Thanks to Joe, I now have 8 more usable cordless 18V DeWalt tools!
The replacement batteries for the DeWalts are around $130 to $150 a pair —- and are usually shot after 2-4 years of usage.
I have been steadily switching over to Ridgid since it is a top quality brand with a LIFETIME guarantee on the tool AND also the Batteries.
Have around 12-13 Ridgid tools, and (10) DeWalt tools.
And, (9) 18V Ridgid batteries from 2Amp to 6Amp.
The DeWalts were going to have to go away —-
Joe told us about these adapters for 18V tools.
I bought (3) to try them out. About $17-$18 each, free shipping.
They just snap on between a Ridgid battery and the tool.
Works perfectly.
I felt really wasteful and bad about getting rid of the DeWalt's. They are a top quality brand that has never let me down except for the batteries. One of the 1/2" HD drills cost my wife $300 20 years ago —- when she bought it for my birthday.
Now, I will purchase (5) more adapters.
In theory, I will never need to buy 18V batteries for the rest of my life.
Since it has been so cold & snowing some (5") a day ago. 14° Saturday night, 15° last night. I have been working out in the shops since returning home a few days ago. Organizing wrenches, sockets, mechanic tools, benches, and readily accessible storage.
Getting rid of a lot of stuff.
Plus fine tuning everything for the blasting and powder-coating room.
Thanks again, Joe!
Best, Fred
3 adapters sounds like plenty. How many Dewalts can you use simultaneously?
I have Makita 18v tools. If I got a Milwaukee or Dewalt I'd get an adapter so they could use the Makita batteries.
Quote from: MarkT on January 09, 2024, 01:35:25 AM3 adapters sounds like plenty. How many Dewalts can you use simultaneously?
I have Makita 18v tools. If I got a Milwaukee or Dewalt I'd get an adapter so they could use the Makita batteries.
Seldom more than 2 at a time, Mark.
However, I have an upstairs inside reel shop, an outer reel shop, a metal shop, (2) wood shops, a gardening shop, a truck, a travel trailer, and a cabover camper. Plus 3 travel tool boxes for jobs away from home for others. Each has pretty much their own set of tools at hand, to a certain extent, so that there is no wasted motion when working on a project
I just like things to be in readiness. Don't want to get out on a job or in a vehicle and realize the "adapter" is back on another tool in a shop at home.
And these are so cheap and easy —- it just makes sense for me.
I am going to get them so that when I spin-off my tools to someone else —- they will be complete and operational.
I don't even like screwdriver bits if avoidable —- I prefer fixed blade drivers that I don't need to fiddle around with changing out bits.
Plus, you are talking to a guy that got rid of 1500 reels in the last 3 years —- and still has nearly 2000. 😄😄😄
Just my style and preference.
Best, Fred
I have a dewalt 18v cordless drill. Surprising amount of torque on It. It came with 2 batteries. One died within 18mo the other is 10yrs old and lasts a shockingly long time between charges. Luck of the draw it seems. But i noticed the battery case is held together by screws. Can't help wondering if I'd find a replaceable standard-ish sized lithium battery in there.
Most of the batteries from all the mfg's use 18650 cells in their 18-20v batteries.
I use adapters for some old Ryobi tools like a caulking gun.
The one thing I will say about adapters is be cautious of the fact that the adapters don't have the wired connections to pass on monitoring events to the power tool from the sensors in the battery. Some manufacturers use the power tool to monitor the battery thermal and/or battery pack voltage and some have this capability in the battery and pass it to the power tool.
The older blue Ryobi tools will drain the battery pack below the voltage recommended for charging and may prevent the battery from being able to recharged. Most chargers won't charge a battery if it's below a certain voltage. I don't believe this is only true of Ryobi. I think it's true for any manufacture's tool using adapters.
:) There are some battery hacks to get them to charge up . U tube has a bunch from jumping batteries to rapidly plugging and unplugging the charger to trick it .
Where this battery adapter shines is that Ridgid is the only one at this time that replaces the battery for free .
Quote from: MarkT on January 09, 2024, 01:35:25 AM3 adapters sounds like plenty. How many Dewalts can you use simultaneously?
I have Makita 18v tools. If I got a Milwaukee or Dewalt I'd get an adapter so they could use the Makita batteries.
Been rebuilding a deck; have three DW's lined up at once: torx driverr for screws, drill bit, and hammer drill to drive lags in banding. Spare batteries for each (and got the adaptor for 18V). Also needing circular saw and palm sander on the bucks cutting to get lumber to the other three, so yeah, lot of batteries. Plus jigging post notches.
Quote from: thorhammer on January 09, 2024, 08:19:54 PMQuote from: MarkT on January 09, 2024, 01:35:25 AM3 adapters sounds like plenty. How many Dewalts can you use simultaneously?
