![]() So, contemplating all the possibilites and reading stuff here about DEwalt, PC and B&D under one roof, I grabbed the batt from my DeWalt 20v Max impact driver and went to Lowes, because they have the other 2 brands. Was considering the Rigid because of the warranty and becuase I thought it was nice how Ryobi (less pro version of Rigid) made all there new batteries work on all the old ni-cad tools. I have PC 18v nicad stuff that was OK< but batteries not too good, plus a lot of DeWalt 14.4v stuff, but trying to decide what system to upgrade to. I got excited after reading this thread + the reviews on the new PC line. In theory you should be able to drill the tab out on the tool as well, but that might be a tad drastic if it turns out to not work….not to mention it will void any warranty. I haven’t tried using a B&D 20v LI battery in a P+C tool yet (since I don’t have one ….yet), so I’m not sure if you can use them if the P+C tools also have that tab. So I drilled it out and cleaned it out a bit with a sharp knife, and was then able to slide the B&D battery in! It charged up as expected and used that battery all day like I would normally expect. After a little observation at both batteries, I noticed that there was a tab on the right side of the P+C charger (looking at it from the back where you would slide the battery in.) Its on the bottom of the slide, and you will notice that its not on the other side. Got back to the shop and tried the B&D battery, but it would not slide all the way in. I was at the store looking for a charger and noticed that the B&D charger (going for something like $40) looked identical to the P+C charger (that was on clearance for $19), so I took the chance and bought the P+C one. I feel this is what the tools of the future will be like.Ĭoming across this post rather late, but for others who may find this useful: The B&D 20v LI battery packs can fit into the Porter+Cable chargers, if you are willing to do a little modding. A compact battery would be the handle itself and a high capacity battery would be the handle with a bit of bulk below it such as a typical battery adds bulk to the codless tool. This would mean a lighter tool and could save on production costs for the manufacturer. What about the wasted space in cordless tools like the handle? I think they can ditch the handle as being part of the tool and instead make the battery the handle. Todays cordless tools can still be more powerfull, I see them being as powerfull as corded one day. Wireless charging where you place your battery on a mat and it charges automatically (this technology is available today). Also these smart tools will let you know whats going on and communicate with you by letting you know if they are overheating, low battery – time to replace, time to service tool, tool failure with codes similar to cars, usage stats, could also pair with your smartphone via bluetooth or whatever tech we have in those days and use an app. At first the displays will be low res and in black and white with physical buttons, then in color and lastly in high res with touchscreen controls. I imagine tools would have an lcd display to display remaining power in 1% increments, display tool settings like torque, rpm, and have a menu or settings feature to adjust torque, rpm, economy mode for long battery life, high performance mode, also recommended settings for the type of material you’re working with. May seem gimmicky to most of you but I bet you wouldn’t see yourself without them when they come out. ![]() There’s still plenty of features todays cordless tools don’t even have that nearly all gadgets do such as lcd displays. I really like the size of 12v tools and possibly one day even the most heavy duty 18v tools will be compact enough to be the same size as todays 12 volts. There’s still plenty of improvement left for power tools. They will support 18V users with battery packs and service as long as they need to, but there is little reason for them divert engineering efforts towards developing new 18V tools. ![]() Or maybe they will, but I highly doubt it. Officially the 18V tools are also “value-focused professional tools,” but in practice the 18V NiCd products were much more popular with budget-conscious DIYers.ĭewalt is not going to be releasing new innovations for the 18V lineup. With Porter Cable, the 18V and 20V Max offerings will target different users. Stores were not willing to stock both SKUs indefinitely. When Dewalt shifted from 18V to 20V Max, everyone knew that the end of the 18V lineup was near. Porter Cable has plans to maintain both lines in parallel. It’s not a simple case of 18V -> 20V Max. They will continue to produce the 18V NiCd products and add-ons, but the Li-ion aspect of the 18V line will likely fade into the shadows as the 20V system expands. ![]() ![]() Porter Cable has made it clear that they’re not abandoning their 18V line. ![]()
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