Dewalt Flexvolt 60V 9Ah battery teardown & analysis: From 20V to 60V, How does it work?

[@mckennapat]

Excellent video explaining how the battery can provide both 18V and 54V supply and can also be safely transported. Looked everywhere for an explanation so thank you for posting this.

[@seniorcaptain6117]

THE BEST VIDEO EVER EXPLAINING BATTERIES FOR CORDLESS TOOLS. CONGRATULATIONS!! KEEP ON PUSHING MY FRIEND

[@darrellprince9459]

Looked up so many videos on dewalt batteries and this is by far the best! Very well explained and straight to the point 👍

[@jbaccanalia]

Agreed, Google was useless. Asian KZbin guys have the goods.

[@getchucked1135]

Great video, glad someone did such a detailed breakdown. Not going to lie I was expecting that paperclip to vaporize when he pushed that switch in haha. Surprised they used such heavy wires for signal "switch" especially since all the balance leads are smaller.

[@BorgOvermind]

Thanks for explaining the contacts short-out. I repaired such a battery and was not sure why the 60V part is not being outputted anywhere when pressing the switch. Looks like that completes the circuit and makes the proper 60V output.

[@phbrinsden]

Really good analysis. I run a full range of 20 volt DEWALT tools but use their 60 volt portable saw. I own several 20 volt batteries and 2 Flexvolt. It’s a great system to allow 60 volt power where it is needed but gives high capacity 20 volt where needed like my high volume leaf blower. Having a little more understanding of what’s inside and it works is very helpful. I did not know that the cells were larger than 18650’s

[@aznative_]

You're my hero. Just finished rebuilding one of these packs and needed a quick way to verify it was spitting out both voltages correctly.

[@jrdauzat1913]

Don't know why but I enjoy your accent and explanation.

[@larrymartensmartens1044]

Add a little comparison remind me the old records player speed of 33.1\2 & 45 & 78 . I really admire your presentation & delivery especially in your ability to flow of words in a understanding way to educated us to retain this knowledge. Thanks my friend.

[@GMD_Official]

Very Good explanation to the battery. I'm Indonesian,no really good in English,but your intonation make me clearly understand for the battery explanation. Thank You Very Much.

[@romeowhiskey1146]

Just got the 60 V battery for String Trimmer. Didn't KNOW that it can be used in my 20V Drill and Impact Driver. Yikes...that's GREAT. Thanks for the superb video.

[@MrPizzaman09]

I just took a 6ah pack apart that is built the same way. It takes a lot of skill and time to get the cells free since the black plastic on the sides goes over and under the metal tabs. It took me 3 hours to get it all apart. It's also difficult to not short anything out. I had one cell that was zero volts and the four other cells in series were over charged to 4.42v.

[@frankjackson2439]

I find it’s just easier to cut the plastic out around the cell your replacing. If your doing a full rebuild it would make sense to take the time to desolder everything. But if your repairing an old pack with old cells it just makes sense to make a quick repair on a pack that will soon fail.

[@rynolda]

what cells are in the 6ah?

[@MrPizzaman09]

@@rynolda They were 30a 2000 mah cells, I believe from Samsung

[@MrPizzaman09]

@@rynolda Samsung inr18650-20s

[@daddydiesel]

Great video. Totally helped feel more comfortable using flex batteries on older 20v tools knowing what triggers the battery switch to 60v.

[@simonzhou8952]

The best video on the mechanism of voltage switching I have seen by far. Thanks!

[@kashmoni1085]

Long story short. Is it safe for me to rig the switches on a 20v tool?

[@advancednutritioninc908]

Great Video! I believe the 21700 cells are used by Dewalt for the following reasons; 1) better heat disipation (for bigger tools), 2)21700 can go all the way up to 5000mah per cell, 3)the physically bigger cell can deliver the same current as the 18650 without heating up as much per watt delivered. 4) by using the 21700 now with the 21700 in rather early production they can take advantage of the improvements with the new 21700 of higher capacity without changing anything except the cells. They will probably use the same BMS and definitely the same packaging so very little work to get even beyond 12ah batteries!

