I have a fair bit of construction tools (DeWalt brand) but the batteries are damn expensive
Is it unethical to buy the cheaper compatible batteries
Unethical is making the tools such that the battery case is incompatible with any other tool. FYI, all tool batteries are just a bunch of 18650 style cells (little bigger than a AA). They are literally all the same inside. Because of greedy corporations, we have to buy different batteries for different tools with different chargers. You know, like back before all phones were usb-c?
There should be a universal tool battery spec. Instead they are all a little different so they can make money and we get tons of e-waste.
I believe in the eu they have standard batteries. It’s just us schmucks in the usa that get this bullshit.
No ethical consumption in capitalism….
I think the most ethical would be buying used, no?
Used batteries would already be at degraded capacity, but I guess it’s ethical at least, if you can save it from going to a fucking landfill.
As unethical as buying the OEM batteries.
This feels like a trick question. 🤔
Am I missing something here? Where’s the potential immorality behind it? Maybe if they’re work tools and the cheaper batteries ruined the tools over time, sure, there could be an argument for it…
The only way this could be unethical is if your employer gave you the money for buying original batteries and you bought cheaper knock-offs instead, pocketing the remainder.
Funnily, my former job had minimal theft - it was always identified and solved to either’s benefit - until a new owner bought over and started copping around & placing friends… The ethical issues during that period were interesting.
you mean, someone else found a way to do the exact same job but cheaper? According to capitalism, all is as it should be and you should rest easy buying the knockoffs.
More pragmatically speaking, from what I recall when I watched AvE (before he revealed himself as a canadian maga), the performance of knockoff batteries was in general adequate as long as you didn’t expect the same low temperature performance. That’s apparently where knockoffs and the legitimate batteries tend to differ, is when you’ve got to use them in freezing temperatures. So if you’re planning on using your power tools in a frozen shithole, stick to buying legit batteries – I know you were asking about the ethical concerns, but that’s something else to keep in mind. but imo fuck DeWalt, they’ve already got their pound of flesh out of you buying the legit tools in the first place.
I do miss the old AVE. Pretty big bummer that he bought into all of that Covid and maga crap. Though his content was shifting away from my interest soon before that anyway, so it wasn’t a huge loss. Now if TOT or Bad Obsession starts bleeding stupid, it’s gonna sting.
oh good someone else remembers he went this way, too, I’m not just imagining it.
Personally I’m quite a fan of Peter Brown, Styropyro, Chronova Engineering, Attoparsec, and Robert Dunn’s channels (the woodworking/maker channel Under Dunn, the car channel Aging Wheels, they’re both fantastic), to name just a few of the better ones. I do genuinely miss AvE’s storytelling abilities and Red Green style humor, but there are still lots of people who are enjoyable to watch who I don’t think support fascists, or at least have the good sense to keep it to themselves.
I could only imagine BOM getting political if tea, biscuits, or funk were being banned
Say it isn’t so. AvE is MAGA?
I knew someone was gonna ask me about this, so allow me to clarify: I don’t know that for a fact, but I picked up on bits and pieces and you would too if you watched him long enough. The thing that made me say “yeah this dude’s politics are probably problematic” was when he put out a video in support of the Freedom Convoy. He never came out and straight up said he loved Trump or Poilievre or whatever – at least not up until then, but that was the point I stopped watching. But it was enough altogether that made me go “yeah nah I don’t need to watch this dude I’ve got other ‘make/do cool things’ youtubers I can enjoy”.
What sort of circumstance could possibly make buying cheaper compatible batteries unethical?
- Did you make an express promise to only buy brand-name batteries? (I.e., are they paying you money to showcase their brand? Did you lease or rent tools with a contract that specified brand-name-only batteries? )
- Are you spending someone else’s money who wants name brand batteries?
- Are the third-party batteries illegal in your country?
- Is there a known greater ecological harm in the manufacture of the third-party batteries?
- Are you expecting to have your power tools be harmed by the third party batteries and returning them for warranty repair you caused?
For a typical consumer in America, and likely most professional contractors, the answer is “no” to all of these. And DeWalt apparently only offers a one year warranty that specifically excludes “normal wear and tear”.
https://www.dewalt.com/en-us/support/warranty
Anything up to and including prying open the proprietary casing and swapping in new cells is entirely ethical.
Inhumane labor to reduce costs
The “originals” will be built in the exact same Chinese factories by the same workers.
The only difference is which brand’s QC controls they pass.
Of course it isn’t.
Those cheaper batteries are usually lighter in weight or a fire hazard though.
I’ve bought several knockoff tools that work with DeWalt batteries and I have an adapter that lets me use a DeWalt battery in my old craftsman drill.
Why do you think it could be unethical?
Nope, why would it be?
The only concern that I would have buying off brand batteries is durability. The left something out to make it significantly cheaper and batteries are notorious for unexpectedly catching fire.
Have you actually seen these fires in reality? If I were a CEO of a US based tool company making everything in China, I would certainly invest in a PR firm to convince people the exact same battery without a brand would catch fire.
Frankly, Lowes and Home Depot have been repeatedly been caught selling counterfeit tools, so even branding wont save you.
Yes, I’m special hazards and life safety engineer. I design fire suppression systems and fire alarm systems.
Oh shit, got em
It’s unethical, because when you buy compatible batteries the DeWalt CEO may have to wait a month more for his second yacht.
/S
no.
unethical? no.
but depending on the batteries you’re buying, could be a fire hazard.
The manufacturers of those off brand batteries are unethical because they almost always use inferior cells and less robust protection circuits, and in many cases have less than advertised capacity.
Yep.
But my Wh per $ is so much better it’s worth it.
Like I get 3x as many watt-hours per dollar, so while individual batteries may have a lower capacity, I get more run time total per dollar spent.
Only reason not to do it is for high amperage tools like the bigger circular saws. Lower capacity means lower max current draw and could cause the motors to stall out.
It’s unethical that these brands get you into buying their tools and force you into their specific brand of battery when you never encounter that in stuff like a GameBoy that can use any brand of AA battery.
There are adapters on Amazon, such as ones I got, that allow my Ryobi tools to use Craftsman batteries.
