Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt Review

Manufacturer:
Model: UBP5000BT
Price: $200
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If
you have a lot of DeWalt, Ryobi or Craftsman 18V cordless tools and
find yourself frequently running out of battery power, the Ultimate
Battery Power Battery Belt is something you should definitely check
out. Repetitious or continuous use of cordless power tools can be
troubling, since you normally need to keep a collection of batteries
on the ready. Recently, we spent some time with the new Ultimate
Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt which came with the
battery adapter for top post style 18V DeWalt cordless tools. The
concept behind this battery belt is that it gives you up to 3.5 times
longer run-time – and that means getting through a project on a
single charge and with no battery changes.

The
Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt that we received
included the UBP Belt, battery pack, smart charger, belt mounted
power tool hanging hook, belt mounted accessory pouch, power cord and
the DeWalt style battery adapter. For editorial purposes, our kit
also shipped with battery adapters for Ryobi and Craftsman 18V tools
so that we could check out all the available options.

18V
Craftsman, DeWalt and Ryobi Battery Adapters

The
belt, which serves as the means to hold the battery and any other
accessories you would want to attached is well-constructed. It
utilizes dual methods to secure the belt to your waist. First you
wrap the belt around and use the hook and loop attachment areas to
secure it in place. Next you adjust the heavy-duty nylon strap and
quick release buckle to make sure it’s really locked down. The belt
is fabricated much like a high quality supportive tool belt that has
built-in padding and even attachment points for suspenders. The
battery is kept within a form fitting pouch on the backside of the
belt. The belt is intended for both left hand and right hand users,
and there are openings that allow the power cord to exit on either
side of the battery case. To swap the cord exit direction, you just
unzip the battery access flap and pull the battery out and then
reinsert it with the cord exiting in the required direction. The
battery pack itself is not much to look at since it is just a long
black plastic case that encloses the NiCad battery cells. On the
other end of the battery power cord is a plug-in DIIN-style adapter
that fits into the base of the battery adapters and which also serves
as the point where you plug in the included smart charger.

Universal
12-24V NiCad Smart Charger

As
we mentioned previously, the three battery adapters that came in for
this review were the 18V DeWalt, Ryobi and Craftsman style packs. The
battery adapters are modeled to mimic the original manufacturer’s
design so that the battery fit and function of the tool is not
changed. In the case of the DeWalt battery adapter it fit perfectly
in the five different tools we tested it in. The power cord from the
battery pack plugged into the base of the battery adapter and was
held in place securely with a quarter turn lock ring. What we liked
about the battery adapters is that they weigh almost nothing which,
in turn, helps keep extra weight off of the tool so you can work
longer and more efficiently.

18V
DeWalt NiCad Battery Adapter

Testing
and Use

Seeing
how the need for extended run time can come in handy, we figured this
was a good place to start our testing. Using a DeWalt 18V cordless
circular saw, we had to cut a dozen sheets of 1/2″ CDX plywood
in half lengthwise for a project. We decided on testing the battery
belt with a cordless circular saw because cordless circular saws draw
more power than almost any other type of cordless tool. We also had a
lot of work to do. We loaded in a brand new thin kerf blade into our
saw and went to work. Through the process of cutting the plywood, the
Ultimate Battery Belt didn’t once fail to deliver power. in fact,
power delivery appeared to be on par with a new XRP 18V pack and the
UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt allowed us to cut all the sheets of
plywood without having to change batteries even once. If you add up
the length of all the cuts, we did almost 100 linear feet. Along with
the plywood, we also cut up a dozen 8 ft 2×4′s into 32″ long
pieces with the same saw and battery combo. Run time was not a
problem.

Circular
Saw Test

A
few observations from this project is that when we first went to fit
the belt on, it almost didn’t fit. I have a 32″ waist and when I
wrapped the belt around, the hood and loop areas overlapped so far
that they never made contact with each other. Thankfully, the outer
nylon web belt was able to be adjusted down so that I was able to
clip the quick release buckle closed. As I passed the UBP Battery
Belt to a few of the other guys around the jobsite, it really did not
start to fit guys until they were in the 38″-40″ size
range. Now, I know the stereotypical construction guy is supposed to
have a bit more bulk, but perhaps a couple sizes would be a good
recommendation for us to make. The belt was comfortable to wear, and
even though the battery weighs in at around seven pounds, with it
centered on the back side of the belt and it wasn’t that noticeable.
The other thing to get used to is that, when using this device, it
tethers your tool to you. I had to continue to remember that the
cordless saw was hooked to me when I was moving plywood around.

Wearing
the UBP Belt

We
also plugged the UBP Battery Belt into a few different drills, hammer
drills and a reciprocating saw as well to verify fit and function. In
all cases, the tools operated with ample power and ease. At the end
of our testing session, we connected the belt to the included smart
charger and let it give the battery pack some more energy. There are
LED lights on the charger that indicate the charging status which
make it easy to know when it is complete.

Conclusion

The
Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt might be a great
investment for the contractor or tradesman that finds himself
frequently working where access to power is limited or where they are
in locations where frequent battery changes might be a major
inconvenience. It’s also great to relocate weight from the tool
itself to your waist and is perfect for those doing a lot of overhead
or elevated drilling or cutting. While NiCad is an older battery
technology, we have noticed that there are a lot of guys out there
that are still dependent on it for their work. With the vast number
of DeWalt 18V NiCad cordless tools on the market, we think that this
battery solution will work well to keep your older tools useful for a
lot longer. On top of that, the price is fantastic if you compare
run-time and functionality to a standard NiCad replacement battery or
two.

Specs

• Voltage: 18V
• Amperes: 5000 mAH
• Battery Type: NiCad
• Battery Run Time: 94 min
• Battery Charge Time: 95 min
• Operating Temp Range: -38 to 158 Deg F.
• Warranty: 1 year limited