Batteries for B&D / Stanley Fatmax / DeWalt

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wazzageek

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#223608 8-Oct-2017 11:55

As my B&D firestorm is starting to get a bit tired (Good run - 10+years with the original 2 NiCd batteries) I have justified buying a new Stanley Fatmax Drill driver.

I know that Black and Decker / Stanley FatMax and Dewalt are all the "same" company ... and the tools are similar across the three different brands.

The B&D drill driver felt a bit cheaper, and the Dewalt was about double my budget - but when you look at the fast chargers for B&D and Stanley Fatmax, they look the same, albeit with different colours and logos.

Has any one tried mixing and matching the batteries across the three ranges?

richms

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#1879344 8-Oct-2017 12:33

There are pins in the sliding part to stop that happening. Seen some people have some sucess grinding that off to make it fit, but it may be like makita where they changed how the low voltage cut off was done in later ones and a pin was to stop you putting a later battery on an old tool and over discharging them.

Richard rich.ms

wazzageek

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#1879347 8-Oct-2017 12:42

Thanks for that - Looks like if there's a B&D tool I get I'll have to get the battery as well.

linw

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#1879779 9-Oct-2017 11:11

Potentially a house burn down situation swapping battery/chargers. That will be why there are physical impediments to doing that. Lithium batteries really do need a correct charge/discharge regime.

wazzageek

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#1879791 9-Oct-2017 11:31

linw:

Potentially a house burn down situation swapping battery/chargers. That will be why there are physical impediments to doing that. Lithium batteries really do need a correct charge/discharge regime.

I get your point there, but I was talking about batteries that are both 18V, and about using them in differing tools. I did do a gander in the service area of the B&D / Stanley Fatmax and saw that the battery chargers have the same part numbers. (Which makes sort of sense, the chargers are 20V @ 1A (If I recall correctly, might be "18V @ 1A".)

In any case, reading through the manuals seems to suggest that Black & Deckers intended audience is consumer, and Stanley FatMax is professional and non-professional. Looking at the chargers, the batteries look to be the same, however I'm pretty sure that there is a physical difference to the battery connector on the tools.

When the budget allows, I'll get a B&D tool and update.

Cheers!

richms

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#1879845 9-Oct-2017 12:28

The 18v /20v thing is just a us vs eu voltage labling on the batteries. They are all just 5 3.6v nominal lithiums in them. 20v is the max straight off the charger for the pack.

You don't want to be running the batteries with no protection which from memory happens with the Makitas when removing the key.

Richard rich.ms

Kickinbac

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#1883558 14-Oct-2017 19:46

I bought a dewalt drill and impact driver kit with two batteries and a charger. After years of cheap crappy drills I'm glad I spent a bit extra. It's been so handy and reliable. Since then I've added the circular saw, sabre saw and torch skins and got a couple of extra batteries. As with any of these brands, once you get the first kit you're kinda stuck with that brand. Have a look at the Ryobi one + range, they seem quite good with huge range of tools. Makita and Milwalkee are good too but a lot more $$$. My next purchase will be a dewalt line trimmer.

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#1883616 14-Oct-2017 21:58

richms: The 18v /20v thing is just a us vs eu voltage labling on the batteries. They are all just 5 3.6v nominal lithiums in them. 20v is the max straight off the charger for the pack.

You don't want to be running the batteries with no protection which from memory happens with the Makitas when removing the key.

I thought the US 18v v's 20v thing was a result of the original 18v lithium tools in some brands sharing the same shape as the older NiCd. You could use the new batteries in the old tools. The Dewalt changed to a slide on battery and in the US used the 20v label to make it seem better but now different. Now you can get adapters for the slide batteries to fit plug in type tools.