Maybe. More likely, and more in keeping with the theme, *OmniEvilCorp* introduces the tool and as time goes on the grade of components gets cheaper and cheaper.
I bought one of the 2.5 Hercules batteries to rebuild a toast Ridgid 1.3 ah. When I pulled it apart I was impressed to see Samsung cells. I ditched the Hercules circuit board and soldered the Ridgid circuit board on. Accidentally shorted out the fuel gauge when I was trying to measure voltage. I have already built a Frankenbattery out of 2 Ridgid 4.0s so the Hercules battery build earned the name Francules.
Drill- Packedge in typical box, came with a tool bag (added bonus), two batteries, one charger, drill, and driver. Two words "plenty of Torque" th-cam.com/users/postUgkxW1vOBRCMrgTCDEijzpVzDWsgI-Jm2iQv well I guess that's three. Nice upgrade from current setup. Has belt clips, I don't think I will be using those. Driver and drill were bigger than what I expected but it is an upgrade from the current setup. For the money I would say that this is a great setup for Professionals and DIY/Weekend warriors.
They were actually designed by the same guys. A few of the guys that designed for dewalt left and came to work for harbor freight to design stuff for them so that's why they are so similar.
Dude Nooooice! Once you said Thermal, I was Floored, Maybe I should retireded! Of course that's what it is. I got a "20v Flex" dewalt Danger Grinder (with anti flesh destruction Brake) and today tried to make a corded Adapter but didn't bother to check resistance ( well besides my coworkers talkn crap on why would someone want that!) on the 2 inboard pins, just volts. I hope this is what I need but either way Thanks a bunch for the info.
You could instead of a resistor solder in the same type of thermistor used on the DeWalt battery, so that the DeWalt tools would get the correct reading but also retain your thermal protection on the Hercules batteries. maybe even put in a double pole swith that would allow you to switch between DeWalt and Hercules modes!
@@yonodc5705 The battery originally had thermal protection (to prevent damage from the battery overheating). In the video he used a resistor to trick the tool into thinking the battery is at room temp (because the temperature detection for the other brand doesn't produce the same resistance values the tool would interpret those reading as either being too hot or too cold and not allow the tool to operate [a safety feature]). This guy is suggesting adding in a compatible thermistor; which will actually change it's resistance based on temperature (so that you can regain the thermal protection for the battery). He suggested putting in a switch so that with the flic of a switch you can add or remove that thermistor from the circuit; doing this would allow you to switch from being compatible with either Dewalt or Hercules.
@@bradkaral1188 I don't sorry (been a year); without having a battery to check maybe you can find it in a forum discussion via googling. Good luck sir. Btw I'm a newbie myself; most complicated thing I've done electrically was a lichtenberg machine with two transformers and fans that run on either circuit (just took my time). Also made a nichrome wire cutter (studied things for a while). My friend is a genius with this stuff the guy has nearly rebuilt an industrial CNC from the ground up. Compared to him I'm a cave man clacking rocks together.
To be honest when I saw the title of it i just assumed it was him, I remembered ave had I talked about it some in a previous vijayo. Was somewhat disappointed when I started watching and found out it wasn't. Oh well good info either way.
This was helpful in the aspect that what you did I work in electronics and was familiar with it anyway. But 99% of people will not go through that much trouble. Cuz they simply don't understand. But there are a few companies or a company out there that are selling a adapters where you can interchange DeWalt to Milwaukee drills and batteries. Do a little research if you have some time and find out if those adapters would work for the Harbor Freight setup haunted DeWalt Milwaukee Etc.
a couple of good old zip ties or electrical tape will fix that engagement issue lol. I appreciate the time you put into this though thinking about grabbing one of the 5.0 ah ones and trying it . I will probably do a comparison of my dewalt reciprocating saw and the future harbor freight one. If I can pull two 5.3's in 2 hours at a junkyard im saving close to 400 bucks either way with two reciprocating saws.
I don't know where you are but in Florida the DeWalt batteries go for 80 or $90 where the Hercules batteries all right around 45-50 so definitely a cool video I will be trying this next time I need batteries I may even remove the cells from the Hercules and install them into the DeWalt case
Yupp I work for Horrible Freight Tools and I seen the new tools come in and I seen the Batteries and was damn near shipping my self becaue the batteries and tools are damn near identical!
