Tool & Tool Battery Flashlights : Finding Quality Cordless Tool Batteries

[brycenesbitt]

Hey it's kind of a flashlight question, since tool batteries can be used in flashlights.
I'm not the only one who has noticed that power tool battery systems seem to be a money factory for Dewalt, Royabi, etc.
The batteries wear out quickly and are expensive. Third party batteries are a capshoot. Brand batteries are 3x the cost.
eBay ones are probably stolen, if genuine.

Is there anyone doing good life and capacity testing, similar to the wonderful Eneloop data here on Candlepower?
Do the newer models with multiple contacts last longer than the old ones with series contacts?

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

You'll generally find three types of tool batteries. Those made from 18650s, those made from 21700s, and those made from pouch cells like from a smartphone. The 18650 cell batteries are likely going to be in all of the 12 volt packs. The 21700s are newer and will be the higher 4,8, and 12 amp 18 volt packs. Longest lasting and best will likely be the lithium polymer pouch cell packs that should get at least twice as many charges and take higher drains better. You want the best, get the 18 volt 12 amp Milwaukee Forge battery. They use the pouch cells. Dewalt Power Stack batteries do as well. You want your batteries to last, use the standard chargers, not the ones that charge the batteries in 15 minutes to an hour. Heat destroys the batteries quicker.

 

[Monocrom]

Another aspect?.... Which company is least likely to change their power-tool battery pack design. (Yes it has happened in the past.) The answer is Ryobi. It's one of the big reasons so many non-Pros have chosen that brand. Ironically, power isn't one of the main reasons.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Another aspect?.... Which company is least likely to change their power-tool battery pack design. (Yes it has happened in the past.) The answer is Ryobi. It's one of the big reasons so many non-Pros have chosen that brand. Ironically, power isn't one of the main reasons.

You'll find that adapters have been made to allow the use of one brand's batteries in another brand's tools. Dewalt opened this can of worms when they made an adapter to use their newer batteries in their older tools. You do have to be careful, because many of these adapters have their own electronics preventing the battery from being charged in another brand's charger. Off brand chargers are doing better in some ways than name brand. I got a compact 12 volt DC (car charger) Milwaukee compatible 18 volt charger for $20 on Amazon. It's close in size to the Milwaukee Top Off. Milwaukee only makes an A/C and D/C combo charger that costs around $100+. Takes up too much space for road trips too.

One thing to keep in mind with the newer 21700 based batteries is if your tool has the space to fit the extra bulk as these packs are wider and longer than 18650 packs. I know my 3000 lumen Milwaukee floodlight was designed to fit up to the 9 amp battery (15 18650s). It will not fit the 12 amp based on 15 21700s. They made a 4000 lumen light that does fit the new battery.

 

[Monocrom]

Adapter technology still seems to be in its infancy. At least that's what it seems like to me. It's starting to get more advanced, and I hope it really takes off. Seems ridiculous that you can buy any corded power-tool from any company, and the wall-plugs are universal to the nation you live in, but cordless power-tools all use proprietary batteries.

I found an old Ryobi 3/8" drill in my apartment in a large storage drawer (back when you recognized Ryobi tools by their blue colored plastic). Problem is, it's a much older model that can't use the current crop of Ryobi batteries that go back admittedly quite a few years. Dad must have bought it when we moved into the current place as a family. Normally a sweet find.... Had it been corded. But it is literally a useless paper-weight now.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

You probably had a 14.4 volt Ryobi drill. The 18 volt blue ones made for NiCd batteries still work with the new 18 volt lithium ion batteries.

I'm still waiting for the power tool companies to realize the future is in corded/cordless tools. My 3000 lumen Milwaukee floodlight is a good example. They need to make more power tools this way to allow you to plug in the tool when you can use an extension cord for uninterrupted use, and use a battery when access to power is unavailable. They could even make all their older tools backwards compatible in this way by making an adapter like a fake battery with a 120 volt A/C to 20 volt D/C converter and have a 120 volt male outlet to plug an extension cord into. This would allow any 18 volt tool to be corded or cordless.

