Innovation Ideas

As a loyal Bosch power tool user why would i have to change all of my cordless tool if i want to use the Li-lon.I currently have my 14.4 & 24 volt Nimh pod-style battery packs and bought a 10.8 & 18 volt Li-lon cordless drill and driver so why havnt Bosch made the old pod-style battery packs into Li-lon like someother manufacturers have so you could still use your older cordless tools but with the benifits of Li-lon.

 Bosch isn't alone in doing this.

Almost all manufacturers redesign their battery/tool interface with the advent of new battery technology.  I understand that some of the latest tool electronics "talk" between battery & tool, allowing cell protection, overload & temperature protection etc., but there also seems to be an element of planned obsolescence in there also.

DeWalt, for example, pride themselves on the fact that all new generation chargers are backward compatible with earlier generations of battery design and technology.  What a fantastic idea!  This means that your old, less-used ni-cad tool (a saw for example), can accompant your basic new drill kit to the jobsite, and still be rechargeable from the newer Li-ion charger!  I read somewhere, that of all the different types of battery DeWalt have produced over the years (over 30 I seem to recall), only TWO!! can't be recharged on their latest chargers!

That's showing the sort of respect for their older tools amd customers that Bosch should be paying heed to. Designed backwards compatibility is a customer reward that creates brand loyalty.

I have the greatest respect for the R&D department at Robert Bosch, but find it frustrating, for example, that I have to carry BOTH 18v & 36v chargers, along with all my cordless & corded kit.  Being forced to do so means that I don't really need to have all Bosch cordless tools, as the chargers and batteries are incompatible anyway!  Having only the one "multicharger"  would have the converse effect!

While we're at it, Bob, why don't you suggest to your boffins that they produce a dummy 36v battery, attached via an "umbilical cord" to a purpose built fanny-pack or bum-bag that contains two 18v li-ion batteries in series to power, for example, your GBH 36 V & VF LI hammers?  Having the increased runtime of 3.0ah and the battery weight on your belt rather than your hands makes for a much lighter, easily-handled tool, and only one (or perhaps two) 18v chargers required for continuous work!  It wouldn't work for your saws (too dangerous to have a power cord, even if only 36v), but would be fantastic for your GSB & GSR36 drills also.

Hi lads makita & hilti both sell umbilical systems for their 36v li-ions both seem to work well on the sites i`ve been on

Yes. The battery system is designed to be one size fits all. You can use the 2.6 and 3.0.  Make sure they are 18 volt though.  Best buy at min is FFX tools. Same chargers used to charge as well.

Regards

Steven