battery powered tools

[xwrench3]

over the years i have amassed many battery powered tools. since i can not seem to throw ANYTHING away, about 1/2 of them need new batteries. some of them are really only good for parts, because they either got abused, or used so much they are worn out. i have decided to try to rebuild my newest (4 year old) cordless drill battery (24v nicad). its a Black Max drill that my wife bought me from Sams Club for Christmas. anyway, all of this is leading up to my real question. has anyone ever made a battery cross reference chart for tools? obviously Wal*Mart does not make tools. so some tool manufacturer makes them for them. i have always wanted a spare battery for this drill, but in 2 years i have not found one. i have to believe that there has to be another 24 volt battery out there that will fit this drill. i have no problem with nicad batteries, so i do not feel the need to go out and spend $140.00 for a new lithium powered drill. plus an extra $80.00+ for a spare lithium battery. replacing the batteries should revive the drill. its never been used hard, or used a lot. but i would still like a spare battery.

 

[djdaredevil]

I have a couple 24v channel lock drills that might use the same batteries we got them at Sams Club I know there were a couple others around then that had 24v batteries as well.

 

[speed bump]

15 second of googling says it is made by allied international and unless you can get batteries for under $30 a piece you are better off buying a new drill.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I know this doesn't answer your question, but have you priced out a few of the replacement tools, or at least one? Then maybe sell individually or as a lot the price you need to get for a new tool (s). This would get rid of clutter and move in new tech.

 

[dogdog]

if it is nicad, maybe you can rebuild that battery pack with nicad/nimh Sub-C cells with soldering tabs. Just google them plenty around, and make sure you get a matching capacity ones... just not sure that at the end of the day if there are any saving, unless something with sentimental values.
I would have repurpose that electric motor and gear and use the battery $$$ for some new things even the craftsman ones drill/driver combo for $100 ish when it's on sale is better comes with 2 Lithium batteries.

24v/1.2v = 20 sub-c cells.

But you know nimh/nicad have this thing about memory and leaks. so doesn't matter about use with age it will just die or shorten the charge capacity.

 

[xwrench3]

well, i have decided to try rebuilding this battery pack. it looks like i can do that for under $35.00. but i do have a couple of questions about ni-cd batteries. the batteries that are in there now are 1300 mah, which is pretty low. can i move up (i have found all the way up to 3300 mah replacements) without problems? also, is there a reason to stay with paper packed (which is what are there now) batteries vs. plastic wrapped? as far as the "pitfalls" of ni-cd batteries goes. yes i am aware of them. i find them acceptable. and i would not be surprised if a new set of problems arise with lithium ion batteries as they age and get used and abused. if i was going to use the tool a lot, i might invest in newer technology. but i am to the age where my body is forcing me to slow down, like it or not. a big project for me now would be building a shed. which is doubtful. i am more just keeping things repaired now.

 

[sam.coll]

Waste of time and money IMHO as others have said, especially if the tool will not be used a lot the battery will die off.

 

[jallyn]

A few years ago I rebuilt two 19.2-volt battery packs for a Craftsman drill. It does cost money for good cells, and yes they can be found with higher capacity (mAh) than OEM. Beware of exceedingly high mAh claims...probably cheap Chinese cells with creative marketing. New cells will most likely be plastic wrapped. OEMs use paper because it is cheaper.

A little paste flux is nice to have. And if you are concerned about heating up a cell and damaging it just keep a wet rag handy. As soon as a solder connection is made you can quench it with the wet rag and reduce the time the battery sees elevated temperatures.

I don't think I took nearly as many precautions the first time I made battery packs, but they both worked fine anyway. I kept a nice drill out of the landfill and upgraded the capacity and quality of the battery packs at the same time.

 

[dacan23]

You could rebuild the battery pack with NIMH's, but the NICAD charger wont charge it, you'd have to rig something up from a RC fancy charger that can charge up to 16 NIMH or NICAD cells. I considered rebuilding packs, my father wasted so much time trying with little long term success. I just sold all my old tools cheap on CL and bought all new Lithiums. Its not just a better battery your getting, the tools are phenomenally better. My old Ryobi 18V 1/4 hex impact did 1000 in-lbs I think, my Fuel M18 does 1800 in-lbs, and the Milwaukee rating is probably more accurate that what the Ryobi claimed.

 

[dogdog]

well, i have decided to try rebuilding this battery pack. it looks like i can do that for under $35.00. but i do have a couple of questions about ni-cd batteries. the batteries that are in there now are 1300 mah, which is pretty low. can i move up (i have found all the way up to 3300 mah replacements) without problems? also, is there a reason to stay with paper packed (which is what are there now) batteries vs. plastic wrapped? as far as the "pitfalls" of ni-cd batteries goes. yes i am aware of them. i find them acceptable. and i would not be surprised if a new set of problems arise with lithium ion batteries as they age and get used and abused. if i was going to use the tool a lot, i might invest in newer technology. but i am to the age where my body is forcing me to slow down, like it or not. a big project for me now would be building a shed. which is doubtful. i am more just keeping things repaired now.

I don't see the differences between the plastic casing and the paper casing, just that the paper might be a little thicker and might be used as a spacer for some battery packs... and when you solder the tabs it might not fit into some cases if the space is tight.....