 

[Monocrom]

I like your idea.
For now, for corded power-tools, Ryobi has their 150-Watt Power Source for their One+ 18v. batteries. Plug in any corded power-tool and use it for awhile. Craftsman has the same type of thing. I guess the closest term would be Mini Power Station? Though for corded tools I prefer using my Westinghouse iGen 160s portable Power Station. Smallest out there as far as normal Power Stations go.

Still, when it comes to the Ryobi, and the Craftsman; you can just keep installing topped up batteries (depending on how many you've got in reserve) technically until you run out of fresh batteries. Can't do that with typical Power Stations.

I just got a great idea, and if I was in charge at Ryobi, I'd make it a reality.... Take Ryobi's 40v. batteries and create a full-sized Power Station that ruins off of one of those! Power Station with batteries you can instantly swap out! Seriously, how have the guys at Ryobi NOT thought of it? The one power-tool brand constantly coming out with new battery-operated tools. Including several odd-ball ones.

 

[leeholaaho]

Adapter technology still seems to be in its infancy. At least that's what it seems like to me. It's starting to get more advanced, and I hope it really takes off. Seems ridiculous that you can buy any corded power-tool from any company, and the wall-plugs are universal to the nation you live in, but cordless power-tools all use proprietary batteries.

I found an old Ryobi 3/8" drill in my apartment in a large storage drawer (back when you recognized Ryobi tools by their blue colored plastic). Problem is, it's a much older model that can't use the current crop of Ryobi batteries that go back admittedly quite a few years. Dad must have bought it when we moved into the current place as a family. Normally a sweet find.... Had it been corded. But it is literally a useless paper-weight now.

NI-MH batts off ebay with a great charger. Brought my old Ryobi back to life. 12 volt

 

[Lips]

I just got a great idea, and if I was in charge at Ryobi, I'd make it a reality.... Take Ryobi's 40v. batteries and create a full-sized Power Station that ruins off of one of those! Power Station with batteries you can instantly swap out! Seriously, how have the guys at Ryobi NOT thought of it? The one power-tool brand constantly coming out with new battery-operated tools. Including several odd-ball ones.

They have these already!

 

[Monocrom]

NI-MH batts off ebay with a great charger. Brought my old Ryobi back to life. 12 volt

Hey, thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Monocrom]

They have these already!

View attachment 67219

Ryobi stole my idea!
Guess I know which Power station I'm buying next.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Ryobi has a version that runs off the 18 volt batteries as well. So does Milwaukee. They also have one that runs on their 80 or so volt Forge batteries. If you want cheap, get a Milwaukee Top Off. It is a 175 watt inverter with USB and 45 watt USB-C outlets. It's not a true sine wave inverter, but it is better than other modified sine wave inverters and can handle charging electronics. The problem using these to run power tools is that power tools can take way more power than a small inverter can put out. You need the ones that put out the power of a 12 amp circuit to really work, but then you loose a lot of power in the conversion loss. For camping and off grid type use, the 300 watt Ryobi 40 volt inverter I think is reasonable. The 40 watt Ryobi batteries aren't too bad in price.

My idea was to have corded/cordless tools limiting this power loss, avoiding lugging around extra batteries when not needed, and extending the lifetime of your batteries since they'd only be used part time. Using a power station run off of batteries that work in the tool wastes power and is like carrying a cinder block around in addition to the tool. I would not want to carry one of those things around with corded tools getting the drawbacks of both corded and cordless tools.

 

[Monocrom]

Thanks for the heads-up about that Milwaukee version.
Sometimes I think I would have been better off buying corded tools that would have saved me a small fortune. But yeah, then I'd be completely dependent on battery-powered inverters. Just wouldn't make sense.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

If you want a cheap, decent lithium iron phosphate power station, look for the Oupes Exodus 600. You can find it as low as $119. It's 600 watts/1200 surge, 256 watt hours. 3500+ cycles for the battery. Can charge with up to 240 watts solar (8mm barrel jack cord required) or 300 watts A/C or both together (up to 540 watts). Charges in under an hour (33 minutes to 80% with both).

If you need a high power usb-c outlet I'd suggest an Ecoflow River 2 instead. Harbor Freight is supposed to come out with some nice Predator brand models soon starting at $200 that might give the Jackery the boot. Those will work with Anderson cables for solar.