The most consistent headache that comes with buying brand-name tools is the complete lack of native crossover between them. Nearly every major hardware brand uses its own proprietary systems for rechargeable batteries and compatible tools, and unless you use a potentially spotty third-party adapter, there’s no way to connect one brand’s batteries to another brand’s tools. Of course, there is money to be made in subverting that norm, so some smaller brands are eager to try and bridge the gap however they can.

One prominent example of this is the tool brand Mellifwhich deals exclusively in power tools designed to receive batteries from multiple major hardware brands. If you look on Mellif’s website, you’ll find facsimiles of tools sold by Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, and DeWalt, each compatible with that brand’s battery packs. If, for example, you had a loose DeWalt battery lying around, Mellif’s line of DeWalt-compatible power tools would be able to draw power from it. However, it’s important to remember that Mellif does this without DeWalt’s express go-ahead, which could invite trouble later down the line.

Mellif segments its available tools by the battery system they’re designed to mimic. If you wanted to use a DeWalt battery, you would need to purchase a Mellif tool that’s specifically meant to receive those batteries; one of the brand’s Milwaukee knock-offs, for instance, wouldn’t be able to use a DeWalt battery. Mellif sells around 50 tools designed to receive DeWalt batteries, including some implements that DeWalt itself doesn’t manufacture, such as a stick pumpa the garden tillerand a handheld air duster. All of these tools are compatible with DeWalt’s 20V battery packs, and at least according to Mellif, they have built-in battery protection to ensure you don’t accidentally fry your DeWalt batteries.

It should be stressed, however, that we only have Mellif’s word to go on there. In the same way that DeWalt doesn’t sell its tools on Amazon, DeWalt does not license its battery systems out to any other company, which means we don’t have any guarantees that its batteries actually function perfectly with Mellif tools. DeWalt’s warranty stipulates that using batteries in third-party tools is considered a violation, and if your battery is cooked while using a Mellif tool, it won’t help you. Mellif, for its part, has its own warranty, and if something happens to your tools, it’ll offer service and replacements. However, this only applies to the tools; Mellif has no say in what happens to DeWalt’s batteries.

It’s worth mentioning that Mellif does make and sell its own DeWalt battery knock-offsso if you’re concerned at all about using your DeWalt batteries in its tools, there is a more warranty-safe alternative available.