I absolutely agree, the Hercules battery pack as far as cell construction and the aluminum heat sink seems much better engineer than the DeWalt cousin. If I was going to do all this work I would definitely swap the harbor freight cells and assembly into the DeWalt case and then go down the road. I would definitely keep using the DeWalt BMS as it has everything in there to communicate with the tools for the protection of the tools and the battery.
Using a 10k resistor fools the tool into working, but it also bypasses the batteries' temperature protection. This is not a good idea as you could potentially have an exploding battery scenario. A better method would be to use a 10k thermistor across the terminals. You'd have to measure the Dewalt thermistor's resistance at different temperatures and compare to determine it's Resistance/Temperature curve to select the proper thermistor. You'd also probably need to isolate the temperature sense lead from anything else on the circuit board that might interfere with the thermistor reading as well. Don't know if you'd be able to charge the pack with 10k of resistance either as the Hercules charger would think the battery is really hot. The Dewalt charger probably won't work as it won't sense the cell balancing voltages.
What manyt folks do not know is that apart from Makita and Hitachi the vast majority of power tools are made in the Black and Decker/Dewalt factory so it is not surprising that the fits are common.
Excellent video thank you so much. I took the battery apart and put the resistor in works great on DeWalt tool, but now it will not work in my Hercules tool. Is that normal? I was hoping to use the Hercules battery it in both tools.
No surprise since there's a good chance that the person who designed the HF battery also did the DeWalt since the rumor is that both are made in the same factory in China.
Great video. I've always used DeWalt batteries because I don't have any problems with them and they last for a long time. My question to you is: Where do you find DeWalt batteries for $30? I'll take a dozen!
I read somewhere that HF hired some former DeWalt designers to design the new Hercules tools, so perhaps the same is true for the batteries, if any of it is true, that is.
So for a Hercules tool, we would need to trick the tool into sensing 100k ohms across the temp sense wire. In theory, we could modify a bauer battery or dewalt battery to work in the hercules tools.? Is that right?
How can you put a dewalt battery on a Hercules tool? My Hercules tool & battery, after pulling the trigger for a few seconds shut down & starts to flash. The battery test light stopped working, so I am assuming it is the temp wire causing the issue. The pin next to B+ & B-, I get 99.1k ohms.
You’re the only sharing these numbers and findings. Do you have a Bauer battery and does the therm read 100k ohms on the therm/B- connection also?? Thank you
great video! learned some good stuff here. question... i have the dewalt 20v toolset and i bought some hercules 20v bare tools. can i get the dewalt batteries to work in the hercules tools and dewalt tools[aside from the case modification], the way you did with the herc battery? thanks for your time
@@creepyunclephil unfortunately i couldn’t get it to work. i tried resistors and potentiometers and nothing worked. gave up since. if you figure it out, please let me know. best of luck to you
Agree with the presenter. I have enough DW battery inventory for my needs and they are long lasting and rugged. I have never needed to replace one in several years of using the 20 volt max. If/when I need to add or replace I can’t imagine I would need to save a few dollars by using a slightly cheaper battery, then adapt it and still have a less than perfect system. Just buy a genuine DW. If it cost $10 more and works for say 5 years then $2 / year is well worth it. I would consider replacing a dead cell or two before doing this.
Dangerous mod. That battery can overheat and explode. You should have bought a proper 10k thermistor with extension leads and soldered it on instead of that 10k resistor. It would work safely on either drill brand at that point.
Great info! Did you consider just moving the thermistor... except that would disable its use on a Hercules tool. Oh, ABS = engineering plastic, PP = commodity plastic. So despite adding GF to the PP, I consider the DeWalt ABS casing to be superior. After you drop a few of the double-row packs from 30 feet up to concrete without any issues, you begin to admire the build quality of those packs.
If it's nylon/zytel then that would be nice especially if it was close to 35% GRP, but I would be surprised. Sort of like all the "nylon" cord from China that's actually PP. I'll pick up to use the cells in a dead DeWalt pack, and then try to glue or weld the old case!
also, as a reply to your question about maintaining thermal protection: I didn't go to far into the circuit, but I did go far enough that the thermistor is not a straight hookup to the pin and ground. I believe it goes through the microcontroller onboard and the microcontroller is the one that outputs the actual data. The microcontroller is a HOLTUK HT66F018. My initial guess is that perhaps the other brands at harbor freight use the same circuit, but have different firmware to prevent cross tool use. Will have to pickup their bauer brand battery and see if this theory is correct.
Why isn't some enterprising person making swap out casing parts, in this case, a custom top for the Hercules, so that it fits lock stock and barrel into a DeWault tool???? Earth to China?? Buehler???
