Dewalt 14 volt to 20 volt adapter

[Lee Schierer]

Does anyone know if there is an adapter for the older 14v Dewalt tools to accept 18 volt or 20 volt battery packs? I have several 14 volt Dewalt tools that need new battery packs. I know I can have the 14 volt battery packs rebuilt, but the cost is pretty high. Since these are older tools that are still fully functional I hate to toss them, but at the same time since they are older tools I hate investing $120+ in new battery packs only to have one or more of the tools die leaving me with useless battery packs.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I wonder if a 18 volt battery could be made to fit? Still plenty of them around, and you can get an 18 to 20 volt adapter if you want to get crazy. Probably a plastic tab in the tool that keeps the 18 volt battery from directly fitting into the 14 volt tool. If it was me, I'd be tempted to adapt the tool and see what happens.

[Jim Becker]

I scored a couple of the 14.4v battery packs on the closeout table at Home Depot a few months ago. There appear to be some on "that auction site", but I didn't go look at them. Amazon also lists replacement batteries from more than one vendor that are supposed to be compatible with the DeWalt 14.4 devices. I had rebuilt the previous ones myself but they gave up the ghost a number of years ago and I already was using my Festool drivers. I like using the DeWalt for certain "heavier" construction tasks since if I destroy it, I'm only losing a nearly 15+ year old tool rather than something more current.

I did find a thread on a forum called "Garage Journal" from 2013 where someone physically modified a 14.4v tool to be able to insert the 18v battery. He stated he had to hold it in place with a bungie cord, but that it worked. There was a followup post several years later that indicated success still held. The tools ran faster, of course. But as far as I could see from my searches, there's no physical adapter out there to buy.

[Ron Selzer]

I use NIMH batteries bought off of ebay, charge them on a newer style charger (14.4 - 18) that is listed for NIMH, LIon etc no more NiCad for me
here is one inexpensive one 'https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-For-Dewalt-14-4V-DC9091-XRP-Battery-DW9091-DW9094-DE9038-3600mAh-Ni-MH/173882760028?hash=item287c385b5c%3Ag%3AuTYAAOSwqjh cJYG2&LH_BIN=1
have not tried this brand personally

[Randall J Cox]

Lee, I'm in same boat. Have a set of bosch 18v blue core nicad (or maybe NIMH?) powered tools. Great tools, hate to lose them. On my second set of aftermarket batteries, one is working great (after about 5 years), the other gave out a year ago. I' m leaning aftermarket again on batteries. Lithium Ion are great batteries compared to nicads, so I'm still kind of on the fence. Randy (Lt Col, USAF, ret)

[Dick Mahany]

I bought some non-DeWalt replacement 14.4 V batteries from Amazon about a year ago. They were less than half the cost of DeWalt branded batteries and have been problem free and hold a charge well. Might be an option. I never could find an adapter to use 18 or 20V batteries after much searching.

I wound up buying into the 14.4V platform just months before DeWalt introduced their 18V line and have enough tools to justify keeping them around without upgrading to the newer ones.

[Lee Schierer]

I use NIMH batteries bought off of ebay, charge them on a newer style charger (14.4 - 18) that is listed for NIMH, LIon etc no more NiCad for me
here is one inexpensive one 'https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-For-Dewalt-14-4V-DC9091-XRP-Battery-DW9091-DW9094-DE9038-3600mAh-Ni-MH/173882760028?hash=item287c385b5c%3Ag%3AuTYAAOSwqjh cJYG2&LH_BIN=1
have not tried this brand personally

Ron, thanks for the link. I just ordered two. The price is certainly right. We will see how they work out.

[Lee Schierer]

My two new NiMH batteries arrived today. I am giving them a charge. They seem to fit my tools okay and the voltage is good.