I recently bought a new DeWalt portable air pump that runs on a DeWalt 20v lithium battery. I already had two such batteries for my cordless DeWalt drill, but thought having a third battery would make life easier, i.e., one with each tool and one on the charger. When I looked at buying a new battery at a couple of local stores, the price was right around $170. But Amazon showed the battery at $30, so I ordered one even though I was a bit suspicious about the huge difference in price. The battery arrived and was totally dead and would not take a charge. Amazon refunded my money and I ordered a second one, which hasn't yet arrived. But I will not be surprised if the new battery also fails even though it supposedly is a genuine DeWalt product since the price difference just does not make sense to me. Anyone else ever run into this issue?
I'm suspicious
- Thread starter vito
- Start date
norwegianblue
Bearcat
Yep. Several times. Now I only buy from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Too many fakes out there and I don't need tools failing on me when I need them.
Facebook (META) is worse. Facebook makes 16 billion a year allowing fake ads, scams, and medical advice.
AI Overview
Based on a November 2025 investigative report by
Reuters and subsequent analyses of leaked internal documents, Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) was projected to earn approximately $16 billion in 2024 from advertisements for scams, illegal gambling, and banned products.
AI Overview
Based on a November 2025 investigative report by
Reuters and subsequent analyses of leaked internal documents, Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) was projected to earn approximately $16 billion in 2024 from advertisements for scams, illegal gambling, and banned products.
I went through the same thing with Hitachi 18 volt and Ryobi 40 volt batteries but wound up with clone replacement batteries which over time have proven to be as good as the brand names at a fraction of the cost.
Amen to the scammers on Amazon, truth that is.
The one thing with Ryobi clones I found is the AH ratings are Waayyy overstated. A pair of labeled "7Ah" batteries I bought discharge and charge at the same rate and are the same physical size as my genuine Ryobi 4Ah battery. Be aware that with rechargeable battery packs size matters and you can't get nearly double the performance without increasing the pack size without a startling new discovery in battery chemistry.
Amen to the scammers on Amazon, truth that is.
The one thing with Ryobi clones I found is the AH ratings are Waayyy overstated. A pair of labeled "7Ah" batteries I bought discharge and charge at the same rate and are the same physical size as my genuine Ryobi 4Ah battery. Be aware that with rechargeable battery packs size matters and you can't get nearly double the performance without increasing the pack size without a startling new discovery in battery chemistry.
PS, if you own a lawn mower and it needs work or replacement consider going electric. My Ryobi is absolutely phenomenal. Compared to my old gas mower, it's so comparatively quiet I can mow earlier in the morning and later in the evening when it's cooler in south Florida's hot summers and not disturb my neighbors!
No more gas to go buy, nor fumes in the garage, none of the starter cord pulling, they're 20-30+ pounds lighter to push around and neighbors look at you with envy
No more gas to go buy, nor fumes in the garage, none of the starter cord pulling, they're 20-30+ pounds lighter to push around and neighbors look at you with envy
Walmart sell a zero turn battery mower , i don't know if it's any good but they are out thereA neighbor has an electric push mower, but it only cuts a foot or so swath. Takes his kid a while to get the job done.
I have too much lawn to push a mower around. Maybe Tesla will come out with a rider line
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Greenwor...302/1050334262?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
Stihl and Husqvarna both have mowers similar to the Rumba vacuum thingA neighbor has an electric push mower, but it only cuts a foot or so swath. Takes his kid a while to get the job done.
I have too much lawn to push a mower around. Maybe Tesla will come out with a rider line
GunnyGene
Hawkeye
Takes me about 4 hrs +, and 5 gallons of gas in my JD S240 (42" deck, 25hp) to completely mow what I have to mow - including small wild saplings. No way some battery mower would work.
I haven't bought a mower in decades. Still using the electric, with a cord. Never runs out of juice. Other than keeping it clean the only maintenance has been sharpening the blade.
Gunny, the JD looks new so it's a moot point I guess, but a 52-60" zero turn would cut your time into less than half along with your fuel consumption. OTOH, it's hard to drink beer while operating a zero turn. 4 hours on the JD could be interesting.
Now, about the battery. $170 sounds ridiculous as does 30. No red flags? Most big name sellers offer the 20V Lithium "Dewalt" brand for 80-100 bucks a pair.... No name knock offs need not apply IMO. As the OP may have found out. Suggest you google & see what the big names,,,, WM, Lowes, etc. ast for a pair. Scams, poor knock offs, or counterfeit items are everywhere these days. Caveat emptor.
