Milwaukee has come out with their new M18 Top-Off (model 2846-20), a 175W power supply that allows you to tap into their Li-ion cordless power tool batteries in new ways.
This is Milwaukee’s first M18 cordless battery power supply to feature a 120V AC receptacle and also a USB C port.
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Here are the 3 main selling points:
- Faster Device Charging
- Simultaneous Power
- Portable Power, Anywhere
Milwaukee Top-Off Features & Specs
- USB-C PD port (45W max output)
- USB-A port (2.4A max output)
- 120V AC receptacle (175W max output)
- Separate on/off buttons for USB and AC ports
- Adjustable rafter hook
- Fits ALL M18 batteries
- Weighs 0.8 lbs (bare tool)
Here’s a look at the top interface.
On/off buttons for the USB ports might not seem like a big deal, until you use other brands’ adapters and find that they’ll drain your battery even if nothing is plugged in.
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The new Milwaukee Top-Off is designed as a multi device charger, for charging whatever it is you need recharged.
It’s got a rafter hook, too.
Here. the Top-Off is shown attached to the side of a work cart.
Milwaukee emphasizes that the Top-Off can power small devices and electronics, but is not intended for use with power tools or kitchen appliances.
It’s also not compatible with their M12 heated jackets or other gear, likely due to its size, but possibly also because of the air vents. Not that anyone would really try to stash this in their heated jacket pocket, right?
You get up to 75% device charging compared to conventional wall chargers, thanks to the USB-C PD (power delivery) protocol.
You get faster simultaneous power, thanks to the Top-Off’s ability to power each port all at the same time.
This chart shows approximate runtime and charging capabilities for the Top-Off when paired with different Milwaukee M18 batteries, ranging from compact 2.0Ah to HD 12.0Ah.
Here’s how it looks with an XC 8.0Ah battery.
Or with an HD 12.0Ah battery.
And finally, with a compact 2.0Ah battery.
Here is a handy “what can it do?” reference chart that Milwaukee put together for all of their M12 and M18 power ports and chargers.
Milwaukee Tool emphasizes that each port on the M18 Top-Off maintains full power even when every one is in use. For example, you can power your laptop while the USB-A and USB-C ports are in-use recharging other devices.
Most other multi-port chargers distribute their maximum charging rate across several ports, and so you encounter longer charging rates if more than one device is plugged in. Not so with the Top-Off, hence their faster simultaneous power claims.
Here is what is quite possibly the biggest selling point of the Top-Off:
Users can instantly set up a mobile workstation or keep electronics securely within eyeshot, rather than making frequent trips to a wall outlet.
The rafter hook adds to its versatility.
Price: $99 for the bare tool
ETA: November 2020
Discussion
The new Milwaukee Top-Off seems to be a very capable portable multi-port M18 power adapter.
I’m very eager for a larger multiple battery AC power station, but this seems like a very convenient adapter for those who want an AC port or USB-C PD charging capabilities.
Perhaps a future version might feature a built-in LED worklight or additional USB-C ports in lieu of the AC port?
I’m glad that the USB ports are covered – I’ve had problems with my previous USB-C smartphone not charging properly due to dust accumulating and compacting in the “waterproof” charging port over time. If you’re worried about sawdust or other jobsite dust falling into the AC port, child safety covers are cheap prevention – $4 buys you a 30 pack via Amazon.
How Does it Compare?
There aren’t a lot of battery-powered multi-port and AC port adapters out there. Perhaps the closest comparison to the Milwaukee M18 Top-Off is the Anker Powerhouse 200. Let’s take a look at that model, for context.
It features 213Wh of charge capacity, or nearly the equivalent of a Milwaukee M18 HD 12.0Ah battery (216 Wh).
The Anker has more ports – a 12V auto DC port and a second USB-A port. Its USB-C port can deliver 30W max, and its USB-A ports 15W max (likely combined). Its AC port can deliver 100W max, and its car outlet port 60W max. All together, the Anker can deliver a maximum power output of 100W.
The Anker has a display and polished consumer-friendly enclosure. It recharges via included AC adapter, optional USB-C PD charger, or optional DC output solar charger.
