DeWalt 20v batteries - are the Powerstack models worth it?

[Skillet]

I'm pretty deep into the DeWalt 20V system, but the 2 batteries I have are pretty old and one is basically worthless.  I'm curious is anybody in here had personal experience with the 20v Powerstack batt's vs the regular 20v Max batt's.  It's a fair price jump up to the Powerstack batt's.  Most of my use is probably what pro's would consider light duty, but when I need a good battery to make a long cut on steel or something similar, I want it.

Thoughts?

[baker5150]

We run power stacks on 1 of our vans.  They talked me into buying them instead of Makita due to charge life.  Every other van in our fleet we run Makita.
This crew works on roofs a lot where packing extra batteries and chargers is a PIA.
They need their batteries to last all day and charge at night.

At the end of the day, they are still just a 5ah battery.  No different than any other 5ah IMO.

[CamoDup]

I was in search of a new circular saw and while I was in Lowes and they had a deal going on that if you buy a 2 pack of the Powerstack batteries for $199 you can get a free tool. Well come to find out the saw that I wanted to get was included with that deal and it was $219 for the saw only. I thought it was a steal so I went with the batteries and got the saw free. Well come to find out the batteries are 1.7ah. They work great for the drill and 1/4 impact but I can only make 10 or so cuts on a 2x4 with the circ saw using those before I have to charge batteries or switch to my 5ah. I wanted to stick with DeWalt only because I already have extra batteries, chargers and other tools that use the same battery. 

[follow maggie]

Wow. No wonder they don’t advertise the amp hours of those things. 1.7 isn’t worth the plastic used to make it.

[baker5150]

Wow. No wonder they don’t advertise the amp hours of those things. 1.7 isn’t worth the plastic used to make it.

They come in 5ah as well.

[CP]

I believe the “power stack” uses lithium polymer pouches.  The “old” style battery pack uses standard 18650 cells.  I have no idea which is “better”.

I don’t think either is worth what DeWalt charges for them.  I have a 3rd party pack that fits my DeWalt tools, just as good as the original and I think it was less than half the price.

[Skillet]

I believe the “power stack” uses lithium polymer pouches.  The “old” style battery pack uses standard 18650 cells.  I have no idea which is “better”.

I don’t think either is worth what DeWalt charges for them.  I have a 3rd party pack that fits my DeWalt tools, just as good as the original and I think it was less than half the price.

Oh ya??  I hadn't even considered off-brand batt's.  You have a suggestion?

[Rainier10]

I believe the “power stack” uses lithium polymer pouches.  The “old” style battery pack uses standard 18650 cells.  I have no idea which is “better”.

I don’t think either is worth what DeWalt charges for them.  I have a 3rd party pack that fits my DeWalt tools, just as good as the original and I think it was less than half the price.

Oh ya??  I hadn't even considered off-brand batt's.  You have a suggestion?

 

[Stein]

I sent some in to some shop on the interweb and they rebuilt them using new cells.  It's not a huge deal but you need a fancy welder/solder thing to get the tabs on.  That was for ni-cad though, probably similar for lithium although you have to be careful with lithium as they have a tendency to have runaway thermal events.  I wouldn't go with no-name lithium cells.

[CP]

I believe the “power stack” uses lithium polymer pouches.  The “old” style battery pack uses standard 18650 cells.  I have no idea which is “better”.

I don’t think either is worth what DeWalt charges for them.  I have a 3rd party pack that fits my DeWalt tools, just as good as the original and I think it was less than half the price.

Oh ya??  I hadn't even considered off-brand batt's.  You have a suggestion?

I have a Waitley 6.0 ah.  Bought it off Amazon a few years ago.  My guess is they all pretty much the same.

If you are handy with a soldering iron and don’t mind the fuss, you can change the cells in the bad pack.  Check YouTube for how-to videos.

[Special T]

My neighbor says his 60 volt battery works on his 20volt tools. No more power just lasts forever you mileage may vary.

[follow maggie]

The 60v batteries have the pin out for both 20v & 60v. So if you have both tools, it’s definitely the battery to get.

[ctwiggs1]

I bought the powerstacks because two of them was the same price as the 5ah I wanted when I went to the store.

No real noticeable difference from my 1.7ah batteries that came with my set.

At this point I'm so invested in the lower ah batteries that I'll probably get one of those larger charging units and just go with it. 

[goldenhtr]

You can now get adpt. to convert your batteries to other brands.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Adapter-Lithium-ion-Milwaukee-Converter/dp/B09GVLJCNC/ref=sr_1_40?crid=2CS697Y9LALR5&keywords=makita+battery+adpt&qid=1684358890&sprefix=makita+battery+adpt%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-40
https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Milwaukee-Battery-Batteries-Cordless/dp/B0BG4TCK1K/ref=sr_1_45?crid=2CS697Y9LALR5&keywords=makita+battery+adpt&qid=1684358998&sprefix=makita+battery+adpt%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-45

[HntnFsh]

Wow. Thats cheap too!