Dewalt Cordless... 18V or 20V w/ adapter?

Caver Dave

Caver Dave

Just holdin' it down here in BFV
Moderator
Joined
Mar 10, 2005
Location
Hooterville (24171)
So, over the weekend inherited a set of Dewalt 18V tools (drill, circular saw, recip saw, snake light) with NO batteries or charger.

Appears to be a toss up ($$ wise) between:
-18V charger & 3ah Ni-Cad batteries
+ OE fit/function
-20V charger, 18v/20V adapter, and variety of 2/3/4ah Ni-MH/Li batteries
+ Longer runtimes(?), lighter, future-proofing should these go south or need additional 20V
- Adapter is clunky & appears to have been designed by a 5 y/o

What would you do?
 
I haven't had any issues with my 18v dewalt stuff. I'm not to keen on adapting the 18v to 20v even with the dewalkt adapter. More weight etc. I am getting good run time out of my batteries as well. Maybe try craigslist/ebay to score some batteries/chargers?
 
I just ordered the adapter and battery kit, hasn't arrived yet. I have soooooo many Dewalt tools that all with great and 10 dead batteries laying around. I wanted an impact driver so I bought the combo pack and the 2 extra batteries with adapter and charger, cause I need 2 chargers too. I'll let you know how it works out in a couple days. I'll probably order another adapter too, cause could use 2 of those also!
 
Caver Dave said:
So, over the weekend inherited a set of Dewalt 18V tools (drill, circular saw, recip saw, snake light) with NO batteries or charger.

Appears to be a toss up ($$ wise) between:
-18V charger & 3ah Ni-Cad batteries
+ OE fit/function
-20V charger, 18v/20V adapter, and variety of 2/3/4ah Ni-MH/Li batteries
+ Longer runtimes(?), lighter, future-proofing should these go south or need additional 20V
- Adapter is clunky & appears to have been designed by a 5 y/o

What would you do?
Click to expand...

I would get the adapter and two lithium batteries and charger,

And then keep an eye out at Lowes special price, they will have 2 nicad for $99.

This way if you buy any new tools, you already have 2 lithium batteries and charger, and will be able to run lithium in any older tool.

I would only buy nicad of the batteries are on sale cheap.

Otherwise get the adapter and start collecting lithium batteries
 
Im glad they came up with the adapter but it does look poorly designed and massive.

Im an a similar road, have a few dewalt 18v stuff that works fine. Also have a milwaukee 28v drill that i love. The 28v isnt going anywhere currently. So do i get new tools in the 20v dewalt or jump ship all together to m18 fuel or similar?
 
I've had a LOT of 18 volt Dewalt drills in my time (previous boss insisted that everyone had a Dewalt drill so that on big installs, we could all swap between batteries). Went through at least one a year. Most always destroyed keyless chucks before anything else, but did have some batteries go bad.

I would agree with mbalbritton..... they are not the greatest equipment when brand new, so used ones will not get better with age. throwing money at them is kinda fruitless.
 
I'm in the same boat and I'm looking at getting the adapter for my 18V stuff. One thing I noticed in the fine print is the DeWalt P/N DCA 2203C (18V/20V adapter, 2 2 Ah batteries and a charger) states the adapter only works with the 1.5 & 2 Ah Li-ion batteries. If you're thinking of running the 5 Ah batteries, like I was, the adapter won't accept them according to what I found on the interwebs.
 
tlucier said:
states the adapter only works with the 1.5 & 2 Ah Li-ion batteries. If you're thinking of running the 5 Ah batteries, like I was, the adapter won't accept them according to what I found on the interwebs.
Click to expand...

Bastards! :flipoff:
Likely a case of melting the conductors in the adapter? Wonder if it's a physical barrier/key that could be ground off to allow them to fit?
 
I will gladly dispose of any and all 18v Dewalt stuff(tools, batteries, chargers) at no charge:D
 
Last edited:
Honestly, Once you've tried 20v Lit-Ion with a Brushless motor, you'll wonder why you wasted time and money trying to retrofit an old 18v Ni-Cad. There's so much torque it'll put a hurting on your wrist to the point you can forget about bopping your bologna for a week.
 
mbalbritton said:
Honestly, Once you've tried 20v Lit-Ion with a Brushless motor, you'll wonder why you wasted time and money trying to retrofit an old 18v Ni-Cad. There's so much torque it'll put a hurting on your wrist to the point you can forget about bopping your bologna for a week.
Click to expand...

obullfish said:
Just go to Hilti and don't look back. They do require you to give an arm and a leg or your left nut.
Click to expand...

I guess since you're already giving you left nut, not bopping your bologna won't be as much of an issue...
 
I've been using the 20v Dewalt tools at home and work for the past year and have been very impressed. I was a die hard Milwaukee 28v fan before. I am disappointed that Dewalt now has 60v tools or some horseshit out now. Does this mean they are phasing out the 20v line and will batteries and replacement items for the 20v line now dry up?
 
flatbedtoy said:
I am disappointed that Dewalt now has 60v tools or some horseshit out now. Does this mean they are phasing out the 20v line and will batteries and replacement items for the 20v line now dry up?
Click to expand...



My buddy just bought the 60 volt chop saw. He said the 60 volt batteries would run the 20 volt tools....I'll let you know how it works when I shove one in his 20v tools next time I help him work :lol:
 
Caver Dave said:
Yeah, cause it's only them and not Makita, PorterCable, Milwaukee, Ryobi, etc... :D
Click to expand...
As far as I can tell, the only ones doing it are Dewalt and Porter Cable ( owned by dewalt).
 
Here ya go @flatbedtoy. No need to worry now, worked fine and didn't melt in my hands when I used it :D

KIMG0612.jpg
 
YJJPWrangler said:
I will gladly dispose of any and all 18v Dewalt stuff(tools, batteries, chargers) at no charge:D
Click to expand...

I have a bunch of batteries that are a year old and won't hold a charge. Where should I send them?
 
I've had my 18v batteries for a few years now. They don't see everyday use, but they do get used quite a bit.
 
Back
Top