[@wickedniss10]

Great video! It helped me troubleshoot a client's battery. Before I watched your video, I was intimidated by the 60v lol . I'm used to working with Milwaukee 18v . Your video helped so much, thank you!

[@jafinch78]

Great detail on how these packs work. Thanks for sharing the drawings also!

[@dpurssord]

Wow. This guy is like the David Attenborough of eleccy. just over 9 mins in and hooked. Subscribed lol!

[@vyaire]

Can't wait for the new power stack battery teardown

[@frankjackson2439]

I’m guessing that transportation cover not only turns off power to the terminals but also turns off power to the circuit board. That would make the most sense to solve the parasitic draw from the circuit board while the battery is in storage.

[@gullster1]

Thanks for this! I really enjoy watching all your videos and I was particularly curious how the DeWalt Flexvolt worked and you answered it beautifully.

[@vuaeco]

My pleasure.

[@gerardr4869]

@@vuaeco Thank you for your videos, always interesting. Do you know what is the BMS current draw limit on the Flexvolt 20v 9AH battery?. I am currently using 3 in series to deliver 54v to power my E-bike at 28A max. However, I am looking into upgrading my E-bike to use 60A at 54V. The cells should be good for 90A draw at 18V (5s3p) but what about the BMS? I would appreciate your opinion, thanks.

[@Lee90000]

Thanks. Now I will buy the 60volt system. I already have many old 18 volt tools and 20 volt tools. I hate to throw away all that money.

[@Gokraut]

Great reverse engineering and explanation

[@MrSparkums]

Great vid very helpful! You might find this interesting.. I just disassembled my 6ah DCB606. It stopped working for 60v tools but does still seem to work with 20v. Also the charger will show that it is charged, but I only get 1 bar. Dewalt is sending a new one but told me to recycle or keep the bad one.. Sooo, the fun begins!..lol ; ) I haven't tested for bad cells yet which is what I believe the original problem may be. But, when I opened it I immediately noticed (Per your diagram) the BMS -3 right side connection is burnt completely out, and -5 shows heat damage, but is still intact. Debating how to proceed.? I'll test the cells tomorrow and post what I find. Thanks for making the vid!

[@HaroldPrittJr]

Hey I’m glad I watched your video ! I learned so much . The first one was the way it switches voltage . I am also like you hopping to see more of this in the future. Then the way it’s wired learning that along with the size of the battery’s. That helped me out so much I have an after market battery that’s bad I’m going to rebuild. I would have ordered the wrong battery’s. Then you tell what mAh they use that helped out a lot . I like how you describe everything so plain it’s so easy to understand . I have subscribed to your channel as soon as the video was over. I look forward to learning more in the future you are a great sensei ! I have always wanted to have more wisdom on electronics . I was happy to learn and build a 13.8 volt DC battery charger from an old microwave transformer . An by using 8 AWG wire it has a high amp charge around 30 amp . With a 6 setting porch light timer switch I can set it for 10 min to a hour . I used the vent area off an old hot water tank to make the box I put it all in. Thanks for your great video and all of your wisdom on this battery pack !

[@diggy2107]

Thank you so much, I didn't see this video before this has been out for a while now!

[@markborrmannjr]

They power pins are the same for 20v and 60 volt tools.. the 2 terminals with the black and red wires going to the circuit board is the charging circuit.. the charger sends power in those wires to the board which Balance charges the cells.. c1, c2, c3 is for the tool and charger to monitor balance circuits of the battery along with pack temp.. the mechanical switch is the only thing that they changes the voltage coming out of the battery.. so you half right

[@benw8281]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing! You answered so many questions I had, and even ones I didn’t. Much appreciated

[@huangyrp]

The reason use 2170 than 18650 is the same reason telsa using model3 vs model S which is more energy density. When 2170 has the same cap as 18650 it increase the life cycle and can be upgrade not just from 2Ah cell to 3Ah but also 4or even 5Ah in the future

[@mohammednasser6652]

Welcome. Why does the Dewalt battery cut off when it turns to 60 volts? I changed all the cells to LG, and the same problem. The chainsaw works for a few seconds and stops❤

[@jlharland01]

This is brilliant! Great explanations, very informative. Well done!

