Can You Use DeWalt Flexvolt Batteries On XR Tools?
Most hardware brands operating in the United States and beyond have a multitude of different brands, series, and systems under their collective banners. Take the DeWalt hardware brand, for instance — DeWalt has its 12V and 60V MAX systems of tools and battery packs, its 20V XR system of longer-operation tools, the heavy-duty PowerShift system, as well as a separate line of battery packs known as Flexvolt. All of that is only in the United States; go further out into the United Kingdom or Australia, and all the volt measurements change to 18V and 54V rather than 20V and 60V, respectively.
With all these different systems and their regional differences, it's fair to wonder whether or not there's any viable crossover between them all. After all, if you can purchase fewer products, particularly battery packs, it definitely helps to cut down on clutter and expenditures. Let's say, for example, you want to use a Flexvolt battery pack on an XR tool. The good news is that you can absolutely use a Flexvolt pack on an XR tool; in fact, they're built with that exact use case in mind.
Flexvolt packs are designed to work with both 20V XR and 60V tools
The big gimmick behind DeWalt's Flexvolt battery packs is that they can switch their voltage on the fly to accommodate different types of tools and their power needs.
When you plug a Flexvolt pack into a 60V tool, all of its internal cells link together in series, generating more power and getting its total voltage up to 60V. However, if you plug a Flexvolt pack into a 20V XR tool, the cells change their configuration, linking in parallel instead. This brings the voltage down to a steady 20V, allowing the pack to power the tool without overloading it or burning out itself.
Thanks to this nifty bit of modular technology, DeWalt's Flexvolt battery packs are fully compatible with all tools in the 20V XR line, as well as 20V XR charging cradles. Incidentally, this same backward compatibility applies to 18V/54V Flexvolt battery packs in the U.K. and Australia. They can be used to power DeWalt's entire 18V XR range. These tools and batteries are also functionally the same across national borders, as well; you can use a British Flexvolt pack to power a U.S. XR tool and vice-versa.