I have Makita 18v tools. If I got a Milwaukee or Dewalt I'd get an adapter so they could use the Makita batteries.
Been rebuilding a deck; have three DW's lined up at once: torx driverr for screws, drill bit, and hammer drill to drive lags in banding. Spare batteries for each (and got the adaptor for 18V). Also needing circular saw and palm sander on the bucks cutting to get lumber to the other three, so yeah, lot of batteries. Plus jigging post notches.
I often have multiple going at the same time but anything I was using with an adapter would to fill in a slot that I didn't have covered in my main lineup. Why go with 3+ Milwaukee's with adapters if you're a Dewalt guy? Just to use something different? I'm not that fond of Makita's multitools so I may go for a Dewalt/Milwaukee with an adapter.
These are a good idea and have been around for a long time, besides other manufacturers, selling knock off batteries, that fit the same tools. If anybody has a tool battery that will not charge, all you do is hook it to a much stronger battery, you'll need a jumper wire, to jump it though!
Go positive to positive, negative to negative, then arch it a few times. You also can hook it to a battery charger, put nails in the terminals and keep contacting the battery, pos-pos, neg-neg until there are no more arc sparks!
Then pop the battery in the charger and should take a charge. No problem!
I'm still using the original old ni-cad batteries here, that are about 20 years old
Not sure, if you can do that with lithiums or not, but probably a hack for them too, as well lol!
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on January 09, 2024, 02:20:38 AMI have a dewalt 18v cordless drill. Surprising amount of torque on It. It came with 2 batteries. One died within 18mo the other is 10yrs old and lasts a shockingly long time between charges. Luck of the draw it seems. But i noticed the battery case is held together by screws. Can't help wondering if I'd find a replaceable standard-ish sized lithium battery in there.
Why not just rebuild your other battery?
Plenty of videos on YouTube of them hacking Harbor freight batteries up, To put the cells in other tool batteries.
Just an idea?
Although, the rigid battery deal, is starting to look pretty appetizing lol!
I hate battery operated tools! I can string out a cord and be done with the job before a dang dead battery charges up. I have one battery operated drill, a 12v Bosch, and the battery ends up being dead everytime I think about using it. Replacement batteries for that thing cost more than I paid for the stupid drill did when I bought it. I wish they made some type of decent replacement for it, the drill is actually pretty nice if it wasn't for the battery always being dead.
I wish I understood this stuff better. I have a really nice Dewalt 20V drill. But I still find myself grabbing first my Dad's old Makita 9V that is probably older than most of our forum members...I have 3 batteries for it, only one of which still actually charges and holds a charge. - john
Fred,
those adapters are nice, one word of caution:
please be mindful of the state of charge of your batts or temp. The adapters use only 2 pins to convey power and does not have the other pins for other functions.
You are ok as long as you use Ridgid, Milwaukee etc batts with onboard BMSs.
Dewalt is batts do not have true on board BMSs.
Quote from: Brewcrafter on January 10, 2024, 05:29:41 AMI wish I understood this stuff better. I have a really nice Dewalt 20V drill. But I still find myself grabbing first my Dad's old Makita 9V that is probably older than most of our forum members...I have 3 batteries for it, only one of which still actually charges and holds a charge. - john
Those old Makita's with the 9v nicad stick batteries are what started the cordless tool revolution many moons ago!
I had a couple of those 9.6V turquoise Makitas. First one was back in '84 or '85.
Great tools!
The new Makitas are excellent also.
Problem isn't the tools —- it is the inconvenience and extremely expensive batteries.
Just like with printers and replacement ink cartridges, razor blades, and the electronics we all use today for tech —- we just need to get over the idea of keeping something that doesn't work. A device, tool, or razor blade is useless when we are trying to make it work when it won't. It is a different world than a lot of us grew up in.
Since I have (9) Ridgid batteries guaranteed for life —- and the DeWalt tools are so good —- this was a no-brainer. About half of my tools are corded —- about half are cordless.
I have also the little 12V Milwaukee's —- couple of drill/drivers —- and a couple of impacts. Plus an oscillating multi tool. They are now 15 years old —- bulletproof —- and the batteries are still very good!
Best, Fred
Quote from: Brewcrafter on January 10, 2024, 05:29:41 AMI wish I understood this stuff better. I have a really nice Dewalt 20V drill. But I still find myself grabbing first my Dad's old Makita 9V that is probably older than most of our forum members...I have 3 batteries for it, only one of which still actually charges and holds a charge. - john
Still have a 9.6 V Makita hear myself, got to be 20 years old lol! Still using the original battery, although it doesn't hold a charge like it used to!
All you have to do, is jump those Ni-cads like I described above. What happens, is crystals form on the cells(plates) and will not let them charge. In theory, by arcing the dead battery, it break up some of those crystals that are on the plates inside, letting the battery charge again. I'm sure somebody will jump in with the scientific explanation shortly lol!
