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It’s official – Dewalt announced today that their 18V NiCad cordless power tool system will be discontinued, and they expect for remaining NiCad batteries to be phased out by March 2022.
Dewalt also notes that their 18V XRP Li-ion battery (DC9180) has already been discontinued. ALL other batteries compatible with 18V XRP tools have already been discontinued.
Once the Dewalt NiCad batteries sell out, users can still operate most Dewalt 18V tools with their 18V to 20V Max adapter. This adapter is compatible with Dewalt 20V Max batteries up to 5.0Ah.
The adapter is not compatible with FlexVolt batteries or 20V Max batteries 6.0Ah or higher in charge capacity, and it should not be used in DC970 or DC759 cordless drills. The adapter cannot be used with 18V chargers; you’ll need to use it with a compatible 20V Max battery and a 20V Max charger.
Dewalt launched their 20V Max platform in mid-2011. According to Dewalt, they have since grown their 20V Max cordless power tool system to include more than 250 tools (as of the time of this posting).
It does not come as a shock that Dewalt has finally discontinued their 18V NiCad system, as this was always bound to happen. When Dewalt first launched their 20V Max platform, they emphasized that they wouldn’t be phasing out the system anytime soon. Indeed, it has been a little more than 10 years since they said this, and 6 years since they launched their 18V to 20V Max battery adapter.
Although Dewalt expects their inventory of replacement batteries to last until March 2022, their supply is dependent on customer demand and can change. In other words, everything is set in motion and once they run out of 18V NiCad batteries, they’re not making any more.
This marks the end of an era.
