Using a tool with third-party battery adapters can have a similar effect. Bounce that drill off a roof onto concrete and you’re unlikely to get it serviced under the warranty. 3 – Potentially Voiding the Manufacturer’s Warrantyīelieve it or not, manufacturers actually care about how you use their tools and batteries. Nobody enjoys either a dead battery or a burned-up tool. Now you’ve created a potential “brick” pack that can no longer take a charge. What’s more-if a lithium-ion battery is “dumb” because the tool is smart, then putting it on a “dumb” tool means you can now drain the pack down below its nominal level.

In both cases, all of the built-in protection that keeps both the tool and the battery from going so far that it damages itself is gone. Unfortunately, when you bypassed it with a battery adapter or voltage converter, you likely took away its ability to protect itself. Your car is most likely going to shut itself down before permanent damage occurs, and your cordless tool does the same. Just like the battery adapter, you’ve bypassed the electronic communications to do so. You’re just telling the tool to push the gas pedal farther. The same thing goes for these voltage boosters.

See how long it takes for your temperature gauge to rise and idiot lights to illuminate. Tool battery adapters largely ignore the lines that govern safe use of a tool. Yes, we can push the tool and battery beyond what they’re rated for, but not for long and not without consequences. Just like the car, there’s an optimal operating range. This comes from extreme heat production in the motor and/or pack. Driving the motor beyond what it is designed to maintain will most likely result in failure.

Dewalt 20v 18v battery adapter