Volt Dropper at Bunnings: The Ryobi Option, the Ozito Trap, and What Tradies Do Instead

Short answer: no. Bunnings does not sell the Volt Dropper, and there is no generic 18V to 12V battery adapter hanging in the aisle either. What Bunnings does have is one genuine option if you run Ryobi batteries, a couple of products that look like the answer but are not, and nothing at all for Makita, Milwaukee or DeWALT. Here is what is actually on the shelf, what it does, and what tradies on the big three battery platforms do instead.

In this article

• Does Bunnings sell a volt dropper?
• The Ryobi option: the one real 12V unit in the store
• The Ozito trap: close, but not 12V output
• What if you run Makita, Milwaukee or DeWALT?
• What tradies do instead
• FAQ

Does Bunnings sell a volt dropper?

First, the name. "The Volt Dropper" is a specific product from an online store, and like ZED's adapters it is sold direct, not through retail. But most people typing "volt dropper Bunnings" just mean the general thing: a gadget that takes an 18V power tool battery and turns it into regulated 12V power for a fridge, a fan, lights or a pump.

Walk the tool aisle looking for that and you will find exactly one product that truly does it, and it only fits one battery platform. Everything else that looks promising is either USB-only or works in the opposite direction. We went through the range so you do not have to.

The Ryobi option: the one real 12V unit in the store

Credit where it is due. The Ryobi 18V 120W ONE+ Battery Power Source (R18BT12V) is a legitimate volt dropper equivalent: clip on a ONE+ battery and it gives you a 12V DC cigarette-socket outlet rated to 120W continuous, which Ryobi pitches at food warmers, inflators and fridges. If your whole shed runs Ryobi, it is a fair buy.

Know what you are getting, though:

• Ryobi ONE+ batteries only. It does not fit Makita, Milwaukee, DeWALT or anything else.
• Cigarette socket output, not Anderson. Fine for plug-in camp gear, fiddly for anything permanent or high-draw. Cig plugs are the loosest, most failure-prone 12V connector going.
• 120W ceiling. That is 10A at 12V on paper, with everything sharing the one socket.
• Check what happens after cut-off. Spec sheets list a low-voltage cut-off number, but rarely say whether the unit keeps sipping current in standby afterwards. As we covered in our low-voltage disconnect guide, the slow drain after "off" is what quietly kills packs left connected. If you buy one, do not leave batteries clipped on for days without checking.

Bunnings also stocks Ryobi's 150W "battery topper" inverters. Different tool: those give you 240V AC and USB for charging phones and laptops, not a 12V DC outlet for fridges and camp gear.

The Ozito trap: close, but not 12V output

Ozito is where shoppers get caught, because two products look like the answer and neither is.

The Ozito PXC 18V USB Power Source (and the USB Power Station) turns a PXC battery into a phone charger. USB-A and USB-C only. Handy in a blackout, but it will not run a single piece of 12V gear: no fridge, no pump, no lights bar.

The Ozito PXC 18V 12V Car Charger (PXCG-012) is the sneaky one. It has "18V" and "12V" right there in the name, but it works in the opposite direction: it plugs into your car's 12V socket to charge Ozito batteries while you drive. It does not output 12V from a battery at all. Plenty of people have carried one to the campsite and found out the hard way.

Bottom line: as of July 2026 there is no Ozito product that turns a PXC battery into a 12V outlet.

What if you run Makita, Milwaukee or DeWALT?

Here is the gap. Bunnings sells Makita and DeWALT tools by the pallet, but stocks nothing that turns those batteries into 12V power, and Milwaukee is not in Bunnings at all. The three battery platforms most tradies actually own are the three with zero options in the aisle.

That is not an accident. Proper 18V to 12V adapters for trade batteries are a specialist product, and the ones worth having are built and sold by small Australian outfits, direct. When you compare them, the checklist that matters:

• Regulated output. A raw voltage tap sags as the battery drains. Regulated 12V holds steady so compressor fridges do not brown out.
• A true low-voltage disconnect. Not just a cut-off number, one that genuinely stops drawing power afterwards. ZED's Smart LVD holds an ultra low sleep mode, so batteries can stay connected for weeks without draining. Cheap units keep bleeding the pack after "cut-off".
• Anderson output. The 50A Anderson plug is the 12V standard for a reason: positive lock, no rattle-out, and it connects straight into fridge leads, extension cables and solar gear.
• Real protection and components. Internal fusing, over-current, short-circuit and over-temperature protection, name-brand parts.

What tradies do instead

This is the exact gap ZED builds for. Every ZED adapter is designed and assembled in Queensland, fits Milwaukee M18, Makita LXT and DeWALT XR/FlexVolt batteries (you pick your platform when ordering), outputs regulated 12V through genuine Anderson plugs, and carries the Smart LVD described above. Three kits, three different jobs:

The fridge kit

ZED 12V Middle Man Battery Adapter Kit

Two batteries at once, 12V / 10A regulated through a genuine Anderson plug, true Smart LVD with ultra low sleep mode. Ran a 32L Engel for roughly 24 hours on two 6Ah batteries in our testing.

$349 Shop the Middle Man →

Weighing up a generic dropper against a purpose-built kit? Our guide on what a volt dropper actually is covers the differences, and the 12V fridge how-to shows the full setup.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bunnings sell the Volt Dropper?

No. The Volt Dropper is an online-direct product and is not stocked at Bunnings. Bunnings' only true 18V to 12V option is the Ryobi 120W ONE+ Battery Power Source, which fits Ryobi batteries only.

Can the Ryobi 12V power source run a fridge?

Ryobi rates the R18BT12V for fridges up to its 120W continuous limit through a 12V cigarette socket. It works for smaller compressor fridges on ONE+ batteries. Check your fridge's startup draw, and do not leave batteries connected for days without confirming how the unit behaves after its low-voltage cut-off.

Does Ozito make an 18V to 12V adapter?

No. Ozito's power sources are USB-only, and the Ozito PXC 18V 12V Car Charger works in the opposite direction: it charges Ozito batteries from your car's 12V socket. It does not turn a battery into a 12V outlet.

Can I use the Ryobi power source with Makita, Milwaukee or DeWALT batteries?

No. Battery platforms are physically and electrically different, so every adapter is brand-specific. For Makita, Milwaukee and DeWALT you need an adapter built for that platform, like the ZED kits, where you choose your battery brand at checkout.

What should I look for in an 18V to 12V adapter?

Four things: regulated 12V output, a true low-voltage disconnect that stops drawing power after cut-off, a genuine Anderson plug rather than a cigarette socket, and real internal protection (fusing, over-current, short-circuit, over-temperature). Cheap units miss at least two of these.

Where do you buy a volt dropper for Makita, Milwaukee or DeWALT batteries?

Direct from the specialist makers. ZED's Australian-made adapter kits cover all three platforms with regulated output, Anderson connectors and Smart LVD, sold at zedsupplies.com. See our Makita, Milwaukee and DeWALT guides for platform-specific detail.