Can You Use Northern Tool Batteries On DeWalt Tools?

The various tools and accessories produced by the DeWalt hardware brand are generally well-liked by users. DeWalt's 20V MAX battery packs, for example, are a top-rated product at Home Depot, with a 4.6 out of 5 user rating based on over 13,000 reviews. Unfortunately, those same products can also be prohibitively expensive. That battery will run you $129, which is a stone's throw from the $149 it would cost you to get a DeWalt power drill to plug it into.

If you consider yourself a bargain hunter, you might try to find a loophole in this hefty price tag, specifically by trying to use equipment and accessories from other brands in tandem with DeWalt's tools. For example, what if you could use a battery pack from Northern Tools' line of Klutch Tools, which would only run you around $55? It's a clever sentiment, but unfortunately, it's not one that will get you anywhere. Due to physical differences between the connectors used by DeWalt and those used by Klutch, you would never be able to plug a Klutch battery into a DeWalt tool. The only potential way to overcome this would be to use a third-party battery adapter, but even if you could find one, using it might do more harm than good for your expensive DeWalt tool.

While it's easy to dismiss every rechargeable battery pack from any hardware brand as being the same thing, that's not quite the case. Differently-branded battery packs may use similar technology to store power in cells, but the ways in which they connect to tools and deliver that power are entirely different. This is what prevents batteries from one brand, like Northern Tool's Klutch, from being used with tools from another brand, like DeWalt.

You can see the differences for yourself if you take a close look at Klutch and DeWalt batteries side-by-side, particularly at the connecting rails and terminals on top. A Klutch battery pack has six notches separating its connection terminals, some wider than others, as well as a straight connecting rail. A DeWalt battery pack also has six notches separating its terminals, but these notches are uniform in size and shape. Additionally, the connecting rails on the sides curve at a slight angle.

These differently sized and shaped components prevent a Klutch battery from connecting to the receiver on a DeWalt tool completely. Even if you were somehow able to force-fit one on, the differences in terminal shapes would prevent the battery from being recognized, and power would not flow.

In an effort to overcome the physical differences between the many different power tool brands and their respective battery packs, various individuals and third-party brands have manufactured and sold unofficial adapter devices that can bridge the gap between a specific pair of brands. For example, if you had a particular adapter designed to receive the top of a Klutch battery from Northern Tool, then plug it into the receiver of a DeWalt tool, you could, theoretically, power the tool in that manner. These kinds of adapters may be found on Amazon or various small websites, though we could not find a specific adapter for this particular brand combination.

Even if there were an adapter available for Klutch to DeWalt conversion, though, you might want to think twice about buying and using it. Every kind of power tool battery on the market, Klutch included, is equipped with a circuit board that helps to regulate and optimize power flow. That circuit board can only communicate with a tool of the same brand. When you use a battery adapter, the circuit board is bypassed to essentially force power out from the battery and into the tool. It might turn on, but if the power flow isn't optimized, you might get underwhelming performance. Worse than that, if the battery delivers far more power than the tool needs, it could end up overloading and even burning out entirely. If this happens, don't expect Northern Tool or DeWalt to offer you any sympathy, as using a battery adapter violates their warranties. While there are useful third-party accessories for DeWalt tools out there, adapters are best avoided.