@@willow450 adapters are made all the time. there is a dewalt to ryobi battery adapter. not sure why there isn't one for all brands. It sickens me to be a forced into a loyalty brand. i would prefer to buy the tool that performs better then compromise due to battery casings.
Hilarious, the irony is not lost watching him use "Manual hand tools" to open cordless tool batteries. The 60's phoned and they want their screwdrivers back. I hope you used a Beta tape camcorder to film this.🤣
So if all he is doing is adding a 10k Ohm resister between the temp and ground, wouldn’t it be possible to make an adapter that you can slide the Hercules battery into and then have to top able to slide into the dewalt tool?? Would this be possible with 3D printing? That way you don’t have to do any messing around with the actual batteries and you can still easily use the Hercules battery for Hercules tools or dewalt tools
I would much rather just transfer the Hercules cells onto my DeWalt board and pack it all back into the DeWalt case. I will say the DeWalt cases are absolute crap. I have four DeWalt batteries now that are being held together with duct tape and silicone. Out of the 15 batteries I own those probably see the most constant use. I've never dropped one from a man left but I've been frustrated enough to throw the whole tool when the battery starts disintegrating in your hand while making a cut. In any case the Hercules battery pack looks like it's very well engineered I really like that heat sink. I would say if the cells are really any good just transplanted into it dead DeWalt battery.
Just can't stop wondering when some manufacturer will decide to dominate the market and make their tools just use 18650 cells straight up; no special casing, etc. same as putting AA's in a toy... yes, I know battery quality varies widely, but it still needs to be done. Kickstarter anyone?????? likely $100,000 funding waiting for a drill and a hex driver that both use 18650 Lithium cells.... I'll be first to sign up.
Progress! This seems as obvious to me as some battery manufacturer deciding to dominate the rechargeable AA and AAA battery market by ENDING the STUPIDITY that is the 1.2V design, and making a battery that is a full 1.5V in NIMH... Just one of those design limitations so that rechargeables didn't cannabalize their Alkaline battery business...
Why not lithium? Those Nimh don't last! Both can be found through marketplaces like AliExpress. The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) batteries are the most advanced thus far, so I've heard. I think those are available in the 18650 size as well as other common sizes like AA and AAA. Download the AliExpress app and see what you can find. I love it
Do you know how to make the hercules tools work with dewalt batteries the reason is I have alot of dewalt 20 volt batteries and wanted to buy just the Hercules tools
so trying to understand here. Is the resistor you put in parallel to the thermistor on the pack? or did you just put a resistor with same load in same place as the dewalt?
I just put a resistor. If you wanted to mantain thermal protection, you could put a thermistor of the right spec. The harbor freight battery has a NTC style, and the DeWalt has a PTC, so you couldn't just add a resistor.
I wouldn’t buy a Herc battery, mess it up and hope all is well when I can buy a DW battery for a few more bucks and be sure it is fine and all warranties good. I would do a cell replace before this. Or buy a clone as long as it is just drilling etc. how often do you need to buy a battery? Those extra few dollars for the real article are spread over years. This was technically interesting for sure but confirmed to me to not bother trying it.
Anything can be made to fit anything, with enough time, work and money. Got told that at Amol Precision in Dumont, NJ when I wanted to fit '78 Honda 750F wheels to a '76.
I used a Hercules battery to rebuild a toast Ridgid battery. Given the time and effort I wouldn't do it again but it works good none the less. The Hercules battery has that aluminum heat sink underneath which I couldn't pry off, so I had a heck of a time scraping the bottom of the Ridgid battery case to make it deep enough. Also with the fuel gauge the whole thing is longer so it it won't fit in some DeWalt batteries unless you ditch the gauge. Also the way the internal circuit board sits I'd be surprised if the DeWalt top would fit on the cells. Just my two cents. Honestly though I'm quite pleased with how my Ridgid/Hercules rebuild is performing for a $30 battery.
Can you just swap out the batteries if you wonder what I mean take the batteries from out of the Harbor Freight battery pack put it inside your DeWalt battery pack close it up instead of Cuttin Up and modifying that Harbor Freight battery I don't know that's what I would have done
DeWalt just came out with a battery pack using lipo cells. I can't wait till they start bursting into flames. After multiple emails and inquiries I've yet to have a good explanation as to how they keep the lipo cells from turning into little explosion makers. In a cell phone the current demands aren't so great but in a power tool absolutely you could draw enough discharge current quickly enough to just absolutely destroy a lipo especially if afterwards you put it in a rapid charger. Imagine what would happen if you drop that battery with a full charge. You have an instant light show with some bonus smoke.
