Dewalt Hack: Putting a Cord on Cordless Tools...would you or should you?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มี.ค. 2021
- In this video I explore what is required to allow cordless tools to once again be powered by a cord. It's certainly not something I'd recommend, but it is doable. Should you or shouldn't you?
Have a comment or suggestion? Leave it below or send me an email:
brandon@baldguydiy.com - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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It would be nice to have adapters with a step down for really battery hungry tools around the home base, like big saws (band, table, chop, etc) and belt sanders
He never made the follow up video like he said he would! This video would be a true gem since nothing really exists with proper math involved and true protection involved
Tampa, Florida here... thanks for the video, good information. Be well, stay encouraged, and safe!!!
Thank you! Hope you have a great weekend:)
@@BaldGuyDIY You are more than welcome... Keep up the great job!!! Have a great weekend and week to follow, see you at the next video drop!!!
Consider... I bought into the whole cordless lithium battery scam. I bought Milwaukee M18 tools and mostly got rid of my corded tool. I've since become sick of the constant swapping, buying, replacing, the cost of and looking for charged batteries. The wall cord was way simpler. Not just in a shop, even on construction sites, it's easier to just run an extension cord and not have to worry about the theft of batteries etc. I want a simple plug on adapter for my tools. Thanks for the vid
Putting back the cord to cordless tools is trying to have the same benefits of a laptop. At least that's how I see it. And it's worth while effort for the more power hungry tools like circular saws, angle grinders, etc. These tend to chew through (big) batteries much faster than a drill or a driver.
I'm currently investigating this topic as I also want to build a corded adapter myself. This is how I found your video.
My thoughts on this: best candidate for conversion would be brushless tools, because you'll have more protection features implemented in the motor controller. If it has soft start, kick back or motor stall protection, it will get rid of the major head-ache of having a supply able to provide the motor stall current repeatedly without giving up the ghost. Motor stall current tend to be significantly higher than working current, even under load.
Before checking our your other videos on the topic (I'm curious to see how you built it): If you go the transformer route: get a toroidal transformer. I'm not sure if I'd add a DC/DC converter, to provide a regulated voltage to the tool, maybe just a voltage clamp, to keep the no-load voltage in check. And I'd put as much filtering capacity as I can after the rectifier, to lower the overall impedance of the supply. I would put the same in the empty battery shell at the tool. This build would require having the transformer in a sepparate box, and some heavy gauge wire in between the box and battery shell.
But as you said: if you already factor in the price of the transformer, and the rest of the needed components, you are already in the price range of full AC/DC converters in the same power range, with the benefit of a significantly lower weight. Again, lots of caps in the battery shell, to provide a nice energy buffer right at the tool and also to compensate the additional impedance from the wires. Plus a switch mode power supply may have also the feature to compensate the voltage loss across the wires connecting it to the load (using smaller gauge sense wires, connected at the point of load).
Now... having rambled enough, I'll go take a look at the rest of the videos you made on this topic.
To wrap it up: great video, you nailed a lot of valid points.
I'm checking this out because I have a Kobalt string trimmer as well as a mini tiller that both have failed batteries. I would still like to use them with new batteries if I ever buy them (they're not cheap). As much as I'm not thrilled about adding a cord to either of these tools, it'll do fine for my needs. I was thinking about cannibalizing the batteries to make dumbie-plugs. So I'm pooling resources from YT vids to see what others are doing.
It's very simple, Einstein - I already have cordless tools that I now want to run from outlet and don't want to buy corded ones. But thanks for clearly explaining the transformer problem. I'm even subscribing because I like people who can explain things.
SkyRC sells a 50 amp 15-30 volt DC power supply that might work.
Just FYI, I realize you may not know why folks would want to do this, my situation is this:
I have a BUNCH of makita tools, 2 drills, small compound miter saw, etc, and the batteries are very expensive to replace. As much as a new tool.
So having ONE plug to share for these would be great!!
exactly … never mind it would ensure no obsolescence of 18v Makita tools down the road!!
@@BillTanseyJr Wait!?? What?! My bf would change his last name to makita If he could. Are they closing up??
The other advantage of having a plug-in adapter for cordless tools is that using it in place of a battery when you can will make the batteries degrade more slowly in the long run.
another good example is using a Dewalt cordless handsaw as a stationary saw on a SWAG table or a similar one - it would be nice to have the cordless draw "corded" electricity to control the on/off with a foot pedal for example.