The Milwaukee Top-Off can deliver 175W via AC, 45W via USB-C PD, and 2.4A via USB-A (~12W). So that’s a max output of ~232W. The pricing is very different – $260 for the Anker and $99 for the Top-Off plus the price of whatever M18 battery you want to power it with.
Compare: Anker Battery Generator via Amazon
Overall, I’d say that the Top-Off seems like a nicely balanced jobsite-friendly design.
King duck
Nice stop gap and will definitely buy when a sale comes out but I would love a larger unit like the max but with regular batteries
Matthew Lockard
Handy back up power for phones and other small electronics. A must buy if you have M18 batterries. Goal zero has better power banks but if you have a bunch of M18 batteries around it’s a great option.
Luke
I’VE WANTED THIS FOR SO LONG
James Eppich
Dewalt, make this with dual flex volt batteries. Or, just make a laptop adapter, because most laptops are about 18v anyway. Stepping up and back down probably loses 30+%
Nate B
I’ve been doing this for years with my Ryobi 18v batteries. Straight from the battery contacts to a thinkpad cord, and the laptop charges from it without fuss.
Don M.
This is firmly in the “shut up and take my money” category. Perfect for power outages or camping when you’ve already got a pile of Milwaukee batteries on hand.
Big Adam
I’m firmly in the “Pull your finger out Dewalt and look at the cool useful stuff your red-rival is dropping into the market”…….camp.
Big Richard
I know Milwaukee guys that drool over DeWalt’s portable power station. It goes both ways fellow big man. Do what I did years ago, go multi platform. Neither Milwaukee or DeWalt has enough sense to come out with a coffee maker like my Makita.
Robert
Excellent idea. I can use this for many photo/video assignments.
Make or break question: pure sine wave or modified sine wave?
Stuart
Probably modified. Pure sine wave would have been a features bullet point.
John Blair
I had the same question and no, they don’t seem to mention modified or pure anywhere. So I am with you, modified which is strange because they talk about how it is for small electronics.
Patrick
Why is that strange? Almost all these type of devices are MSW.
Nate B
Because at least a significant fraction of small electronics (anything with an SCr chopper first stage, basically) will simply melt or blow up when driven from a square wave like this. (There’s nothing sinusoidal about it and I refuse to use that fraudulent term.)
Most laptop bricks use a classic SMPS with a rectifier as the first stage, which is fine with whatever. They’ll run from 200VDC if you have that handy, actually. But SCR choppers are common in small LED fixtures especially older ones, certain other small appliances, and light dimmers.
Doresoom
I asked Milwaukee. It’s modified sine wave.
Craig
Thank you. True/Pure Sinewave is required for most newer high efficiency switching DC wall-wart type supplies to operate at their rated output and efficiency. These newer supplies will run hot and with low power output on modified sinewave power. Modified sinewave is fine for resistive (heater type) loads like a pencil soldering iron.
Aaron
I have the Ryobi 150w inverter and a Kobalt 40v 300w inverter as well as a generator. I was not impressed when I saw a post about this elsewhere, but the details actually give it a huge use case for me. USB PD is a differentiator from basically all the tool battery based inverters out there and a pretty big deal. Yay for being slightly less behind the times than everyone else!
Dennis
This is a great idea. The benefit above solutions like the Anker charger is swappable batteries. If you’ve bought into the M18 line you have some. Plus you can always buy more, or replace a damaged one. You can easily swap in charged batteries too, so you aren’t limited to what’s built in. Fantastic.
Perfect for the job site, but also useful in a power outage, or doing stuff in the great outdoors.
Every year Home Depot has holiday season deals on batteries. If they have one for the charger too, I’ll be a happy camper (both literally and figuratively).
Nate B
Plus they charge way faster. A typical Anker-or-whatever will need somewhere between 5 and 20 hours to fully replenish itself, whereas an M18 charger can fill an M18 pack in roughly an hour.
If you’re opportunistically charging during sporadic generator runs (whenever the fridge needs power, everyone else gets it too, is how I run mine), this makes a huge difference in how much you can actually use.