The 20 volt Black and Decker battery packs plug right in to DeWalt 20 volt tools. Are you saying the Porter Cable batteries and tools are interchangable as well?
Very cool. Thanks for hacking that!
AvE the master has arrived
SQUEEEEEEE! *Dave Jones* Where? Where?
AvE so, do you think these are counterfeit cells?
Maybe. More likely, and more in keeping with the theme, *OmniEvilCorp* introduces the tool and as time goes on the grade of components gets cheaper and cheaper.
I bought one of the 2.5 Hercules batteries to rebuild a toast Ridgid 1.3 ah. When I pulled it apart I was impressed to see Samsung cells. I ditched the Hercules circuit board and soldered the Ridgid circuit board on. Accidentally shorted out the fuel gauge when I was trying to measure voltage. I have already built a Frankenbattery out of 2 Ridgid 4.0s so the Hercules battery build earned the name Francules.
Drill- Packedge in typical box, came with a tool bag (added bonus), two batteries, one charger, drill, and driver. Two words "plenty of Torque" th-cam.com/users/postUgkxW1vOBRCMrgTCDEijzpVzDWsgI-Jm2iQv well I guess that's three. Nice upgrade from current setup. Has belt clips, I don't think I will be using those. Driver and drill were bigger than what I expected but it is an upgrade from the current setup. For the money I would say that this is a great setup for Professionals and DIY/Weekend warriors.
Electrical Engineer here. Thank you for a very informative video. Now back to my dw920 battery pack mod to Li-ion. 🙂
They were actually designed by the same guys. A few of the guys that designed for dewalt left and came to work for harbor freight to design stuff for them so that's why they are so similar.
False
Hi I wanted to do this to my batteries ,I'm glad to see you tackle my thoughts . Thank you 😊
I can certainly appreciate the ingenuity and engineering that you put into solving this problem. Knowledge is power keep up the good work!
Dude Nooooice! Once you said Thermal, I was Floored, Maybe I should retireded! Of course that's what it is. I got a "20v Flex" dewalt Danger Grinder (with anti flesh destruction Brake) and today tried to make a corded Adapter but didn't bother to check resistance ( well besides my coworkers talkn crap on why would someone want that!) on the 2 inboard pins, just volts. I hope this is what I need but either way Thanks a bunch for the info.
You could instead of a resistor solder in the same type of thermistor used on the DeWalt battery, so that the DeWalt tools would get the correct reading but also retain your thermal protection on the Hercules batteries. maybe even put in a double pole swith that would allow you to switch between DeWalt and Hercules modes!
Please explain further
@@yonodc5705 The battery originally had thermal protection (to prevent damage from the battery overheating). In the video he used a resistor to trick the tool into thinking the battery is at room temp (because the temperature detection for the other brand doesn't produce the same resistance values the tool would interpret those reading as either being too hot or too cold and not allow the tool to operate [a safety feature]). This guy is suggesting adding in a compatible thermistor; which will actually change it's resistance based on temperature (so that you can regain the thermal protection for the battery). He suggested putting in a switch so that with the flic of a switch you can add or remove that thermistor from the circuit; doing this would allow you to switch from being compatible with either Dewalt or Hercules.
@@jonathanbetenbender307 Good explanation for the newbies. Do you know what value/model the thermistor would be?
@@bradkaral1188 I don't sorry (been a year); without having a battery to check maybe you can find it in a forum discussion via googling. Good luck sir.
Btw I'm a newbie myself; most complicated thing I've done electrically was a lichtenberg machine with two transformers and fans that run on either circuit (just took my time). Also made a nichrome wire cutter (studied things for a while). My friend is a genius with this stuff the guy has nearly rebuilt an industrial CNC from the ground up. Compared to him I'm a cave man clacking rocks together.
Helpful video. Thanks. A Dremel would make that work on the case much easier. 🙂
well, i need to notify uncle bumblefuck of this!!
SED71 with his D in a V?
was just thinking the same
+AvE
To be honest when I saw the title of it i just assumed it was him, I remembered ave had I talked about it some in a previous vijayo. Was somewhat disappointed when I started watching and found out it wasn't. Oh well good info either way.
