Charging a Cordless Drill on 12V?

[Vintage465]

So I have a new 20v cordless drill to drop the jacks on my trailer. Naturally it came with the 110v charger for plugging in at home. I don't intend on setting up an inverter in my rig. For my 18v computer I have an inverter that plugs into my cigarette lighter on my work truck. Is there such an inverter to plug into a cigarette lighter to charge a 20v drill?

[MrWizard]

RickW
I'm glad it worked for you
My experience was different, but I was not running up jacks
I was drilling holes, and converting 18v to 12v
Did not provide the needed torque the drill would stall
Each situation is different, I was thinking of full load torque
Not of the jacks, which was the topic of discussion...My mistake

[Stefonius]

Harvey51 wrote:
There are way too many different tool batteries. I wonder how we managed to get AA, AAA, C and D battery standards. I guess a standard tool battery would cut into company profits, though.

Ironically... If you open up a tool battery, you'll find that most of them are stuffed with what appear to be standard AA, C or D NiCD or NiMH rechargeable batteries. They're soldered together in series to produce the desired output voltage (each one contributes 1.2v).

[Harvey51]

There are way too many different tool batteries. I wonder how we managed to get AA, AAA, C and D battery standards. I guess a standard tool battery would cut into company profits, though.

[CapnCampn]

If you've got a dying cordless battery, find a Batteries Plus store or similar - they will rebuild the pack for about half of what a new one costs. I've got a rebuilt pack & an OEM pack for my drill & the OEM one has pretty much given up while the rebuilt just keeps going & going. Gonna have the weak one rebuilt sometime soon.

cc

[landyacht318]

My hardwired 9.6v craftsman drill can blow a 35 amp ATC fuse if braked to a stop, but not a 40 amp one.

I'd not trust a ciggy plug to pass 10 amps for any duration.

My first hardwiring of a cordless drill, I used a 18 awg ciggy plug cord as it was all I had available, and the torque available was an absolute joke. And I had to wrap the ciggy plug fuse in aluminum foil the first time I used it.

[RWDIII]

Rick thanks for reply I believe all the lighter plugs are 15 amp,so I should be good to go

[RickW]

Hi RWD

I do not know the amp draw-I don't have a DC clamp-on ammeter. I use the cigarette lighter plug that normally uses a 10 amp fuse (I think). If you need more amps, use heavier wire and the battery clamps like uncle bud above.

I can use the 12 volt circuit in the truck, camper or with a portable 12 volt battery. I can raise all 4 jacks with one small drill battery, which I believe has a capacity of 5 Ah.

I have a number of Ryobi tools that all use the same battery so it is cost effective for me to have the Li-ion batteries and chargers. They perform much better than the old nicads.

You can sometimes get a good deal on new Ryobi batteries around thanksgiving or after Christmas.

Hope this helps,

[RWDIII]

I know I am late to the conversation .
RickW do you have any idea how many amps the drill draws when on 12V
Can you use the camper batt? I also have the Ryobi and it seems the ni cads are on their way out.
I will conver one of my batts like you did before I throw a good drill away or have to buy a lithium bat and charger.My alt on the truck will provide up to 14.5 volts,
is it better to run off the truck.
Thanks

[RickW]

uncle_bud wrote:






This works for Me. I gutted a dead battery, and run some outdoor lighting cable to it. It used to have a trolling motor plug on the end and the camper had a receptacle on each side.

X2

MrWizard wrote:
thats good and works well
IF it was originally 12 v or 9v

won't be worth shinola on a 20v drill

the PC device is a DC - DC power converter, a dedicated device for laptops
have never seen one for cordless drills

just use a small 12>120v inverter

Mr. Wiz, is this your experience?

I'm glad I didn't read your comment before I tried it.



Mine is an 18 V drill and will crank the jacks right up on 12 V and high torque.

[otrfun]

Vintage465 wrote:

Stefonius wrote:
What brand is your new cordless drill? Most manufacturers make a battery charger designed for use with a 12v power supply. See this example from DeWalt.

That's it! That's exactly what I need! Mines a 20v DeWalt. All of my problems are solved............now where's that guy that sent the picture of the crank!

The Dewalt DCB119 will set you back almost $100. Seems like a lotta $$ and a bit of redundancy for just an occasional battery charge.

Could purchase this 300 watt PSW (pure sine wave) inverter for $102 to power your existing Dewalt charger plus the added flexibility to power other sensitive electronics.

[wa8yxm]

I think he is saying he has an 18 volt DC/DC converter for his computer

The answer to his quiestion is yes, Micro-Center among other computer stores sells a "Universal" computer adapter it is a DC/DC converter with adjustable voltage and a selection of "Tips" (plugs for the device) I'm sure it would work.

Radio Shack used to sell one as well (or two)


HOWEVER. what I'm not sure of is the proper voltage to set it at. .IF the drill is a 20 volt drill then you will need something higher (Perhaps 25 volts) to charge NOTE The Perhaps is not intended as instruction only example I can all but guarantee it is the WRONG voltage,, not sure what the proper feed is.

[time2roll]

This mostly for the jacks? Bah... just use the hand crank. A little exercise is good for the soul.

[brulaz]

Vintage465 wrote:

...
Excellent! Yes the trailer did come with one of those! But MAN! I have never seen such long winded jacks in my life. My old trailer had the original style B.A.L. jacks and I never needed nor cared about a cordless for those. This new trailer has the scissor type jacks and it took me several minutes each to crank down by hand. It was still too much money @ $1200.00 to get the power jack option.

You are better off with scissors jacks (powered or not), IMHO.

They can handle more weight and are more stable than non-scissor type Lippert powered jacks that I have. But I do have a weakness for the remote control ... :B

[mgirardo]

I've owned several smaller wattage (less than 350 watts) MSW inverters that stated in the documentation not to charge batteries with the inverter.

I too recommend getting a good PSW inverter.

-Michael