As a contractor I can say it would just be easier to carry a cord and adapter in the even that all my batteries die, and I have that one last cut to make/ hole to drill/ screw to drive.
Thank you for the very practical explanation of the issues. It might be easier to take a dead cordless system and make a connection to another similarly powered working battery system, there are some 3D-printed battery adaptors available. If not the task is then to build the physical connection from the new battery to the old tool.
i’m having trouble finding the follow on video of you building your AC -2- DC rectifier .. did you ever make it and the video ???
I agree completely converting a cordless tool isn't practical unless the cord is setup to use a vehicle battery (which I've done) or convert a high voltage battery tool to wall power which is already available. I'm looking forward to the project video though. Good luck and take care.
Thanks for watching and the comment!
I'd like to buy a corded Dewalt mitre saw and table saw, but have switches on them that I can flick to divert power from a Flexvolt 18/54V battery. This would just be for those situations when I can't plug in the cord. So it's sort of the opposite of what you are suggesting on this vid, however you get to buy a cheaper machine plus have the option for battery power in emergencies. What are your thoughts?
Here is an example, I have a 1.25hp Cordless DeWALT router that I have found a very stationary purpose for in my shop. I would like to take it with me occasionally. That issue led me to your sight. After listening, buying the DWP 611 corded version at $179 is sounding like a better idea. Thanks very much for explaining this!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Ok. I don't know much about amps and wattage demands, so if anyone knows if this approach would work, please respond. Question- Could you buy an adapter that outputs 20v DC and connect it to a shell that would fit into the tool battery slot? Would this meet the tool demand, even at high power?
We can use these adapters with the mietre saw and big 20v tools
needed for all power tool lines. sometimes when im working in one spot or running a high draining tool all day i rather not be switching batterys all day.
Hey baldy can inverter technology be used to reduce the transformer size/weight?
Where is the diy this guys all talk
I have a dewalt portable bandsaw for work. I bought a 3d printed stand to turn it into table bandsaw. It'd be nice to have a cord for my home shop on thw weekend. I don't want to drop $200-300 for a big bulky bandsaw
Ok I understand what u said but what about the cord it self does it makes the difference what I mean is u couldn't put a regular cord either right so what if u try a thick cord wouldn't that help...?
Obviously, everyone is here because Dewalt is making high powered lights, but didn’t think of giving us the corded option, so even with a big 60 V battery we only get about four hours of run time😤haha
One example I'd like to be able to do is plug in a Dewalt flood light if I'm in a job site with power or use a battery if not. One day Dewalt will step up and compete with Milwaukee on this.
My makita skillsaw is great, but drains the batteries so fast. But often im using it right next an extension cord. Seems like this is something you could buy
Gaming and professional laptops runs on 20V and they have pretty small slick and not all that expensive adapters. Like ASUS gaming laptops adapters often rated for 240W and cost around $50 or cheaper on ebay when used. Just put 3 to 5 of them in the vest, connect in parallel and here your go :) You can even build fancy Apple adapter, but apple max adapter is 140W so you will need like 5-7 of them
Yeah and HiKoki just sells those just saying.
For me a gamechanger and a fresh revelation would be a switch on FlexVolt to choose 60/20 Volt feed to choose if I grind or I cut stuff to prolong battery life. Can it be done DIY ?
although it is true that transformers that draw more power are bigger and bulkier, there is also a relationship between the frequency and efficiency of a transformer. In other words, it is possible to raise the input frequency from the 60 hertz of our wall outlet to say.... 1 million hertz and now you can build your project with a tiny transformer.
this is something difficult to do, because you need a good understanding of circuitry. Building a switch mode power supply that provides 20~24 input voltage and ~40 amps current is not easy. I hope to one day do this myself for power tools.
You asked about benefits vs getting corded tools. The benefit is space. If we could have 1 small set of portable tools, 2-3 batteries and a small charger, a portable handyman can get lots done. But, although 2-3 batteries are enough for pretty much any daily job, where you use your drill all day, the saw a few times for cuts here and there, and charge the spare battery (most jobs are drill and circular saw you can do all and most of the work is drilling). In the off chance you drain all batteries, or the case you have a heavier job to do (cut a few pipes with grinder before continuing with other tools) you can easily wipe out a whole battery with grinder cuts. In this case you want to be able to continue the job, without carrying an entire set of other tools (usually I need to go back into the track for the corded saw/grinder)
wouldn't it be nice to ditch the boxes and boxes of tools and run around with few power tools, few batteries and the power adapter in emergency cases, so the job dont stall?
