A month ago, local tool supply store had DeWalt 20v drill + 2 batteries + charger kits for significantly less than the identical 2 batteries + charger kit sans drill. The savings more than paid for the LiIon adapter. Dunno how they do that at a profit. Didn’t need the drill, but a no-brainer to convert my few old DeWalt NiCad tools to LiIOn. There might be similar deals local to you or online.
slmjim
Good deal. I’d grab a deal like that. Around here there are no tool stores except HD. I’ll probably have to wait for a Black Friday deal or something like that.
Anyone know how the 20v 2AH lithiums compare to the old 18v XRPs. I think they were rated 4AH.
Keep an eye on Amazon for sales.
Not much different than with stock cell, li ion cells are actually lighter, the adapter is not heavy few oz at most. why they pull current when not running, my guess it has to do with voltage regulator that is always on when battery is attached.
Oem 18v were 2 or 2,4AH, not 4, dewalt used only sub c nicd in 18v, there were aftermarket 18v with nimh cells, but they had mixed reviews, i never tried them, went straight to oem dewalt adapter and li ion battery
I caught a sale at HD for 2 20v max batteries and a charger for $80. One 2ah and one 5ah. I figured I’d pick up either the DeWalt adapter or an after market set on Amazon. After doing a lot of research I was bummed to learn neither adapters have low voltage protection. 18 volt tools don’t have it and the batteries don’t so you’re left to self monitor the batteries. With the cheap knock offs I would expect this but the DeWalt adapters aren’t cheap.
In my experience you will notice when battery is getting low, I never had any li ion dewalt tool shut off on low voltage, I feel loss of power and replace them before shut off is triggered. Also oem adapter has 4 pins, and it is not for charging/balance, cuz dewalt warns not to charge li ion in adapter using nicd charger. so more than likely oem adapter it does have shut off
The OEM has no shut off according to DeWalt. They recommend as you said to stop when the tool feels weaker. I can handle that as long as others don’t use it. Whatever, it was my best choice other than tossing my collection of 18 volt tools. I was hoping someone reputable was making 18 volt packs but they all seemed the same . Cheap enough but poor run times.
Of course not, dewalt shut off is neither in adapter nor a tool, it is inside oem battery, it only sends signal to the tool to stop running. the adapter has a parasitic drain, and there is no shut off for that, leave it in for long, and it discharges to 0 and bms bricks it. that is what they meant.
On some hobbyist sites, they do mention DeWalt has taken the (in my opinion, strange) choice of putting the LVP into the tool rather than the battery pack:
https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil_Power_Supplies#Tool_Batteries_18V-21V.
I’ve not tested the LVP protection of my 18V packs and am unlikely to.
If the battery can send a signal to the tool it can send a signal to the adapter if DeWalt wanted to. No reason not to incorporate it into the adapter, an accessory meant to be used with tools without the proper safety built in. I think they are afraid of voltage sag when working the tool shutting things down. If the tool has a working LVP no reason the adapter can’t have it to.
You answered your own question, they do monitor sag which only happens under load, not parasitic drain. There is no reason why they could not do something about parasitic drain either, yet here we are, Maybe, just maybe they do know something we do not.
Why does oem adapter have 4 pins? they are not for charging, dewalt explicitly says not to charge it in the adapter, so what is the purpose of 2 extra pins?
Aftermarket ones have only 2 and no electronics inside, unless usb port is incorporated, oem has a complicated circuit board, why do you think they put it there?
In any case, do you have the adapter? did you run battery to the point no bars light up?
YEs, the shut off is in the tool, but the signal that controls it, comes from the battery
Now CS Is telling me the batteries do have lvp and will shut down with 18 volt tools using their adapter. I think it is AI so I dont trust it.
LMAO, of course I’m an AI my goal is to confuse the crap out of you.
The 20v max packs do not have any lvp,ovp.
They literally bring the + and - along with the balance taps and thermister out through the connector.
That said i have some old nicad tools with 20vmax adapters and have no problem managing the packs.
I can feel it drop off and swap packs.
And since i rebuild the packs even if i did kill one its not such a big deal.
The packs should be stored off the tools or adapters anyway so the small parasitic drain cant overdischarge the pack.
My ryobi stuff has a bms in the pack so they are much safer for off tool uses like running a powerwheels toy