Chargers and Batteries in the Way

[Chips O'Toole]

I've about had it with my cordless tools. The chargers and batteries are everywhere. I have:

DeWalt - 2 incompatible chargers
Makita - 1 huge 2-battery charger and a 1-battery backup
Ego - 2 huge chargers, same kind
Ridgid - 2 incompatible chargers
Samsung - 1

I can put one Ego and one Makita away, but I have to have the others ready.

What is everyone else doing about getting chargers and batteries out of the way?

I have a big Milwaukee chest with a power strip inside it. I am thinking maybe I should just sacrifice the entire compartment and fill it with chargers and batteries.

My new policy is to buy nothing but Makita cordless tools. I don't care who makes the best tools. I don't want any more chargers.

 

[Ken226]

My new policy is to buy nothing but Makita cordless tools. I don't care who makes the best tools. I don't want any more chargers.

I've been trying pretty hard to stick with the same rules.

Wife bought me a DeWalt cordless drill about 10 years ago. Since then, I only buy tools that use the same batteries.

It's gonna suck though when the day comes that DeWalt discontinues that battery design. Even my shop radio and Bluetooth speakers use those batteries.

 

[RJSakowski]

My hope is that cordless tool battery packs will become universal. They're getting closer,

 

[tjb]

Here's my solution. (I've since paneled that wall with plywood and added another section to the rack for a Dewalt grease gun, but you get the idea.)

Regards

 

[tjb]

P.S.: Here's a thread on my build with some very constructive comments and photos of what others have done:

Regards

Rack for Dewalt tools

Here are some pictures of the rack I built for my Dewalt cordless tools. Kudos to jdedmon91 for the idea. I noticed in the intro on a couple of his newer videos, in the upper left corner he made some holders for his cordless tools out of PVC pipe. I started with that idea but because I had...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[Boswell]

I also standardized on DeWalt. I picked DeWalt years ago primarily because they had the largest selection at the local Home Depot. Now the only non-DeWalt battery tool is an EGO Weed Wacker. Neither might be the best brand but the value of standardization makes up for any shortcomings in the tools.

 

[mmcmdl]

I just moved 20 or so batteries and chargers down into the basement last night . Talk about timing of a thread . All mine are the old 14.4 , 18 and 20V style other than the Ego but they still work fine . But I agree , I don't need 12 chargers .

 

[tjb]

But I agree , I don't need 12 chargers .

Yeah, you're right. Six is plenty. That's how many I have. Here's an updated picture that shows the added rack for the grease gun (chargers are still just to the left):



Every time I use a tool, I rotate the batteries: always take from the right side of the rack; move all the batteries from the chargers to the right; put the recently used battery in the far-left charger. Takes about fifteen seconds (really); probably overkill, but batteries are never drained down or over-used. (Hope that doesn't mean they'll all become graveyard-dead at the same time.)

Regards

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I standardized on things that get plugged into the wall.
Thus, no battery problem !!

 

[markba633csi]

I'm still old school, I have a Makita 7.2 volt and a couple 9.6 volt drills. NiCd. I just noticed they have replacement metal hydride batteries for them
so I might switch over- hmmm