I’ve made a few of these actually I’ve just made my last one the other finished a couple days ago and I used a blackened deck, decker pivot plus just one little hand drills and hooked it to a 12 V battery car battery that I used to jump my lawnmower with, and I got a little extension cord hooked into the batteries for the positive and negativeand it goes like an old trailer plug in the back with the two prongs on it and attached to the battery the 12 V car battery made a handful of them. They work for a while and then don’t wish I could send you a picture.
Hello, Thanks for going over the basics. Do you have the follow up Video. I have a 20v 20 amp power supply and a $12 battery shell. I wired up the B+ / B- and the TH pinout to 20v, also tried 11v on the C3 pinout just incase the drills needed a ref voltage of that cell. The only thing that happens is the led is triggered 1 time per trigger pull. This was done on multiple 20v dewalt. Did you get further than this?
I decided not to do the follow up. It wasn’t very practical and I didn’t need it for anything. It’s something I may still do in the future.
I like the way you break it down. How is the build coming along? Do you have an estimated completion date? I'm excited to see what you come up with.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I haven’t don’t anything further with it yet. As I concluded during the video, it’s not really very practical for most things, so if I do it, it would likely be to just show it works, share the basic build and then put it aside completely because I don’t have any personal use for it.
Do you have a use in mind or just curious to see how it would work?
@@BaldGuyDIY I am going to do a new construction home where there wont be power until permanent power is hooked up. I'm not concerned about power tools like drills because those seem to last all day on battery. But power tools such as angle grinders and cordless table saws go through batteries like candy. Once the house is built I will be able to plug in. I was curious if I would be able to run them off of battery until permanent power got installed and then leave them plugged in after that. Seeing how expensive the adapter would be, I think it makes more sense to buy the AC power tools and run them off a generator until permanent power is available.
@@SCARREDMTBER totally agree. The more heavy the draw on power, the less practical the conversion is. AC power tools are cheaper, with better torque and often have a much longer duty cycle than cordless tools.
Great videos - have been going through a lot of your videos recently
There are mains battery adapters available but they are pricey. Looks like they are for higher voltage tools (48-56v) - Dewalt has DCB-500 (couldn’t find a USA version)
About to modify a Milwaukee battery , adding power direct to existing battery pack with a 250w laptop charger (19.5v) to use on a cordless dropsaw
Issue has is that even with 12ah battery the runtime is limited when cutting hardwood.
Thanks for watching! The issue with adapters of any kind is how the current translates. And because it draws a lot of current, that will deplete batteries very quickly even if you get it to work. The reverse situation, AC mains to battery, is almost too easy because all the factors work in your favor; lower current, unlimited availability. But battery to AC is much harder.
Amazing I didn't know the DCB 500 existed. I'd like to know if there's something that allows a corded saw to be used with a battery (by flicking a switch to divert the power when needed) which would mean I can buy the cheaper saws but also use battery when in emergencies. Thanks
I appreciate your effort to work on something you don't seem to believe in. Although I am surprised you don't understand why their is a desire to have this ability. Regardless, I also want to say their seems to be other TH-cam videos that achieve similar DIY projects for around $200 at least regarding milwaukee tools. I could be wrong, but I think you might find less expensive transformers/DC power supplies than what you were quoting, which seems to make this project more feasible. Again I think you have great video content, so please keep it up!
What if you can't get batteries
And you have direct solar I could see it work that way, thinking you need to match volts and amps
Hi brother i have charger og 21 volt and 0.8 amp and battery is 18 volt li-ion 1.3Ah
And readings on cordless drill machine are 12volt 18-25 NM. I want to to convert it to corded drill machine plz suggest me a adopter or supply please.
My uncle died a few months ago and my aunt gave me his entire collection of DeWalt cordless power tools. They all use the 18V except for 1 drill which bas the converter to make it into the 20V. Actually you can put the adapter on any of the tools but it just so happens to have been on one of the drills when it was given to me.