Ernesto Ortiz
Always One step beyond, thats Milwaukee tools
Bleo
This looks great. It wasn’t mentioned but does anyone know if it is also capable of charging the M18 battery through the USB-C PD port? I would love to be able to charge the M18 battery from my car through that interface when i’m driving between jobs.
Doug N
You mean m12? Good question, probably yes but would like to see it tested.
Big Richard
Pretty sure they meant M18, since this is an m18 powered device. They’re asking if it essentially doubles as an m18 charger when you plug the USB into a power source. And no, it does not.
Stuart
Press materials and the chart at the end of the post would mention such a feature.
L3
Anybody get the feeling they will be announcing a multi-battery power station that can power appliances and power tools? Looking at their “Power Supply Comparison” chart, it seems like they might add a column to the right soon. Maybe just wishful thinking…
Grnch
You’re not wrong, they already announced one:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Equipment/Power-Supply/MXF002
It’s not M18 based though, it’s for their MX FUEL batteries (whatever voltage they run at).
Stuart
I have the same feeling.
King duck
I thought the same thing but they have the mx but I would love something like the Dewalt although this might be enough for beach day trips and stuff
Matt
Yes, they’ve filed patents for a bigger multi-battery M18 power supply “generator”
Kirk
Yes it’s in the works, but what are they waiting for? Retirement? I’ve had my dewalt power station for about 6 YEARS lmao
Greg stone
A real power supply for my cameras while doing long time lapses or videos. Yank an m-18 out of one of my tools or chargers and have a confident power supply. Yay!
Bob
Well done team red! Really like the USB-C. 45w should be good for some of the larger tablets and even some laptops I believe. Hopefully there is no asinine auto shut off of any of the ports like in the toolbox led light.
DeWalt stop screwing around and do this too!!! Oh and if you are, 75w via USB-C would be nice so I can charge my laptop.
andy
175 modified sine, 3600 pure sine. I’d like to see them fill in the middle a bit.
I’m sure a lot of people would love to see a DeWalt power station copy, with the advantage being that the Milwaukee works with 2, 3 or 4 batteries installed.
Jimmie
I’d be curious to see what the waveform looks like. The little 150W Ego inverter basically spits out a square wave which pretty much makes it useless for inductive loads like A/C fan motors. They’ll spin but not very fast. Since Milwaukee says theirs is compatible with electric fans, the waveform must look at little better than that.
Big Richard
That’s probably a square wave, where as this uses a modified sine wave (which is basically a square wave with some extra steps in it). Pure sine inverter would make it larger and more expensive.
PW
Darn, this actually has me thinking about adding a battery platform. This looks like a winner to me. As others said, it has a ton of uses from power outages to powering my laptop on a trip. I hope DeWalt takes notice, their product development has been a real yawn for me the last couple of years.
PETE
I was just looking at a battery bank with ac capability. Most of the ones in this $80-150 segment top out at 120v/80watts which isn’t great considering this one can hit 175watts(starting or running-IDK).
lol one of the reviews on an amazon unit some lady was claiming that she was able to run her coffee pot off the 80watts LOL yeah ok….
I’ll buy this milwaukee the second i see it on the shelf or online.
Chris Huggins
Its not compatible because it doesn’t have the round port needed for the jackets. Which is a shame because I use that to power my soldering iron also. Wish they would update the older M18 power pack to include the on off switch and 2.4a charging as well, as it includes the round port but only charges at 500ma.
James
The rafter hook is a great feature.
Jerry Hyatt
Should have made it for the MX battery, then the secondary amperage would have been more than 1.45 amps.
David H
They have a big version for the MX battery system. It’s basically a battery powered generator.
James C
Anyone have experience with the Ryobi 40v inverter? 300w, pure sine wave, $80.
JoeM
Just… For my own sanity… The reason this thing LOOKS awful, is because the images on WHITE are RENDERINGS… The Photos of it in action look SIGNIFICANTLY better. The best one appears to be the one hanging off the cart.
This is just a note for those of us who looked at this thing and thought “That doesn’t look like the usual rugged Milwaukee Body Plastic for their tools! What happened!”
