Battery platforms

Bosch Home and Garden Power for All Alliance

A third alliance, on the consumer side: the green Bosch 18V battery also powers Gardena, Gloria and Rapid tools. It is the only alliance that spans DIY and garden.

Bosch Home and Garden Power for All Alliance is an 18V nominal platform, sold as 20V MAX in markets that quote no-load voltage. It belongs to a brand alliance: the same battery powers tools that do not carry the maker's name. Bosch Home and Garden states on its official pages: 150 products (bosch-diy.com).

What the maker claims

Bosch Home and Garden states on its official pages: 150 products (bosch-diy.com).

Neighbouring platforms

The same maker sells these platforms side by side. They look alike, they are not compatible, and this is the single most common cause of a wasted purchase.

PlatformCompatibility
Bosch Home and Garden 12 VNot compatible with the platform on this page

Adapters that exist

In the other direction, these batteries can power a Bosch Home and Garden Power for All Alliance tool:

Frequently asked questions

Will an older Bosch Home and Garden Power for All Alliance battery run a recent tool?

Within one platform, yes in the large majority of cases: that is the platform's promise and its whole reason to exist. The exceptions are the hungriest tools, which refuse a low capacity or older generation pack because it cannot deliver the current they ask for. The tool is not damaged; it either will not start or cuts out under load.

What does switching platform really cost?

The price of every battery you own, plus the chargers, minus whatever you recover by selling. Bare tools resell reasonably well; used batteries resell badly, because no buyer knows how many cycles they have been through. This is the line everyone forgets.

Are cheaper compatible batteries worth it?

There are plenty of them and they cost far less. The risk is not performance but charge management: a poorly protected cell heats up. On a hand-held tool, indoors, on a site where you are working alone, that is a risk to weigh rather than ignore.