Now, about the battery. $170 sounds ridiculous as does 30. No red flags? Most big name sellers offer the 20V Lithium "Dewalt" brand for 80-100 bucks a pair.... No name knock offs need not apply IMO. As the OP may have found out. Suggest you google & see what the big names,,,, WM, Lowes, etc. ast for a pair. Scams, poor knock offs, or counterfeit items are everywhere these days. Caveat emptor.
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GunnyGene
Hawkeye
It was new when I took the pic 4 years ago. Couldn't afford a big zero turn.
@GunnyGene
My 20 year old cub cadet goes places it ain't supposed to go so I'm with you.
I am however thinking about a Stihl electric chainsaw.
My 20 year old cub cadet goes places it ain't supposed to go so I'm with you.
I am however thinking about a Stihl electric chainsaw.
Got a small Stihl electric for small stuff. Gas Stihl for bigger stuff. Loved my McCulloch gas model, but some darn thieves stole it from my rental between tenants.
I had similar problems with Milwaukee batteries. Supposedly genuine and even a Milwaukee service center couldn't tell a difference but warranty was denied because wherever the service center sent the batteries decided they weren't genuine.
After that debacle, I've only bought batteries from Milwaukee stores or Home Depot.
After that debacle, I've only bought batteries from Milwaukee stores or Home Depot.
DGW1949
Hawkeye
It's possible for a power tool battery to be so dead that it will not charge. The reason is that if the charger doesn't detect any current at all, it doesn't know the battery is there, so it will not put out a charge....In other words, you'll have to use two jumper wires to momentarily connect the completely dead battery to a good battery for about 5 seconds or so. Once that is done, there should be enough current in the dead battery for the charger to read.....There's Youtube videos that depict how to do this if you need a visual.
I've rescued several batteries that had been discarded as junk by doing this.
DGW
I've rescued several batteries that had been discarded as junk by doing this.
DGW
^^^I tried that trick but didn't work. I'm guessing the knock offs didn't even HAVE batteries inside--just ballast to make them seem legit. 
DGW1949
Hawkeye
I posted the information for those that might not have known it....But of course you are correct in that nothing works on a dummy battery which is not really a battery. It probably wouldn't work on a defective battery neither......^^^I tried that trick but didn't work. I'm guessing the knock offs didn't even HAVE batteries inside--just ballast to make them seem legit.
I just thought that it might be worth a try is all.
DGW
DGW1949
Hawkeye
I couldn't finish the video because I can't hear as fast as the guy who is giving the presentation is talking....Maybe he should lighten up on the energy drinks.
DGW
DGW
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Gopher
Blackhawk
They just announced they will no longer ship 3rd party items from their warehouses. We will see if it helps.
I bought some Ryobi knockoffs from Temu. ( I know, I know) So far they are holding up well and recharging. We'll see how long they last.
OP
Now I am extra curious as to what I will receive in my "re-order" of the $30 DeWalt 20v battery. I see on the Amazon site that some of the alleged DeWalt batteries are more in the $60 price range, but that just might mean losing more money on those than others if they do not work. Amazon is really good about returns and crediting me for the bad item, so you would think that Amazon itself would try to avoid carrying counterfeit goods. I expect the new battery to be delivered by early next week.
You have to look close... same with Milwaukees .... I bought two off brand replacements years ago and you had to jiggle the batteries in the drill to get them to work... I sent them back... but here is the real issue with these cordless tools... these new lithium batteries have some kind of micro chip in them and I firmly believe that they are designed to die after a certain number of years... in the last 3 moths I've had 7 of my Milwaukees go bad on me... this is what happens.... you fully charged them then put them in the tool and after 30 seconds or a minutes while using the tool, say a drill, the tool starts acting funny and if it has a LED light on it that flashes and if you look at the charge lights on the battery they are all flashing saying there is a malfunction with the battery..... I just had to buy 6 new Milwaukee batteries for my work.... that ain't cheap.
coachk64
Single-Sixer
I use mostly Ryobi at home, and have a source for discounted actual Ryobi batteries (Direct Tools Outlet) so haven't had any issues with those. But I have a couple of Milwaukee M12 tools I bought to use at work and tried a couple of the cheaper batteries from Amazon for those. These weren't marked as Milwaukee batteries, but were similar in appearance and were advertised as aftermarket replacements. The only thing I've noticed is that the drill seems to run just a little bit slower than with the actual Milwaukee batteries, but so far they take a decent charge and the run time is at least close to the originals. The price was about a third of the Milwaukee batteries, so as far as value is concerned, I'm pretty satisfied with them.
It is the number of charge/discharge cycles that determine the life.
