#DEWALT DCA1820 BATTERY ADAPTER PRO#

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. But if it was defective, I could definitely see this being a great idea.Regular readers of this blog know that I've been personally wielding DeWalt 18 volt cordless tools on my projects for years. Would you take $33 for a working $200 drill? You'd sell it for $50 on CL in a day. Current discounts are ranging from 12-62% online. His example describes a 16% trade-in discount. That basically means industrial/commercial supply houses. This is not something that big box stores offer so you typically find it through what we call Independent channel distribution. It's only $186.15 when you trade in a tool. To give you an example of the savings, normal cost on a DCD790D2 brushless drill is $220. However, we do make exceptions for current 18v users looking to trade in for 20v. It runs year around and is typically reserved for customers trading in competitive (e.g.

#DEWALT DCA1820 BATTERY ADAPTER PRO#

I can appreciate if you buy from a big distributor as a pro you might find this appealing, but right now for retail folks it's much cheaper to buy these commodity tools through HD, Lowes or Amazon and leverage sales events. If it was strictly a coincidental design flaw, they would have redesigned it. I have to think that is for a technical reason, considering all the upset customers they have wanting to use 6Ah and higher. In addition, 18V chargers may not be used to charge 20V MAX* Batteries via the adapter.' 'The adapter is not compatible with FLEXVOLT® Batteries or 20V MAX* 6.0Ah, 8.0Ah, or 10.0 Ah XR® Batteries (DCB206, DCB208, DCB210) and should not be used with DEWALT batteries in DC970 or DC759 tools. From their press release where they officially discontinued the 18v line: I too could be wrong, I just remember that DeWalt eventually said to use 5Ah or less, because the high capacity XR packs and FlexVolt batteries weren't available in 2015 when the adapter debuted. And therein lies the problem, the old OG 18v tools weren't 'smart' enough to limit that current.

However I believe that current is controlled by the tool, not the battery. You are correct that different batteries can output different amount of current. There are so many tools I bet there is a good reason when you consider the scope of the entire line. This puppy has the same cells in it, so it's scaling C rating 5X now to provide up to 100A. We will never draw more than the 30A the drill pulls.

The 4Ah 20V MAX battery caps at - lets assume same cells same C rating - so 40A. The BMS in the battery should mitigate this and cut out. The drill is going to abuse the battery and will underperform. We'll just work with 18V across the board here but obviously is variable.Īssume (for the science) that the little 2Ah 20V MAX battery caps at 20A. I've done LOADS (lol) of work with brushless motors and lithium packs, however brushed motors might be funkier.Īssume that the DC988 can draw up to 30A at 18V. Maybe someone can refute my comment with harder science, I'm glad to see it.

I appreciate your comment but that doesn't really add up. Thank you for the answer /r/dewalt ! I bought some 5Ah cause they were still on sale. So the pack won't stop the chooch till it's too hot. I should note that the 6Ah fits my other 20V tools just fine.Įdit: see the concise explanation by u/shiznoroe88 - the adapter has current limits that the bigger packs could theoretically overcome because, as u/hyperduc mentions, there is no current limiter in the BMS and the battery terminals are directly connected to the tool. Anyone with a more well funded tool habit know what the deal is? Should I return the 6Ah packs and go for 5Ah? I tried to explain that the solution is more power tools but she insists that we just sort out the batteries. I can't be the first one to encounter this. Surprise! 🤣 My wife: 'It's supposed to work. They said its intended to be compatible with all but two prohibited drills (DC970 or DC759) I don't own and ALL 20V MAX batteries. I called DeWalt service and they were baffled. I've since noticed that there is a profile on the battery that is common in the 6Ah through 10Ah packs, a profile that obstructs the insertion of the DCA1820 adapter. So, imagine our disappointment when I opened the box like a kid on Christmas day and the pack doesn't fit the adapter! And she knows I have this DC988 that needs new batteries but I stubbornly refuse to buy any more 18V XRP packs. My awesome wife bought me some 20V batteries because, well, she's awesome.

Dewalt dca1820 battery adapter