This was helpful in the aspect that what you did I work in electronics and was familiar with it anyway. But 99% of people will not go through that much trouble. Cuz they simply don't understand. But there are a few companies or a company out there that are selling a adapters where you can interchange DeWalt to Milwaukee drills and batteries. Do a little research if you have some time and find out if those adapters would work for the Harbor Freight setup haunted DeWalt Milwaukee Etc.
Could you put the battery from the HF pack into the dewalt so you dont have to cut up the case
Black Box I wanna know also
I like how you explained your mod with what you used. Thanks!
What needs to be done, if anything, to electronics for the hack in the opposite direction, running HF tools on Dewalt batteries?
I'm with you on that y no awnser yet boss what u got to do too run DeWalt in a Hercules
Ah shucks, the things that get churned out of the factories when 3rd shift punches the clock at those fine DeWilt chinesium facilities.
Thank you. I've been curious about this, couldn't afford to trash batteries.
BTW, VERY impressive quality Hercules battery.
I see there's no stopping the angry pixies from that there wedding ring....
paul Gunther safety third
a couple of good old zip ties or electrical tape will fix that engagement issue lol. I appreciate the time you put into this though thinking about grabbing one of the 5.0 ah ones and trying it . I will probably do a comparison of my dewalt reciprocating saw and the future harbor freight one. If I can pull two 5.3's in 2 hours at a junkyard im saving close to 400 bucks either way with two reciprocating saws.
I don't know where you are but in Florida the DeWalt batteries go for 80 or $90 where the Hercules batteries all right around 45-50 so definitely a cool video I will be trying this next time I need batteries I may even remove the cells from the Hercules and install them into the DeWalt case
Yupp I work for Horrible Freight Tools and I seen the new tools come in and I seen the Batteries and was damn near shipping my self becaue the batteries and tools are damn near identical!
ur grammar is for shit dumb ass
ironmanfab lol, uses “ur” in a grammar nazi comment
If you're going to go through all that hastle, especially modifying the casing, why not should rebuild your existing DeWalt battery.
right? or just move the cells to from the HB to the dewalt.
I absolutely agree, the Hercules battery pack as far as cell construction and the aluminum heat sink seems much better engineer than the DeWalt cousin. If I was going to do all this work I would definitely swap the harbor freight cells and assembly into the DeWalt case and then go down the road. I would definitely keep using the DeWalt BMS as it has everything in there to communicate with the tools for the protection of the tools and the battery.
Using a 10k resistor fools the tool into working, but it also bypasses the batteries'
temperature protection. This is not a good idea as you could potentially have an exploding battery scenario. A better method would be to use a 10k thermistor across the terminals. You'd have to measure the Dewalt thermistor's resistance at different temperatures and compare to determine it's Resistance/Temperature curve to select the proper thermistor. You'd also probably need to isolate the temperature sense lead from anything else on the circuit board that might interfere with the thermistor reading as well. Don't know if you'd be able to charge the pack with 10k of resistance either as the Hercules charger would think the battery is really hot. The Dewalt charger probably won't work as it won't sense the cell balancing voltages.
Totes sounds good. make a vid
I found the big brain dude i was looking for to answer my question. I didn't even have to ask cause he already explained the problem lol.
What you called a mica sheet is a fuse I've been lead to believe since someone else popped it by hooking it up backwards.
Cool that you wore a teal shirt to match the battery!
Just more proof that All tools come off the same manufacturing line!
ahh ... NO
Nope, they made be made in the same factory in China but to different quality specs.
@@snowflakemelter1172 No same everything
What manyt folks do not know is that apart from Makita and Hitachi the vast majority of power tools are made in the Black and Decker/Dewalt factory so it is not surprising that the fits are common.
Bob L. Is it not Hilti rather than hitachi?
I'm more interested in making DeWalt batteries work in the Harbor Freight tools. What mods are needed for that?
Excellent video thank you so much. I took the battery apart and put the resistor in works great on DeWalt tool, but now it will not work in my Hercules tool. Is that normal? I was hoping to use the Hercules battery it in both tools.
Great work figuring out all of this!
LOVE that screwdriver and bit set. Better than the "gunsmith's" screwdriver set I bought!
What about the other way around? Dewalt batteries in Hercules tools?
I love watching screws get takin out i always forget how
Where's your video??!! Jackrabbit
Once you've seen one screw taken out you've pretty much got the idea.
No surprise since there's a good chance that the person who designed the HF battery also did the DeWalt since the rumor is that both are made in the same factory in China.
I was able to modify my Porter Cable battery to use my Black and Decker charger since my charger was missing. Very easy to do.
