We get asked a lot of questions about Dewalt batteries and especially about compatibility. Below we explain exactly what you need to know about Dewalt batteries and chargers for their cordless power tool range of products. The range is massive and there are 49 different batteries available in the range. It's easy to make a mistake.
What Battery Voltage Sizes do Dewalt Have?
Dewalt make tools with the following battery voltage sizes:
- 54 Volts
- 18 Volts
- 12 Volts
- 10.8 Volts
- 7.2 Volts
The most popular by a huge distance is the 18V option
Dewalt 18V Range of Batteries
These are all slide on Lithium-Ion batteries. They work with all power tools in the 18V XR range.
The only real difference is the Ampere Hour (Ah) rating of the battery. The bigger this Ah size is the longer the battery will last, as this figure measures the actual battery capacity.
Dewalt x 2 DCB182 18V 4Ah XR Li-Ion Battery (Pack of 2), 18V
- 18 Volts Lithium-Ion battery
- 4.0 Ah
- 55 minute charge time
- Weighs 998 grams
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Compatible with all DEWALT XR li-ion 18V tools
- Pack of 2
94% buyer satisfaction based on 250+ reviews
Dewalt DCB184-XJ XR Lithium-Ion Battery, 5Ah, 18V
- 18 Volts Lithium-Ion battery
- 5.0 Ah
- 45 minute charge time
- Weighs 650 grams
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Compatible with all DEWALT XR li-ion 18V tools
- No memory affect or self discharge
- Most popular battery in the range
94% buyer satisfaction based on 350+ reviews
Dewalt DCB546 18V/54V XR Flexvolt 6Ah Battery and DCB118 Fast Charger
- 18/54 Volts Lithium-Ion battery and charger
- 6.0 Ah
- 60 minute charge time
- Weighs 1 Kg
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- World's first convertible 18/54V battery
- Massive power for heavy duty tools
90% buyer satisfaction based on 50+ reviews
DEWALT DCB547-XJ XR Flex Volt Battery, 18 V, 9A
- 18 Volts Lithium-Ion battery
- 9.0 Ah
- 55 minute charge time
- Weighs 550 grams
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Compatible with all DEWALT XR li-ion 18V tools
- Long running and super powerful battery
96% buyer satisfaction based on 30+ reviews
Dewalt DCB546 18V/54V Lithium-Ion XR Flexvolt 6.0Ah
- 18 Volts Lithium-Ion battery
- 6.0 Ah
- 55 minute charge time
- Weighs 2Kg
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Compatible with all DEWALT XR li-ion 18V tools
92% buyer satisfaction based on 70+ reviews
DEWALT Replacement Battery DCB126-XJ 10.8 or 12 V, max. 5 Ah
- 12 Volts Lithium-Ion battery
- 5.0 Ah
- It has a 4 stage LED battery fuel gauge
- Suitable for all cordless tools from the DeWalt 12 or 10.8 Volt XR
- 60 minute charge time
- Lightweight at 450 grams
- A bit less power that its 18v friends but excellent for the smaller range of tools
96% buyer satisfaction based on 10+ reviews
DEWALT DCB115 XR Multi Voltage Li-Ion Battery Charger 10.8V, 14.4V & 18V
- Charges DEWALT 10.8V, 14.4V, 18V XR Li-Ion batteries
- Takes around 30 mins to cahrge a 2Ah battery and 60 mins for a 4Ah model
- Handy LED charge stsus indicator
- 73 x 17 x 9 cm; 500 Grams
- Can be mounted on the wall
- You have to think that this is extremely cheap for a Dewalt product
94% buyer satisfaction based on 2,000+ reviews
DEWALT DCB118-GB DCB118 XR Multi-Voltage Fast Charger, 18 V
- This is classed as a fast charger and will take around half the time as the model above
- Compatible with all 18v and 54v DEWALT XR BATTERIES
- Internal Fan pull air across battery to cool and reduce hot/cold pack delays
- This fan assisted cooling results in faster charge times and reduced downtime in the field
- This is the model i would go for and its still reasonably priced
96% buyer satisfaction based on 900+ reviews
A very quick video review
We have looked over all the video reviews and found this great short presentation on these Dewalt batteries. It gives you an instant idea of what to expect as well as telling you all the features and spec in and easy to understand format.
I hope you enjoy watching it as I always think its much better to see a tool in action rather than just reading about it or seeing pictures. This guy is particularly good at explaining the features of the drill and he is well known for demonstrating tools.
Dewalt Battery Voltage Explained
As you can see Dewalt have 7.2V, 12V, 14.4V and 18V batteries available. Why do manufacturers like this make different voltage of batteries?
The answer to this gets highly technical and is best explained by scientists.
In the simplest of terms, a battery’s voltage tells you how much power the cell generates in perfect conditions. The voltage signifies the maximum energy potential of a battery.
Higher voltages such as 18V and 20V are required to power heavier use power tools like hedge clippers, impact wrenches, cordless drills etc.
Smaller voltages can operate smaller power tools like cordless screwdrivers, rotary tools and light use drill/drivers.
Those batteries with larger voltage sizes are heavier than smaller voltage batteries and that is always a consideration for manufacturers depending on the actual use of the tool.
Dewalt Battery Ampere Hours Explained
Whereas voltage measures the potential energy of a battery, it is the Ah rating (usually 1.0Ah to 6.0AH) that measures the capacity of the battery.
As a general rule, the larger this number, the longer your battery will last for on each charge.
For example a 5.0Ah battery will last much longer than a 1.0Ah battery, but not 5 times as long as there is always a decline.
Where you can afford to, you should always buy the biggest Ah rating that you can afford.
Dewalt Lithium-Ion Batteries Explained
For many years power tools were powered by either Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries were used.
After that Nickel Metal Hydride batteries(NiMH) came along and started to replace the older NiCD batteries.
Those two types allowed recharging and also allowed manufacturers to produce and manufacture a range of cordless power tools.
There were however one main problem with these as even when charged, but not being used they would discharge. That meant, when you next cam to use your power tool, the battery had discharged and was flat. You would then have to recharge these, and that could take hours.
Along came Lithium-Ion batteries (Li-Ion) and these have revolutionised the power tool market. The technology used is so much better, and although they also discharge when not in use, they do this very slowly and a charged battery will hold its charge for weeks.
You can also charge these without having to wait until they are completely discharged.