I've done Makita 18V (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qJekhNqgxqnIcnU.html). 5Ah & 6Ah were 2.5V/cell but 1.5Ah and 3Ah were 1.7V/cell. Currently doing Dewalt - hoping to have the testing wrapped up this week. Vid in 1-2 weeks time.

@@toolscientist I have friends with DeWalt and Ryobi. I have Milwaukee myself. If you come up with a low voltage disconnect for DIY builds, it might make for good content. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yeah, it's just very basic on/off signals. It's in my video [005]. There may be some tools that are capable of communicating, but none of mine were. There's likely too much noise to be able to communicate when running.

That's strange. Every 6Ah HO after Dec 2021 has had codes so far. What are the codes for you 5Ah?

Fuse could be blown. Check continuity between B+ and P+. Otherwise the BMS is locked, so try this unlock method (needs a UNO R3 microcontroller) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ipxonNZ2zL3bpp8.html

All three batteries were purchased at Home Depot in New Jersey, USA

Thanks! Heat stamps are only on batteries made before 2016, after that the build date is in the serial number.

You’re welcome!! I subbed, looking forward to a follow-up. Any idea why my 4Ah doesn’t have codes when the 2Ah from the same kit does, particularly when the 4Ah was manufactured later than your non-code window?

@markanderson1088 no. So far none of the newer 4Ah has had codes. Every other type gets codes by March 2022.

Damn, that 3Ah with 5869 days is a new record by 1000 days. First charged 7 Jun 2008. M18 was only released in 2008, must be one of the first. Hang on, the first 3 are M14 batteries? I had no idea such a thing existed. The interesting ones are the 2022 and later ones.

Pretty sure there's no anti-tamper features, so your warranty is still good

Yeah, to remove the same amount of wood/steel/whatever requires a certain amount energy (Joules) and doing that in a set time gives J/s or watts. The brushless tools should have a slight advantage as their motor's are more efficient (corded tools are mostly using brushed universal motors), but it won't be as much as brushed vs brushless 18V tools as the corded tools have a voltage advantage. A lot of battery tools can exceed what you can pull from standard AC plugs (usually 2,400W), but only in short bursts or the battery overheats. Battery tools are still behind in continuous use tools like vacuums. You can design a battery vacuum to be as powerful as corded, but it'll only run for 10-20min, and no one wants that.

J2 pin is held at ~3V for run, J2 gets pulled to 0V for stop. Turning J2 on needs a specific pulse on J1. I cover this in video [005] kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p52jo92jrsjIe40.html

@@toolscientist Awesome info! Is the reason you can’t just continuously apply 12v to J1 because then J2 will never go low?

@karlkalina3022 No. If J1 is held high for more than 40ms, J2 will go low again. You need to give J1 a pulse longer than 20ms but shorter than 40ms.

Any DIY charger will need to be able to control the current. The signalling is fairly simple: the battery just asks for a particular current, and the charger obliges. But if you can't control the current of your charger via an arduino, then you won't get very far. As for the programming side, your best bet is to try ChatGPT. You want modules that: send UART commands; receiving the batteries replies; and switches between the states. You'll want to screenshot the protocol summary at the end and convert it into a state transition diagram. There is an older protocol that just uses simple pulses on J1 and J2. I know older batteries use it, and I guess newer batteries will have it so they can work on older chargers. Pretty sure it only does slow charging, though. I've never looked at this protocol as I thought no one would be interested, but I guess it would be useful for people that want to make simple DIY slow chargers.

@@toolscientist controlling the current isn't very difficult, I have plenty of circuits that can do that. But the batteries will not charge to the center pin without first receiving signal on J1 and J2. I know enough about programming but I could probably figure out a program it, but I don't quite understand the signals or specifically how to incorporate them into a program. I don't know how to make the battery receive the charge.

That's the plan. I just upgraded from a 100x100x100mm printer to a 240x240x240mm printer last week, which will allow me to print that whole inner piece as one part. I'll do a multi-cyclone mod and a cylinder filter mod and see how they compare

I truly mean this, thank you so much for your work. If you make it, I'll buy it, that is if you make it available for sale. I don't have a 3D printer, so it'd be great if you sold the part pre-made.

