maybe a great idea, what do you think

[pierhogunn]

I was wondering why I haven't ever seen any adapters for cordless tools that would allow you to plug them into 110V and use them directly

Something that completely replaces the battery, an adapter that slots in exactly where the battery slots in

your tool would no longer be cordless, but it could then do a whole bunch when you are at your bench, or just some where and your battery dies, you could just slap in the adapter, and hook up the extension cord...

I know the defeats the purpose of a "cordless" tool, but have you ever been working on a project, with very little left to do, and the battery dies?

just musing

what do yall think?

[poolhound]

I agree that sometimes it would be a cool idea. I think there are lots of technical difficulties that make it problematic. A quick search brings up various home "shop" projects but nothing serious or commercial.

I think that given the difficulties it would work out to be an expensive option and buying a corded version of the same tool for such occasions would work out more cost effective and you would get certain corded benefits not available by simply plugging in your cordless.

[cabinetman]

This question was asked on another forum a while ago. IIRC, Niki might have been the mastermind (as usual) with an answer. Hopefully, he will see this thread and enlighten him. I'll PM him and give him a heads up.
.

[LarryG]

It would be useful, fersure. But I think Jon is probably right ... if this were feasible and cost-effective, one or more of the manufacturers would already be offering such an adapter.

Still, it's an intriguing thought. Another approach might be to use the battery charger as a battery eliminator, in the same way that I run my old laptop computer, the battery for which gave out years ago, off wall current using the charger.

[shoottx]

The only system I can recall that provides the converter to run cordless tools by plugging them in is the Dewalt 24v system

http://www.dewalt.com/us/cordless/co...ems/24volt.asp

[JR]

Seems like all you'd need is a power supply in the form factor of the battery, putting out the same voltage as the battery.

JR

[OpaDC]

Seems like all you'd need is a power supply in the form factor of the battery, putting out the same voltage as the battery.

JR

Agree with this. No different than all the transformers for all the electronics we use. And similar to rechargeable electric razor.

[LarryG]

Seems like all you'd need is a power supply in the form factor of the battery, putting out the same voltage as the battery.

I didn't know about the DeWalt 24V system that shoottx linked to, but it appears that is exactly what they've done.

[pacwind3]

I have a Skil combo kit that does exactly that. The charger has a port that an adapter plugs into, on the other end it has an adapter that looks like a battery. It plugs into any of the tools making them a corder tool. It's the only reason I've kept the kit, because the battery is toast. I checked on a replacement battery, but same old story, may as well buy a new drill.
The kit was cool at the time, came with a battery, a charger, drill, flashlight and a cordless air compressor. The small kind to air up a flat tire or something.

[Thalermade]

Okay, a day late and a dollar short, but I got to do that work I get paid for sometimes

http://www.amazon.com/Skil-120VXT-ALK-Source-3-Tool-Combo/dp/B0000302R4


http://www.hydraulictoolsinc.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=136

Russ

[Tom Slick]

I wonder if it has to do with how much amperage those little motors pull at battery voltages. They can pull over 100 amps at stall according to the mabuchi motor site.
http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/cgi-b..._ID=rs_755vcwc

[Russianwolf]

Hitachi (I think it was them) came out with the first version of this years ago. The charger had a cord that plugged into the battery slot on the tool, making it corded when you had AC power available. You can still find them occasionally.

I tried doing it using a power supply from a laptop computer (similar volts and amps) but the problem is that the computer power supplies have limiters in them that prevent the spikes in power that a power tool uses. So I could run the drill with no load at about 1/4 speed. Anything more in terms of speed or any load would trip the limiter and no go.

On and off I've looked for the Hitachi Charger that does the job with the thought of modifying the cord to fit my Ryobi tools. It should work fine, but the charger usually goes for $100+

[BobSch]

I wonder if it has to do with how much amperage those little motors pull at battery voltages. They can pull over 100 amps at stall according to the mabuchi motor site.
http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/cgi-b..._ID=rs_755vcwc

And thereby hangs the rub. You'd have to have a multi-tap (for the various voltages) transformer capable of putting out enough current to effectively run the tool. The nice things about batteries is they can supply a lot of amps, just what a cordless tool needs when under a heavy load.

[germdoc]

I knew I shoulda stayed awake during high school physics when we got to the electrical section.

My knowledge of elecricity, sadly, extends to plug it in and see if it works, don't mix up the positive (red) with the negative (black) wires, and make sure that line ain't live before you go messing with it. Anything more complicated I'm out of my element.

[Uncle Cracker]

I'm wondering if hard-wiring a tool to a 120V supply might re-classify it from a liability/UL standpoint? There may not be any technical reason not to do it, but the legal eagle types might make a stink. Anybody remember the growing pains the tool industry went through over the whole double-insulated vs. grounded plug thing?