Milwaukee Rapid Charge Station Review
Milwaukee Rapid Charge Station Review
Milwaukee Rapid Charge Station
Manufacturer: Milwaukee
Model number: 48-59-1807
Price: $169.00
Power source: 110V
Milwaukee’s Solution
Milwaukee recognized “battery charger hell” as a big problem and devised an elegant solution, the Milwaukee Rapid Charge Station. It was first debuted at last year’s New Product Symposium along side the 5.0 Ah batteries. After having it in the shop and on the job site for a few months our opinion remains the same, this thing is sweet. In the near future you’re going to see more of these planted on spider boxes on the job site.
Features and Specifications
- Charges Three Batteries Simultaneously
- Charges Each Battery up to 40% Faster
- Accepts up to Three M18™ and Three M12™ Battery Packs
- No measure guides for easy wall hanging
- REDLINK™ Intelligence: Charger Communicates with the Battery Pack to Ensure Optimum Performance and Extend Life
- Pass Through Plug
- Voltage: 18V & 12V
- Warranty: 5 Years
Simultaneous Speed
The Milwaukee Rapid Charge Station’s two best features are that it can charge 3 batteries at the same time and that it charges 40% faster than their normal charger. What does this mean for you? Lets say you have 3 4.0 Ah M18 batteries. On a single charger this would take you 3 hours. On the Milwaukee Rapid Charge it would take roughly 36 minutes give or take. That is ridiculously fast. Even if you only had one battery to charge it would be 36 minutes vs 1 hour. That is a huge time savings and well worth the asking price.
Overview Video
Final Thoughts
To be completely honest there isn’t anything I would change about this tool. At $169 I think it’s worth it for any Milwaukee user. Even if you only have M12 and no M18 or vice versa, the ability to charge 3 batteries simultaneously and 40% faster is completely worth the price of admission.
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About the author
Jeff Williams
Contributing Editor Jeff Williams is a carpenter for a commercial General Contractor specializing in concrete, steel, and wood buildings. Jeff comes from a long line of contractors. His parents started a commercial General Contracting firm many years ago and it has afforded him life-long, hands-on learning opportunities from rough and fine carpentry all the way to structural steel and concrete. Jeff has a Construction Management degree and loves the thrill of coordinating and successfully managing large jobs from start to finish. Inspired by the difficulties sometimes encountered to complete punch lists his motto is, "Work hard until the job is done."
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Thank you for the real-world actual use update. Appreciate seeing it with some dirt and wear and hearing how well it’s worked.
My question is this, is there a downside to charging so fast on a regular basis? Does frequent use ove this charger vs. the standard “slow” charger reduce battery life or capacity over time? I’m no expert on batteries, but I always heard that you don’t want to always rapid charge – not sure if that applies to new battery/charger technology. Does Milwaukee suggest that every so often you use the standard charger?
Thanks for the great review, and any insight you can provide.
Steve
Great Question. I haven’t heard of or encountered any issues with fast charging yet. This charger also incorporates the RedLink tech so that it is communicating with the battery’s sensors while charging. We’ll be in Milwaukee in just about 3 weeks and will ask an engineer if there is a downside to the fast charging and then report back.
Great! Thanks Jeff.
Will this charge all m18 batteries 4.0 ah to 12.0 ah
yes
Funny an update to this thread just popped up in my notifications. Were you able to ask Milwaukee about long term effects of always rapid charging? If you even remember 6 years ago! 🙂 Thanks for any insight. -Steve