After you get a battery up and running again, each time it charges, it usually gets a little better run time! I've had mixed results with this, have four lithium, Ryobi batteries here, but still using all of my old batteries as well.
Maybe I can do a little video real quick, if I get the chance shortly!
Took a nasty fall in the mud last night, from all the rain walking the dog in 70 mph gust!
Literally mud-skated, a good 7-8 foot, before I went down, like a 315 pound bag of rocks!
We'll see if the video will load up!
I alway always seem to have a problem!
Sorry, won't upload for some reason!
Try converting your .mov file to a .mpg file and then try uploading the file.
Use this link (https://invideo.io/tools/convert/convert-mov-to-mpg/) to convert the file.
- Click on the "Select your MOV file" button.
- Drop your file into the drop area. Note: the file must be less than 800MB.
- Select the file format for the conversion "mpg"
- Click the "Convert File button"
The site will prompt you when its ready to download. Download the file and then try uploading it here.
Quote from: jtwill98 on January 11, 2024, 02:20:58 AMTry converting your .mov file to a .mpg file and then try uploading the file.
Use this link (https://invideo.io/tools/convert/convert-mov-to-mpg/) to convert the file.
- Click on the "Select your MOV file" button.
- Drop your file into the drop area. Note: the file must be less than 800MB.
- Select the file format for the conversion "mpg"
- Click the "Convert File button"
The site will prompt you when its ready to download. Download the file and then try uploading it here.
Thanks for the tip, but really not sure what you're talking about lol?
Unfortunately, I am one of the technically challenged, when it comes to computers or phones lol!
Only have this happen, here at AT.
Such is life.
My gardener has cancer and has retired suddenly... he's much older than me so I get it. I think I'm going to do my yard myself now that I'm retired. I was looking to get an Ego blower/trimmer/mower. My son is a fan of the Harbor Freight Atlas 80v stuff. It's certainly cheaper than the Ego stuff. Any opinions?
With our struggling currency high level battery charged tools are simply stupidly expensive. Been through 3 cordless drills now two were Bosch, simply no point in even trying to replace the batteries. They sell them on specials with batteries, 1 replacement battery is almost as much as the drill. My plug in bosch drill has been abused for over 20 years and just keeps on going through concrete or whatever I throw at it.
Buying battery operated tools are just like buying an ink jet printer, buy it and then spend a fortune being able to keep it operating. I've owned 3 battery operated drills since the mid '80s. I wish I would never have wasted my $ on any of them. Everytime I went to use one it seemed like the battery was dead & I ended up using a corded drill.
The argument for battery powered tools, to me, has nothing to do with the batteries. DC motors can handle a slow start a lot better than an AC motor. If I'm drilling I think i prefer AC but if I'm putting in screws that i don't want to strip then DC all the way.
You know how many tapcon heads I've ruined with an AC drill? More than i care to count. Can't say that about DC powered drills.
And i don't know of any DC motor drills that sre corded.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on January 11, 2024, 04:43:58 PMThe argument for battery powered tools, to me, has nothing to do with the batteries. DC motors can handle a slow start a lot better than an AC motor. If I'm drilling I think i prefer AC but if I'm putting in screws that i don't want to strip then DC all the way.
You know how many tapcon heads I've ruined with an AC drill? More than i care to count. Can't say that about DC powered drills.
And i don't know of any DC motor drills that sre corded.
That all depends on the quality of the variable speed drill one is using and how well versed they are at using it.
Personally, though, I would never use any type of power driver on a fishing reel. I prefer to feel the amount of torque I'm needing or producing.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on January 11, 2024, 05:59:49 PMThat all depends on the quality of the variable speed drill one is using and how well versed they are at using it.
Personally, though, I would never use any type of power driver on a fishing reel. I prefer to feel the amount of torque I'm needing or producing.
Fair, maybe it is the quality of the drill. I didn't grow up with quality tools. But I have a dewalt plug in and a dewalt cordless. And I know which I'd use for a screw.
Wholeheartedly agreed though on not using power tools on or in a reel (with the exception of my home made power winder but thats different). I'm talking about wood or concrete screws here.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on January 11, 2024, 04:28:15 PMBuying battery operated tools are just like buying an ink jet printer, buy it and then spend a fortune being able to keep it operating. I've owned 3 battery operated drills since the mid '80s. I wish I would never have wasted my $ on any of them. Everytime I went to use one it seemed like the battery was dead & I ended up using a corded drill.
I use corded tools also. However, when at the end of our property, or on a jobsite —- an extension cord is not always possible, quick, or convenient. Plus, I also use these on our trailer stabilizer jacks, and on the camper jacks when traveling.
The Ridgid batteries are very good. They even have a push button illuminated indicator that shows the juice left in the battery.