[@garybrown9719]

The one battery needed is a 60v power stack Can you go over how to make a 60v power stack please I'll have to build one

[@pettypendergrass8596]

*when he showed pushing the tabs partially in disrupts the flow of electricity, im like, and? But when he got to @**9:30** , Mind blown.. Brilliant! :P Great Video!*

[@andrewcartech9833]

Thank you sir for the detailed explanation. Helps me a lot. God bless.

[@zamirrosasvalencia510]

Exellent vídeo! Never seen before!

[@mytioc]

In the uk, our batteries are rated 18v & 54v. Fully charged.

[@judithcourtney8574]

Great video thanks, very informative

[@vuaeco]

Thanks Jim

[@hedleypepper1838]

I think those cells are 2ah making a 6ah battery at 18v or 2ah at 54v

[@esl1402]

great video. one of my 60v batteries started doing this funny thing. i start the 60v tool and it runs for a sec then stops. when i push those black tabs in and check with the multimeter it's showing 20 v. i ordered the tamper proof (resistant) bits and will be breaking it down to see if i can repair. my guess i'm going to be soldering something where a connection broke. you ever seen this happen bro?

[@mikejf4377]

Awesome video, great job figuring this battery pack out and great job displaying battery layout of this pack. Great video!

[@vuaeco]

Thanks Mike!

[@splicezone]

Very nice presentation - keeps me from opening mines up for now. Thank you ,

[@waterguy5924]

Great explanation on these DeWalt batteries...

[@staginglightingsensation8505]

One of my batterys are conected backwards. When I use my trimmer with one battery it spins one way and when I use another battery it spins the other way.

[@TheDyarborough]

Thank you for explaining. You are very intelligent

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

This battery pack is set up in series for voltage series is positive to negative which gives you higher voltage but amp hours don't change so if there 3400mah cells then 4.2 volts x amount of batteries in series gives you voltage which is were the 9ah rating is coming from for 20 volt tools and 3ah is coming from for 60 volt flexvolt tools.... if the batteries were in parallel then it would be all positive side of batteries connected to each other and all negative side of batteries connected to each other ehat that style of system does is you get higher ampage or amp hours and voltage dosent change so it would be 4.2 volts for all batteries are 4.2 volts and the 3400mah rating would go up for each battery so 3400mah times how many batteries are in parallel so if they were all in parallel then it would be 3400 man times 15 batteries which gives you the max watts out so just remeber in seties gives higher voltage and no ampage change were parallel gives no voltage change and higher ampage output if you do both series and parallel you will get as an example 60 volts and 180 watts out would mean the battery is cut in segments just like your showing top row for each section has one battery linking the system which means the pack is both in series and in parallel thats how they got the 60 volt max rating with 180 watt hours of power which is close to 25 to 40 amps per battery dump discharge that battery at one time can put out a max of amp dump of 375 to 600 amps discharge depending on if there 25 amp cells or 40 amp cells hope this helps.....

[@HereForTheMusic-h5o]

In the UK they are called 54V batteries, why do they call them 60V in your country?

[@brianward5878]

Great video. It appears that these batteries are 9ah in 20v but only 3ah for 60v.

[@spike7090]

Little late here, but i noticed the same thing, did you get any reassurance about this? Seems weird that nobody else pointed this out

[@bigdfig6083]

Exactamente. It is printed right on the battery itself. Might involve squinting, but it's there.

[@dansvasquez925]

Me encanto el video , bien explicado

[@jarekjuarek3661]

The batteries are Sanyo NCR20700A batteries no 2170 because sanyo does not produce them

[@XChaoticComposerX]

GOOD JOB!!! very ANALYTICAL!!!

