18 to 20 Volt adapter for DeWalt

[whtbaron]

I had an 18 volt drill kicking around that had less than stellar battery performance when new, and went downhill rapidly as the batteries got older. I've quit buying anything 18 volt in favor of 20's, and it was a gift from the kids so I didn't want to just toss it. New batteries just for one tool didn't seem to make sense so I was watching the adapters come on sale. Mostly what I was seeing was 2 small batteries ( I didn't want) with another charger ( I didn't need) and an adapter coming on sale for $170 Cdn. Didn't make much sense when you could replace the drill with a 20 volt for $130. I started looking on Amazon.Ca and found a bare adapter (no batteries, no charger) from an independent manufacturer for $25 Cdn. I got it this week and it works great. Product reviews say it is easier to handle than the DeWalt version. My 4 and 5 AH batteries make the old 18 volt work like a new drill again. I was using it yesterday with a rotary wire brush for cleaning up welding slag and it performed like a trooper. The adapter comes from Biswaye (model DCA 1820 ) but is unfortunately currently unavailable at Amazon.Ca.... didn't check the American page. Good thing I bought it when I did. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[whtbaron]

The older 18 volt 3/8 drill is a slightly larger body than the newer 20 volt 1/2", but you can see that the adapter is fairly compact and doesn't add a lot of bulk to the unit. You cannot use the adapter for charging, the 20 volt batteries get charged on the 20 volt chargers as expected. Looks like I won't be needing that old 18 volt charger anymore...

[ronsii]

The older 18 volt 3/8 drill is a slightly larger body than the newer 20 volt 1/2", but you can see that the adapter is fairly compact and doesn't add a lot of bulk to the unit. You cannot use the adapter for charging, the 20 volt batteries get charged on the 20 volt chargers as expected. Looks like I won't be needing that old 18 volt charger anymore...

I started making an adapter for my dewalts to use the new milwaukee stuff a few months ago... but never finished because I like the new milwaukee drill so much the adapters can be purely physical because the 18/20 volt moniker is simply just advertising same voltages but higher numbers always sound better my adapter was being constructed from the cheapest things I could find on the internet that would hold the new milwaukee batts.... the cel phone charger bases I think they were 5-6 bux from chin-land....

One of these days I may get back to finishing it... just needs a bit of epoxy resin and some cutting!!! who knows by the time I get to it they may have one for sale like yours

[filetobeef]

dewalt makes an adapter and ebay has them as well $25 for 2.

[ronsii]

dewalt makes an adapter and ebay has them as well $25 for 2.

Interesting last time I checked they didn't have one for the regular 18dewalts... guess I'll have to look again... or just finish my diy project since I already have the parts and started demo on the dw batts

[tapwelder]

I had one for a grinder. It seemed to never would maintain charge after sitting. Got mine from and returned it to home depot.

[whtbaron]

dewalt makes an adapter and ebay has them as well $25 for 2.

That would be $US and yes, I'm sure lots of American members will find better pricing, but many won't ship into Canada. What I'm finding up here is closer to $45 to $50 Cdn. for a single adapter from DeWalt.

"I had one for a grinder. It seemed to never would maintain charge after sitting. Got mine from and returned it to home depot."

There are cheaper versions, but I went with this one because it seemed to have good reviews. A cheaper model had some complaints about contacts melting off under high load tools. I notice that they have added the caveat not to store batteries in them, so maybe more people have had the same issue as you. So far mine has just sat overnight between uses so I haven't tried to store it connected for an extended period.

[John T]

Error!..........

[ronsii]

That would be $US and yes, I'm sure lots of American members will find better pricing, but many won't ship into Canada. What I'm finding up here is closer to $45 to $50 Cdn. for a single adapter from DeWalt.

"I had one for a grinder. It seemed to never would maintain charge after sitting. Got mine from and returned it to home depot."

There are cheaper versions, but I went with this one because it seemed to have good reviews. A cheaper model had some complaints about contacts melting off under high load tools. I notice that they have added the caveat not to store batteries in them, so maybe more people have had the same issue as you. So far mine has just sat overnight between uses so I haven't tried to store it connected for an extended period.

LOL!!! I could see where some of the import ones would have issues with the contact melting!!! I am not sure what they use but even some of the knockoff batts have questionable tabs in them for the contact points I know it isn't copper or even steel with copper cladding

[tapwelder]

Ahhh. Mine was Dewalt brand. Probably should have read directions, it may have stated necessity for battery removal...

Another issue, the Dewalt kit came with batteries and the size battery was not appropriate for the grinders. The old grinder was too inefficient.

[Hobbytime]

the genuine dewalt adapters have electronics so you can run the 20volt battery down to nothing in an 18 volt tool, but use battery power so you need to remove the batter from the adapter or over time the battery will drain...
the after market adapters dont have any electronics, so use the 20 volt down to 1 bar and recharge and no damage to the battery...and the adapter doesnt use any battery power..the off brands work great...and are half the price of the dewalts...

[whtbaron]

Ahhh. Mine was Dewalt brand. Probably should have read directions, it may have stated necessity for battery removal...

Another issue, the Dewalt kit came with batteries and the size battery was not appropriate for the grinders. The old grinder was too inefficient.

Even my 20 volt grinder will eat those little 1.5 AH batteries in about 3 minutes with heavy grinding. That's one of the reasons I have gone to 4 & 5 AH batteries. Sure comes in handy for light slag and rust removal though.

[whtbaron]

LOL!!! I could see where some of the import ones would have issues with the contact melting!!! I am not sure what they use but even some of the knockoff batts have questionable tabs in them for the contact points I know it isn't copper or even steel with copper cladding

I haven't tried the knockoff batteries, but I've been told they don't last like the DeWalts so I might skip those. One of the bad reviews on the cheaper adapter suggested that the contacts had been soldered instead of silver soldered so they came undone when heated up. Not sure about the details, but it shouldn't be a big deal to come up with better connections if necessary. So far this one seems good, but the only 18 volt tool I have to run it in is the 3/8 drill.

[ronsii]

I haven't tried the knockoff batteries, but I've been told they don't last like the DeWalts so I might skip those. One of the bad reviews on the cheaper adapter suggested that the contacts had been soldered instead of silver soldered so they came undone when heated up. Not sure about the details, but it shouldn't be a big deal to come up with better connections if necessary. So far this one seems good, but the only 18 volt tool I have to run it in is the 3/8 drill.

On the batts it's the same with the knockoff milwaukees... I bought a could 4's-5's originally when I was getting all the tools and they really sucked they were half the price but with less than half of the performance The neighbor has been buying knockoffs... I warned him.... none of his tools even compare to mine for power and lastingness.... but he also bought the HomeDepot milwaukees....(sub grade models) I buy the real ones and they work great!!! well except for the couple of batts I got to start with...