Very handy.
Plus, I keep my batteries charged up —- and snap them on when going to use them.
If they ever fail —- Home Depot gives me a new one —- for life.
In 3 years —- there have been no failures. And when I go to use one —- they are ready. When they will fail —- Home Depot will be around when others have gone under. Each battery has a serial number that must be registered within 90 days of purchase to be guaranteed for life.
Plus, if you haven't used a Ridgid or DeWalt tool —- you are in for an impressive time. They are both tough, great features, and just "feel" good. The torque on these surpass almost any other battery similar tool.
Now, for ink cartridges —-
Forget about inkjet printers.
If you have one —- toss it in the trash.
The cartridges cost $30-$40 each —- and will do only 250-300 pages before running out of ink, or drying up.
Instead, get a Canon D-570 black & white laser printer that uses powdered toner cartridges instead of ink. One cartridge will print 2500 to 3000 pages. I use after-market cartridges (which work just the same as factory Canon's) which are about $12-$13 each. It will work with any computer, laptop, tablet, or phone.
It is wireless or cabled depending on your device.
Extremely high consumer ratings.
Regularly $179 —- on sale now for $99.
There is no ink mess, it is clean, and just makes sense.
Plus, I am not spending what seemed like $80 every 3 months for ink cartridges.
Inkjet printers are engineered and designed to drain your wallet.
Inexpensive, basic laser black & white printers are designed to capably print a lot of documents quickly and cheaply. The inkjet companies will never admit this.
Just my thoughts based on personal experience.
Best, Fred
Yes, inkjet printers bad, laser printers good. I've had laser printers since the 80's... I had a xerox followed by a NEC Silentwriter... the 1st postscript printer you could buy. I saw an article on it in computer week, called my wife and read it to her. She called the distributor to see where she could get one. They were just arriving at their warehouse. She had them leave one on the loading dock and she picked it up that day! I took the xerox to work and used it there for a while (work used them as department printers) and later sold it to one of the guys I worked with.
Color inkjet isn't real kind on the pocketbook, either. I try not to print a whole lot these days, but when I do at least 60% is in color.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on January 11, 2024, 06:35:15 PMQuote from: Midway Tommy on January 11, 2024, 05:59:49 PMThat all depends on the quality of the variable speed drill one is using and how well versed they are at using it.
Personally, though, I would never use any type of power driver on a fishing reel. I prefer to feel the amount of torque I'm needing or producing.
Fair, maybe it is the quality of the drill. I didn't grow up with quality tools. But I have a dewalt plug in and a dewalt cordless. And I know which I'd use for a screw.
Wholeheartedly agreed though on not using power tools on or in a reel (with the exception of my home made power winder but thats different). I'm talking about wood or concrete screws here.
I have 3 old metal body 3/8" variable speed Craftsmans that I bought back in the '70s, and a similar Makita from the '90s. The Makita doesn't hold a candle, quality or power wise, to those Craftsmans. The Craftsman variable speeds are so precise power & torque wise that they don't even need a clutch to snug the screw head down flush. I used those things for 40 years hinging & hanging doors and they're still going strong. That's what buying quality in the first place and taking care of it does for you, you only have to buy things once. :)
Yes this is very cool 8) How we got from battery adapters to inkjet printers in two pages?
:d
Quote from: MarkT on January 11, 2024, 04:33:36 AMMy gardener has cancer and has retired suddenly... he's much older than me so I get it. I think I'm going to do my yard myself now that I'm retired. I was looking to get an Ego blower/trimmer/mower. My son is a fan of the Harbor Freight Atlas 80v stuff. It's certainly cheaper than the Ego stuff. Any opinions?
Ryobi - get their 40v stuff from DTO (refurb or scratch and dent), wait for their sale (nearly few times a month)
Quote from: MarkT on January 11, 2024, 04:33:36 AMMy gardener has cancer and has retired suddenly... he's much older than me so I get it. I think I'm going to do my yard myself now that I'm retired. I was looking to get an Ego blower/trimmer/mower. My son is a fan of the Harbor Freight Atlas 80v stuff. It's certainly cheaper than the Ego stuff. Any opinions?
I've been happy with the EGO blower and trimmer I've had for the past 6 years or so. Parts are readily available for the trimmer, I have found out. Haven't tried the mower yet, but a couple of friends are happy with theirs. We've got the chainsaw and hedge trimmer also, plus the EGO inverter to use with the battery for light 110v power when we're camping.
My son was pushing the Atlas line from Harbor Freight as well, but, I decided to stick with my current battery platform and went with Makita blower, string trimmer and mower to go with my pole hedge trimmer.
The current northern tier dead EV battery debacle with little to no way of rectifying it other than God and Mother Nature has reinforced hesitation toward battery operated equipment. ;D