Most likely bricked. Very old ones might work. Can't hurt to try.

@@toolscientist very thank you . I tried one of them and it doesn't work (pcb bl1830 rev:3.1 2014.03 08) cells +-0,1V I will try the others as well

The first code is 0301? That's interesting. Can you record it and post a video? You might not be able to post a link (they often get silently removed), so you might have to post the youtube video ID (string of characters at the end of the URL)

SoC can easily be estimated from voltage. Every M12 tool shows SoC and they definitely don't communicate. As I said, I haven't tested every tool. I'll be very interested to hear if anyone can show battery/tool communication, but so far no one has.

@@toolscientist When it exactly matches the on-battery display that uses coulomb counting? Fat chance. Again, you tested only the cheapest tools, no ONE-KEY and no dual-battery and made a faulty conclusion.

@straightpipediesel they don't use coulomb counting. Put a 5Ah on a blower, hold trigger, push button, and it'll show 2-3 LEDs. Let go of the trigger and It'll instantly go back to 4 LEDs. It's purely voltage based. I've looked at one-key app images and videos and never seen battery info. Not battery type, charge cycles, days since first charge, or anything. I'd be happy to be wrong as it would make reverse engineering their diagnostics very easy. If you can show me something that shows there is communication, then I'd be very keen to hear it, but battery SoC is not proof.

@@toolscientist I'm sorry, but you don't know anything about Li-Ion if you think this thing is voltage based. Put a dead battery on the charger for 10 minutes and check the status, it doesn't read full. There's 0 science here and 100% guesses.

@@toolscientist I just did that and it didn't drop 2-3 at all. I have never seen that behavior except near empty. Maybe the batteries for APAC are cheaper.

We get AEG in Australia, which is identical to Ridgid. Don't have any of their stuff yet, maybe next year. Check out Harrison Hobbies who has the best example of an AC-DC adapter. Short version is that it's expensive and still underpowered for some tools.

@@toolscientist Is it more expensive than buy multiple batteries I would just like something that could get me at least 6 amps of output. Just for a backup you know? But thank you for the response I really appreciate it! I'll go check out Harrison Hobbies now!

@@SuperHondaFitDriver most 18V tools are typically 20-40A (400-800W), and some will go over 80A (1,600W)

@@toolscientist oh I Guess 6 amp and 6 amp hours is very different 😅😅

Interesting! Nailers would be hard as the motor is only on for about 0.5sec. Did you have datalogging or were you just using a clamp meter?

Isn't that what I did? Just the positive was connected with copper strip and negative was connected with thick wire.

@@toolscientist In my opinion the connecting terminal blocks on Milwaukee and DeWalt batteries and their tools aren’t all that great. Could be better! Look at Makitas 18V and 40V tools and batteries connecting terminal blocks.

"In America, first you collect the dust, then you get the power, then you get the women"

If I do the mylti-cyclone mod, then there's "Say hello to my little cyclones!"

@@toolscientist the only thing in this world that gives cyclones is...balls.

Been wanting to do this since I first bought this vac (late 2019). Finally got the time to do it. Actual project started in Feb this year.

Unfortunately I've sold this car and I'm not willing to do experiments on my new car as I need it.

I had thought of modding it to accept Dewalt filters as they're larger, cheaper, and easier to clean, but I hadn't thought to try a bag mod. It would be tricky as the cannister only opens at the bottom, so you'd have to slide your hand up the side to unlatch and remove it. Hard to compete with the flow rate of a bag, but ultimately it's still just a filter that will reduce the flow as you add dust, just not as fast as a raw filters. A well designed cyclone will give you less flow at the start, but should stay very flat as you add dust. I've got an old dyson, and its filter still looks pristine. If I do the multi-cyclone mod, then an interesting follow-up would be to get an old shop vac and do a bag vs multi-cyclone experiment. If the cyclone flow rate doesn't overtake the bag until the bag is nearly full, then that's a win for the bag.

Yeah, I've seen 4thewin's vid and I plan on doing something similar. Tiger Blood + 4theWinning!

