Anyone using battery adapters ?

[theoldwizard1]

My son has a reasonable collection of DeWalt NiCad battery operated tools. The original NiCad batteries are dead (and never held a charge well) plus I have recently purchased Milwaukee M18 tools and have a couple of batteries.

Has anyone tried using an adapter to use the Milwaukee Red Lithium M18 batteries on these older DeWalt tools ?

Durability of the adapter is the most important thing. I know the balance will be off, but I just can not justify buying an M18 reciprocating saw and an M18 circular saw.

 

[seber]

What voltage are the Dewalts?

 

[signcrafter]

A guy I helped out had the dewalt adapter to use the new 20V lithium batteries on the old 18V tools. They sucked to use and he upgraded to newer 20V tools as soon as he could. A concrete ******** and skill saw and recip saw were all he had that he needed the adapter for. Think the adapters were pretty expensive if I remember right.

 

[Robinson1]

I’ve got an adapter from a seller on eBay to allow me to use Dewalt 20v batteries in a Hitachi framing gun. It works great and doesn’t really add any additional bulk and or weight. I think it cost $20. I’ve had it a couple years

 

[mercracing]

I have the adaptors to run 20V DeWalt in Milwaukee and vice versa. I picked them up off eBay to use while I transition out of DeWalt. Both adaptors have worked well for me.

 

[mrvm]

Adapters may be available for nearly every brand. Just be smart and don’t drain to zero or charge the batteries with the adapter.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

My 18V Dewalt battery finally took a dump yesterday and my first thought was "well I guess I'm buying new tools." I only have a circular saw and a sawzall that are 18V, everything else is 20V Max. A little Google searching showed me the 18V to 20V adapter so I bought one on Amazon for $34.99. There are knock off brands on amazon for $11-$12 but I didn't want to take a chance. If $34 gets me a few more years out of these tools then that's a win in my book.

 

[Just_Steve]

I use a Dewalt to Rayobi adapter for a tire inflator, works just fine.

 

[rsanter]

When my 18v Dewalt we’re dying off I did not want to invest in more 18V batteries when I could get a 20v drill with 2 batteries and a charger plus the bag for $99 then I get the adapter.
I bought the generic adapter off amazon for I think $14

It worked great so I bought a couple more.
I have since been buying the 20v tools but can still use my 18v no problem

May not be exact what you were asking but this is just my experience

 

[WildBill]

I use Makita to Ryobi adapters, they work fine and the Ryobi stuff runs better. Pretty sure the Makita batteries put out higher voltage even though they are both supposed to be 18v. I bought a couple of the old/new official Dewalt adapters for my brother when he was slowly swapping all his nicad stuff over to lithium, they also worked fine but were kinda bulky.

 

[fourjeepin]

many years ago I built an adapter to use Ridgid batteries with my Dewalt tools. It worked, but the tools just weren’t as good as the newer stuff so I sold all the Dewalts. I mostly run Ridgid still but have adapters for a few Ryobi tools and a ride on jeep for my son.

Some folks don’t mind having a bunch of different battery lines, but using all one battery line gives me more batteries and chargers.

 

[Steve_P]

I know this isn't what you asked, but I have the genuine DeWalt adapter to use the 20V battery on the old 18V tools. It works just fine, no issues. The only tool I use it on is a reciprocating saw, since I barely use it. Everything else has been updated to the new 20V line.

 

[inline five]

A guy I helped out had the dewalt adapter to use the new 20V lithium batteries on the old 18V tools. They sucked to use and he upgraded to newer 20V tools as soon as he could. A concrete ******** and skill saw and recip saw were all he had that he needed the adapter for. Think the adapters were pretty expensive if I remember right.

18v and 20v are the same thing. It's just marketing. Fully charged 18v is really 20v.

20V Max vs 18V Batteries: Setting the Record Straight

The 20V MAX vs 18V debate has people thinking 20V tools offer more. They don't. 20V = 18V and we prove it using science, logic...and DeWalt.

www.protoolreviews.com

Sounds like the guy had a placebo bias going on

I use only Ridgid batteries and use mostly Ridgid tools but have Ryobi yard tools and a few things like their 18v miter saw. I use ABS battery adapters with them to use my Ridgid batteries with my Ryobi tools. It works well. The batteries are protected so will shut off when drained and reaching their low voltage cutoff.

Batteries are expensive so I like to get my batteries replaced for free (Ridgid).

 

[Meursault74]

A guy I helped out had the dewalt adapter to use the new 20V lithium batteries on the old 18V tools. They sucked to use and he upgraded to newer 20V tools as soon as he could. A concrete ******** and skill saw and recip saw were all he had that he needed the adapter for. Think the adapters were pretty expensive if I remember right.

That's a legitimate tool. At first, I thought it might be something his wife was using.

 

[signcrafter]

18v and 20v are the same thing. It's just marketing. Fully charged 18v is really 20v.

20V Max vs 18V Batteries: Setting the Record Straight

The 20V MAX vs 18V debate has people thinking 20V tools offer more. They don't. 20V = 18V and we prove it using science, logic...and DeWalt.

www.protoolreviews.com

Sounds like the guy had a placebo bias going on

I use only Ridgid batteries and use mostly Ridgid tools but have Ryobi yard tools and a few things like their 18v miter saw. I use ABS battery adapters with them to use my Ridgid batteries with my Ryobi tools. It works well. The batteries are protected so will shut off when drained and reaching their low voltage cutoff.

Batteries are expensive so I like to get my batteries replaced for free (Ridgid).

A placebo bias? What are you even talking about? One was nicad and one was lithium. Two totally different battery platforms. He used an adapter till he bought new tools for the new technology. Good story though.

 

[inline five]

A placebo bias? What are you even talking about? One was nicad and one was lithium. Two totally different battery platforms. He used an adapter till he bought new tools for the new technology. Good story though.

Then not relevant to the point you were inferring. You inferred 20v had more power than 18v, I think most assume you referred to lithium powered apples to apples.

 

[signcrafter]

Then not relevant to the point you were inferring. You inferred 20v had more power than 18v, I think most assume you referred to lithium powered apples to apples.

I didn't infer anything about 20v having more power. I guess this is your story so you tell it how you want.

 

[finn]

I use the Dewalt 18 v nicad to 20v lithium adapter on my old 18v drill.

It’s not as well balanced as the newer tools designed for the slide in lithium batteries, so it’s not my first choice for a project, but it works ok.

 

[fourjeepin]

I use the Dewalt 18 v nicad to 20v lithium adapter on my old 18v drill.

It’s not as well balanced as the newer tools designed for the slide in lithium batteries, so it’s not my first choice for a project, but it works ok.

That’s how I felt about the adapted nicad tool. While I was quite proud of the adapter creation and the lithium batteries were better than the nicad, the tool was just ok. And who here just wants ok tools?

 

[71goldss]

I own a large mix of M12, M18 and Craftsman C’s tools. I bought an adaptor to use my many M18 batteries with my many Craftsman C3 tools a few years ago, but haven’t needed to use it yet, as my lithium C3 batteries are still holding up great. I tested the adaptor again this morning after seeing this thread, and now find it works best with the newer M18 3ah High Output batteries, as they are much thinner and add only a little extra bulk to the overall setup.

Can’t speak for adaptors for the other brand tools.