The third tab is both a thermistor and a comms* tab. Here is the explanation and solution I’ve come up with. Posted in Tool Hacks Tagged 18650, adapter, charger, controller, cordless, dewalt, Li-ion, ryobi Post navigation After all, printing an adapter should be easier than whipping up a cordless battery pack de novo. While took a somewhat brute-force approach here, we imagine 3D-printed parts might make for a more elegant solution and offer other brand permutations. The video below shows the process and the results - Ryobi tools happily clicking away on DeWalt batteries. That meant simply transplanting the PCB from the adapter to the Ryobi battery shell would be enough. Luckily, the donor DeWalt line has that circuitry in the adapter, while Ryobi puts it in the battery. The tricky part came from dealing with the battery control electronics. Mechanically, this was pretty easy - a dead Ryobi pack from the recycling bin at Home Depot was stripped down for its case, which was glued to a Dewalt 20-v to 18-v battery adapter. ’s solution is a pure hack, as in physically hacking battery packs and forcing them to work and play well together. Luckily, we live in the future, so there’s a third way - building a cross-brand battery adapter that lets him power Ryobi tools with his DeWalt batteries. Could he stay true to his brand and stick with his huge stock of yellow tools and batteries, or would he succumb to temptation and add another set of batteries and chargers so he could have access to a few specialty lime green tools? I'm still running them hard.Even though he’s a faithful DeWalt cordless tool guy, admits to a wandering eye in the tool aisle, looking at the Ryobi offerings with impure thoughts. The other two are showing signs of age with their full-charge run time declining slightly. One recently decided it was time to retire and refused to take another charge. The introduction of this battery adapter is awesome now we can start transitioning towards newer technology, bit by bit, piece by piece. You can go to hardware store, home center, or today and get an 18 volt NiCd battery, or even a brand-new 18 volt tool. That's simply incredible, considering the modern system of 20V MAX tools has been out for 4-5 years. Was it an 'engineered obsolescence' sales scheme? Although many people bought new cordless tool sets, lots left to shop elsewhere, swearing off the brand as they went out the door.ĭeWalt on the other hand, has supported tools that last for a seriously long time. People would end up purchasing new tools, rather than ordering older batteries from the factory. It was odd, even though each generation was a same voltage, NiCd battery, there would be a slight change to a a bump or ridge on its case, preventing interchange between versions. It was common that I'd bear the brunt of a shopper's frustration when they learned that each year's version of the store-brand tools had an battery configuration incompatible with the prior model. Years ago, I worked a second job, at a department store selling their popular exclusive brand of tools. They've outlasted and out performed any other brand of cordless tools I've owned by several years, leaving me a bit of a fan-boy. I've had my own set for about 8 years, and all the tools are still going strong. They're certainly the most common brand on the construction sites I've visited. It's been one of the most popular lines of professional-quality cordless tools, for a very long time. I believe DeWalt's 18 volt line of cordless tools has been in the market for about 20 years. I've run it through its paces for a month on a variety of my tools. When DeWalt gave me an early-bird chance to try out their new battery adapter and bring modern battery technology to my older tools, I couldn't wait to put it in action. Regular readers of this blog know that I've been personally wielding DeWalt 18 volt cordless tools on my projects for years.

Dewalt lithium ion battery adapter