You're buying into a battery platform, not the tools.
8Forgot where I read it, but in talking about cordless power tools, it’s not so much about buying the tools themselves but buying into their battery platform, which is only good as long as there’s continued support. Anyway this is for random discussions of cordless power tools and their batteries.
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Branching off the discussion with @aetris from here about these tools, in which I tasked myself with trying to see if there are any alternatives to the Neo and Tacklife batteries.
… so, anyone else have a take on this?
I think I found one!
/image Workpro 12V 2.0ah battery
If that holds true, then that’ll suggest that the Tacklife and Neo were supplied by Hangzhou GreatStar Industrial.
To elaborate to @aetris, besides the locking tab profiles, I was also going by their terminal arrangement:
(I don’t have any of these myself, so I can’t verify the interchangeability of the Neo with the Workpro, but at least it appears very plausible.)
Fantastic, @narfcake! I’ll doublecheck but it looks good to me!
Many years ago I bought a bunch of Black and Decker power tools that had nifty removable rechargeable batteries. There was an outlet store near me so I was able to get a good deal. However, the batteries sucked and wouldn’t hold a charge, so I think the technology was abandoned. I don’t seem to have the power tools any longer and I don’t remember if I tossed or returned them.
@heartny If you do run across them and they’re the 18V, then considering an adapter may be worthwhile ONLY IF you already have some B&D or P-C 20V batteries. If you don’t, then it’s not worth it IMHO. You’d be spending more than the tool’s value.
Adapters for older battery platforms to newer ones:
Black & Decker 18V: If you still have tools with the slide-on 18V Ni-Cad batteries, a HPA1820 adapters lets one use more modern Black & Decker or Porter Cable 20V batteries.
/image HPA1820
Porter Cable 18V: This was their platform before the current “20V Max”. Look for a BSP20PO adapter.
/image BSP20PO
DeWalt 18V “pod” style: DCA1820; the official one has a voltage protection circuit, the generics may not. That is because on the newer 20V DeWalt, the low voltage protection on the tools themselves. Without such, it’s very well possible to run down the battery to below 0%, potentially damaging them to the point of no return.
/image DCA1820
This is precisely what got me started in the Ryobi One+ realm. Years ago I was buying tools and after a couple of years of use the ni-cads wore out, wouldn’t hold a charge and it was impossible to replace the batteries. I discovered Ryobi around 2000. Their 18 volt batteries have not changed format since then. The technology changed from ni-cads to the lithium batteries currently in use, but every tool that was in my workbox works with the current lithium battery. The actual battery style is exactly the same. This is been a game changer for me and I have acquired multiple tools that use that battery pack. Currently they are evolving their technology on the tool side to be brushless, which is an improvement. That being said the batteries still fit the new brushless as well as the old type motors. I will continue to purchase route as long as they keep making things that fit that same battery back. Anticipate this to be last infrastructure I’ll invest in.
@chienfou This has shaped a lot of my purchasing in favor of Ryobi as well. While I have a couple of very specialized exceptions (like a monster 1/2" impact from DeWalt that has yet to meet a nut it could not remove), the vast majority of my non-18650 rechargeable tools (plus a vacuum and a hot glue gun) are all Ryobi One+.
@werehatrack
There is a great Ryobi to Dewalt battery adapter available that I use on the one DeWalt tool I have since I only have one battery for it.
I’ve also bought into the 40v Ryobi ecosystem since their yard equipment has worked out well for me as well. The 16 inch chainsaw is great. When my current EZ-GO mower dies (old woot purchase)I’ll go with a Ryobi I’m pretty sure.
@chienfou @werehatrack I would warn that of premature battery failures (I.e. not that old, but out of warranty
) the Ryobi ones have failed the most. Now I DO have a large collection of them, mostly because of the frequent deals Home Depot used to have, so statistically maybe not that bad. But I have several destined for the battery recycle bin at Home Depot. Online searches say not much you can do unless you want to hack them, and “I ain’t got time for that”
I have had better luck with DeWalt and Milwaukee which tend to go with more premium tools (though Ryobi has stepped-up its game lately and also has a new generation of high-output batteries — all have been good so far but they’ve only been out about a year)
@pmarin @werehatrack
I’ve only had a couple of Ryobi batteries fail but they’ve all been over 5 years old. My ni-cads bit the dust of course…
I got accidentally roped in the Ryobi system. I needed a brad nailer a few years back and just kept adding on to it since I had two batteries already
I now probably have 40 tools in the collection. I’m happy with it overall, but never really gave it the real consideration on what “system” would best. But I can’t unring that bell now.
@ACraigL I feel like Ryobi’s not bad, it’s what I use. I’m sure the higher end (Milwaukee, etc) are better but I have not fear about support dropping for my Ryobi stuff. I’ve even picked up pretty old (ie they’re blue) Ryobi stuff from the local Re-Store for a steal and they work great with my modern batteries.