learn more stuff: universal Ryobi 18v battery to Dewalt 18v tool adapter

Time to revisit the RyWaltBi!

old tools still work great

In a previous blog post Ryobi battery conversion for DeWalt, I detailed the steps that I took to modify one of my older 18v nicad dewalt tools to take a modern ryobi 18v lipo battery. Gutting the drill to accept the battery adapter was time consuming and messy and I don't want to repeat that for each remaining dewalt 18v tool in my garage.

Instead of modifying every dewalt tool ($$$, time, inelegant) with a new battery receiver, I decided to try something different. This time around, I modified an old dewalt battery shell to receive the ryobi battery adapter (hacky, tacky, lovely) and pass the power up to the dewalt tool.

batterydapter

The problem with the older XRP batteries is that getting the cells replaced (batteries plus - never again) is a costly affair. Even if buying new-old-stock OEM XRP batteries, the NiCad cells self-discharge over time so the tools are always dead when I need them and they'll eventually die again anyway. I've had these same Ryobi LiPos for longer than a brand new set of XRPs for the DeWalts.

I'm sold on Ryobi, if that wasn't already obvious. I love that old Ryobi tools can take the new batteries and live on. That was a great decision to not screw over all of their existing consumer base by making the batteries backwards compatible. Now I won't have to modify any (more) of my aging DeWalt tools to take the Ryobi batteries.

ryobi battery + batterydapter + dewalt 18v tools = yay

This type of adapter only sort of exists commercially, but it adapts the older dewalt tools to newer dewalt or milwaukee batteries, not ryobi. Why is Ryobi left out of the fun? Their batteries have built in discharge protection, lots of capacity and some offer high current. The only downside is their awkward shape, which probably complicates making them fit into weird places they shouldn't go...

Now the DeWalt drill looks like this. I think it is kind of funny. It perfectly fits my "function first" aesthetic. I can also slap this contraption into any other legacy dewalt tool like the reciprocating saw or 1/2" impact driver. The hoarder in me wants to buy up all the aging 18v dewalt tools that I can find.