Great video. I've always used DeWalt batteries because I don't have any problems with them and they last for a long time. My question to you is: Where do you find DeWalt batteries for $30? I'll take a dozen!
Buy broken dewalt batteries on ebay, then fix them. I buy dewalt 20V batteries for 10 to 12$ each all the time in lots of 3 or more.
The reason I’m watching this video is 12 amp Hercules batteries are 80$ on eBay….
Making a power bank out of them
Can you show how to do the opposite? Dewalt 20v battery on a Hercules tool? Please!!
The time it would take to convert this would be worth more than what I would save.....just buy OEM
I read somewhere that HF hired some former DeWalt designers to design the new Hercules tools, so perhaps the same is true for the batteries, if any of it is true, that is.
By same designers, they mean same Asian factory.
I would not doubt it.
Now will this hurcules battery still work in the hurcules tool. Looking for a way to use one battery between 2 tools a dewalt and a hurcules.
So for a Hercules tool, we would need to trick the tool into sensing 100k ohms across the temp sense wire. In theory, we could modify a bauer battery or dewalt battery to work in the hercules tools.?
Is that right?
I take it adding that resistor makes it only work on Dewalt tools, but you couldn't you just wire in a switch to that resistor?
How can you put a dewalt battery on a Hercules tool? My Hercules tool & battery, after pulling the trigger for a few seconds shut down & starts to flash. The battery test light stopped working, so I am assuming it is the temp wire causing the issue. The pin next to B+ & B-, I get 99.1k ohms.
This is a very informative and entertaining video ,thanks. cheers !
It's like saying your Gameboy AA batteries work in your TV remote control.
Very cool video. Do you think hercules 20v USB source will work with dewalts 20v battery? $19
You’re the only sharing these numbers and findings.
Do you have a Bauer battery and does the therm read 100k ohms on the therm/B- connection also?? Thank you
Thank you for the info!
Great video thanks. Does the modified battery still work in the HF tool?
Heck of a mod to be able to make the hercules tools work in Dewalt do they still work in hercules tools after this mod?
Why not use a 10K thermistor instead of a 10K resistor?
great video! learned some good stuff here. question... i have the dewalt 20v toolset and i bought some hercules 20v bare tools. can i get the dewalt batteries to work in the hercules tools and dewalt tools[aside from the case modification], the way you did with the herc battery? thanks for your time
Hey did you ever figure it out? I'm trying to do the same thing
@@creepyunclephil unfortunately i couldn’t get it to work. i tried resistors and potentiometers and nothing worked. gave up since. if you figure it out, please let me know. best of luck to you
Cool! can you do other way use Dewalt battery on Bauer tools so I no need to buy another battery/charger?
Why didn't you just put the connector to the reactor ?
because the flux capacitor wasn't reaching it's full 1.21 jigawatts.
Agree with the presenter. I have enough DW battery inventory for my needs and they are long lasting and rugged. I have never needed to replace one in several years of using the 20 volt max. If/when I need to add or replace I can’t imagine I would need to save a few dollars by using a slightly cheaper battery, then adapt it and still have a less than perfect system. Just buy a genuine DW. If it cost $10 more and works for say 5 years then $2 / year is well worth it. I would consider replacing a dead cell or two before doing this.
Damn the dewalt... someone 3d print a housing for a 10 amp hr hercules battery.
Wouldn't the 10KOhm resistor be connected in parallel to the 100Kohm? so does that mean that dewalt needs an equivalent of ~9Kohms?
Dangerous mod. That battery can overheat and explode. You should have bought a proper 10k thermistor with extension leads and soldered it on instead of that 10k resistor. It would work safely on either drill brand at that point.
DeWalt also made in China, possibly in the same factory.
Where are you getting DeWalt batteries for $30?
Sellers on ebay have DeWALT DCB203 batteries for $32.50
My local flea market always has the 1.5 amp hour batteries for 30
Offer up is even cheaper.
I‘d be cautious of suspiciously cheap name brand items on eBay as there are many reports of Chinese counterfeits being sold there.
Why can’t you Just take the harbor freight batteries put them in the Dewalt case and swap the computer boards
Do you recharge now with a Hercules charger or DeWalt? Or either one? Thanks!
Great video! Thanks man.
Milwaukee M18 batterys anbd tools is what i have i may try to see if i can get to work on a grinder
Would it not be simpler and more effective to get a dead dewalt battery pack and just switch out the 18650's?
RAW TOPSHOT yes, but in that case, I wouldn't even bother with this battery. I would just buy the cells.
