I recently started learning about woodworking and have been researching tool brands for the last few months. My father was a fan of Makita even though he had plenty of DeWalt tools in his shed. Team Teal would have been a great battery ecosystem for me to invest in as well, but those tools can be quite pricey for someone who is tight on a budget.
After deciding to buy my first cordless circular saw, I began looking for a deal on some high output batteries.
While there are plenty of listings out there on off-brand batteries for Milwaukee tools I did not expect to see so many of them trying to be passed off as legit genuine batteries from this company. And it goes further than people showing off legit Milwaukee batteries but then shipping off brand ones. This is a manufacturer (or multiple) that is trying to mimic them in every way except quality.
I wouldn’t even mind it if these batteries were actually offering what they are claiming to be (tech wise) but most off-brand battery sold for these cordless tools seem to only offer half of the rated amperage. So if you’re buying a 6.0 Ah knock-off battery and actually tested it, you’re likely only to see 3.0 Ah of power out of it. Many of these reviews are also claiming the batteries die after a few charge cycles.
To me, this is getting into a dangerous place since low-quality lithium-ion batteries have been known to cause quite the number of fires.
So allow me to show you how to spot a fake Milwaukee battery. It doesn’t matter if you purchased it from eBay, Amazon, or the local pawn shop down the street. Some times the sellers don’t even know they have a fake. These imitation batteries look almost identical to the untrained eye. Veterans have even been fooled by these rip offs at times as they seem to be getting better and better at tricking people.
Release Button Color is Too Vibrant
Genuine Milwaukee batteries will have a matte red color compared to the shiny vibrant red that these fakes ship with (as seen above). The plastic used in these Chinese knock-offs can be likened to cheap toys that you’d see. The color that Milwaukee uses is a bit more toned down and, again, looks more matte than a glossy red that you’ll often see.
Sadly, this test can be difficult to utilize if you don’t have an authentic battery to compare it to. But a dead giveaway is the glossy smooth look of the imitation batteries.
Release Button is Difficult to Press
Keeping on this topic, it’s been known that the cheap knock offs don’t always mold their plastic to the correct size. This results in the release button taking a lot of effort to depress completely. Whereas, if you press the same button on a legit battery, you will notice that it’s smooth and quite easy to push.
And this is just a result of the slack many cheaper factories allow in their mold. The less they have to redo the more profit they’re able to make.
Battery Capacity Lights
There are two subtle differences when it comes to the capacity lights of the battery itself. On a genuine Milwaukee battery, the charge light indicator will light up one segment at a time. So if the battery is full, it will light the first segment, then the second, then the third, and then the fourth. Showing the progression of checks the circuit has to go through in order to test it.
However, the fake Milwaukee batteries will light all of the segments at the same time.
I have seen newer fakes that have fixed this discrepancy, but there are still many of them out there that continue to use the old circuitry. Not only that, but when you first open the battery from the package, many fakes will be completely charged (or at least register as fully charged). Milwaukee doesn’t fully charge their power tool batteries from the factory, though.
You will usually see them at 1 or 2 bars when you first test them straight out of the box.
Others have spotted that the fakes are starting to show their light capacity really quickly compared to genuine batteries from Milwaukee. Most people are used to the battery capacity lights gradually filling to show what level they are at. Many of the imitations, however, just have no finesse and will blast through to show them filled as quickly as possible.
There’s even some of them out there that have very dim LEDs here. So it can be difficult to see if any of them are being lit at all.
Durable Rubber Foot
Another way these replicas cheap out is with the bottom rubber protection. A real genuine Milwaukee battery will have a thick and durable rubber foot at the bottom. Not only will this help to add a small bit of protection if the battery is dropped. . .but it also helps to protect any material you may end up setting the tool (and battery) onto. I’ve noticed that many of these knock-off batteries only use a cheap plastic cap on the bottom.
Some have upgraded to a rubber feeling plastic, but you can definitely tell the difference.
Visible Battery Cells
You can begin to see a pattern here when it comes to these fake Milwaukee batteries. They try to skimp in every area they can in an attempt to save a few pennies. Another place this is easy to spot is with the battery cells themselves. The legit ones come with a protective shielding that goes all the way around the group of batteries.
But this is not the case with the rip-off versions. You can look through the vents on the bottom and actually see the wrapped battery cells plain as day.
While we’re looking at the bottom of these batteries, let’s take a look at how they are screwed together. At least with Milwaukee’s current manufacturing process, the company uses a special type of screw. However, these fake ones (as you see in the image above) are attached with phillips screws.
That isn’t to say that all fakes are using these “basic” screws as some people are swapping out the guts. But checking these screws are another great thing to checking your M18 Milwaukee battery.
Another way to spot these fakes is by inspecting the alignment of the text. Not only can you see the M and 18 do not align properly. . .but you can sometimes see the letters R-E-D are not straight either. Many times the graphic designer they hire just fail to line everything up and you get results like this.
It can be easy to gloss over since the alignment issues are so subtle, but when you look closely it’s as clear as day.
Are Fake Milwaukee Batteries Any Good?
So another thing you may be asking yourself is if these fake batteries are any good at all. That actually depends on a lot of things. For the most part, I have seen this segment of the market described as a lottery. In some cases you will get battery cells that are still underpowered. . .but cells that are still safe to use and will be fine for most people.
The thing is, we’ve seen many cases of these batteries poofing out smoke the second you pull the trigger. And worse, reports of entire sheds and homes getting burned down just from using them. I already have a fear of the battery in my smartphone catching fire. At least I always have that near me so that I immediately know when something bad has happened.
What about the people who keep these things out in the shed (with extreme weather conditions) and can go weeks/months without checking on them.
I just don’t feel safe with these fake Milwaukee batteries considering how many of them are failing. This is doubly true when we find out that they aren’t even using the same power capacity as being described on the package. If they’re willing to lie about that aspect of the fake battery, what else are they lying about (and what else are they skimping out on during the manufacturing process).
I just want a product that is safe. One that has been tested and is less likely to catch fire while also causing any issues in the middle of me cutting a piece of wood (potentially causing an accident).