[@vuaeco]

XChaoticComposerX Thanks :)

[@XChaoticComposerX]

:)

[@stevemcgowan3017]

Well those 25r cells were just 2.9v when got them but the seller said can return them as he has some 3.5v ones to swap but I’m just charging again to see .its a 14s5p kit but wired in series 6s5p to 6s5p to 2s5p for balance purposes

[@strokerace306]

Great video, thanks for your help figuring this out!!

[@johnnyrizzo8057]

Great video with explanation and proof of measurements. My batter has correct voltages but no charge. The BMS is the issue?

[@KiwiAndRyu]

It was a nice lecture teacher!

[@chinaUA]

Спасибо, что так популярно объяснил!!! Очень полезное видео!

[@TheUcraine]

Very informative video thank you. I am looking to see why my 9.0 battery won’t charge. I checked all cells they all are equal 3.4 volts and all the series are equal 17 volts. Any idea why it wouldn’t accept charge?

[@vuaeco]

Probably BMS is bad.

[@bobtenwick]

20x3=60. WOW! Nobody would have ever figured this out.

[@rickfreeman9530]

I truely enjoyed your knowledge on this battery pack. I have to ask you a question of jumping these batteries with another pack to get it to take in the battery charger. You have seen these video's. Now when and if you jump this pack should you push the slide button in to jump it so all batterys are on board because other wise only the one set of batterys( as per 18/20 volt )would get the jump charge benefit!! You know what I mean. Thanks my brother!! Montana Rick.

[@kewlking]

Brilliant video! Thank you so much for making this.

[@johnhill3507]

great video thanks for all your work

[@vassiliskasassoglou9122]

Very good explained and interesting 20v....60v.

[@rickyemmirt4120]

Thank you for this i have been trying to figure this out

[@gmerwe1048]

Can you tell me how to connect a diy 60v battery to a 60v flexvolt tool?

[@krispy5139]

Please do a teardown of the 60v greenworks battery. My battery will charge but only discharge to 56 volts. I'm thinking there is a voltage limiter/regulator issue in the battery itself. Can't seem to find replacement parts or any idea where it would be located.

[@derfacecrafter1869]

im still thinking about to change to the flexvolt systen before i ended up with too many tools. i have 2 drills, one of them doesnt work, and one 18V anglegrinder. and all of my 5 batterys are shit/done and i also dont have a charger.

[@guillaumemercier6303]

Very interesting and useful video thank you for your content

[@KevinNguyen-zn4vv]

I'm going to mod my 20V XR brushless to +++ by adding a switch/jumper to turn the 20V XR tool and battery into a beast (think it as Overclocking your PC). It may not be as powerful as the 60V, and the batteries/PCB controller may not be able to handle the extra voltage, it'll be a fun experiment(-1 to +2 to -3 to +4 to -5 to -6 and to the negative connector, then +1 to + connector. I hope nothing blows up.

[@funkyjunkpunk1423]

I kinda like that "old school" intro jingle :)

[@DMZ984]

cells are Sanyo NCR20700A

[@vuaeco]

Great info. Thanks DMZ.

[@fun_ghoul]

FYI: I've recently been inside the new DeWalt DCB230 (3.0Ah "compact" pack), and it has Samsung cells. I could only see the word "SAMSUNG", but by way of math, I surmise they're 30T cells.

[@bobflamingotools2171]

excellent. We can use your video to train our engineer 😇

[@brendanwood1540]

Ave is scared to diss you.

[@willroberts9319]

Wonder why "switch" terminals in middle of pack have such large wires going to PCB/ BMS? One would think a simple switch could use thin wires like balance wires of BMS. These look very thick like they are meant to carry a lot of current!

[@Lalofelix73]

Subscribed your a genius.

[@ScottBl8ke]

Excellent teardown video! vuaeco did better job than than AvE on KZbin. I use these exact Dewalt 20V 9Ah batteries to power my e-bikes and drift trikes. I did not think 60V was an option until your great analysis. Flexvolt just released a 12Ah battery that is the same size as 9Ah. I subscribed and liked this video. Keep up the cool work.

