Battery brains - DeWalt 20v

OK, so I'm happy as came be with my older 18v DeWalt drill, saw, and rotary laser. But, the last charger just STB plus the batteries are ancient and so I'm into buying mode. I've seen the 20v with adapter and charger and batteries are comparably priced with the 18v. Look like 4 or 6 Ah available.

I'm interested in any and all opinions, cautions, and suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

I can't comment on the adapter, but my shop is almost strictly 20v tools (impact, drill, sawzall, circular saw, jig saw) and overall have been pleased with the the 20v batteries. The little dinky ones that come with the kits lasted almost 3 years of abuse. I have since upgraded to all 4 or 5 amp hour batteries. So far no issues wit those batteries or the chargers.

We use DeWalt tools exclusively for our company. 18 volt has been great. ....But slowly changing to 20 volt. Small batteries that come with drills ect are ok but the larger batteries that come with weed eaters, blowers, framing gun ect are way better. Can't go wrong with DeWalt. We use em and abuse em every day. Still going! We build decks and install all types of fences. Charge batteries every night. Got about 20 of em.

Also take a couple of your old batterys and go to a store called " batteries and bulbs. They are a national chain. Will rebuild your packs with the lattest super duper cells available. Check them out. Look on the internet for locations. If you REALLY know what you are doing you can get cells on ebay and do them yourself. You need courage.

Maybe our residents battery expert would help him. But if the charger is dead also, might be worth upgrading now.

I have way too many 18v dewalt tools to think of buying 20v tools. The price of my dewalt rotating laser was perhaps my most expensive tool. No way will I ever think of buying 20v tools.

I know a man who invested in 36 v dewalt drill, 2 batteries, charger, and reciprocating saw. He needs to replace the batteries and repair the saw. The price of two batteries and parts is outrageous. He said he didn't notice anything special about 36v tools, except for the price.

So I ask, what is so special about 20v dewalt tools that make you want to buy them? What sets them apart form 18v tools. Have you ever measured the volts of your 18v batteries after you took them off the charger. I think mine measure 21+ volts.

I go to ebay or amazon when I buy replacement batteries that come with a square deal 3 year warranty. I'm hard on my batteries. I'll only buy new ones and keep my old ones to repair the plastic cases that I seem to break before my cells are dead.

I also have the newer 3 way dewalt charger, NiCd, NiMH, and Li ion. I will only buy NiMh batteries because of years of owning 18v dewalt tools and having bad luck with expensive dewalt batteries, both NiCd and Li-ion. I turn my dewalt radio on when I'm working in the shop. Radio is also a charge, get two things in one.

If you have an itch to spend money, buy new batteries, update charger and 1/4 impact to set screws.

Just my two cents.
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My brother had a Makita 18v set and I really liked it. Then I went and b ought a DeWalt 20V set,it came with three batteries,it took all three to do anything. I returned the set and bought Makita.

Someday I'm going to make a gazillion dollars by making an adapter that will allow anyone to use whatever brand battery pack they have in whatever brand tool they have. I'm still happily using ancient Makita 9v stick pack tools. They run even better with a 12v stick!

Why no one makes that adapter I mentioned is beyond me.

(quoted from post at 13:03:25 05/04/17) Also take a couple of your old batterys and go to a store called " batteries and bulbs. They are a national chain. Will rebuild your packs with the lattest super duper cells available. Check them out. Look on the internet for locations. If you REALLY know what you are doing you can get cells on ebay and do them yourself. You need courage.

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I've got a few Black and Decker 19 volt batteries that won't hold a charge. I took one apart a few days ago. The individual cell connections are not solder connections, but instead seem to be spot-welded. No easy way to take them apart.

Thought maybe I could take the GOOD cells from 2 batteries and make ONE good battery. Looks like that isn't going to happen.

yeah, so we went down this rabbit hole a few months back. I had a charger that would never stop indicating fully charged and I was questioning whether it was the battery or the charger. Did some testing and pulsed you guys. Well, it was the charger. I went to the laser level which had it's own battery and charger. No issues with charging and so I just cycled the 3 batteries around when needed. Now, 2 of these batteries are ancient. Now I'm back to the same charger issue and it only makes sense that 1 of the batteries may be causing this. So, I plan to dump the lot and start fresh. Buying 20v is comparable in price to 18v so I was looking for direction on staying w/ 18 or moving to 20. Need to spend money either way.

(quoted from post at 12:07:32 05/04/17) OK, so I'm happy as came be with my older 18v DeWalt drill, saw, and rotary laser. But, the last charger just STB plus the batteries are ancient and so I'm into buying mode. I've seen the 20v with adapter and charger and batteries are comparably priced with the 18v. Look like 4 or 6 Ah available.

I'm interested in any and all opinions, cautions, and suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

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I'm still running my 20+ year old DeWalt 14v drills...very well balanced and not too heavy. They have been one of my best investments...