Power tool batteries...interchangeability ?

[Fastest1]

Now retired, I'm entirely on the Ryobi tool line. I got tired of three brands of shit in the toolbox. But I made the switch while still using them professionally. I found it affordable to replace the more delicate tools annually, at black Friday, and thus accumulated charger and got more or less free new batteries.

What I always wore out fastest was the weed whacker, and the circular saw. But i'd get a year out of them, and replace them annually. It was actually cheaper than new Makita batteries all the time. I've not worn out a drill, except by burning them to a crisp in the garage fire.

I do have to say this though, I ran a Makita drill daily for about 20 years, completely losing track of the number of NiCad packs it went through. That drill hung thousands and thousands of cabinets, built god knowhow many decks, etc. If I was a young pup, I'd be looking for a full set of Makita stuff, even if it took years to accumulate it.

Having been in the window covering business for years, I couldnt agree more. Damn Makitas are durable.


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[spinningmagnets]

Dogman Dan wrote:

I ran a Makita drill daily for about 20 years, completely losing track of the number of NiCad packs it went through. That drill hung thousands and thousands of cabinets, built god knowhow many decks, etc. If I was a young pup, I'd be looking for a full set of Makita stuff, even if it took years to accumulate it

I have the cubic Makita bag with the drill/driver combo. I bought it on sale when I had narrowed down my choices to the top three. My choice was based on the batteries that ES had shown were inside the various brands, and Doctor Bass said the Makita cells were consistently the best quality. The two battery packs I have show no signs of wearing out from my occasional "weekender" use. They are the 5S / 1P lightweight packs (4-ish years?).

Once you go to 2P (ten cells for 18V, instead of 5) then you have the option to use the 30Q 15A cell, meaning you can get enough "pack amps" from a higher capacity cell (as opposed to the high-amp 25R 20A cell). Doubling the cell-count (volume and weight) means you get 6-Ah instead of 2.5-Ah...

https://www.electricbike.com/cordless-tool-batteries-for-ebike/

 

[DrkAngel]

Maximum interchangeability!
Have piles of ~18V cordless tools:
Craftsman 18V & 19.2V
Ryobi 18V
DeWalt 18V
B&D 18V - 20Vmax - 24V
Porter Cable 20Vmax
Mostly older models picked up at garage sales with dead Ni-Cd batteries

While I rebuilt many packs into Lithiums, it was not feasible in some cases.

So, I built a 6s10p (22.2V 21.6Ah) hip pack (xt60 14ga) wired into various empty Ni-Cd packs, for use with multitudes of various tools.

With older tools and battery packs it is important to clean and add conductive "grease" to contacts and terminals.

 

[DrkAngel]

Maximum interchangeability!
Have piles of ~18V cordless tools:
Craftsman 18V & 19.2V
Ryobi 18V
DeWalt 18V
B&D 18V - 20Vmax - 24V
Porter Cable 20Vmax
Mostly older models picked up at garage sales with dead Ni-Cd batteries

While I rebuilt many packs into Lithiums, it was not feasible in some cases.

So, I built a 6s10p (22.2V 21.6Ah) hip pack (xt60 14ga) wired into various empty Ni-Cd packs, for use with multitudes of various tools.

With older tools and battery packs it is important to clean and add conductive "grease" to contacts and terminals.

I have a few 18V cordless tools with higher power demands, 10" B&D chainsaw, 12" Ryobi chain saw etc ...
Think I will build a HO hip pack. Have some lesser BMS Samsung 22p hoverboard batteries.
Pull the BMS wires, cut the tabs at 5s and rewire as a 5s4p for 18.5V 8.8Ah with 40A continuous and 80A max.
Experience shows excellent quality and natural balance on these cells, but will use 8s voltage meter-alarm on 5s pack.
Just gotta dig up some nice 12g stranded wire.

 

[EbikeAus]

Now retired, I'm entirely on the Ryobi tool line. I got tired of three brands of shit in the toolbox. But I made the switch while still using them professionally. I found it affordable to replace the more delicate tools annually, at black Friday, and thus accumulated charger and got more or less free new batteries.

What I always wore out fastest was the weed whacker, and the circular saw. But i'd get a year out of them, and replace them annually. It was actually cheaper than new Makita batteries all the time. I've not worn out a drill, except by burning them to a crisp in the garage fire.

I do have to say this though, I ran a Makita drill daily for about 20 years, completely losing track of the number of NiCad packs it went through. That drill hung thousands and thousands of cabinets, built god knowhow many decks, etc. If I was a young pup, I'd be looking for a full set of Makita stuff, even if it took years to accumulate it.

Having been in the window covering business for years, I couldnt agree more. Damn Makitas are durable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Have to agree.
Having processed hundreds of Makita packs. The cells are nearly always still balanced, unlike other brands.
They use mainly VT Sony cells, which are a solid cell.