Charging an 18volt drill from 12volt batteries.

I will be implementing a 2:1 halyard after I have something to move all that rope? My drill isn’t that powerful but it did hoist the sail, I don’t know how many times it will do it on one charge though. I intend to replace it with a higher power 12 volt drill which I will run directly from the ship’s supply eventually if these experiments are successful.
 
William_H said:
My Ryobi 18v drill has a charge cradle where the charge controls are inside. OP drill may be the same. The cradle is power by a wall wart ie transformer/power supply which olugs in to 240v. It would be easy to supply the 20 odd volts of the transformer from a 12v source. Here a some boost converters. 400W DC-DC Step-up Boost Voltage Converter Constant Current Power Supply Module 741870930898 | eBay
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My drill is the same setup as you describe. Unfortunately the link you provide works fine but the converter doesn’t ship to UK. I can’t find an in car charger for my brand of drill.
 
tjbrace said:
My drill is the same setup as you describe. Unfortunately the link you provide works fine but the converter doesn’t ship to UK. I can’t find an in car charger for my brand of drill.
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I understand there are all sorts of boost converters available for charging laptop computers where 18volts or more are produced which should suit your drill
12v boost converter for laptop | eBay ol'will
 
Thanks William, I see several contenders from your last link. I was too focussed on drills but the laptop option looks very promising.
And my thanks to all who helped with the problem.
 
If you are feeling a little DIY and are not afraid of a soldering iron it can be done for a few bucks with any of the hundreds of Boost converters from Banggood, Aliexpress, eBay etc. Or build your own.

Here's a random one off eBay UK. that is adjustable so it could be used in different applications. The same just cheaper can be ordered in Aliexpress.
ShortURL - URL Shortener

Here's the theory behind how they work if that's something you find interesting.
 
Thanks msjourney for this posting.
I have actually ordered a 400watt boost convertor but I won’t be using it to charge the batteries as the recommended control circuitry for li ion is too complex for me. I have found the male drill terminals can accept the simple car connectors (red blue yellow insulation). So I will try running the converter output at 20 v, same as the li ion batteries, from the boat supply. This will keep the + - terminals happy but I have to do something with the other terminal, marked as TV on the battery. I think it is a battery temperature sensor which I will need to replicate within the booster.
 
The boost converter gave 0.00 volts output when connected to a 12.6 volt source. Now in dispute with the supplier.
Any recommendations for a boost converter that works!
 
tjbrace said:
But i have given up on the idea of recharging the batteries. I would like to run the drill from the boat batteries via a boost converter. Would the programmable charger cope with that scenario?
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No it would not as its designed to detect full charge and click of.

Some Boost Converters do not show any voltage until they get a load applied ...

TBH ... given the cheap price of stuff today - I would have bought a 14,4V budget drill and when batterys failed - wired it for direct power of the boat batterys.
 
Thanks for your help refueler.
I tried the booster with the drill as a load but no joy. I also tried the drill on the12.6 volts car battery and that didn,t work either.
With the results I’ve seen, i think a 14.4 drill will expect 16 volts so it also won’t work.
 
tjbrace said:
The boost converter gave 0.00 volts output when connected to a 12.6 volt source. Now in dispute with the supplier.
Any recommendations for a boost converter that works!
Click to expand...
Put some load on it for testing (e.g. a 5W car light bulb), many switchmode dc-dc converters can't go to 0% duty cycle and would just switch off the output without a load. If that is the case with your converter and it also does not have auto-restart when load is applied, this particular converter would not work with the drill. But try it with the light bulb first.
Refueler said:
20 quid programmable charger as I suggested would have done the job.
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Problem with hobby chargers in Li mode is most of them refuse to cooperate if the balancing lead is not connected. OP says his battery only has 3 connectors so battery surgery would be needed to get at the individual cells.

Btw, if the original mains charger is a "quick charger" or anything like that, it is almost certain it woulde work just fine with any cheap inverter (of sufficient output power). If it is a cheapo 6-hours-to-charge type, it might not work or just blow up on a "modified sine" inverter.
 
tjbrace said:
I tried the booster with the drill as a load but no joy. I also tried the drill on the12.6 volts car battery and that didn,t work either.
With the results I’ve seen, i think a 14.4 drill will expect 16 volts so it also won’t work.
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Try with a light bulb connected to the output before you apply power to the converter.

I don't think any of the 12V drills or a 18V drill powered directly from 12V would be strong enough for the job.
 
Problem with hobby chargers in Li mode is most of them refuse to cooperate if the balancing lead is not connected. OP says his battery only has 3 connectors so battery surgery would be needed to get at the individual cells.
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That is true for many with factory installed FW ... but even the Acucel and B6 mini's have updated FW that allow user option to switch off Balance detection for when balance lead not connected.

As hobbyist - I prefer dumping the dud original batterys and then replacing with a LiFe or LiPo .... then I charge by my programmable ... and I get far better power / life out of the drill. The battery charges in 1 hour or less ...

No need to bin a drill just because batterys dead or no longer available.

 
trbt said:
Try with a light bulb connected to the output before you apply power to the converter.

I don't think any of the 12V drills or a 18V drill powered directly from 12V would be strong enough for the job.
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I think you are correct about the power/torque from a budget drill, but I was prepared to sacrifice my cheapo to see if it could shift the halyard before buying a 2:1 dyneema halyard.
 
I did not mean budget vs expensive, but that cordless drills with less voltage also have way less torque, so a 12V drill might not be up to the job. An 18V drill might be just fine through a boost converter at 20 volts or so, but if you wire it directly to 12 volts (without the boost coverter), it will be too weak.
 
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