Milwaukee's New Battery Charger Solves Problems You Didn't Know You Had

If you're not familiar with the term, a gangbox, in the context of a jobsite, is a large metal container that everyone in a work crew, or gang, is meant to consistently access throughout the day. Gangboxes are some of the biggest storage solutions you'll find — bigger than the Milwaukee Packout or DeWalt ToughSystem, and Harbor Freight's Yukon cabinets. It's your crew's one-stop-shop for everything you could need, whether it's tools, gadgets, or battery packs for either. A gangbox is a good place to store all of your chargers for battery packs as well, though this can result in a bit of unwieldy clutter in what is, in all likelihood, a pretty cluttered container already.

It's this precise problem that Milwaukee is seeking to solve and optimize with its newest development, the Milwaukee M18 and M12 Gangbox Rapid Charger. This large charging hub is designed to attach firmly to a shelf in your gangbox via powerful magnets, providing a home for your M18 and M12 battery packs without actually taking up valuable storage space within the gangbox. With the help of high-speed charging, this device is meant to help workers get in and out of the gangbox as fast as possible and on with their days. The Milwaukee M18 and M12 Gangbox Rapid Charger is slated for release in August 2025 with an MSRP of $299.00.

The Milwaukee M18 and M12 Gangbox Rapid Charger is designed to slot into or onto a gangbox while taking up as little actual storage space as realistically possible. This is accomplished via a magnetic base and cleat integrated into the device itself, which allows it to attach to the top, bottom, or side of a gangbox shelf. No tools are necessary for installation, just plant it right on there, plug it into an AC power source, and it's ready for action.

On the front of the Gangbox Rapid Charger are four rapid charging bays for Milwaukee battery packs. Two of these bays are built exclusively for Milwaukee's M18 battery system, while the other two are hybrid bays that can accommodate both M18 and M12 batteries. These rapid chargers deliver enough power to fully charge a pair of M18 REDLITHIUM XC 5.0 battery packs in just 60 minutes. Additionally, the Gangbox Rapid Charger is equipped with a pair of 15W USB-C charging ports, allowing you to charge up small devices like smartphones without interfering with the battery charging bays.

As an added perk, the Gangbox Rapid Charger has a built-in rotating LED flood light, perfect for lighting up the inside of the gangbox on those late nights. This light has 450 lumens of illumination power, perfect for cutting through low visibility. The light doesn't interfere with the battery charging process, but even if it did, it has a smart one-hour auto-shutoff if you accidentally leave it on. Keep an eye out for the Milwaukee M18 and M12 Gangbox Rapid Charger when it releases in August 2025.