I want to talk a little about Milwaukee’s M18 six pack charger (48-59-1806). As mentioned in my preview, it’s a sequential charger, meaning it does not charge all six batteries at once. While ideally it would be great if it could charge up to six batteries at once, that’s not really possible for a charger of this size and price.
In theory I think the multi-battery charger is still a great product for tradesmen and professionals, and so I tried one out.
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The six pack charger can handle up to six of Milwaukee’s M18 battery packs, any size. LEDs indicate which battery is being charged (solid red) and which are waiting their turn (blinking red).
If you have multiple batteries connected at once, you can skip around to select which one you want to be charging at that moment. Once charging is complete, the charger turns its attention to the next one. It will continue on a counter clockwise rotation until all the batteries are charged one by one.
On the bottom of the charger there’s a vent and two screw keyhole slots for mounting the charger to the wall.
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There’s even a pass-through plug so you can connect multiple chargers.
Verdict
I found the charger to be darned useful for charging multiple batteries. There is no quicker way to charge multiple batteries with a single charger.
It has a comfortable carry handle, it’s not too large or bulky, and it works exactly as advertised. I would ask what more could you want, but I know the answer would be “simultaneous charging,” which isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Recommended for: M18 users that want to charge multiple batteries (up to six) without having to babysit a standard charger.
Tradesmen and teams that use multiple M18 chargers at once can always daisy chain chargers so they have simultaneous and sequential charging.
Price: $119 (as of 10/2020, original MSRP was $99)
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Here’s a brief demo video where you can also get a feel for the charger’s size:
Michael Quinlan
I understand that at this price point it’s unreasonable to expect simultaneous charging. Still, I’m disappointed. I’m curious what the price would end up being for a 6 port simultaneous charger.
I guess I got spoiled by my 2 port simultaneous DeWalt NiCd chargers that I picked up years ago for $36 each (including an 18V XRP battery). They were on clearance on an end cap at Lowe’s, and I swept the entire shelf full into my cart.
Stuart
It’s not just about cost and meeting the needs of more users, but also about product design limitations. A lot of rapid chargers have built-in fans to help with cooling. Fitting several parallel charging circuits would presumably require more space to accommodate necessary cooling components – either heatsinks or fans. At that point, users needing 6-channel charging would probably save space and money mounting a power strip and several independent chargers to a 2×4.
that plumber guy
99 USD is a lot for what is essentially 1 single charger. When i switched over to the m18 system I purchased 3 of the multi volt (m18/m12 48-59-1812) chargers for 35 dollars each on sale, which is just a hair over what u would pay for this but u can charge 3 batteries at the same time. newyorkpowertools.com has them for 40 USD each, buy 2 plus u probably have one that came with a kit and your better served then this for less. As a added bonus you get m12 ready. (If anyone would like to hear my m12 fuel debacle let me know)
I have six m18xc batteries, average charge time is 40 min. My way you could have all six charged while this would only have 2 ready. Only downside my way is you have to check and swap them manually. I could only see this working in a shop environment where you are not hard on the batteries and charge them overnight.
chrisk
Awesome price! Only no M12 battery port. I can understand no multiple charging and at $99 this is a really good option. What did you think about durability? Will is stand up to being knocked around ? It would be great to see an M12 slot in there!
Stuart
I thought the same – why not as an M12 port as well? Maybe that’s one of the decisions they made based on prototype feedback in the field.
Durability-wise, I can see the charger enduring short drops and tumbles here and there. It’s not built like a tank, but it certainly feels jobsite tough.
chrisk
Okay, it looks like its made the same as the other chargers. Too bad about the M12 batteries but its still a nice station.
Fred
I buy a good deal of tools bare, but every so often I make sure I pick up a new battery & charger with one. It’s much easier to build a box out of scrap with several (in my case 4) chargers mounted to one side and a power strip on the inside, plug it in on a circuit that you aren’t using for other tools, and charge 4 at a time. My chargers tend to use 3-4 amps on bigger batteries so I could get away with charging 5 slim packs simultaneously on a 15 amp circuit.
And I spend no ‘extra’ money doing it. I’ve looked in the past at the Cman, Ryobi, & Dewalt ones, and just decided it was easier to use what I already have.
This one looks more convenient to carry than prior models, and so long as it securely holds the batteries it’s a better way to store them to ensure the leads don’t touch. Still, it would be better implemented for M12. You could get away with using only a few M18 (or other brands’ equivalent) batteries all day and not justifying the price for an extra charger.
Samibz
Bought this charger on pre-order about two months ago and have had it for a couple of weeks now and it’s been great. I get that this charger wont work for everybody, and it alone is probably is not suitable for those who destroy multiple batteries in one day, but for most its perfect…if you aren’t lazy. What i do is put all of my batteries (6) on the charger at all times so it doubles as a battery caddy and when i need one i just pull it out, use it, and put it back when it either dies or its the end of the day. On a busy day im probably using 5 out of the six batteries for different tools so at the end of the day i will put them all back on the charger and when i arrive in the morning they are all CHARGED! There doesn’t have to be anyone there to babysit the charger and swap out batteries when one is done. That’s the real beauty of this thing. I personally have not gotten to the point where i have outpaced the charger. By the time I am able to kill a battery, which takes around an hour, that would be enough time to charge another one. And even then i always carry my m18/m12 single charger with me. This thing is worth every penny.
Kim
I have 4 batteries plugged into this and 2 of them are blinking is this normal?
Stuart
The actively charging battery has a solid indicator light, and the ones that are waiting have a blinking indicator light.