Some of that happens now, but it tends to be a bit of a cludge... So for example you can often get adaptors that allow older NiCd and NiMh tools to run from modern Li-ion packs[1] - but they are usually devoid of any of the finesse / facilities of the modern packs since the tools themselves don't support them. Hence the user has to take more care to not abuse batteries since you don't have the full compliment of management capabilities.
I have a couple of examples for my old Makita NiMh tools.
Makita tend to be better than most in the 18V space - they used the same battery platform for 30 years, and only changed to a new one with the move to li-ion. (there was a brief moment of partial incompatibility, but that got fixed).
They also resisted the battery size inflation trend for a bit (using 2 x
18V packs on big tools rather than introducing a "40V" pack. (however they seem to have caved on that recently)
Isn't that one of the problems where the better manufacturers may incorporate additional features that protect the battery or tool when misused, and all electrical tools are misused at some point. Match a tool to a third party battery with only the correct physical interface and perhaps this protection is lost.
Then there is the get out of not wanting to use, say, the 18V standard interface so you design your tools to run at 24V or 52V etc. This may be the case as different battery manufacturing techniques evolve.
And if you look at the kiwi Tools & Stuff channel on youtube, most but not all XGT tools with a 2.5Ah 40V (aka 36V) battery perform the same as an LXT with a 5.0Ah 18V battery.
I have tried to find a list of products that are covered by the act, Gov.uk was useless and so far I have only found this list in an article in Ideal home and I have no idea how comprehensive the list is.
Richard
mobile phones sometimes burst into flames forthis reason.
I think there's a common misunderstanding. The law essentially carries over EU Regulation. They were never intended to give a blanket "right of repair" for electrical products. They dealt with very specific categories.
A good source for a summary of such legislation is often the legislation itself and the explanatory notes which come with it. In this case they are at
? Welding equipment: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1784; ? Electric motors: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1781; ? Household dishwashers: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2022; ? Household washing machines and washer-dryers: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2023; ? Household refrigeration: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2019; ? Refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function (commercial refrigeration): Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2024 with respect to Ecodesign and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2018 with respect to Energy Labelling; and ? Electronic displays: Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2021.
Not really comparable though... the interface standard, charge currents and charge voltage negotiation was already described in the USB spec. The actual cost of the electronics in the PSU was going to be similar for all players.
With batteries there is a huge quality and cost disparity, before you even get into the complexities of supporting all the existing battery management and thermal profiles.
Unlike phones, people tend to keep tools in service for more than 2 to 3 years that the average phone is expected to last.
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