Upgrade Dewalt 14.4v Drill to Use 18v Battery

Well the 14.4v dewalt battery has finally died. It really owes me nothing, but it still bugs me that I have 4 18v dewalt batteries for equipment I have added to my collection. Why can't I use the 18v battery on the 14.4 drill. Well it turns out you can. It can also be done very simply in 10 minutes. Here is how.

Supplies

Dremel with a cutting drill bit

3/16 bungie cord material, about 18"

I also used 2 wood screws but you really don't need them.

The Differences Between the Batteries

There are two differences between the 14.4v battery and the 18v battery. The first is the 18v battery has a square base where the mast of the battery is attached, and the second is the position of the locking clips of the battery to the drill. As the 18v battery is far more expensive than the 14.4 drill is, I decided that all the modifications were going to be done to the drill and the 18v battery was going to be left pristine.

Two Simple Cuts.

using the cutting drill bit from dremel you are going it cut out the inside of the socket hole for the mast of the battery in the back two corners so the square base of the battery will slide past the yellow housing of the drill.

secondly cut off the locking tabs from the drill as they interfere with the battery sliding into the drill to allow the contacts of the battery to mate with the recessed pins of the drill.

Finally, Functional Replacement for the Removed Clips.

Without the clips to hold the battery in place guess what? The battery doesn't stay in place. I have 3/16" diameter bungie cord material in stock in my garage ( it gets used for everything,) so I just took a small piece and tied a tight(ish) loop with a square knot (look it up,) to keep the battery snug into the drill. The shape of the battery would naturally have this loop (an overgrown rubber band for all intent and purpose,) slide off so with the loose ends you wrap another loop around the handle of the drill and use another square knot to keep the elastic cord from sliding off. This second knot also keeps the elastic cord permanently attached to the drill. to remove the battery stretch the cord over the battery and let the battery slide out.