Use same cordless battery on different tool brands

All you need is the right adapter. Which
you can buy off Amazon or Ebay.


I'm only going to buy after market 6 amp
20v Li batteries for Dewalt and use them
on my old 18v Dewalt tools, 18v Makita
and 18v Milwaukee tools.


I buy bare tools, No battery or
charger.. The 6 amp battery lasts for a
long time.

I bought the DeWalt factory adapter to use li batteries with 18v DeWalt tools. I remember at the time it said the adapter was only for use with the smaller size DeWalt li batteries. Do the 6ah aftermarket batteries work with this adapter, or did you buy a different adapter?

Yes adapter works on factory and aftermarket 20v.

Some batteries swap just by snapping out a piece of plastic .

Somebody posted here that HF batteries will fit Dewalt tools if you cut off a tab. So I am thinking HF battery,Dewalt adapter to my Makita. Should be cheap batteries.

My son has some of these adaptors. They work but make the tool taller. This does not make much difference on a sawsall but on a drill or impact you will find it limits where you can use the tool.

I'm sure within a brand that's fine. Dewalt LI to replace older versions for example.

However, all LI batteries OR tools have a discharge protection. That's why they just die, instead of slowing down as older versions did. There may be a problem with some pairings as some makers put that circuitry in the tool, others in the battery pack. So, with the wrong pairing, you could have an unprotected battery. Fully discharging the pack under those conditions could ruin it. At least that's what I've read.

Not sure if Dewalt charger will charge HF battery. After market Dewalt battery is cheap on Amazon and they are 6 amp Li.

If you take a Li battery apart, the discharge protection is built into the battery which makes it very difficult to repair. The protection device is like a computer circuit. It's also designed to shut the charging off so the battery doesn't over charge and catch on fire.

JD,
The Boss wanted a grass shear. There aren't many shears to choose from. Most are toys and don't have replacement batteries. I bought a bare Makita shear, an adapter and use the 20v dewalt that came with my Christmas present, 20v leaf blower. The added size isn't an issue.
I use the leaf blower more than I thought I would. Not for blowing leafs, but cleaning shop, blowing dirt out of truck. Handy tool.

I've been a dewalt fan for 20+ years. One reason is the battery. No battery lasts forever and they are pricy. Now there is a race to see who can come up with the largest battery. I really love Amazon aftermarket 6 amp batteries and you can get two batteries cheaper than one dewalt battery.

I saw a man use a true sawsall, Milwaulkie. Decided then I'm going to replace my dewalt one. So I bought a new bare one off ebay for $100 and an adapter for around $15. Going to give my SIL my dewalt. Also bought some AX Mulwaukie blades.

The way I see it the adapters allow me to stay with one battery and find better tools of different brands. I look at it as a WIN/WIN.
The added size doesn't seem to get in my way. I'll most likely not live long enough to wear my dewalt tools out. If I do, I'll buy what ever tool is the best one and buy an adapter.

My point was that circuit is not present in all batteries. Some brands put it in the tool. Lots of info if you start Googling. Probably more than you want.

In short, an unprotected battery in an unprotected tool can ruin the battery.

The protection board for charging and discharging is available from several sources. and can be used for DIY projects if desired.

What is the cost of those adapters?

I have Black & Decker 24v drill. Is there a adapter I can run my 20v battery on it? I suppose 20v wouldn't run the 24v drill and if it would be poorly

I have 6 Li 20 volt tools, 3 are B&D and 3 are DeWalt. I understand that Stanley makes both DeWalt & B&D. It would me nice if these would interchange.

Dusty

That would have been handy a few years back but at this point we have switched everything out to Milwaukee. Back in 08 or so they had the first lithium battery on the shelves around here, and being able to charge a battery faster than you could drain one sold us. I was still in highschool at that time and we were working on a parade float. The other guys brought the old DeWalts with those big batteries and they all ran all their batteries dry while I just kept changing mine out. I felt a little more smug about that than I should have haha.

Adapters are cheaper on Ebay, around $15 -20.

I've been trying to find one for a Dewalt or Makita 18v to a Porter Cable 18v tool. No joy so far. If anyone happens to run across one...

Brett,
All the adapters I've seen have been 20v to 18v. Which if you measure
the actual voltage, the 18v fully charged is very close to 20v.

I got a 20v 5a battery with Christmas present, leaf blower. I'm not
going to buy any more dewalt 18v batteries, which the biggest ones are
only 3 amp.
A
I bought 2 20v 6a aftermarket batteries for less than one 5 amp dewalt
battery.

Perhaps you may want to be thinking about converting to 20v. A 20v
dewalt charger is only about $30 on amazon or ebay. Then you could use
the 20v on a Makita for sure. You'll have to check on porter cable.