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(More customer reviews)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.
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Milwaukee 48-11-1830 V18 18-Volt 3.0 Amp Hour Lithium-Ion Slide Style BatteryProduct Description: The Milwaukee 48-11-1830 v18 18-volt 3.0 amp hour lithium-ion slide style battery provides up to 50-percent longer run-time than 18-volt NiCd batteries. It has superior cold weather operation and allows near full run-time performance down to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a 14.4-volt nicd battery weight with 18-volt power. It features v-technology batteries that provide fade-free power until the end of discharge. It comes with a 5-year/2000-charge warranty and is compatible with all Milwaukee 18- to 28-volt batteries.
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