Tiger King Blood? Is that a cross between Tiger King and Charlie Sheen? I'm not sure if the world is ready for that crossover.

Winning!

That's not very pimp, though. "Yo dawg, I heard you don't like clogged filters...so I removed your filter"

👍

I'd have to test other vacs to compare. They might all lose flow rate this fast. The simplest thing they could have done is just use a big cylindrical filter that'll take longer to clog and will be easier to clean. I do want to try a multi-cyclone, though. 440g is weak-sauce. I want to be able to dump >2kg into this vac and have it still partying

Only "finance bro", though. I might try again in a few months to get to "Tiger Blood" status. I want to be able to dump >2kg in this thing and have it still wanting to party.

I think I should change it to Iguana Nose so that it abbreviates to "in."

I actually find "cubic ferrets per minute" to be a fairly intuitive unit 😄

Are you saying that this video should be 14min instead of 7min long, or that I should have spent 6 rather than 3 months on this project?

Jebus, this is a pain to watch my batteries and count. I have 25 more batteries to do.

US 2024-05-10 6Ah J51BHTHB 2023-01-20 0101 0381 0010 0257 (Different battery than above) US 2024-05-10 6Ah J51BHTHB 2023-01-20 0101 0385 0010 0257 US 2024-05-10 6Ah J51BHTHB 2023-01-20 0101 0381 0010 0257 (Different battery than above) US 2024-05-10 5Ah J51BHTHB 2016-10-16 no-codes US 2024-05-10 8Ah J51BHTHB 2019-01-29 no-codes

Impressive consistency to have exactly 10 cycles on each 6Ah! You have some of the rare xxxx-HT-xx batteries. Nearly all so far have been xxxx-DC-xx. The only other HT batteries are also 6Ah from the US with 257 4th code. Made Aug 2022, so pretty close to yours Your 5Ah should be G29xDCxx and your 8Ah should be K37xDCxx

@@toolscientist I am still laying hands on all of these to get their codes but I do have their serial numbers already. There are 15 unique leading serial numbers. B22XDCJA B41VDCJA E53LDCBB G29GDCAC G29HDCAC G29HDCBC G29KDCBC G29NDCBC H18FDCAD J51BDCHB J51BHTHB J51FDCHB J52ADCAF J52CDCHC K37ADCAF

@@toolscientist The 5AH is an XC with a serial number of G29GDCAC 161021 I also have 5ah that are: G29GDCAC G29HDCBC G29KDCBC G29NDCBC

Unfortunately not. The dust at the bottom of the cannister has little effect on the flow. What matters is how much dust gets in the filter. My mods slow down how quickly the dust gets into the filter, but they still let some through. So the flow will continue to decrease until you clean the filter.

Thanks! Sometimes the vid feels like the hardest part. I got to have some fun with this one, though. I think hypnotic-eyed James Dyson was my favourite part 😄

Yeah, I've been disappointed with most. They all clog up too quickly. Need a good cyclone or pulsed air filter cleaning. None of them are any good for home use as they lack a powered head. I think there's a Ryobi with a powered head.

​@@toolscientist I'm hoping PF will do a comparison on small handhelds. Did you see Torque Test Channel recent video on (edit: universal battery and) adapters? Thought of you str8 away.

@Hagar76a didn't he do handhelds last week? They were all residential vacs, though. Even amongst tool brands there's so many variations. PF tends to end up with outdated models for some of the brands, so it's often a bit apples to oranges. I saw the CEENR vid of TTCs. I made a comment there. Looks like it's a pack with stand-alone protection. From TTCs load tests, it was losing 1V compared to the Bosch and Dewalt, which works out to about 27mOhm extra resistance. They must be using really bad mosfets to get that as you can get 10mOhm from $0.60 mosfets. There must be some other source of resistance, maybe thin traces on the PCB. They look to be using a pair of 5mOhm shunts (so 2.5mOhm total) which is 10x more than Makita uses.

@@toolscientist yeah he did upright/combo domestic. I just need a small handheld for small cleanups. That's disappointing. A true universal battery system can only help to bring the costs down for consumers, if its done right. It is great that they are using 40T exclusively. Keeps it simple.

I'm winning!