[@fun_ghoul]

For high current draw applications, you may well do better with the 6 Ah and 9 Ah packs. I can't rattle off the specs right now, but improvements of energy density often come at the expense of power density. Of course, the flipside is that the nickel strips max out even the lowest-current pack does @ 3P (Russell "Syonyk" Graves estimates 30 amps continuous, max). The DCB230 (and any subsequent 5S1P 21**0 pack) looks like a nice option for no-solder ebike power packs, when coupled with the now widely available 3D-printed battery interface adapters...if you can get them cheap. The benefit of that style setup is the ability to warranty battery packs with DeWalt/SBD if/when they fail from [definitely not abuse], as well as easy replacement of a small block of cells if one craps out. It's also a good setup as battery tech improves, as the "FlexVolt" shit indicates at least to me that SBD is committed to this battery interface for several more years. This means you can upgrade by just sliding some new packs on, at which point your old ones could be used for less "mission critical" applications and/or ones with lower charge/discharge current requirements.

[@edrhyan5352]

looking for a DCB609 circuit board protector. I have 2 batteries with one terminal melted. Appreciate the help. Keep coming up with dcb200 stuff. Not even what I am looking for.

[@WalterBooth-sl9sk]

great items at a great price

[@michaelc7283]

Hi, You mention the red cap helps for transport. I wish the airlines allowed these batteries in luggage. I had to fly to Hawaii to work on my property but i couldn't take batteries on the plane or in luggage. I guess they didn't know how the caps really work. I took my tools and just bought some batteries on the island.

[@vuaeco]

The law states max 160Wh capacity (depends on the airline). This battery is 60V, 3Ah or 180Wh is a bit over their limit.

[@michaelc7283]

@@vuaeco Thanks for the information.

[@joeanania2257]

Hi... Very informative...my brother is having issues with his...i used to replace NICAD Cells but not tuned into these cells.. Do these cells have that much more voltage(3.5) vs 1.25 NICAD or are two cells stacked to make one cell? Thanks again for video...Joe

[@Aquavidify]

Great video, very clever! I'm hoping you might help me figure out something - I want to convert a dewalt 54V angel grinder to work on a 52V 15Ah (30Q cells) ebike battery pack, do you think this is possible? I guess i would have to open up the unit and change the connector to fit my ebike battery that I would wear as a backpack. Do you think dewalt have included electronics to recognise only their own brand battery? The battery I have is fantastic and i want to be able to use it for other things besides the ebike! Thanks

[@vuaeco]

That's a great idea! But Dewalt tools have some extra pins beside the main terminals in order for them to recognize their own batteries. I've tried different batteries connected to a Dewalt tool using only the main terminals but that didn't work. The tool wouldn't power on with just the main terminals connected.

[@Aquavidify]

Ah ok, nevermind! Thanks for replying so fast. I need to convert any 54v M14 spindle cordless angle grinder to a drill and run it off a larger battery due to remote operations. It is a pity that manufacturers do this, so many batteries go to waste and are left lying around for too long. If you can think of any other solution I'd love to hear.

[@grahamfiebiger6970]

I am also interested in powering Dewalt 60v tools with other batteries and I found your teardown video extremely helpful. I believe if a thermistor resistance (~10k Ohm) is applied between the tool's B+ and TH terminals, and voltage is applied between B- & C1/C3 and B- & C4, then the tool should operate. It would help me greatly if someone with a flexvolt battery measured those voltages and the resistance while the battery is in its 60v configuration. vuaeco, would you be willing to do that? Thank you.

[@ProbeGT2]

isn't the 2 pins shorting used to series 2 banks of cells instead of just "telling" the bms it' in a 60 volts tool? That would explain why it has fat wires going to those 2 terminals.

[@vuaeco]

I think the fat wires are there for a reason. There's limited space inside the battery so it doesn't make sense to waste space in there with some fat wires for no reason.

[@sleepingbearffg5008]

Very well done new sub. Was considering making 60v ebike battery out of 4 of them?

[@jameschadwick2510]

good vid l understood it all the way , well done ..

