Ask Toolmodo: Milwaukee Batteries M18 vs V18 Compatibility

Toolmodo reader Gary has asked a question:
i was wondering about the impact driver Milwaukee 0881-20.  will it work with m18 volt batteries that are not lithium, or do i need the lithium batteries.  also, i have other milwaukee tools now, they take the m18 batteries, i just recently purchased them, and i was wondering if the lithium batteries would work with them??.

the other question i have is on the jobsite radio.  does it also charge the battery??  i have not found any thing that says for sure if it does or not.  thanx

gary

Hit the link for our answer.. .

Gary,
The batteries on the Milwaukee tools are a tad bit confusing, let me try to sum it up for you. Currently they (Milwaukee) offer 3 different 18v batteries. Depending on which tool you have determines which batteries you need. If you have the 18 volt NIMH batteries (also known as Power Plus) then you can use the V18 Lithium batteries. And the V18 tools are also reverse compatible with the 18 volt NIMH batteries. The M18 tool line only works with the M18 batteries (and visa versa). So to answer your question, no… the 0881-20 will not work with the M18 batteries since it is a V18 tool. Currently Milwaukee does not sell the M18 impact as a bare tool, if you can hold off you SHOULD (according to our rep) be able to get one as a bare tool next quarter (1st quarter ‘09). Also the Radio/charger combo is a patent that is owned by DeWalt so the Milwaukee radios do not charge the batteries (Bosch licenses this patent on 1 of their radios). Additionally they do not currently offer a job site radio for the M18 batteries (the ETA on those radios is 2nd or 3rd quarter of ‘09). The M18 line is very new and Milwaukee is rolling out bare tools, accessories and combo kits over a period of time to determine which direction they need to go.

Hope that helps.. .    ~Toolmodo