Porter Cable Battery Adapters

Both — it is one battery described two ways. 20V is what it measures fresh off the charger with nothing drawing from it; 18V is what it settles at under load, and that is the figure most other brands print on the tool. So a 20V battery and an 18V tool are the same class of battery, which is exactly why an adapter between them works.

Only Porter Cable 20V batteries. Porter Cable also sells Porter Cable 18V Ni-Cd, Porter Cable 19.2V Ni-Cd, and those use a different socket — same brand, different rail and terminals, so they need their own adapter. Compare the sliding rail on your battery against the photos before ordering.

Use the selector at the top: pick the platform on the other side of the pair and it takes you straight to the one adapter that joins them. Every combination in that list is one we actually make, so if it is there, it exists.

Yes. Use the swap button next to the selector above and the page turns the search around, from Porter Cable 20V tools back to the batteries that can run them.

No. The adapter carries current from the battery to the tool and does nothing else — there is no charging circuit inside it. Keep charging Porter Cable 20V batteries on their usual Porter Cable charger.

Used with undamaged, compatible equipment it is not expected to. Porter Cable 20V batteries are lithium-ion with their own protection circuit built into the battery, and it keeps doing its job through the adapter. Stop when the tool noticeably slows rather than running the battery flat, and stop using the adapter if it becomes unusually hot or the contacts look damaged.

Usually. What matters is the socket, not the badge: if the battery slides onto a Porter Cable 20V tool and locks the way an original does, the adapter will take it. Aftermarket batteries do vary in moulding, so if yours looks unusual send us a photo and we will check before you order.