Here is my situation as of right now. The tools are 2 drills, an impact driver, skil saw, reciprocating saw, mini skil saw, cut off tool and a flashlght. 2 chargers for the 18V and 6 18V battery packs total and 1 charger for the 20V pack.
Sounds great so far right? You right. Everything is fine until you need to use one of the tools. Out of the 6 18V batteries, only 2 will actually take a full charge while the others barely charge at all and 2 say replace packs. So this leaves me with a wide selection of tools that I cannot really use unless I purchase new batteries because the ones I have now are dogsh!t.
With that being said it doesn't make sense to buy new batteries for every tool because they are expensive already but to know they are not going to last very long before I will have to be in this exact position again...
Say every 3 or 4 years I have to purchase new batteries. That is ridiculous and if anyone even reads this and says "just upgrade to the 20V in place of the 18V and your problem is solved"
Actually no it would not be because the 20V battery I have now charges faster but it goes dead in literally a few mins. You not getting more than 5mins of continuous use out of this battery so it brings me back to my original predicament that I found myself in.
I said I was given these tools and I was but I traded over $5000 worth of labor for them. My uncle died and my aunt needed alot of work done to their house in order to put it up for sale so I did the work knowing she couldn't afford to pay me but she is family and a wonderful woman so I was on board to do the work from the get go. I wasnt even expecting anything in return but then she came out with this huge selection of cordless power tools all of which are Dewalt and they are in great shape but the battery bullshit is killing me.
I really wish I could hardwire a cord on each one of these tools and be done with this headache!!
Cordless tools are such a pain in the ass and nowhere near worth the hassle. If I could install a cord on even a few of them I would be overjoyed. I cant sell them because I wouldnt get much for them and I am not about to try to mislead anyone with the arsenal of suspect batteries I just can't do that to someone I have to be honest so it looks like I am stuck with a whole lot of tools I wont be able to use anymore unless I bite the bullet and purchase new batteries... its just a hard pill to swallow knowing that in buying all these batteries I could have bought every tool with a cord and be done with it all. So when the batteries fail again in the future Ill be right back here again.
One last thing. I understand that if I am going to complain so much then why dont I just shut my mouth and buy corded tools and be done with it? That is true so true but then what do I do with all these cordless tools that work fine whenever they have a proper battery powering them?
How bypass sensie for battery temperature?
Reason why convert?
Makita chainsaw .. wood carving
Got a cheap deal as batteries not orginal included.. batteries not keeping charge.
As using the chainsaw for prolonged time
I would like to get it corded + light weight..
Chainsaw 18v .
If apply slighty more V i get more power? 😅
No knowledge 😮 always more power..
Gow bypass the temp thing?
Been told resistor is a solution
Need to see how;) thnx
yeah but charging up the battery gets frustrating when your into a project !!
I have the dewalt tripod light And I simply hate it for the lack of the cord…
Dewalt made one for a 2 battery miter saw. It doesn't look to be 20 lbs
Thank you very much, my explanation for wanting chords back on cordless tools for example would be the blower and my driveway, my driveway is long and it seems that I’m replacing batteries more often than I would like and there are other projects that I’m working on sometimes in between all the other stuff I’m doing and the quantity of batteries I would have to keep charging and changing is more annoying than just plugging it in and dealing with a cord. Thanks for listening to my silly mind
Was the followup ever realized?
Fwiw I feel like you approached this from the “this is a dumb idea and impractical” standpoint from the jump and may have missed some potentially cheaper ways of accomplishing the task. It is what it is, but contrary to your other videos, you seemed kinda pessimistic and negative throughout this video. Which made me wonder why you bothered at all.
For a practical example…. The reason why I watched your video is that I am wanting to make a cordless vacuum work on AC power. I will be using it for work a lot, which will certainly kill the batteries. I have 200w of solar and a 3000w inverter in my van and I’m able to run all of my power tools off of this, but running a drop cord into the backyard is often impractical. Plus cleaning up inside the van (where a lot of work is done), it’s nice to have the cordless option. But I want more of a corded tool with cordless option.
I was given the idea when I saw that dewalt and a few others have made this. But they have a 1.5 gallon capacity. The power of these small units is fine for me, it’s just the capacity that kills me. I like the form factor of a 3 ½ gallon cordless unit so I picked one up and I’ve epoxied on an adapter to use 5 gallon dust bags and our typical HEPA filters. So I’m looking for PSU options. I’ve considered microwave transformers with bridge rectifiers, but as you discussed it’ll be huge and heavy.
