Are dewalt batteries interchangeable with other brands

I have a few cordless tools in my workshop which include a couple of cordless drills and a cordless impact driver. My two drills are Black and Decker and the driver is a Dewalt. The other day, my battery ran out unexpectedly on my Black and Decker cordless drill, so I thought to myself, ‘hey, why not try the Dewalt and see what happens?’ 

Cordless drill batteries are not interchangeable between other manufacturers’ cordless drills. Manufacturers do, however, make cordless tools that can run off the same cordless battery. For example, a cordless drill, reciprocating saw and circular saw made by Dewalt should all be able to use the same batteries.

It just makes sense that a company such as Porter-Cable wouldn’t manufacture a battery that could be used with a competitor’s cordless tool.

You might think well, why not because they are still using the battery from Porter-Cable. Considering that batteries are usually more expensive than some cordless drills, without the battery it might seem to make sense.

There could be liability issues or other reasons manufacturers don’t go this route. At the end of the day, this is what we have left to work with.

So, it should be very clear that you can’t use one cordless drill battery on another type of cordless drill. To make this article more comprehensive, I did do a bit of research online and found more answers for you regarding what seems to be some common questions. So, if you’re ready to learn more then let’s get to it!

* This article may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Can I use a Cordless 40v Battery in a Cordless 20v Tool?

Let’s say you have a Ryobi cordless drill that is supposed to be run on a 20v battery. Now, you just happen to have a 40v battery for your Ryobi cordless circular saw.

Can you use that 40v in the drill? Chances are, if they are from the same series, you will be able to attach the battery to the drill but what will happen?

It is very likely that your drill will not last very long with that much power being offered to it. The 40v battery will probably fry the cordless drill.

So, don’t do it! Instead, get an appropriate battery which, in this example, is a 20v. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and buy a new one.

Are 18v and 20v Batteries Interchangeable?

This question is along the same line as the previous section. I just wanted to look at this from the position of will an 18v B&D battery work interchangeably with a 20v B&D battery for your cordless drill? I hope that made sense!

The thing is, whether you like it or agree with it or not, these companies are in the business to make money. So, even though an 18v B&D cordless drill might be able to run okay with a 20v battery, the batter

ies and drills are made so only specific batteries will slide into place on them. An 18v battery in an 18v drill and so on.

Are Lithium-Ion Batteries Interchangeable?

I really feel like I only have bad news for you here, however, I hope that you appreciate having this resource with most cordless battery cross-compatibility questions covered.

The answer to ‘are lithium-ion batteries interchangeable’ is no. Sorry. Whether the batteries are alkaline or lithium-ion, you just can’t use one in place of the other. The size and shape (along with the voltage) just won’t match up with another manufacturer’s product.

Are Porter Cable and Craftsman Batteries Cross Compatible?

The heading in this section is a common search I found online. It appears so therefore many people are searching for this answer. As with every other manufacturer, the batteries are made for that specific brand and no other.

It’s unfortunate, as an almost daily user of cordless drills, but there are other alternatives, like buying a 2nd or even 3d backup battery.

Sometimes, you can find them used at garage sales or pawn shops. Online at Facebook Marketplace is another good place to find deals on used tools. I sell them there and buy lots of good used tools there.

Are Black and Decker Batteries Interchangeable with Dewalt?

As previously mentioned at the beginning of the article, my Black and Decker cordless drill ran out the other day and I didn’t have a Black and Decker battery backup. What I did have though, was a Dewalt cordless drill that I don’t use often so the battery is typically charged up and ready to go.

I pulled the Dewalt battery off the drill and proceeded to insert it into the Black and Decker drill. Oh, I should mention that both are 20v batteries.

Well, what happened was the Dewalt battery just didn’t fit into the Black and Decker’s battery location. So, I couldn’t use it. I had to wait for the drained battery to get charged up.

The moral of this story is: always have an extra battery charged up and ready to go!

What Cordless Batteries are Compatible with Dewalt? (Ever hear of Flexvolt Batteries?)

Remember earlier in this article where I talked about how different manufacturer’s batteries are not compatible with each other? Well, that still holds true. There is an instance where a battery line called Flexvolt is interchangeable with Dewalt cordless drills and other cordless power tools. The reason being is that Flexvolt is produced by Dewalt. Just in case you didn’t know.

Now, this battery is great because it can be used with different voltage Dewalt power tools and will adjust voltage according to which tool it is in.

All Flexvolt batteries for cordless power tools, such as the 12.0 AH, 9.0 AH and 6.0 AH, are all interchangeable with the 20v to 60v Dewalt power tools. If you are using a 120v cordless tool, then no problem. Felxvolt has you covered.

If you are interested in checking out these cool batteries, I will put a link to one on Amazon right here: Flexvolt Cordless batteries. 

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DeWalt Flexvolt 20V/60V Max Battery (6.0Ah)

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Conclusion

To wrap up this article, I just want to go over the point of you, as the user, not being able to switch out one company’s battery in place of another company’s battery. There are instances where you might be able to manipulate a battery by cutting some of the plastic away to make it fit.

I would highly recommend not doing this. For a couple of reasons:

• You have just ruined a perfectly good battery and now it probably won’t fit into the power tool it was made for. That’s not what you want at all!
• The second reason not to do this is you could be putting yourself in harm’s way. You don’t know if a tool is going to work properly or short circuit and catch on fire, causing you harm.

From the research I have done, it looks like investing in some Dewalt cordless tools might be your best bet, if you think you might have issues keeping batteries charged.  The interchangeability of the Dewalt system seems to be a great option.

Also, don’t forget that having extra batteries is always a good idea. I know they can be quite expensive. Just watch for them to go on sale, as most products like this do get discounted on occasion.

And there you have it! I trust this information will help you with your cordless drill battery dilemma.

Cheers, tools owners!

Hi there! My name is Jack and I write for ToolsOwner. I have a passion for everything related to tools and DIY projects around the house. You often find me in my workshop working on new projects.