Dual-Battery Adapters - Why didn't they catch on?

[Off-Street Parking]

I've always thought Makita's dual-battery adapter (and dual-battery tools) were a good idea. They give you a fantastic upgrade path to bigger tools, without having to keep two separate lines of batteries. A 36-volt tool could simply use two 18-volt batteries.

As I look at my growing collection of 20V batteries, I can't help but wonder... Why didn't this idea catch on with other manufacturers, and why aren't more of these types of adapters available?

http://toolguyd.com/makitas-new-adapter-lets-you-power-36v-cordless-tools-with-18v-battery-packs/

http://makitatools.com/en-us/Module...og/English/files/assets/basic-html/page2.html

 

[PureLeaf]

Metabo uses these

 

[the gypsy]

I don't know for a fact but with more and more people complaining about the weight of tools, this may be the reason. Even the men now complain if the tool is a little heavy, for this reason tool manufacturers list the weight of there tools and continously make smaller and smaller tools. On another thread one person was complainig about the weight of a battery and was asking if he or she could buy a smaller battery.
To each there own but we are becoming so wussyfied that it bothers me when a man complains about weight. Our muscles will atrophy slowly if we do not use them. I have never met an old man that complained, in their older years, about the weight of their tools. The were happy that they had a power tool so that they did not have to do it by hand.
My thoughts are not meant to insult anyone but this is my take on your question.

 

[hautpot]

Makita has brought these adapters back

 

[Off-Street Parking]

Metabo uses these

I haven't seen that one... Happen to have a link or a picture?

 

[Packard V8]

I don't know for a fact but with more and more people complaining about the weight of tools, this may be the reason. . . . . To each there own but we are becoming so wussyfied that it bothers me when a man complains about weight.

Getting OT here, but recently I spoke with an 80+year-old former Snap-On truckie. He said back in the day, the 1/2"dr was the standard and he hardly ever replaced any of them. Gradually, guys began using 3/8"dr for heavier work and 1/4"dr for what had been medium work. The number of ratchets and sockets he replaced went up every year.

He also said back in the day, a mechanic would have been ashamed to ask for a replacement for a chrome socket which had obviously been used on an impact. By the time he retired, the current generation was handing him handfuls with a smirk.

jack vines

 

[Voi]

I've always thought Makita's dual-battery adapter (and dual-battery tools) were a good idea.

There are things I like from just about every major player in the cordless tool market. The X2 system is one of the most appealing things to me from any of them. Of course I haven't used a single one of those tools but I still like it, at least conceptually.

If my aging Hitachi stuff died tomorrow it would be very hard for me to buy Milwaukee over Makita for this reason alone. Heck, if my wife knew about the X2 string trimmer she'd probably go run over my cordless tools "by accident" several times and buy me the entire Makita line-up just so she could have that trimmer (she does not like our gas Stihl trimmer).

We haul our tools and our yard equipment back and forth between our home and our lease. To have just one battery type and be electric/cordless for everything would be appealing.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Cost. Weight. if you can design a tool to do the job using less power (smaller saw blade or more efficient motor) you are better off.

Personally, I am surprised that no aftermarket company has come up with a corded DC power supply for the most popular brands. I know it defeats the whole concept of cordless. Maybe people just buy a couple of spare batteries.

 

[Stuey]

Because you need 2 matched battery packs, and you need to keep them both charged.

And as theoldwizard1 says, it's about cost and weight.

B&D had dual battery tools a few years ago, but it didn't catch on.

 

[Off-Street Parking]

There are things I like from just about every major player in the cordless tool market. The X2 system is one of the most appealing things to me from any of them. Of course I haven't used a single one of those tools but I still like it, at least conceptually.

...

We haul our tools and our yard equipment back and forth between our home and our lease. To have just one battery type and be electric/cordless for everything would be appealing.

Yep, that's pretty much exactly where I am at.

The hard part is that the situation gives us a disincentive to upgrade... Not a reason to invest in more tools. One or two 40-volt tools are a hard sell when you already have a large 20-volt investment... And the same applies for the 80-volt lawn/garden equipment. If I could use 2x20V, I might buy several 40V tools. Or 2x40V for the 80V yard tools would give me enough of a benefit to make a separate 40V investment worth it. But three systems and no crossover makes it hard to move beyond just one system.

 

[Ainsley]

Makita is continually expanding their line. I read somewhere the unveiled (or announced, I don't remember) a 2x18V brushless recip saw, and rotary hammer.

 

[PaulyC]

i have the makita sds hammer drill. i hate it. when i had to work with it all day doing overhead anchors in a ceiling it makes you tired fast. plus it kills one battery faster than the other so you could do lets say 50 anchors and have to switch one pack out. then maybe 20 holes later youd have to stop and switch the other pack out. we didnt have enough chargers on the job site to charge two batteries at once so it made you switch them out twice in a relatively short amount of time. i bought a milwaukee 18v fuel hammer drill with one battery and i love it.

