Cordless Tools etc.

tony6403

Like many folk I have various cordless tools.
All mine are 18v but each has a different type of battery housing and charger.
In the same way as was done with standardising phone charging ports , these battery packs and chargers should conform to a universal arrangement to make them interchangeable.

sevenhills

tony6403 wrote: »

Like many folk I have various cordless tools.
All mine are 18v but each has a different type of battery housing and charger.
In the same way as was done with standardising phone charging ports , these battery packs and chargers should conform to a universal arrangement to make them interchangeable.

We are leaving the EU, so that will not happen. Good idea in principle.

Tom99

Yes a good idea but I did not think all phones had the same battery?

chappers

tony6403 wrote: »

Like many folk I have various cordless tools.
All mine are 18v but each has a different type of battery housing and charger.
In the same way as was done with standardising phone charging ports , these battery packs and chargers should conform to a universal arrangement to make them interchangeable.

That's the issue in the DIY sector, trade tools by the same manufacturer have the same batteries.
Doesn't make commercial sense though, the tools themselves are worthless it's the batteries that cost the money, that's why it hasn't happened

I have noticed that just as everyone is just about on board with the micro USB some are changing away already, and not just apple

bob_a_builder

es a good idea but I did not think all phones had the same battery?

But there is a 'standard' for the charge plug/socket i.e. micro usb
of course one company chose to ignore that, despite apparently signing up

LINK

discat11

I sincerely doubt all tool manufacturers would adopt a common platform as they know full well that cheap alternatives (Chinese probably) would be available before the ink was dry on the standardisation agreement.
As others have said the battery is a premium price consumable with these items, it also very heavily affects the 'user experience' in most cases, i.e. a crap battery would mean the item itself would probably appear to be poorer than in reality it was designed to be.

EachPenny

sevenhills wrote: »

We are leaving the EU, so that will not happen. Good idea in principle.

It has nothing to do with the EU, so raising it in this thread isn't relevant.

For the idea to work there would need to be an agreement for an international standard, and for the reasons already given that is never going to happen whilst there is money to be made from selling new tools when the batteries have died.

It is actually one of the 'environmental' issues which needs to be tackled - there must be millions of cordless power tools out there which remain fully functional apart from the battery, with battery replacement being uneconomic. All those tools are either sitting in cupboards, returned for recycling, or more likely end up in landfill. Wasting energy and resources in manufacture and distribution.

Even if the companies resist standardisation of batteries, then they should be forced to operate an exchange system where old batteries can be returned in exchange for new or refurbished ones at cost price.

BargainGalore

I think its a good ideal but I doubt companies would like it, they want you to buy into there brand by using all there own tools which often interchangable batteries.

As well as the extra expense of additional batteries you also have the chargers too

sevenhills

EachPenny wrote: »

It has nothing to do with the EU, so raising it in this thread isn't relevant.

The mini-USB leads became the standard way to charge mobile phones because of a European Commission initiative, in 2009.
Its unlikely anything would happen without the EU, the UK will comply to EU standards, not the other way around.

EachPenny

sevenhills wrote: »

The mini-USB leads became the standard way to charge mobile phones because of a European Commission initiative, in 2009.
Its unlikely anything would happen without the EU, the UK will comply to EU standards, not the other way around.

The EU/EC didn't invent or standardise USB though so in terms of developing the interchangeable standard for power tool batteries it would still require international cooperation.

To be more specific, it is the UK leaving the EU which is irrelevant to this thread. Either the EU will lead on harmonisation of power tool batteries (in which case we will almost certainly follow) or they won't (in which case being in or out makes no difference).

But in comparison to power tool batteries (where the market is more akin to printer ink cartridges) getting some (not all) phone companies to adopt a common (pre-existing) charging interface was pushing at an open door... people in the boardrooms were probably asking why they hadn't thought of it before.

Gloomendoom

I avoid this problem by buying all my cordless tools from the same manufacturer.