DeWalt 20V Cordless Batteries?

[kmmcrafts]

I'm in need of some new batteries.. it seems like my batteries are dying out very quickly.. as I would kind of expect for a 12 year old battery to do. I used to be lucky to get a year or slightly more out of the old Nicad batteries so when DeWalt came out with the 20V max lithium I bought a new drill.. think this was around 2011 - 12 ish.. 

Used to be some places that rebuilt the battery packs, is that still a thing and has anyone had it done? if so was it worth it? Next thing is, I've seen some offbranded "for DeWalt" batteries on eBay. Anyone have any experience with them? Anyplace a good place to order or go to to get a decent deal on these I'm all ears.. and welcome your thoughts on this. 

So far from what I'm seeing, the batteries are costing more than I paid for the drill with flashlight and two batteries back in the day.. also costing way more than the HF Bauer drill with batteries, plus I already have 3 of their batteries for other tools I have from them. Not sure if it's worth spending $100 + on batteries for the only DeWalt cordless tool I have.. 

I did buy an adapter so i could use the Bauer 20V batteries with my DeWalt drill.. been there done that and while it does work, the connection can get jarred around while using it and make the drill stop until I fiddle with the adapter / battery and that concerns me with burning something up with having it have a loose connection is not very good for neither the tool or battery. Maybe there is a better quality adapter out there?

 

[OCtoolguy]

42 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I'm in need of some new batteries.. it seems like my batteries are dying out very quickly.. as I would kind of expect for a 12 year old battery to do. I used to be lucky to get a year or slightly more out of the old Nicad batteries so when DeWalt came out with the 20V max lithium I bought a new drill.. think this was around 2011 - 12 ish.. 

Used to be some places that rebuilt the battery packs, is that still a thing and has anyone had it done? if so was it worth it? Next thing is, I've seen some offbranded "for DeWalt" batteries on eBay. Anyone have any experience with them? Anyplace a good place to order or go to to get a decent deal on these I'm all ears.. and welcome your thoughts on this. 

So far from what I'm seeing, the batteries are costing more than I paid for the drill with flashlight and two batteries back in the day.. also costing way more than the HF Bauer drill with batteries, plus I already have 3 of their batteries for other tools I have from them. Not sure if it's worth spending $100 + on batteries for the only DeWalt cordless tool I have.. 

I did buy an adapter so i could use the Bauer 20V batteries with my DeWalt drill.. been there done that and while it does work, the connection can get jarred around while using it and make the drill stop until I fiddle with the adapter / battery and that concerns me with burning something up with having it have a loose connection is not very good for neither the tool or battery. Maybe there is a better quality adapter out there?

 

Take it a pawn shop and then spend whatever they give you on a new Bauer drill/battery.

 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Take it a pawn shop and then spend whatever they give you on a new Bauer drill/battery.

 

That's what I've been considering doing...

I have finally found some more reasonable priced batteries for the DeWalt now that I've spent hours looking. I think the issue with dewalt is so many options.. Most batteries I've been seeing in my searches have been the bigger 5 amp hour or bigger.. I don't need that much battery for a drill I don't really use a lot.. The ones I have are only 1.3 amp hour and when new it lasted a good while and I used it a lot more back then. Last summer while building some projects that I used 3" deck screws on I could only put about 20 screws in and the battery was dead.. lucky I have two batteries so I just keep swapping them out and could get a job done okay still.. but I know I'm going to need to replace the batteries or get a new drill. Not really wanting the bigger batteries either as the larger they are the heavier the drill gets too. Okay for most of my uses but it could be tiring on a bigger job.. was amazed at how much heavier the drill was with the HF 5 amp hour battery on it with the adapter. Adapter is just a lightweight piece of plastic so it was all that bigger battery that made the difference

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Now Kevin come on. You are intelligent. Any battery operated tool, the battery is not going to last forever. yes the battery cost more that the drill and thus why they sell drills so cheap. It is a platform that they want you to buy in on and have all tools work off those batteries. But that makes sense because then battery cost is worth the money. Plain and simple. Even the Bauer line if you only owned one tool the battery will cost more than the tool and if not the first time then the next time. But if you love HF Bauer line then stay with their tools. Do not start different platforms because it will get costly. Again you being intelligent I do not need to tell you this but the higher up the AH rating is the more expensive the battery because of the amount of cells needed and size of them. For the Dewalt drill the 2 AH original battery line is the cheapest and will serve you well. Probably that is what they came with I bet.  Unless you use it for long periods of time at one time. Batterys have certain amount of recharge life in them. Depending on normal use that is about 300 to 500 times the life of a battery. But just like a car battery they wear the cells down each time recharged. Now if you let a battery drain down all the way then you shorten the life of the battery. Same with a car battery. Thus an alternator. With battery operated tools it is best to stick the battery on charger after use of tool. 

