What To Know About DeWalt To Makita Battery Adapters: Do They Really Work?
Many major tool brands have their own ecosystem you can buy into that lets you use the same batteries over and over. For Milwaukee, it's called the M12 or M18 line, for Ryobi it's called ONE+, and the list goes on. DeWalt and Makita have similar functionality, and it helps you save a lot of money over time, as you can eventually stop buying batteries with your tools once you have enough.
The issue that arises is if you stray from a singular brand. There are many reasons to do this, ranging from better tools and prices to inheriting a collection from a relative. Whatever the case, you'll have a bunch of batteries that only work with specific tool brands. You can work around this by picking up an adapter. If you're mixing Makita and DeWalt batteries, you can grab an adapter that converts your 20V DeWalt battery to something that can be used with your Makita 18V tools on Amazon for $15.98. It's relatively inexpensive and gets the job done, but it's not an official product.
Is the Makita to DeWalt battery adapter safe?
With these being third-party products not officially supported by Makita or DeWalt, you're rolling the dice on whether it works or not. User reviews can often be a good indicator of the adapter working, and the previously mentioned Amazon adapter has a 4.3 out of five rating. The manufacturer also offers a 30-day refund and one-year warranty if you have trouble.
While the warranty on the adapter is nice, you're running the risk of ruining your far more expensive batteries by using a third-party adapter. There's no guarantee that'll happen, but replacement batteries aren't exactly cheap.
There are plenty of adapters to pick from if you're scared off from the cheaper Amazon ones. The trouble is, when you go up in price, it starts to make more sense to just buy a compatible battery to ensure you won't have any issues. Coupled with the fact you can possibly fry your battery and tool, it's really up to you if you want to risk it. User scores suggest the adapters work, so if you have a few dollars to spare it can be worth the gamble.