Don’t be stupid like me. Look at the device hanging on the Cart, and to a lesser extent (because it’s covered in stuff and hard to see) the photo of it by the Water Heater, powering everything.
And, Yes… I do believe that Rafter Hook is fastened down tighter than it seems, and should double as a belt loop/clip VERY nicely when folded in. I’m Team Yellow, and this took a little bit of mental processing to figure out.
Though, I disagree wholeheartedly about DeWALT making one. Not even CLOSE. A more advanced DCB090/091 with MORE USB Ports, and some USB-C ports… sure… But I don’t see a whole lot of use for DeWALT users to carry around FlexVOLT batteries like this. DeWALT batteries are a bit heavier in many of the new models… By the time you fasten your belt tight enough to carry this on your belt, you can’t walk anyways. So… For DeWALT, it’s probably better they expand their USB compatibility line, and focused on producing the big power station.
THAT said… There’s nothing stopping a third party from making something like this for DeWALT. After all, Surebonder has a cordless model of Glue Gun that natively supports the Ryobi One/One+ battery, and THEY make adapters for Milwaukee M18, Makita, and DeWALT 20 Volt Max batteries to be used on that model, and a hybrid Corded/Cordless model. So, I think it’s safe to leave the DeWALT Small Charger Device to a Third Party. And this is coming from someone HEAVILY invested in the DeWALT line.
Chris Fyfe
I will be getting one , for sure !
Charles
I really don’t see the use sadly, and I’m a big fan of Milwaukee. Not enough juice to be useful, inverter in my truck has about as much and is pure sine, so more effective.
I have a gazillion m18 batteries, I’d love to see a real “generator” that uses multiple m18s.
I’m not a great case I grant, since I’m a professional, and have other options. But this just doesn’t seem to fill a need.
I’m actually building a solar panel generator, in part for the fun of it, but in part for real generator use. But it weighs a ton. An m18 generator would come in for various odds and ends that still aren’t cordless on the job
Kirk
I agree, I’ve had the ryobi version of this for 2 years, and ryobi’s has a led flashlight as well as all the same specs and features of the new milwaukee and I’ve never used it once
DIYwoodworker
I have one of these currently simultaneously rapid charging an M18 XC8.0, M12 2.0, GoPro Hero8 and iPhone8 off an M18 HD 12.0 battery. For this type of use, this M18 accessory can’t be beat! For times you don’t have access to an electrical outlet, this device paired with a higher capacity M18 battery will give devices the charge they may need! My local Home Depot had several of these on the racks near the SDS drills and other contractor tools and supplies. Any color-oriented tool snobs who look down their noses at any color tools can stick to whatever color/brand of tool you choose for whatever reason you choose– I’ll stick with tools and accessories that I can use and that work for me. Happy DIY to all!
Kirk
2 1/2 years ago when ryobi first released their 18v version of this I impulse jumped on this even though I’m more dewalt 20v and have the dewalt power station, I have a few ryobi 18v…. and also ridgid. I kinda feel like I had to go multi tool platform to be fully cordless and have the different specific cordless tools that other companies aren’t offering yet. Ryobi’s has all the same specs as Milwaukee’s, plus a super bright led flashlight, 2 usb ports and 1.5 amp ac outlet can all be used simultaneously. Honestly for something I felt like I had to have I haven’t needed to use it once
Elliott
How many times can I charge my phone (which has 4,000 mAh battery) with the Top-Off + M18 XC 5.0 battery? VS charging my phone with a 5,000 mAh portable power bank?
Is it relatively going to be the same? Or will I get more charges with the Milwaukee setup?
Stuart
You’ll generally get more charges with the Milwaukee setup.
You can’t just look at mAh/Ah, you have to look at voltage and watt-hours (voltage x amp-hours capacity). Watt-hours gives you a approximation for the total electrical energy that can be provided by a battery or battery pack.
An M18 battery with 4000 mAh battery is packed with 72 Watt-hour of energy.
A battery pack with 3.6V Li-ion battery(ies) and 5000 mAh charge capacity has 18 Watt-hours of energy.
How many charges you get out of a battery depends on the phone/battery you are using it to charge.