It was only about a year ago that Milwaukee launched their original M18 RedLithium Batteries which were rated at 3.0Ah. Now we are seeing another 25% increase in battery life which is certainly nothing we are going to complain about. These will of course work with all the existing Milwaukee M18 Tools and claim not only more runtime but also more power and speed like the first RedLithium 3.0Ah Batteries. We will try to clarify below exactly how much more power and runtime vs the Milwaukee M18 Lithium Ion & M18 RedLithium predecessors.
The current M18 RedLithium (3.0Ah) makes the claim of 40% more run time, 20% more speed, 20% more torque, operates down to 0°F, runs 20% cooler & 50% more recharges, all verse their own original M18 lithium XC battery. The new RedLithium (4.0Ah) batteries are making many of the same claims for power, speed and cold weather operation also compared to their original M18 (not against the 3.0Ah RedLithium). The differences are new claims of 100% or 2x more runtime (vs 40%) and 100% or 2x more recharges (vs 50%).
While the batteries are improving, the M18 tools themselves are also getting much better performance with FUEL brushless technology to gain more power, use less battery power and last much longer. Combine these technologies together and heavier power consuming tools that have been somewhat limited in cordless form, may actually become much more functional. The circular saw is a perfect example of a tool that is very commonly used outdoors or on a jobsite where outlets are at a premium but simply have not had the runtimes that would truly make them able to mostly replace their corded counterparts like we have seen with drills. If we aren’t there yet it sure seems like we are pretty close.
