As you have probably already noticed, we discussed quite a few of Dewalt’s new 20V Max cordless tools today. In addition to expanding the 20V lineup, Dewalt announced a new dual-port fast charger and two batteries with built-in fuel gauges.
Dual-Port Fast Charger
Dewalt really should have called this a universal charger, as it can charge any Dewalt 7.2V, 9.6V, 14.4V, 18V, 12V Max, or 20V Max battery. There are an estimated 69-million 18V batteries still on the market today, with many users adding 12V and 20V tools to their kits. The new charger supports these users as they slowly transition between platforms.
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The charger is said to be able to support both slide and tower-style battery packs simultaneously, although we’re not sure if this means they will charge at the same time or sequentially.
Expect to see the new charger in April 2012, and it will be priced at about $99.
Dewalt 20V Battery Packs with Fuel Gauge
Two new battery packs – 1.5 Ah (DCB201) and 3.0Ah (DCB200) – will now feature a built-in fuel gauge to better alert users when it’s time to head to the charger or spare battery cache. The fuel gauge consists of 3 green LEDs with a push-button activator. At the press of a button, the gauge will indicate the level of charge by the number of green LEDs that are lit.
Expect to see the new batteries in June 2012 at $79 for the compact and $99 for the extended capacity packs. 2-packs of each size will also be available.
These batteries will be bundled with all of the new 20V Max tools, and all tools that currently ship with 3.0Ah battery packs will be bundled with the new version once available. Tools that currently ship with compact 1.5Ah batteries will continue to be sold with battery packs without fuel gauges.
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teicher
Sounds pretty good. The headline says its a fast charger, but you didn’t mention how long it would take to charge. Any ideas? I know they aren’t in the same product class, but I have the Craftsman nextec quickboost charger and I really like the quickboost feature. It’s really helpful. Makes me wonder if this Dewalt has something similar.
Stuart
There are so many battery voltages and capacities that the charger can handle that it’s hard to give quantitative estimates.
I would assume that it at least matches the charging times of the standalone chargers. For example, 1.5Ah 20V batteries charge in 30 minutes. I assume that this charger can do the same, but perhaps it’s slightly quicker even.
The Craftsman Nextec QuickBoost charger provides a 25% charge in 3 minutes. Let’s say other brands’ batteries charge fully in 30 minutes. Since batteries don’t charge linearly, it is reasonable that they might charge to 20% or maybe even 25% of full capacity in 3 minutes as well.
I asked a major brand about the charging curve of their 12V chargers. What they said was that they prefer to promote proper charging habits and that it is best to fully charge a battery. Repeatedly charging a battery only partially has the potential to damage and reduce its usable lifespan.
I don’t know if/how Craftsman protects their batteries from any potential partial-charge damage, but I suspect that perhaps the QuickBoost charging cycle is specifically tailored to avoid such damage. Or perhaps Craftsman is betting that users won’t rely on the QuickBoost feature all the time.
Fred @ One Project Closer
Was just in Home Depot the other day and saw a monstor Ryobi 6 battery charging station. I think it ran for like $70. Have you seen that one yet?
Really nice development here with the universal charger. I really can’t figure out why more brands aren’t doing this. I’d really like to see some third party chargers spring up that could handle a wider variety of batteries. As it stands, I’ve got 8 chargers on my workbench right now for the all the tools we’re testing/using.
I also heard from Ethan (got back from DeWALT’s event in FL) that DeWALT is finally putting life indicators on their batteries. They’re a bit late to the game on it, so its a welcomed development.
(Sorry if you’ve written about all this before. You are a content machine, so I can’t always keep up 🙂 )
Stuart
Yep, I’ve seen the monster 6-port charger, and Craftsman has a 4-port charger as well. But, I suspect that it can only charge batteries sequentially and not simultaneously.
I can understand why brands don’t want to produce universal chargers like this. For one, different battery sizes may require different charging rates. It also makes the charger larger to incorporate more than one connection type. This is not true for the Dewalt 12V/20V charger, but it is for the above dual-port charger.
Dewalt has a huge 18V user base that they don’t want to abandon. A product like this encourages them to slowly transition to the 20V platform, and is essentially win-win for everyone. Other manufacturers moved to their current battery platforms some time ago, and although they did not abandon their user bases, they made it so that transitions were gradual but perhaps not as seamless.
teicher
Quickboost is nice to have when you are in a pinch, but I don’t think anyone would rely on it as the sole method for recharging.
Eric
This charger will work with all DEWALT batteries except the old Univolt packs. It will charge all batteries in under an hour, and yes both tower and slide packs can be charged at the same time.
Istvan Molnar
Were i could purchase dual quick charger please send me a E-mail thanks
Gregg Winingar
Hey Stuart,
Looking to purchase dewalt kit number dck280c2. Will it come with these batteries with the fuel gauge?
Stuart
No. C2 kits come with 1.5Ah batteries that don’t have fuel gauges.
Brittany
Does anyone know whether this will charge Ridgid 18v slider batteries? I’m trying to find a dual or quad unit that will charge Ridgid batteries simultaneously. Any thoughts or information?
frank-johnny olsen
hi!
is it a flex volt charger on the input side as well? 110-220 volt?
Stuart
I very highly doubt it.
It’s always best to buy a charger designed and marketed for your region.