Yes they still rebuild these batteries and if you go on ebay you will see refurbished Dewalt batteries. Yes there are many off brand batteries that fit multiple platforms and yes they work but they more than likely use less quality cells. Thus the cheaper prices. It is not only the name Dewalt you are paying for but quality. 

Dewalt now sells 4 different grade batteries as you probably know and it is just a matter of time Bauer will be doing the same thing. 

Standard 20V Max  professional. Lowest price

20V Max XR 50% more power and longer life span (comes in 2 varieties and these are new technology just on the market)

20V Max XR Powerstack these are flat lithium batteries stacked which makes the case slimmer and lighter. Down side is a little less voltage but still powerful

20V Max XR PowerPacks these are back to the round cells that we all know. But heavier duty. 20 volts and most powerful and longer life span 

Finally the latest to match all the large tools FlexVolt batteries. These are a combination 20 volt and 60 volt batteries so can be used in both tools. The big difference with these is the tool tells battery what voltage it needs. 20 volts, then the cells are wired in parallel. If it is a 60 volt tool it tells battery to wire in series thus producing 60 volts. Now at 20 volts the power is great and the run time is longest of all batteries. 60 volt still powerful but run time is shorter. These are and always will be the most expensive batteries. But you get what you pay for. 

Does not answer your question but gives a little insight to the world of Dewalt that is always upgrading technology. As I said I bet Bauer will follow in their footsteps. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

The run time between 2AH and 3 AH is tremendous so do not look at it that way. Also 3AH battery is as light as 2AH. 

[kmmcrafts]

5 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

The run time between 2AH and 3 AH is tremendous so do not look at it that way. Also 3AH battery is as light as 2AH. 

Was wondering about the weight of them and what differences they were, I did see several different battery types and was specifically trying to look at the standard 20V max which is what came with my drill. I wasn't sure if they were all interchangeable or not so thank you for clearing some of this up for me. 

 

[kmmcrafts]

I think I'm going to go with a 2 amp hour battery I found new in package for $28 free shipping.. The two older batteries work quite a long time in the flashlight which I use quite a lot too like every night. The one that came with my drill was only 1.3 amp hour so this is a bit bigger and probably better than what I have when it was new.. doubtful the weight is much more.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

The 1.3AH batteries were the first lithium ion batteries they put in low drain tools such as flashlights. Drills usually got the 2AH batteries. Moving up to a 3 AH battery is a big jump and the more you go up the power increases and so does the run time. Many times if you had a 2AH and a 3AH battery or even higher, when putting a drill under strain you will hear the drill bog down easier with the lower rating. Thus more power. Put one of those flex batteries on a drill and that thing will go for hours. And sound like a drill. This info is the same across the board with any battery. The old Nicad batteries died alot quicker and the big thing with those was they had a memory problem. Those you were told to drain battery fully before charging or else it will only charge up to the area that it was charging at. 

[BadBob]

Battery Souce rebuilds batteries. It is on their website.

When I shop for batteries, I compare their cost per amp hour. 5 and 6 amp hour batteries usually win.

I not only use lithium batteries for tools, but I use them for hurricane prep. Work lights are much better for lighting than flashlights. You can run/charge a tablet or phone off a DeWalt battery for a long time.

[kmmcrafts]

25 minutes ago, BadBob said:

Battery Souce rebuilds batteries. It is on their website.

When I shop for batteries, I compare their cost per amp hour. 5 and 6 amp hour batteries usually win.

I not only use lithium batteries for tools, but I use them for hurricane prep. Work lights are much better for lighting than flashlights. You can run/charge a tablet or phone off a DeWalt battery for a long time.

Yes, I looked at it from a cost per amp hour too and the 5-6 amp hour were the best deal looking at it that way.. Just to run a drill and flashlight and weight being a concern I went with a 2 amp hour. I don't want to hang a heavy drill off my belt and pull my pants off while trying to work is my biggest weight on the drill concern. It's not that I'm a weakling as I regularly use my sons 1" Milwaukee impact with 12 amp hour battery that weighs more than 4 of my drills.. but I'm not up in an attic, or on the roof with it hanging off my belt either.. 

[rjweb]

Right now a lot of the big box stores are offering free tools if you buy the battery, RJ

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 hours ago, rjweb said:

Right now a lot of the big box stores are offering free tools if you buy the battery, RJ

Yea because that how they  suck you in and the money is in the battery not so much the tools. But again Dewalt is a very good line of tools to be in with. They keep expanding and upgrading the batteries that can be used for years to come. They are used in the trades alot. Is there better choices, probably yes. I can see Festool going down this road of continue expanding their line. Their batteris being any better I doubt it. They pride themselves on tool quality.  

Edited December 5 by JTTHECLOCKMAN