Dewalt 18V Cordless Tools - What is Dewalt XR?

Dewalt 18V Cordless Tools – What Does XR Mean? Back in 2011 Dewalt proudly announced a new range of cordless power tools branded with the “XR” name. But what are Dewalt XR tools? In this guide, we will cover exactly what XR means and the advantages of using Dewalt XR cordless tools.

This is a common question and although we’ve been living with XR tools for the best part of a decade, it’s time to disambiguate the term. XR means eXtreme Runtime. Simple as that.

But what does XR translate into with regards to the performance of the tool?

As John from Dewalt explained to us back in 2011 (see video below), the idea behind XR was to provide cordless tools to be tough outside and intelligent inside. This was achieved by Dewalt completely reimagining the switch on these cordless tools, making them smarter. This means better runtime and performance due to how the power transfer of energy from the XR battery to the motor was managed. Also a fine tuning on how the battery and motor were protected from overloading, overheating, over-charging and also deep discharge. All of these have detrimental effects on the motor and batteries.

Each tool with the XR branding internally monitors its performance. This includes the relationship between the battery and what’s happening at the business end. How hard are you pushing the circular saw or combi drill, for example. Making sure the tool will be protected against being pushed beyond it’s stated capabilities.

Yes, all users want “extreme runtime” from their power tools. But this has to be balanced by protecting the motor and batteries from lasting damage. Burning out your tool and frying your battery isn’t a very efficient way to operate!

Going beyond the “eXtreme Runtime” ethos and intelligent power tool switches, the huge benefit of XR at launch was a whole range of power tools that could be powered by one battery. If you own any Dewalt 18V XR power tools that were supplied with a battery, you can still use that battery on any other 18V XR tool. And with Dewalt boosting the charge capacity of these 18V batteries from, at launch, 3Ah up to 6Ah, the term “extreme runtime” is starting to make sense. And of course, with virtually all of the XR range now sporting brushless motors, the potential runtime is extending all the time.

While the technology behind XR isn’t new anymore, the range of tools is growing and growing. Evolving and adapting to user demands, Dewalt has become one of the most popular power tools brands in the world. Thanks in part to what XR technology has allowed end-users like you to do. A couple of years ago we saw the American brand launch XR FlexVolt which took the capabilities of cordless tools to a whole new level. Read our report on XR FlexVolt here.

Dewalt’s launch of the 54V XR FlexVolt battery platform, and the high-draw, high-powered tools that benefit from them, has marked another turning point towards a fully cordless jobsite. However, we encounter questions about the battery platform and whether it’s actually as good as Dewalt claim.

Here we cover some common misconceptions about Dewalt’s XR FlexVolt battery platform.

#1 – Dewalt XR FlexVolt Tools Are Too Expensive

There’s no question that these cordless tools are fairly big investments cash-wise for any tradesperson. The key thing to keep in mind, though, is that when you buy a new cordless tool with a battery, it’s the battery that’s the most expensive part of the bundle!

However, when you own one battery you can add more body-only tools to your kit at a much lower cost. As we’ve stated above, the XR FlexVolt packs can be used in any of your existing 18V XR kits, with almost double the available stored charge!

When it’s all factored out, the XR FlexVolt kit could well save you time and money in the long run.

#2 – Are Dewalt XR FlexVolt Tools Really As Powerful as Corded Tools?

Yes, and in some cases and circumstances, they’re even more powerful. How so?

With a battery powered motor you’re not relying on the AC/DC current from the mains.

Instead, the power is delivered from the battery to the motor via DC – or Direct Current – only. That means constant power from the battery straight to the motor, allowing the XR FlexVolt tools to work extremely hard and tackle jobs normally consigned to corded tools only.

#3 – Dewalt XR FlexVolt Tools Don’t Run for Long Due to the Low Ampere-hour

An interesting benefit of the XR FlexVolt batteries is that you can slot them into an 18V XR tool and get incredible runtimes (and sometimes a little bit more power into the bargain).For example, the latest version of the batteriesgivesyou up to 9Ah when used on an 18V tool, which is incredible.

The perceived downside, however, is that when in 54V mode the batteries have a charge capacity of around 2Ah. Is that really a problem? No. Because the tools are more powerful, they take less time to do the job, particularly in high-draw applications like grinding or cutting long or thick lengths of timber.

As a result, the brushless motor of the tool requires less power from the battery to get the job done.