[@kobayashimaru8114]

Excellent analysis of the battery. Couple of questions though: 1. Are you inferring that that the -5 terminal is temporarily connected to the negative output pin or are you basing this on observation of the wires? Reason I ask is because it doesn't seem necessary since it would be connected in parallel in 20V configuration anyway. 2. What purpose does the jumper serve? I would guess it has something to do with onboard monitoring of tool function but not certain. Subbed and looking forward to getting a closer look at the terminal connections behind the switch!

[@vuaeco]

1. That's correct. At 23:30, the (-5) terminal is moved to a different position. So yes, it is just a temporary connection until the switch is pushed in. 2. I think you're correct about the jumper (for the black and red wires). And I also think it serves both as a monitoring tool and current carrying wires. There's a reason why these 2 wires are so thick.

[@nohcho84]

Guys from @VCG construction channel need to watch this vid asap

[@stevemcgowan3017]

Hi I added some extra bridge wire on parallel row and it’s working better now after next charge I did about 7mile and I added an on bike volt meter and apart from when on throttle when it drops to 40v under load it stayed at the lowest 49v this run

[@vuaeco]

That's good. But your voltage drop is still a bit too much, though.

[@stevemcgowan3017]

I'm not using pas sensor and will check tyre pressures again but what sort of range might you expect from the 52v 14s5p Samsung 25r 50 cells and Panasonic 2600mah x 20

[@cowkmetyiu]

detailed analysis, thanks for your video

[@philtitus7860]

couldn't help but notice the bluing on the tips of his calipers most likely from shorting out measuring the cell, either off screen or in a previous take. good video though.

[@vuaeco]

Very observant. The tips of the caliper touched the battery terminals and shorted out. It glowed red hot hence the discoloration of the tips. You're the first one to actually realize this.

[@mosa107]

Hello that was a very good explanation I want to ask a question please Ihave a good few of those batteries ,, they will not see the charger (will not chargred on Dewalt 118 charger) Iwantto use the battery for other battery likeparkside bosh hitachi etc ,,you know I can change the main board to different battery once I use the mainboard for the one which I want to converted ..now my question is there is +,- and 4 wire how can I rewire it? is there any webpage it does show the first and seconed row of the battery and the 3rd row thanks

[@cantgetright1648]

I have a DeWalt 60volt that won't charge. Any ideas?

[@mohammednasser6652]

Hello brother. Dewalt 60 volt battery. It is in good condition, but when I use it on a saw, it works for a few seconds and disconnects the electricity. What is the reason? If you can help me. Thank you🎉❤

[@MrHukd]

Do you have a full stripdown on this This battery? I've tried looking through your videos but can't find anything

[@camposcasc7615]

Muito bem explicado ! Parabéns ! !

[@ForestCounter]

Thanks.. this is brilliant!

[@FlashTwoSix]

Great video. Very informative. You are obviously very intelligent. However, your video is very repetitive. Make your discussion more concise.

[@MrSparkums]

Let us know when you post a tutorial in Vietnamese or Thai or whatever...

[@rildaoffe258]

The travel cover has nothing to do with covering the terminals but it a switch that technically takes it from 1 battery at 162wh to 3x 54wh. maximum wh via aircraft is 100

[@malcolmmackenzie9645]

Thank you!! Excellent explanation!!

[@mistahx10]

How many times you will repeat everything?

[@rachelbrionesbriones8042]

I run a cheap cord less 20 v drill (KLATTER) WITh THIS BATTERIES with very little adjustment of the socket, conectors just plug in right.. as there is no BMS in the drill I just keep an eye of the battery leds, and charge at one led, now I will run an 220 V AC angle grinder out of 60 V won´t run fast but it will run, an 110 V AC tool will run pretty good out of this batteries

[@charlesbenoitthomad]

I have so many 60v volts that come up instantly saying it's charged but they are dead. Issue?

[@brad0805]

what cells are used in the 6.0ah flexvolt batteries currently in 2020? They have changed the logo sticker on the side even. I tried contacting Dewalt, and they claim they can't divulge that info??