 

[Voi]

And the same applies for the 80-volt lawn/garden equipment. If I could use 2x20V, I might buy several 40V tools. Or 2x40V for the 80V yard tools would give me enough of a benefit to make a separate 40V investment worth it. But three systems and no crossover makes it hard to move beyond just one system.

Is somebody making 80V yard equipment or is that a hypothetical? I guess my though was if Makita can make a X2, 36V leaf blower they could make a X3, 54V lawnmower? Or maybe a X4, 72V system?

 

[kctyphoon]

i thought it was a great idea when i first saw that... i would think that maybe its a patented idea (the adapter)?? also - i dont think the batteries need to be the same size with the makita. i dont own one, but i THINK this just affects the runtime, and not the power behind the tools. meainng - torque does not increase, you just get twice the runtime. if thats is true, and maybe someone who knows for sure and can clarify that, then it might be possible the new 9.0 battery packs from Milwaukee is their way of competing against the extended run times.

 

[Off-Street Parking]

Is somebody making 80V yard equipment or is that a hypothetical? I guess my though was if Makita can make a X2, 36V leaf blower they could make a X3, 54V lawnmower? Or maybe a X4, 72V system?

Yep! For 80V, you have your choice of Greenworks, Kobalt, or Victa that I know of. (They all appear to be rebrandings of the same OEM... Greenworks?). The tool selection isn't as large as the 40V offerings, but the lines are filling out. 80V lawn mowers, snow throwers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, etc are available.

EGO Power+ and WORX have similar lines of 56V equipment. (No snow thrower though.)

Makita makes a 2x18V lawn mower, so they are competing in the more crowded 36V-40V lawn & garden market with the dual battery setup.

 

[Voi]

also - i dont think the batteries need to be the same size with the makita. i dont own one, but i THINK this just affects the runtime, and not the power behind the tools. meainng - torque does not increase, you just get twice the runtime.

I thought I read somewhere that the Makita X2 adapter runs the batteries in series, not parallel. So voltage would double and amp-hours would stay the same. I think??

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

To each there own but we are becoming so wussyfied that it bothers me when a man complains about weight. Our muscles will atrophy slowly if we do not use them. I have never met an old man that complained, in their older years, about the weight of their tools. The were happy that they had a power tool so that they did not have to do it by hand.

There are only so many hours in the day, they probably just didn't have time to complain about that! It was probably on the list after the weather, the price of a cup of coffee, the boss, the pay, and those darned kids with their long hair and their flared trousers.

Joking aside, I did hear a lot of complaining about cordless tools when used as drivers (You're going to carry that big heavy thing around?) as well as going dead (You've got to keep going and getting batteries for it? *heads back to the truck for another extension cord*) by the old timers.

People complain, its what they do.

Personally, I don't have a use for the dual pack set ups. I can already buy extended run time packs, and the 18 or 20V systems available rarely let me down power wise. Obviously that doesn't mean there is no place for them, but it does mean that there is a smaller market for them that may not justify another SKU and development. The weight would just be a minus without a plus. The extra weight just doesn't bring enough to the table to interest me.

 

[Off-Street Parking]

Because you need 2 matched battery packs, and you need to keep them both charged.

And as theoldwizard1 says, it's about cost and weight.

B&D had dual battery tools a few years ago, but it didn't catch on.

With how many 20V batteries and chargers I have now, that wouldn't be a problem...

Being matched might have been a problem with the older batteries, but with all of the protection circuits the lithium batteries have, I would think the use of mismatched batteries should be an easily solvable problem. Worst case, the tool stops when the smallest/weakest battery is depleted.

Do you know which Black & Decker tools had dual batteries? There was the mention earlier of dual-battery Metabo tools, but I couldn't find them in my Google searches. If three companies have done this, it would seem to rule out (or minimize) patents and royalties as the reason that other manufacturers aren't doing this...

 

[wolf_from_wv]

So, this is putting the batteries in parallel so they act as a larger 18V battery?

I think the motor would have to be upgraded if they were in series to get a 36V drill. A 36V 1/2" impact sounds interesting...

 

[Plutal]

They are in series -> 36V, ah stays the same.
If it is a standard brushed motor, 36V is a waste of time. I would much prefer brushless and 18V.
Where the difference will be is if they are brushless and 36V (which some of the makita garden range is but not their worksite tools). Then I think it is a great idea. Small gas motor level of performance but from the same batteries as the 18V is a great idea.

I hope makita continues to grow their two voltage lines.