Ethan J. A. Schoonover

Running my MacBook pro off one of my DeWalt power tool batteries. There are USB-C adapters for most major tool battery brands out there, many of which (like this one) will both power devices and charge the tool battery from a standard USB-C power plug. YMMV in terms of quality/safety (this is the official dewalt adapter which works great).

Great for power redundancy, etc. A no brainer if you already have the batteries for tools.

May 16, 2023 at 6:17pmWeb
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)May 16, 2023
@ethanschoonover interesting. I've seen the ones that go over the bigger law tool batteries like Greenworks. But those convert to AC greatly reducing run time (and haven't seen one with USB-C either)
Show threadKate WatsonMay 16, 2023
@ethanschoonover how many full charges / what sort of runtime are you getting from that?
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 16, 2023

@antinomy based on the capacity of the 9AH DeWalt I should get about two full MacBook Pro charges out of it. The nice thing is that I have four or five DeWalt batteries here and that number is only growing. Realistically I have over a week of power in those for a couple of phones, for example.

I also have these on hand for use with my ham radios.

Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂May 16, 2023
@ethanschoonover planning on using knockoff dewalt adapters for my whole power system I am building at my land! I want the whole thing to be modular and I think that would be the most useful plug
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 16, 2023

@liaizon I have a lot of "Various Batteries" here including some high density LiFeP04 batteries but increasingly i prefer something like this dewalt situation (or plain 12v lead acid).

Is the power system you're working on off grid on your own land?

Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂May 16, 2023
@ethanschoonover yeah!
Show threadsneakMay 16, 2023

@liaizon @ethanschoonover i do the same but with ryobi. i think it's better to use the 12-24V-input automotive usb-c PD supplies like so:

https://www.amazon.com/Baseus-Charger-Charging-Display-Compatible/dp/B0B6FYGYQD

most of these will take the 14-19V that tool batteries supply, so you just need a tool battery female socket to cigarette lighter adapter.

Amazon.com

Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 16, 2023

@sneak @liaizon If you go that route, I recommend looking into SAE to USB adapters. Easier to wire in. I have one to hand wired up with anderson powerpoles.

The advantage of the mfgr adapter in this case (and a lot of third party adapters for the tool batteries) is that they charge the tool battery from a USB source as well. Most automotive power supplies (or SAE supplies) will not.

(searching for "SAE to USB-C PD" should find a bunch of options similar to the one pictured)

Show threadLuigi CruzMay 16, 2023
@ethanschoonover Nice! Thats why I like USB-C Power Delivery.
Show threadJason CosperMay 16, 2023

@ethanschoonover I've been enamored with power tool batteries ever since I rigged my hand vacuum to use DeWalt packs last year.

Looks like I'm adding this USB-C adapter to my wishlist!

Show threadsj_zeroMay 16, 2023
Those little drill battery inverters are incredible in a lot of unexpected ways. Sometimes you just need a plug for a bit of power somewhere there's no power.
Show threadEmilMay 16, 2023
@ethanschoai Off-topic but holy crap that sure is a dock filled to the brim with apps!
Show threadTimMay 17, 2023
@ethanschoonover I never would have thought of this this could work well in an emergency.
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 17, 2023
@vengefulpunk this was my primary initial motivation. seemed silly for me to have energy sources that couldn't multitask. problem solved!
Show threadpenguin42May 17, 2023
@ethanschoonover Do you have any control of which direction the charging goes - i.e. does the macbook try to charge the external battery?
Show threadmacfixerMay 17, 2023

@ethanschoonover

I’m sorry… WHAT?!?!?

Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 17, 2023
@macfixer it's pretty slick
Show threadZYKLΘP 🧑‍💻🖤❤️✊May 18, 2023
@ethanschoonover m1 Mac? Your keyboard looks exactly as used like mine. What’s the build year?
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 18, 2023
@zyklop 2021 mbp. def gets heavy use.
Show threadZYKLΘP 🧑‍💻🖤❤️✊May 18, 2023
@ethanschoonover same here.
But still I was quite surprised to see a >2K € thing look so weak already in early 2022
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverMay 18, 2023
@zyklop i've never had a laptop keyboard that didn't look like this a couple years in with the exception of one particular old thinkpad.
Show threadZYKLΘP 🧑‍💻🖤❤️✊May 18, 2023
@ethanschoonover oh and… thanks for the tools battery idea!
Show threadChris HalsteadDec 4, 2023
@ethanschoonover we’ve been using Ryobi gear for off-grid camping - lanterns, fan, inverter for device charging, etc. Great deals are usually available for extra batteries, so we always have plenty of the high-AH versions to take along.
Show threadJima Dec 4, 2023

@ethanschoonover @onepict That's cool as hell. We just picked up some Ryobi ecosystem tools/batteries and as you say, they have multiple official products to interact with them via USB-C.

Thanks for sharing!

Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldDec 4, 2023

@ethanschoonover

Oh, MAN. I need to look into this.

USB-C doesn't help me, but I'm pretty sure the DeWalt 20v is more voltage than my old Dell Inspiron laptop uses. I love the idea of being able to go do a short #FieldDay or a #POTA (or similar) without needing to haul the generator.

I'm gonna meter the voltage on the laptop's PS. It might even be 20V for all I know.

Show threadMan aging with April showersDec 4, 2023
@kelvin0mql @ethanschoonover that's why I use a kodlix / minisforum PC that runs off 12-13.8v, and similarly tolerant monitor from sceptre
Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldDec 4, 2023

@praxiscode @ethanschoonover
I’ve heard of these, & it’s a compelling idea.

But it’s tough to justify buying a laptop when I have several serviceable laptops sitting around here already.

Show threadStormgrenDec 5, 2023

@kelvin0mql @ethanschoonover Most of the Inspirons (and dells in general) are/were 19v, so 20V won't hurt it.

Trick is getting the 20V USB-C trigger to tell the pack to hand you 20V, but those boards are fairly easy to get ahold of on Bezosmart

Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldDec 5, 2023
@Stormgren @ethanschoonover
I can’t use USB-C anyway. I figure there must be an easy way to tap into plain 20VDC.
Show threadStormgrenDec 5, 2023
@kelvin0mql @ethanschoonover There's 3d printed battery adapter plans out there.
Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldDec 5, 2023

@ethanschoonover @Stormgren
I bet I’ve got a friend somewhere with a 3D printer.

I just DVM’d the B+ & B- slots on a DeWalt 20V pak: 19.7
And the end of the laptop cord: 18.9

Less than 1 extra volt. This will work. The laptop thinks its internal battery will last 2 hours while running fldigi. I bet with one DeWalt 4ah I can double that or more, & the 4ah is the smaller of my 2 paks.

I’m enthused.

Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldDec 5, 2023

@ethanschoonover @Stormgren

https://www.instructables.com/Cordless-Tool-Battery-Laptop-Charger/

Pretty funny… just tear apart a battery charger!

Cordless Tool Battery Laptop Charger

Cordless Tool Battery Laptop Charger: I will start with an appology to all the Dewalt and Ryobi fans on Instructables but I am a Metabo tools man. I use their 18V Drill, Impact Gun and 4" Grinder. My van was broken into last year and the tools but not the batteries taken. I replace…

Instructables
Show threadWillow  飛柳Dec 4, 2023
@ethanschoonover Someone is doing a ham radio. I see you.
Show threadEthan J. A. SchoonoverDec 4, 2023
@Willow Well spotted :) If you do ham radio, particularly in the PNW, we run a free, welcoming community of hams at https://cascadiaradio.org
Cascadia Radio

Cascadia Radio is a free, online community of Pacific Northwest amateur radio operators. Cascadia Radio was created out of a desire to help organize regional amateur radio events and stay in touch with people in a modern way. Cascadia Radio does not intend to be a traditional Amateur Radio Club, nor replace the many excellent and established clubs in the area.

Show threadTaylor Barnett-TorabiDec 4, 2023
@ethanschoonover I recently realized ego power (what my lawn mower, multi head edger/trimmer/pole saw are) has a power inverter too
Show threadMarkDec 5, 2023
@ethanschoonover I would never have thought of that!