Are Power Tool Battery Adapters Worth Buying? – Review Geek

These adapters work, however at what prices?

You should buy an influence instrument adapter and use a battery with completely different manufacturers. Nevertheless, it isn’t the very best thought and will even destroy your instruments.

In relation to cordless energy instruments, you’ve a number of choices to select from. Sadly, lots of people find yourself shopping for a number of manufacturers with completely different battery packs. In case you’re eager about getting an influence instrument battery adapter to run a Milwaukee instrument with a spare DeWALT or Snap-On battery, right here’s what you could know.

We advocate sticking to one brand so the identical battery works with all of your instruments, however not everybody has that luxurious. Because of this, you may simply discover a slew of cheaply made battery adapters all around the web, however are they definitely worth the danger?

What to Know About Energy Software Battery Adapters

With out going an excessive amount of into the technical particulars, an influence instrument battery adapter permits you to use a battery from one model with a special model energy instrument. Within the instance above, the adapter plugs right into a DeWALT or Milwaukee 18V battery cell, reworking it into the male finish of a battery that works with Ryobi instruments.

Battery adapters are primarily low cost plastic with the proper contact pins to ship energy from an influence instrument battery into a special kind, which inserts different instruments. That sounds wonderful, proper? Nicely, not so quick.

What Are the Dangers?

For starters, it’ll completely void any guarantee in your instrument or battery. Extra importantly, these energy instrument battery adapters solely have a optimistic and detrimental pin going into the battery. As compared, official battery packs from Snap-On, DeWALT, and others have 3-4 pins. That’s as a result of the battery and gear discuss to one another, in a way, and have protections built-in to make sure the very best efficiency.

As of late energy instruments are fairly fancy. Some even include a DRM chip guaranteeing it’ll solely work with the same-brand battery with an identical chip. Extra importantly, energy instruments and battery packs have an digital safety system (EPS) built-in. So what’s EPS? It primarily permits for communication between battery and machine, which helps shield in opposition to overheating, overvoltage, overloading, and overcharge and even prevents over-discharging.

Most instruments have a battery-saver mode, which shuts down the battery when it’s not in use. These adapters don’t provide any communication between the instrument and the battery, and that’s not good. You can overheat and fritter away a motor or drain a battery too far and completely harm the cells, which suggests it’ll by no means cost to 100% once more.

Moreover, I’ve tried an adapter, and even when the instrument isn’t in use, it’ll repeatedly draw energy, draining the battery. In case you depart it on the adapter, the following time you employ your instrument, it’ll have a lifeless battery, doubtlessly one so lifeless it received’t settle for a cost.

All these adapters have a warning that claims to not use them to cost your battery. That’s possible as a result of the adapter kills any communication with the charger. I’m assuming the identical communication subject exists whereas utilizing instruments.

When a instrument isn’t speaking to the battery pack correctly since you’re utilizing an adapter, all it will get is infinite energy to “go” with out eager about all these different protections often in place. This implies it received’t stability efficiency with battery utilization, handle the voltage correctly, or ship the correct quantity of energy.

Think about utilizing a 20V battery on a 12V instrument, which is now getting an excessive amount of energy as a result of your adapter isn’t permitting the 2 to speak. That’s a recipe for catastrophe. Principally, utilizing energy instrument battery adapters may doubtlessly harm your fancy energy instrument or these pricey additional battery packs.

Do Energy Software Battery Adapters Work?

I do know you’re in all probability considering, however wait, DeWALT and different manufacturers promote adapters. And also you’re proper. DeWALT presents an 18V to 20V battery adapter for around $40. This useful adapter permits 20V battery packs to run choose 18V instruments. Nevertheless, the corporate has an extended checklist of instruments it received’t work with, possible as a result of it’s unsafe.

Energy instrument battery adapters completely work, even if you happen to purchase a cheap no-name model from Amazon. Nevertheless, shopping for one from the precise producer may be very completely different, because it makes use of all the identical contact pins and communicates the proper voltage to the instrument.

You should buy an adapter that’ll suit your battery and gear, and I wager it really works simply high quality. There are numerous movies throughout YouTube displaying exactly that. These adapters work, however it’s as much as you to resolve if it’s definitely worth the danger.

Are Software Battery Adapters Value Shopping for?

Are these adapters price shopping for? That’s so that you can resolve. Positive, it’ll prevent some cash within the brief time period, and also you received’t want one other battery.

Nevertheless, taking that shortcut and utilizing an adapter may finally kill your battery or instrument, negating any potential financial savings. You can find yourself needing to switch a much more costly machine. Actually, for small low cost drills, you’re in all probability high quality, however I definitely received’t be utilizing adapters on any of my greater, highly effective, costly instruments.

In case you use energy instruments every day for a occupation, guaranteeing these instruments are prepared for the job is essential, and I’d advise in opposition to adapters. We don’t advocate buying off-brand or refurbished battery packs for most of the similar causes. You need to have faith that your instruments are prepared with out the worry of an inexpensive battery operating out too rapidly or an overpowered adapter burning up the motor.

Energy instruments are costly, and so are lithium-ion battery packs nowadays. I get it. In case you’re in search of an answer, take into account getting an reasonably priced HART power tool from Walmart.

In closing, I’ve a number of Ryobi instruments which can be round ten years outdated that run nice, and the battery packs maintain sufficient cost to get most jobs completed. If, through the years, I pushed that influence driver with a special battery and low cost adapters, do you suppose it’d nonetheless final ten years? That’s uncertain and never a danger I’m prepared to take.