Truck as cordless tool charging platform

[WranglerX]

IIRC, maybe 10 years ago Dodge used to offer a DeWalt charging system built into the truck??? Thought it was kinda cool, but the way things are outdated so quickly, I kind of prefer the flexibility of an “ AC “ outlet. In 2 years these batteries will probably be 100 volts.....

Yeah.... Some systems are up to 40 volts already....

I am sort of at the point that all my DeWalt tools are stil 18 volt and work well, but push is now for all lithium ion 20 volt sytems..... I know, there is conversion/adapters for new batteries in old tools but its all sort of like throwing good batteries and tools because of a simple technology improvement...

Dale

 

[deserteagle71]

Don't know how your Ram is set up but with my Ford the 120v outlet times out after a few minutes if the truck is not running. So if you are somewhere on a jobsite it would be better to have a small genset to do the charging rather than running the truck engine.

 

[oosik]

The Ram would be a problem. My Makita 18V Li-On recharge station takes 115V - 240W minimum. The 115V outlet on the Ram is MAX 150W. Not even strong enough to recharge large Li-On batteries. That's why I mentioned the Honda generator.

However - it does just great for the cell phone & small rechargeable Li-On flashlight. Also my rechargeable electric razor - if I ever used it.

 

[dodge man]

My guess is the 12 volt is pretty low power but might be enough. With my F150 the truck has to be running to use the 110 volt outlet.

 

[Hay Dude]

The Ram would be a problem. My Makita 18V Li-On recharge station takes 115V - 240W minimum. The 115V outlet on the Ram is MAX 150W. Not even strong enough to recharge large Li-On batteries. That's why I mentioned the Honda generator.

However - it does just great for the cell phone & small rechargeable Li-On flashlight. Also my rechargeable electric razor - if I ever used it.

Well I tried mine for a while today. Both listed at 400 watts. Both seemed to charge the battery and run the cooling fan just fine.
I dunno, maybe the cab chassis trucks get a bigger inverter?

 

[Redlands Okie]

2019 ram truck with 120 ac 400 watt built in. Runs Milwaukee 6 pack charger just fine. (Charger will charge 3 batteries at the same time. ) Its always plugged in, so charges whenever I go somewhere. If needed I just turn on the trucks accessory setting and charge as needed.

 

[Hay Dude]

2019 ram truck with 120 ac 400 watt built in. Runs Milwaukee 6 pack charger just fine. (Charger will charge 3 batteries at the same time. )

Finding same results here.
Do you know the output of the 12V socket up on the dash?

 

[LouNY]

With everyone using cordless tools these days, and who can blame us theyre awesome, I had a charging question.
My new RAM comes with 2 AC outlets, both labeled 400 watts and the typical flip cap 12V accessory lighter style plug.
So my question is which outlet is capable of heavier draw? Im using the 60V MAX batteries and couldnt be happier, just dont know if Im ruining something by using the DEWalt AC charger or the DeWalt DC charger because the AC or DC outlet is being asked to do too much? Pardon my lack of knowledge, but doesn稚 too low of a current ruin electrical devices, too?

On edit: found specs on DC charger. It draws 140-240 watts, but don稚 know specs on 12V accessory outlet in truck.
The fan cooled AC charger has 3 AMP input (360 watts) so 400 AMP AC outlet is good to go :thumbsup: I kind of like that charger better, but wouldn稚 mind knowing if DC charger has adequate input.

My RAM has the 115 VAC accessory plugs also however they are single standard AC receptacles rated for 150 watt of 115 VAC,( nope it's 150 watt which is just over an amp)
which is about 1 amps.(I must have seen that 400 watt on a different spec)
The standard 12 VDC accessory plugs are rated at 10 amps which is roughly 120 watts.

 

[WranglerX]

Finding same results here.
Do you know the output of the 12V socket up on the dash?

Fuse rating should be in owners manual....

Dale

 

[k0ua]

Manual for truck should state what size fuse (and fuse location) for 12 volt accessory ports....

To convert volts to amps to watt ... Get Ohms law calculator on i-net...

Ohms Law Calculator

A 400 watt output ac inverter would draw about 34 amps (at 12v Dc ) in input if you run at the max...

Watts to Amps (A) conversion calculator

You may be better off with DC (vehicle) power charger as it will probably avoid the step up and then step down process in converting from 12 volt dc to 120 ac then back down to 20 volts dc to charge battery, if you are considering a lot of portable operation.... If home based and wall plug use most of the time, then maybe vehicle inverter to 120vac may be way to go with wall plug charger...

I have alway though 400 watts on AC side was a bit wimpy, but if you look at DC side it's a lot of drain on battery system... If you are going to be using a lot of battery charging off vehicle, besure to watch battery voltage/capacity... You can possible drain a weak battery and then be "stuck".......

If heavy duty charging (construction environment) you may want to consider separate battery for charging only so you don't compromise main battery if you want to go home at night....

Remember if storage battery is not charged, it has a finite life (capacity)...

Dale

Guys it is a matter conversion efficiencies. A 13.8v DC power outlet in your truck has around 13.8 volts when the truck is running and charging the battery, and around 12.6 volts for a while when the charging system is off (motor off). SOOOO knowing that little piece of info, how do you think the "DC charger" charges up the lithium ion battery in your drill which is likey at least 18 to 20 volts. Why it has an inverter circuit in the so called DC charger to turn the DC lower voltage into AC and boosts it up and then back to DC around 20 volts to charge those batteries. NOT extremely efficient, but not all that bad either. So in this case the inverter and power supply is in the "DC charger NOT the truck. As for the AC outlet OEM in the truck there is an inverter built into the cab of the truck that converts the DC 13.8 volt (or so) up to 115 volts of AC. Then the drill manufactures AC charging module turns that into 20 volts or so of DC to charge those lithium batteries. Not very efficient either, but again, not all that bad either. Power is going to be lost in the conversion processes either way. To know for sure which one is more efficient at converting the 13.8 volt power from the truck into the needed charging power, one would need a amp meter on first the input to the trucks inverter and measure the current draw at 13.8 volts in amps while charging a freshly depleted tool battery. And then repeat the procedure for the DC 13.8 volt power port (cig lighter plug). The actual current draw would tell the tale. But in my opinion the methods are likely to be about the same actual current draw from the vehicle. I have never seen a 13.8 V DC power port fused more than 20 amps, although there could be some. But if it was fused for 20 amps you could probably reliably draw maybe somewhere around say 18 amps from it and 13.8 X 18 is about 248 watts of safe load from that port. Obviously if you get to close to the rated maximum current of the the fuse it ruptures and opens the circuit. And repeated near full loads can weaken a fuse over time as well.