Can you use a 20volt in place of a broken 18volt lithium-ion

[Gezza_01]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 18volt 1.5 lithium-ion cordless drill that I can no longer get parts for and the batteries are now dead, so I recently found a really reasonably priced brand new 2.0 lithium-ion with the same connections and polarity etc and although I have not attempted to put a 18volt charge into these 20volts or ran it, I examined the new one and it will definatley fit my drill and charger perfectly.
My question is : - Does anyone know if this will cause me any issues as far as charging and use apart from it running a little hotter and faster

many thanks in advance

 

[telectrix]

batteries need a charge voltage slightlyhigher than their output voltage, typically around +10%. so unless your charger is capable of pushing out 22V+. then the 20V battery willnot charge. some chargers are "intelligent" and sense the battery voltage and output accordingly. case of try it and see. IMO.

 

[Gezza_01]

Ok, thanks for that, I might give it a try then. though the new battery may already come pre-charged with 20volts

 

[telectrix]

they often come partly charged.

 

[nicebutdim]

batteries need a charge voltage slightlyhigher than their output voltage, typically around +10%. so unless your charger is capable of pushing out 22V+. then the 20V battery willnot charge. some chargers are "intelligent" and sense the battery voltage and output accordingly. case of try it and see. IMO.

Would this not be a case of a tool manufacturer marketing their product to appear more powerful, like makita with their 10.8V/12 Max platform? The lithium cells contained within these battery packs will have the same nominal voltage.

 

[Gezza_01]

Would this not be a case of a tool manufacturer marketing their product to appear more powerful, like makita with their 10.8V/12 Max platform? The lithium cells contained within these battery packs will have the same nominal voltage.

yeh, probably right I've seen this many times now with other products ,never thought of that, thanks

 

[loz2754]

Would this not be a case of a tool manufacturer marketing their product to appear more powerful, like makita with their 10.8V/12 Max platform? The lithium cells contained within these battery packs will have the same nominal voltage.

This exactly.
DeWalt 18V range is marketed as DeWalt 20V range in the US. They're exactly the same electrically speaking.

 

[rsgaz]

like makita with their 10.8V/12 Max platform?

The same as Bosch, they have switched to 12v, but tell us everything is compatible.

A 10.8v battery has 3 lithium cells, 10.8 ÷ 3 = 3.6v, which is the nominal voltage for a lithium cell.

Charge up 3 cells to 4.0v, and, voila, 12v.

The maths work out perfectly for 18v to 20v also, because those batteries have 5 lithium cells in them.

 

[nicebutdim]

I'm going to guess the OP is looking at an aftemarket battery (given that connection is identical) and that it's aimed at a different market where the battery is sold as a higher nominal voltage.

In this case I'd be more wary of the wild variation in aftermarket batteries, from fairly decent to downright dangerous.