DIY Universal Power Tool Battery - Possible?

[YoshiMoshi3]

I'm curious to see if anyone has DIY a universal battery pack before? I know that there are adapters and such, but they take some power away.

Each power tool brand has there own unique BMS, Connector to make the battery to tool connection, and battery box dimensions and screw hole pattern to fasten the two halves of the boxes together.. The screw holes to keep the BMS down also have their own unique screw patterns onto the top row of the plastic cell holder. Additionally the place for wires or nickel strips to be connected to the BMS also have their own unique spots from one BMS to another depending on power tool brand. So we have limited options here. With the only common thing being the cells apparently.

This got me thinking that really the only way to make a universal power tool battery pack would be to simply have the cells be modular in nature and buy the plastic box shells for each brand. Cut the plastic cell holder, the top row in half. Screw the BMS down, to the top half. Have appropriate gauged wires going to the BMS and connectorize them. One end of the wire is hardwired to the cell pack and the other end a connector. A wire hardwired to the BMS, and on the other a connector.

This would allow me to simply open up the battery pack shell say, Milwaukee for example, undo the connectors, and remove the stack of cells. Put them in any plastic box I want, Makita for example, and reconnect things.

Bad idea?

 

[toolenthusiast]

I know that there are adapters and such, but they take some power away.

Is it even a measurable amount? I don’t think there’s very much voltage drop across 1 additional pair of large, tight, well-constructed blade terminals.

 

[stickshift]

There is a company making a universal battery. I forget the name, but I think I saw it on sixtyfiveford's YT channel. They sell a slim adapter for each brand, and their battery is slim as well, so the stack is shorter than the usual adapter + battery stack.

This is a relatively new product. I don't think it allows for any tool to battery communications (of course the tool manufacturer would want to prevent that), so you still have the risk of running the battery down so far that you damage the cells.

 

[david3921]

Discussed here with links to Torque Test Channel, well, tests of the Ceenr battery.

1 battery too brand to rule them all

I have a handful of battery tools from Worx, Porter cable and B&D. Looking to consolidate into one quality brand so I can share batteries across all the platforms from shop tools to yard tools. Is the Milwaukee M18 the way to go for the best selection of tools for the shop (woodworking stuff)...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[rsanter]

A friend used to use one of those large portable jump,packs that had an inverter and a 110 outlet on it.
Then he just used corded tools because he did not want to invest in a cordless system

 

[bonneyman]

Dean on Youtube did an assessment on the CEENR adapter/battery kit with 6 adapters and their 4.0 18 volt battery. Looked pretty good.

Ceenr® | PDnation Universal Power Tool Battery System

PDnation battery comes with a type-c supported battery pack and tailored designed interface adapters for multi-brand power tools, supporting over 1600 18V(20V Max) power tools on the market.

ceenr.com

 

[gregjsmith]

Dean on Youtube did an assessment on the CEENR adapter/battery kit with 6 adapters and their 4.0 18 volt battery. Looked pretty good.

Ceenr® | PDnation Universal Power Tool Battery System

PDnation battery comes with a type-c supported battery pack and tailored designed interface adapters for multi-brand power tools, supporting over 1600 18V(20V Max) power tools on the market.

ceenr.com

The ceenr battery kit looks pretty good, especially with the various adapters. It seems like a good solution for anyone who has multiple tool brands. Has anyone here actually purchased and used it for a while? I’d like to know how it holds up. Specifically, the runtime and durability? Do the adapters fit nicely without any issues? Feedback always helps!

 

[californiamilleghia]

I can see the European Union telling the tool companies to make a Universal battery ,

They got Apple to change the charging cables to Type C to match all the other brands.....

We can hope !

 

[ajchien]

I can see the European Union telling the tool companies to make a Universal battery ,

They got Apple to change the charging cables to Type C to match all the other brands.....

We can hope !

So thats why I had to buy a whole bunch of new cables?

 

[Marlin]

Seems like most of the ideas you have are more expensive, more complicated and less efficient than purchasing the tools and using them as they are designed. Sorry, just an observation.

 

[fourjeepin]

Seems like more trouble than sticking to one battery platform with adapters when you stray from that platform. I had been running all Ridgid but then added a few Ryobi tools. I recently purchased the Dewalt chainsaw. All are powered by Ridgid Batteries.

 

[theoldwizard1]

So thats why I had to buy a whole bunch of new (USB) cables?

So I have the following USB cables...

A to A (including at least 1 A male to A female)
A to B
A to mini A
A to micro A (yes, it is different !)
A to Lightning
A to C
C to C

No certified C "Power Delivery" cables (up to 48V and up to 5A !)

 

[Sal Bandini]

The EU mandated that certain radio products use a common charger, so must be equipped with USB-C port. This was due to them deciding that consumers already have multiple chargers and various cables, and a common platform would eliminate waste. Products also have to have the option of being sold unbundled from the charger. This is not specific to Apple. Laptops are also in scope, and some of them do not have USB-C charging capability. Those also need to comply with this standard.

I don't get the obsession with common batteries for power tools. It is a solution looking for a problem. Many consumer products use proprietary batteries.

 

[ChevyEFI]

So I have the following USB cables...

A to A (including at least 1 A male to A female)
A to B
A to mini A
A to micro A (yes, it is different !)
A to Lightning
A to C
C to C

No certified C "Power Delivery" cables (up to 48V and up to 5A !)

And a lot of C to C cables don't follow USB-C standards and must be plugged in a specific direction.

 

[kbuhagiar]

And a lot of C to C cables don't follow USB-C standards and must be plugged in a specific direction.

What??!!

Never heard that one before, and haven't yet encountered one that would only work in one direction.

 

[mike93lx]

What??!!

Never heard that one before, and haven't yet encountered one that would only work in one direction.

Or maybe you have always just selected rhe right direction...

 

[ChevyEFI]

haven't yet encountered one that would only work in one direction.

Buy a lottery ticket.

 

[dnschmidt]

All of you Commies seem to forget that all power tool companies subscribe to the sacred Capitalistic Gillette model: Give away the razor and screwed them on the batteries. Yea America!

 

[david3921]

Dean on Youtube did an assessment on the CEENR adapter/battery kit with 6 adapters and their 4.0 18 volt battery. Looked pretty good.

Ceenr® | PDnation Universal Power Tool Battery System

PDnation battery comes with a type-c supported battery pack and tailored designed interface adapters for multi-brand power tools, supporting over 1600 18V(20V Max) power tools on the market.

ceenr.com

I'm curious about the price of the 8ah battery. It's sold out and they don't list the price. The highest I can go on the platform I have (PC) is 4ah. It would nice to get a bigger battery when using a power hungry tool like a blower.

 

[gregjsmith]

I'm curious about the price of the 8ah battery. It's sold out and they don't list the price. The highest I can go on the platform I have (PC) is 4ah. It would nice to get a bigger battery when using a power hungry tool like a blower.

Based on the 4.0Ah being priced at $69.99, I’d guess the 8.0Ah pdnation battery will likely be in the $109.99-$129.99 range.

 

[dnschmidt]

The torque test channel showed these batteries to sort of **** in their second to the last video.

 

[Cruzan80]

I had read that the software limited the discharge on high output tools more than the battery. So was a chance they could change it up and allow more "through-put". One review I saw claimed they were decent, but not quite as good as OEM, but for some (like PC), bigger options that aren't made by OEM would be nice.