There are more than just buying a bunch of sub-c cells with the same labeled capacity ie 3000mah etc. Their actual capacity have to be very close... otherwise your newly build battery pack might have premature death when you are charging your pack, the weaker ones probably would get over charged. . I have had bad batteries from Ebay China vendors if that is where you are getting it from. about 1/2 of the battery won't charge to it's claimed capacity, the other 1/2 would just died or diminish capacity after a few cycle of charge..... I tend to test each individual cells with an RC charger that can measure charge capacity. $35 for 20 sounds about ebay price there. good luck if you still insist in rebuild, but sometimes it's just cheaper to get a new tool, I just got one drill and one driver with two Li-Ion batteries for $109 craftman ones decent probably stronger than your 24v. can't beat that price wise. Some times it cost more just trying to rebuild.....Unless you are doing it for fun / hobby.

 

[Superbec]

you can't have 3300ma pack in the same volume and voltage as 1300ma, look closely at the description, the 3300ma are most likely ~3x the size .

I have a 10 yo flex drill , I tried to find replacement batteries for it but they don't make them anymore, first one died a few years ago and the second just last year. So I understand your point but Li is just a lot better .

 

[uart]

you can't have 3300ma pack in the same volume and voltage as 1300ma, look closely at the description, the 3300ma are most likely ~3x the size .

Not necessarily. You can definitely buy sub-c cells (standardized physical size) in a range of difference capacities. I've certainly seen various capacities from 1500 to at least 2700 mA-hrs in NiCd, and much larger still in NiMH.

Be aware however that advertized capacities (especially if you're buying online stuff from HK/China) are likely to be fairly wildly optimistic. When I tested the "2700 mA-hr" ones that I bought I was seriously struggling to get more than about 1500 out of them.

I'd resist the temptation to go NiMH for really high capacity. I know that some people have done it successfully, but my experience has been that NiCd (while being lower in capacity) is a lot more rugged than NiMH.

 

[Superbec]

Not necessarily. You can definitely buy sub-c cells (standardized physical size) in a range of difference capacities. I've certainly seen various capacities from 1500 to at least 2700 mA-hrs in NiCd, and much larger still in NiMH.

yes you're right , I was thinking Li , and forgot that ni-cad can differ in capacity

 

[xwrench3]

i had wondered if the claim on the capacity was just that, a claim. is there any brand of battery that is better than most? i did notice that most of the batteries are no name. yes, i am looking on ebay. though i just thought that maybe Newegg might sell them as well. they tend to sell quality products. the one name brand that comes up most (there are few name brands) on ebay is Tenergy. i also noticed that the most common size (mah) is 2200, then 1800. those seem more realistic than the 3400 ones. i did try at one time to re-solder a tab on a battery that came loose. and i had a heck of a time doing so. because of that, i figured i would buy batteries that already have tabs soldered onto them. then i would just solder the tabs together. besides actually picking out the batteries, my biggest concern is getting the correct size batteries. i am using dial calipers to get the physical dimensions. and what i am coming up with according to the online charts, is the batteries in my pack ar size RR. sub c batteries are supposed to be .8mm (notice the point please) taller. which is .032" taller. my pack uses 2) .025" thick cardboard spacers (one on top, the other on the bottom), which i guess i could leave out if i had to. but i have also read that there can be quite a bit of variance in actual physical dimensions of these batteries. but the size RR batteries are exceedingly rare. i can not find anyone that sells them. and i suspect that these are in reality sub c batteries. i really appreciate the help i am getting here. well, i just checked, Newegg does indeed sell the Tenergy name brand, 2200 mah cells with pre installed tabs.

 

[djdaredevil]

I say give it a shot worst comes to worst youre out a small amount of cash, and if it doesnt work than you can still buy a new drill, but if it does work you saved some cash and got a working battery.

 

[dogdog]

over the years i have amassed many battery powered tools. since i can not seem to throw ANYTHING away, about 1/2 of them need new batteries. some of them are really only good for parts, because they either got abused, or used so much they are worn out. i have decided to try to rebuild my newest (4 year old) cordless drill battery (24v nicad). its a Black Max drill that my wife bought me from Sams Club for Christmas. anyway, all of this is leading up to my real question. has anyone ever made a battery cross reference chart for tools? obviously Wal*Mart does not make tools. so some tool manufacturer makes them for them. i have always wanted a spare battery for this drill, but in 2 years i have not found one. i have to believe that there has to be another 24 volt battery out there that will fit this drill. i have no problem with nicad batteries, so i do not feel the need to go out and spend $140.00 for a new lithium powered drill. plus an extra $80.00+ for a spare lithium battery. replacing the batteries should revive the drill. its never been used hard, or used a lot. but i would still like a spare battery.

Was unfortunately at the Pepboys saw they sell two version of the 24V nicad batteries that looked similar in size and configuration, maybe your can try your luck there. Might be as easy as swamping the case over. Don't know for sure.

....But don't get sucker into buying their tires, it's a rip-off no matter how cheap you think it is. Cost you more $$ in the long run for ****** tires.



https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/248385/00162 $50
https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/9889965/00162 $30

 

[Josey Wales]

BUBS | Thu, 22 Oct, 2009
GARBAGE

This seems to be a decent tool.But my battery went south on me not long after the purchase. You can buy a new one from Allied international in Sylmar Calif-1-818-364-2333..Hope this helps someone else down the road........

Maybe this helps, maybe it doesn't.