don't see this as a liability; I will soon purchase a three bay charger if I find I really need it. I have about seven hours of actual use on three batteries used on sawzall, circ saw, and drill. I do remodel work [30 years] so these puppies get real and daily use......OK, It's about 4 months since above review, and the battery that heated up shows no problems. Yes, the batteries are extremely strong and go fairly fast, but I still am mostly and easily working well with 3 batteries and one single gang charger. Thanks Milwaukee... I'm back again after a year. One battery has died, and the other two lose their charge rather quickly, and seem to have less in peak power. I bought two new batteries thru Amazon for 150.00. I had looked over the three bay charger, but instead purchased two chargers like what I had for 26 bucks and some change, each. I plan to research and install an inverter unit to keep up on batteries, for my work van. All around, I love my Milwaukee...

This is the same battery Milwaukee was selling for $54.00 3 months ago!!!
First they screw us with crappy overpriced NiCads that don't work for crap, then when they finally make a decent replacement battery they double the price on us??? I will never buy or recommend another peice of Milwaukee junk, and will replace my 15-20 Milwaukee hand tools with DeWalt as the batteries die off. SHAME ON YOU MILWAUKEE!!!!!!

I have seen a lot of poor reviews on these batteries so I will try to help some of you reading these reviews understand why the batteries shut down. A battery, no matter if it is lithium or NiCd, will suffer from short cycling, or excess draw if used improperly and destroy not only the battery and the tool it is on. Short cycling is charging a battery when it is not completely dead or removing it before it is completely charged. This will reduce battery life. When your battery gets low on power you were used to the motor starting to slow down. So most people would either run them on reduced gear or hold in the trigger to totally discharge the battery. This is bad because it causes heat and breakdown inside the battery, reducing battery life and tool life. All motors are designed for a rated voltage, if the motor is run on a lower voltage it causes heat buildup in the windings of the motor, this will destroy your tool. This is no different than a low voltage situation at home where your incoming power drops, known as a "brown out". This will destroy any motor running however some think it is different with batteries however it is not. So it you like your tools, this is a better battery.

Trash the old NiCd and get these instead, even though the new charger for the lithium/NiCd batteries solved problem with NiCd batteries dying prematurely, these batteries are lighter, last longer and easier to remove.

I bought two batteries. One died after a couple of weeks. I sent it back and got a new one. It could just be my imagination, but these batteries don't seem to last any longer then my NiCad batteries. When the batteries get low on power they completely switch off, with no warning. One second your drill is working, the next it's completely dead. This is extremely annoying! I had high hopes for these batteries..., not so much.

I've had a Milwaukee 18 volt hammer drill for a couple of years now. The drill is decent with the real high point being the excellent chuck. I also have one of the Milwaukee jobsite radios that gets almost daily use off the battery pack. The radio does not shut off with a low pack as advertised and has over drained both of my NiCad packs causing one to be totally useless.

The Lithium battery packs are a huge improvement over the older style. I purchased one of them plus the associated charger and find the combination good enough to start mending the fence that Milwaukee tore down when they shut down their (used to be a great source of quality information) users forum.