I’m fairly certain the corded battery pack isn’t an option for this application due to sizing the PSU. I’m certainly in need of 20vDC 30a. My plan is to mount a power supply within the container and have a male 110v plug molded onto the side with an AC/DC labeled switch.
I almost shit myself when I stumbled on these server PSU’s. 12vdc 1,000 watt units are readily available on fleabay for $20-$30. The one I’m eyeing is, IIRC, 800 watts and has two 12v boards that I can bridge to output 24 volts into a buck converter making the entire trip from 110vac 15amps to 20vDC 30amps very inexpensive and a lot smaller than I expected. They’re server rack mounts and I think maybe ¼ rack in size. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ im Not in IT but they’re not as big as I feared. And if I can get the 1,000 watt PSU so I’m typically only pushing about 60% of its capacity, the fans won’t make the vac any more annoying.
Yeah it’ll weigh more. But not significant enough to cry about. And $30-$40 for a custom dual power HEPA filtered vac is more than worth it. For me at least. Just my .30-06. Maybe take a look at server PSU’s. They’re often used for applications such as this. Albeit seemingly not for construction but for pushing DC Motors.
I probably wouldn’t have bothered to write this insanely long comment had you not ended the video with something to the effect of (not in these words and emphasis mine):
“I guess im gonna go ahead and make one so… STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT VIDEO WHERE I MODIFY bls bla bla TO RUN OFF AC POWER.”
- And then i see one of the top five comments
“how’s the build video coming?”
-Your response,
“ohhh I haven’t done anything. I said it’s not practical and I have nothing I want to convert.”
-totally paraphrased. But idk dude. This video kinda sucks. People who don’t sub to your channel are finding this video because they want to explore this idea. You made this video because it was a constant request. You said so yourself. Don’t piss on our parade, yuck our yum and poo poo in our cheerios. It’s distasteful. And don’t foreshadow or tease or promise a follow up build when you have no intention to follow through. Or idk do you i guess. It’s your channel. I’m sure I’m just being a whiny bitch. I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.
What if this thing only costs $30?
Well , if you have a cordless drill and no charger it's not as cheap to make it corded than buy a new one.
DeWalt Hack: Putting a Cord on Cordless Tools... by Bald GuyDIY
Has a follow-up place video been released?
As to why? In my case, I injured both wrists a few years ago, and decided to look for a 1/4 inch impact driver. Could not find a corded 1/4 inch impact driver. The only ones available were cordless. That seems to be a growing trend among tool makers. Batteries are expensive, and manufacturers make more money on batteries than on tools.
Another case close to home: my son bought a bundle of Ridgid cordless tools, the batteries died, and are no longer available. Ridgid also made a change in design, so current batteries are not compatible. We’d like to see if we could build an adapter to run them on 120V AC.
Looking forward to that follow-up video.
It's not about cost, it's about convenience
If I could fit everything to convert in a hollowed out battery with a cord coming out the bottom of the pack with a strain relief
That would be great. But unfortunately not. Thanks for watching.
FYI for people, there's no follow-up video.
Why not dewalt
Enough theory, let's freaking do it.
People just use laptop chargers don’t they??
My electric chainsaw on bigger jobs chews through batteries
I rather have an AC adapter that can plug in in place of a battery rather than have to buy $500 worth of batteries to run a vacuum while detailing a car
I want infinity battery 🔋🔋🔋 that's y corded is better 😅😅😅
some of these new tools chew through batteries unless you can buy the monster mega ultra king kong for hundreds of dollars a pop some of us can't afford a corded and cordless version, do you know how expensive de walt SDS MAX CHUCK hammers are? i'll pay more for a cordless when i'm fucked or in a tight spot but, when 6ah flex volt only last a few minutes it makes sense to have corded option for i'm doing serious hammering and a and us to batteries for when i'm coring only medium sized holes to run power or data to job site without power or too cramped for a cord (get tangled up and hurt your self) it make sense to either get a generator and corded or put a cord on the cordless. i figured heat is what would kill the cordless but, dewalt is making so mondo king kong fuckers these days if you're mr or mrs money bags EDIT: amps are a given but, this can be done for less than hundreds of dollars unless i've some how managed ot over look something. maybe i need to look in to PSU and boost covneter prices again.
All talk no action