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Running cordless tools from the outlet Question
Is it possible to run cordless tools (which normally take a battery) from the outlet somehow?
While obviously the intended use of these is cordless operation, occasionally you don't have a charged battery on hand and it would be convenient to have the option to just plug them in. In principle, you would just need a power brick (transformer) that can provide the same ~18V that the battery would, shaped to fit the battery slot on the tool.
Do such things exist or is there some reason why it's not possible to use cordless tools in this way?
I've had some old cordless tools where the tool itself has a charger port. I've tried running these while plugged in (but with the battery drained) and they didn't work. I guess the tools I tried did not have a battery bypass circuit like phones and laptops typically do.
1 answer
I've had some old cordless tools where the tool itself has a charger port. I've tried running these while plugged in (but with the battery drained) and they didn't work.
That's because the charger is designed to charge the battery, not run the tool. The tool probably requires much higher power levels in bursts, whereas charging the battery requires steady controlled power. The power into the battery also varies over the charging cycle. The charger monitors the battery voltage and decides the charging current accordingly. That won't work for running the tool.
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