I received a DeWalt cordless screwdriver (model DWHT66719) for xmas. It's a little thing with a 5 volt 3ah integral battery. It uses a USB C cable for charging. I could not find anything in the instructions as to what size charger I can use. I was in a hurry to top it up so I used a 5 watt 2.4 ah phone charger. It did the job but I 'm wondering if a bigger charger could be used (15-20 watts?). I sent DeWalt a inquiry thru their website over a week ago and have heard nothing. I'm not an electronics guru when it comes to these battery powered tools. I simply used the charger that comes with the device. Anyone have an idea on what I can or should be using for charging. Thanks
Charger size for cordless screwdriver
- Thread starter GaryMX5
- Start date
I'd be surprised if this thing pulls more than 1A @ 5V, so the phone charger you used was likely more than enough.
Although according to what's written on it says 3A @ 5V:
Although according to what's written on it says 3A @ 5V:
That's gibberish chargers are rated in volts and amps which equals watts not amp hours
Possibly you used a 2.4amp 5volt charger which is 12watts(plenty)
I have several 4v Ryobi tools along with their usb batteries. I use any usbc cable and a free usb port on the front of my desktop pc. A few hours or less to charge a battery. Clever and convenient devices. Cardboard cutter, screwdriver, a few flashlights. Dewalt can learn something from this.
Dewalt uses Usb C? what are they supposed to learn?
Dewalt uses Usb C? what are they supposed to learn?
Make swappable lithium usb battery powered tools.
https://www.ryobitools.com/search?ryobitools_production_search_products[query]=USB Lithium
Told yea I didn't know squat about these small tools.... I just pulled some numbers off the charger I had or so i thought. So if the tool is rated at 5 volts and 3 amps I could also use a 15 watt charger? I assume this would result in a little quicker charging time?
It's possible a 15 watt charger would speed up the charge a bit, particularly if the battery is run down. Once you get into about the 80%+ charged range, it's unlikely you'll see a difference compared to the charger you're using now. The charge rate tapers off for the last bit, regardless of whether you've got a more powerful charger.
I always thought usbc had a handshake type system where the charger and device talk to each other and determine the best charge rate. You can’t use a charger that is too big.
Type-C will support up to 15W of power as a baseline. Anything higher requires the Power Delivery (PD) protocol, which is intelligent and actively negotiates the link between the host and sink.
Some devices also employ QuickCharge 3 over Type-C, but it violates the spec, not only because it is proprietary, but also because of the technical way it is implemented. QC3 and earlier is not kosher for Type-C, and companies that use it as a kludge should know better.
Devices, especially cheap ones, that have no need for higher power do not use PD, because they won't have the smarts, or bear the extra cost of the logic chips to support it.
A device will only draw as much power as it needs. Any extra wattage from a higher capacity power source should not cause an issue. Using a source that can only supply power at a lower rate will work fine as well; it will just take longer to charge. Which in itself is not a bad thing.
When there is no need for fast charging, or a rush to return to service, charging at a lower rate is easier on the battery.
The charging process for lithium batteries only draws maximum current for the first phase anyway.
Some devices also employ QuickCharge 3 over Type-C, but it violates the spec, not only because it is proprietary, but also because of the technical way it is implemented. QC3 and earlier is not kosher for Type-C, and companies that use it as a kludge should know better.
Devices, especially cheap ones, that have no need for higher power do not use PD, because they won't have the smarts, or bear the extra cost of the logic chips to support it.
A device will only draw as much power as it needs. Any extra wattage from a higher capacity power source should not cause an issue. Using a source that can only supply power at a lower rate will work fine as well; it will just take longer to charge. Which in itself is not a bad thing.
When there is no need for fast charging, or a rush to return to service, charging at a lower rate is easier on the battery.
The charging process for lithium batteries only draws maximum current for the first phase anyway.
Thank you everyone for the very helpful information (and education). For the meantime and until I use this tool a little more, I will stick with the 12 watt (2.4A) charger I have as recommended. I do use if for a couple of other devices and should that become an inconvenience, I'll look at getting a 15w charger solely for the screwdriver. Thanks again!
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