Great info! Did you consider just moving the thermistor... except that would disable its use on a Hercules tool.
Oh, ABS = engineering plastic, PP = commodity plastic. So despite adding GF to the PP, I consider the DeWalt ABS casing to be superior. After you drop a few of the double-row packs from 30 feet up to concrete without any issues, you begin to admire the build quality of those packs.
Orders Atxal the case is actually made out of pa6, which my understanding is nylon.
If it's nylon/zytel then that would be nice especially if it was close to 35% GRP, but I would be surprised. Sort of like all the "nylon" cord from China that's actually PP. I'll pick up to use the cells in a dead DeWalt pack, and then try to glue or weld the old case!
Orders Atxal Lowes house kolbalt line is also a cheap source to get tool cell batteries. You can get six 2000 mah cells for $20
also, as a reply to your question about maintaining thermal protection: I didn't go to far into the circuit, but I did go far enough that the thermistor is not a straight hookup to the pin and ground. I believe it goes through the microcontroller onboard and the microcontroller is the one that outputs the actual data. The microcontroller is a HOLTUK HT66F018.
My initial guess is that perhaps the other brands at harbor freight use the same circuit, but have different firmware to prevent cross tool use. Will have to pickup their bauer brand battery and see if this theory is correct.
why does it sound like everyone has an issue with what or how you did this modification. ppl criticize instead of posting their own video.
So I have to hack it up and solder parts on to get it to work but they cost about the same. Why not just buy the Dewalt to start with?
Why isn't some enterprising person making swap out casing parts, in this case, a custom top for the Hercules, so that it fits lock stock and barrel into a DeWault tool???? Earth to China?? Buehler???
Because design patents and lawsuits are a thing.
@@willow450 Lol as if THATS ever stopped the Chinese
I wonder if ide be able to 3D print this
Captain Sparks Should be able to if you can draw it.
@@willow450 adapters are made all the time. there is a dewalt to ryobi battery adapter. not sure why there isn't one for all brands. It sickens me to be a forced into a loyalty brand. i would prefer to buy the tool that performs better then compromise due to battery casings.
You need an extra battery so you can use the drill to take apart the HF batteries.
Ryan Stranacher really? wow u should make a tutorial video of that.
Great vid! thanks!
So why dont you just swap tops out and install in the dewalt
Hilarious, the irony is not lost watching him use "Manual hand tools" to open cordless tool batteries. The 60's phoned and they want their screwdrivers back. I hope you used a Beta tape camcorder to film this.🤣
probably made in the same factory... come on now boys, think, think!
Nice bit kit from harbor freight
So if all he is doing is adding a 10k Ohm resister between the temp and ground, wouldn’t it be possible to make an adapter that you can slide the Hercules battery into and then have to top able to slide into the dewalt tool?? Would this be possible with 3D printing? That way you don’t have to do any messing around with the actual batteries and you can still easily use the Hercules battery for Hercules tools or dewalt tools
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If you're going to take things apart why not just solder in the harbor freight batteries.
Will this setup also work on a 20v 5ah hercules battery? Thanks!
Link where to get the resistor ?? Bud
great video and background indeed
I would much rather just transfer the Hercules cells onto my DeWalt board and pack it all back into the DeWalt case. I will say the DeWalt cases are absolute crap. I have four DeWalt batteries now that are being held together with duct tape and silicone. Out of the 15 batteries I own those probably see the most constant use. I've never dropped one from a man left but I've been frustrated enough to throw the whole tool when the battery starts disintegrating in your hand while making a cut. In any case the Hercules battery pack looks like it's very well engineered I really like that heat sink. I would say if the cells are really any good just transplanted into it dead DeWalt battery.
Just can't stop wondering when some manufacturer will decide to dominate the market and make their tools just use 18650 cells straight up; no special casing, etc. same as putting AA's in a toy... yes, I know battery quality varies widely, but it still needs to be done.
Kickstarter anyone?????? likely $100,000 funding waiting for a drill and a hex driver that both use 18650 Lithium cells.... I'll be first to sign up.
B Miller harbor freight just started selling a little work light with a magnetic base that allows you to swap out the 18650 like a AA flashlight.
Progress! This seems as obvious to me as some battery manufacturer deciding to dominate the rechargeable AA and AAA battery market by ENDING the STUPIDITY that is the 1.2V design, and making a battery that is a full 1.5V in NIMH... Just one of those design limitations so that rechargeables didn't cannabalize their Alkaline battery business...
