Which Power Tool Battery (20V Lithium Ion) Brand Wins?
We compared 3 power tool battery (20v lithium ion) options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $58.94 per battery, about $236 for a set of four
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Waitley
Price shown in test: $26.95 per battery, about $108 for a set of four
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Waitley
Price shown in test: $26.95 per battery, about $108 for a set of four
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Pack weight | Individual 18650 cell weight | Plastic case weight only | High drain test (three 500W halogen lights) | Moderate drain test (one halogen light) | Cold weather test (batteries stored outside overnight, about 17F/1.8C) | Internal resistance (2 sample cells, Opus BT-3400) | Cell capacity (2 sample cells, Opus BT-3400) | Calculated actual watt hours (10-cell pack, measured mAh x rated 3.7V) | Value (watt hours per dollar) | Calculated actual watt hours (10-cell pack, measured mAh x rated 3.6V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeWalt DCB-205 20V OEM Lithium Ion (5Ah)$58.94 per battery, about $236 for a set of four | 630 g, noticeably heavier than both cheap replacements | 43.79 g, 6 g more than the Vanon cell; cells made by Samsung | 123.46 g, 15 to 17 percent heavier than the Vanon and Waitley cases | 751 seconds (about 12 minutes 30 seconds) of runtime, battery temperature peaked at 53.2C, all four units performed very consistently (all ended at one bar) | 2492 seconds (41 minutes 30 seconds) of runtime, battery temperature peaked at 40.4C | lost only about 30 to 35 seconds of runtime, by far the least affected by cold of the three brands | 56 and 57, slightly better average than both cheap replacements | 2462 and 2449 mAh, the best of the three brands, about 250 mAh more per cell than the Waitley (about 2500 mAh more across a full 10-cell pack) | 91 Wh, closest to the 100 Wh nominal rating of any brand tested, though still short of it | worst value of the three brands | not tested |
| 2Waitley 20V Lithium Ion replacement battery$26.95 per battery, about $108 for a set of four | 593 g | not given a separate exact figure, but described as very close to the DeWalt cell's 43.79 g | 106.54 g, 2 g heavier than the Vanon case | 428 seconds (7 minutes 8 seconds) of runtime, battery temperature peaked at 47.3C; notable unit-to-unit quality variation after the test (2 of 4 units at two bars remaining, 2 at one bar) | 1983 seconds (33 minutes) of runtime | lost about 2 minutes of runtime, similar to the Vanon | 52 and 69, slightly better average than the Vanon | 2208 and 2205 mAh, much better than the Vanon | 81 Wh, beating its own printed wrapper claim of 74 Wh (10 cells x 7.4 Wh per cell) | by far the best value of the three brands | not tested |
| 3Vanon 20V DeWalt-replacement Lithium Ion battery$25.50 per battery, a little over $100 for a set of four | 523 g, the lightest of the three | 37.76 g, the lightest cell of the three brands | 104.65 g, the lightest case of the three brands | 244 seconds (about 4 minutes) of runtime, battery temperature peaked at 39.5C, struggled the most of the three brands | 1270 seconds (21 minutes 10 seconds) of runtime, battery temperature peaked at 37.7C | lost about 2 minutes of runtime, similar to the Waitley | 65 and 77, the highest (worst) of the three brands | 1411 and 1427 mAh, described as rather poor for an 18650 cell, the lowest of the three brands | not tested | middle value of the three brands, better than DeWalt but well behind Waitley | 51 Wh, far short of the 100 Wh nominal rating |
How it was tested
- pack, cell, and case weights
- high drain test: three 500W halogen lights powered by a DeWalt power station, runtime and peak battery temperature measured
- moderate drain test: one halogen light, runtime and peak battery temperature measured
- cold weather test: batteries stored outside overnight at approximately 17F/1.8C, runtime loss compared to room-temperature baseline
- internal resistance and milliamp hour capacity of individual 18650 cells measured with an Opus BT-3400 after disassembly
- calculated actual watt hours per pack versus the advertised/rated watt hours, and value in watt hours per dollar
“if I were to buy a brand new tool, I would definitely want to go with the DeWalt name brand.”
Data notes and caveats
Only 3 products (all clean, unambiguous brand names, no caption garbling). DeWalt wins essentially every raw performance metric (runtime in both drain tests, cold tolerance, unit-to-unit consistency, cell capacity, closeness to its advertised watt-hour rating) but is by far the worst value per watt hour; Waitley is both the closest performance runner-up and the standout value pick, beating its own printed watt-hour claim; Vanon is the weakest performer on nearly every test despite being the cheapest. All internal math in the transcript (runtime seconds vs stated minutes/seconds, value-per-dollar ordering, watt-hour calculations from measured mAh) was independently checked and is internally consistent, supporting high confidence. The printed wrapper watt-hour claim (74 Wh, derived from a per-cell 7.4 Wh rating times 10 cells) differs from the marketed 20V/5Ah pack-level claim of 100 Wh; both figures are legitimate and distinct, not a transcription error.