Porter Cable Battery Compatibility
Porter Cable batteries do not fit another brand's tools on their own. Even where the voltage matches, the terminals and the latch differ, so a battery that powers one system will not seat in another. An adapter bridges the two, letting a battery you already own run a tool from a different brand.
Porter Cable has 3 battery platforms we build adapters for. Every adapter we stock for them is below, grouped by platform: which battery it takes, which tool it fits, and what it costs.
Common Questions
My battery says 18V and the tool says 20V. Will they work together?
Yes — they are the same class of battery described two ways. A five-cell battery measures about 21V fresh off the charger and settles near 18V under load; one maker prints the higher number, another the working one. The adapter changes neither, so an 18V battery runs a 20V tool and the reverse holds too.
Will the adapter damage my battery or tool?
Used as intended, no. Where the battery and the tool are the same class — 18V to 20V, say — the adapter is a direct connection and changes nothing electrically. Where they are not, it contains a DC-DC converter that supplies the voltage the tool expects. Either way it modifies neither part: take the adapter off and both are as they were.
Do the brands differ in where they put the battery safety components?
They do. AEG and RIDGID build the monitor and its sensor into the battery itself; other makers put those components in the tool instead. That difference is what the next answer depends on.
Can I charge my battery through the adapter?
No. The adapters carry no charging circuit, and they must never be used with anything that charges a battery — a jobsite radio with a charging cradle, for instance. Take the battery out of the adapter and charge it on the charger made for it.
What precautions apply to a battery without its own safety components?
If your battery has no protection circuit of its own, do not run it flat. Stop at roughly 20% charge. Lithium cells are damaged by deep discharge, and a battery without its own cut-out is relying on you to stop in time.
How reliable are your adapters?
Each one is tested before it ships and carries a 12-month warranty from the day it is delivered. If something is wrong, write to [email protected] and we will put it right.
Will the adapter look exactly like the photographs?
Usually, though the colour or finish can differ. We sometimes ship a functionally identical version made with a different casing material or colour. What arrives always fits the battery and tool pairing you ordered.