Why not lithium? Those Nimh don't last! Both can be found through marketplaces like AliExpress. The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) batteries are the most advanced thus far, so I've heard. I think those are available in the 18650 size as well as other common sizes like AA and AAA. Download the AliExpress app and see what you can find. I love it
Look specifically for the "Kentli" brand batteries. Those are the best I've found. They are 1.5v
Wasn't aware of those, will have to check them out. thanks
Do you know how to make the hercules tools work with dewalt batteries the reason is I have alot of dewalt 20 volt batteries and wanted to buy just the Hercules tools
Kinda weird sanyo doesnt get a good rep for having that great of batteries in the 18650 circles
Why not just change out the batteries?
Omg if you’re going to do something like this use an impact on the screws.
Can you charge it in a dewalt charger now? Can you use it in Hercules tools yet?
What about dewalt batteries in hercules tools?
so trying to understand here. Is the resistor you put in parallel to the thermistor on the pack? or did you just put a resistor with same load in same place as the dewalt?
I just put a resistor. If you wanted to mantain thermal protection, you could put a thermistor of the right spec. The harbor freight battery has a NTC style, and the DeWalt has a PTC, so you couldn't just add a resistor.
I wouldn’t buy a Herc battery, mess it up and hope all is well when I can buy a DW battery for a few more bucks and be sure it is fine and all warranties good. I would do a cell replace before this. Or buy a clone as long as it is just drilling etc. how often do you need to buy a battery? Those extra few dollars for the real article are spread over years. This was technically interesting for sure but confirmed to me to not bother trying it.
Hercules did this on purpose to sell more batteries!
do you charge it with Hercules charger or DeWalt charger?
why didn't you just put the HF batteries and circuit board in the DeWalt battery housing?
I don't have any spare dewalt battery housings.
James Barcellano i love you sir
And does the pack fit in the DW case?
Anything can be made to fit anything, with enough time, work and money. Got told that at Amol Precision in Dumont, NJ when I wanted to fit '78 Honda 750F wheels to a '76.
I used a Hercules battery to rebuild a toast Ridgid battery. Given the time and effort I wouldn't do it again but it works good none the less. The Hercules battery has that aluminum heat sink underneath which I couldn't pry off, so I had a heck of a time scraping the bottom of the Ridgid battery case to make it deep enough. Also with the fuel gauge the whole thing is longer so it it won't fit in some DeWalt batteries unless you ditch the gauge. Also the way the internal circuit board sits I'd be surprised if the DeWalt top would fit on the cells. Just my two cents. Honestly though I'm quite pleased with how my Ridgid/Hercules rebuild is performing for a $30 battery.
Can you just swap out the batteries if you wonder what I mean take the batteries from out of the Harbor Freight battery pack put it inside your DeWalt battery pack close it up instead of Cuttin Up and modifying that Harbor Freight battery I don't know that's what I would have done
I'm very surprised they go with Samsung cells and not some random brand
Can you do it with a Milwaukee?
You stated that abs is a better material. I disagree, my new Dewalt battery lit on fire and melted the abs plastic.
That's irrelevant. Lithium burns very very hot. No plastic is going to contain a lithium fire.
How do i get a hercules tool to work with dewalt batteries?
Can you show us how to hook up a hobby Lipo to the new dewalt battery?
DeWalt just came out with a battery pack using lipo cells. I can't wait till they start bursting into flames. After multiple emails and inquiries I've yet to have a good explanation as to how they keep the lipo cells from turning into little explosion makers. In a cell phone the current demands aren't so great but in a power tool absolutely you could draw enough discharge current quickly enough to just absolutely destroy a lipo especially if afterwards you put it in a rapid charger. Imagine what would happen if you drop that battery with a full charge. You have an instant light show with some bonus smoke.
@@MAINTMAN73 if your tool burns up then you need a new tool and if your house burns down well then you will need many new tools.
Need to see how close a Porter Cable is to Dewalt, since they are owned by the same company.
Scott Foster
Just so you know. Once Stanley brought Porta Cable . They took the entire Black and Decker Firestorm line and remanded it as Porta Cable.
The 20 volt Black and Decker battery packs plug right in to DeWalt 20 volt tools. Are you saying the Porter Cable batteries and tools are interchangable as well?
So will harbor freight batteries work in DeWalt or do you have to rig it?
Emma Robbie Us you have to add a 10k ohm resistor in the battery, along with modifying the case a bit to fit the tool
next time just tell the lazy fack to watch the video