DeWalt Battery Help

[Teken]

I have been a DeWalt user for most of my life, and find that over all they make great tools.

Well recently I had two old style XRP batteries go flat (wont give you very much run time) even using the new style floating charger.

They call it a tune up mode etc . . . It doesn't work, BTW!

My Q is this: On E-Bay there is a guy who sells some kind of pamflet or brochure which shows the user(s) how to restore these batteries with his special recepy. Anyone ever tried this or know what magic potion he is pushing to all these people?

I ask because my field is industrial electrical / electronic based along with computer networking etc.

In my previous life, and hobby side, I have always used a specialized charger which desulficates or send in a frequency based pulse (PCM) to ensure this condition never occurs, or if its present will desulficate the said battery.

This is the only thing I can see that this vendor / seller is pushing. But in his add it comes across like its some home brew that is being used, and nothing electrically applied.

So if anyone has some feed-back, good, bad, ugly please chime in. If I could use anything I have on hand to desulficate these 18 volt batteries I surely would.

If nothing comes up, I will break down and buy four more later this year.


Regards

EVIL Teken . . .

 

[wakeboarder311]

the problem with them is one cell has gone bad

 

[Torque1st]

the problem with them is one cell has gone bad

Probably right. Unfortunately most packs have spot welded connections so they are inconvenient to replace a single cell. A pack should be made of matched cells but this is seldom done for consumer goods.

Some people have used household AC current with a small light bulb as a current limiter to restore batteries. It is an old trick that has been around at least 75 years and was used on automotive lead-acid batteries. I have tried it a few times with no decent results. The eBay guy is probably selling a single sheet of paper with a wiring diagram and some instructions... Bogus


There are places that rebuild the packs. Some of them have been mentioned in posts here.

 

[OldToolMan]

save your money if the batterys are very old/been charged a lot by new if not used much you can usually find the dead cells and solder other cells in. this takes a few extra batterys. i have had some brake the conecter to the top cell.

 

[djd99]

Ebay actually has the best deal on brand new battery's, I bought 2 14v xrp from a seller at 99 bucks. Home depot want's 80 bucks for 1.

 

[diggertodd]

here you go... discussed at length

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41414&highlight=battery+scam

 

[tstang90]

i have a 18v xrp i keep at home but rarely use it cause i have my work gun it has the hammer drill its a nice model. I have 4 new batteries I accumulated. If the batteries were ran and charged 2 dozen times that exaggerating. 2 of the batteries dont hold a charge for anything. While 2 kinds do. I dont get it I think the batteries have a shelf life of some sort cause mine died from storage not use or abuse.


What really ***** is the batteries are so pricey ya have to toss the gun and buy a new kit. I learned buy a lesser priced kit with a warranty and at teh end of the day you end up ahead.

At work we have been using HILTI brand drill/ screw guns. Battery life is excellent.

I have always liked Dewalt tools but in the past couple years I noticed a decrease in quality esp there corded drills chuckless to be more exact. i have seen more bits literally get stuck in the chuck then you can imagine.

 

[VC-Racing]

I was in Lowes the other day and saw a 2pk of 18v XRP batteries for $119. which is not a bad price. I'm waiting on my monthly $10 / $25 rebate thingy I get in the mail from lowes so I can buy a spare set of batt's for my Dewalt tools.

 

[Teken]

2 of the batteries dont hold a charge for anything. While 2 kinds do. I dont get it I think the batteries have a shelf life of some sort cause mine died from storage not use or abuse.

This is exactly what happend here!! I was asked to help out for quite awhile abroad and the tools sat for about 13 months give or take. They were fully charged when I left and were practicly brand new.

Probably used the two batteries 10 full cycles . . Now they are heavy aszz paper weights!

What burns me is that these batteries have the *Yellow* sticker indicating new and improved! Improved my Aszz . . .

 

[Teken]

here you go... discussed at length

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41414&highlight=battery+scam

Many thanks on the link and the related video . . . So, this is very close to what I do now with my 12 volt batteries for my cars.

I guess if and when they become too tired, I have nothing to lose and to try them before spending some hard earned $$$ on a few.

The other poster was also correct, E-Bay does offer the best value out there for multi-purchases of batteries.

Many thanks to all posters for the feed-back, if there is anything else related to this topic please chime in.

Regards

Teken . . .

 

[sgrammel]

I bought the instructions from the guy (I think its the same guy). I followed the instructions...and it didn't really work for me. I ended up tearing the battery back apart and was able to determine one or more cell was fried..His instructions tell how to fix those as well..but again no luck...I ended up buying the 2/$119 deal from Lowes and dumped the old ones in the recycle center.

 

[DHCrocks]

do your self a favor and forget the nicad. I've had 2 XRPs go bad and had them rebuilt with higher capacity nicads from batterybuilders and those also went bad after about a year. The problem with the nicads is if you don't use them often they will die. I've since gotten the new Dewalt Nano li-ion batteries and those things are great. I can use them in all my old 18v tools and they are have more juice then the nicads and a long shelf life. I only occasionally use my tools, maybe once every 2-3 months i'll bring them out but they still have a lot of power left without a recharge and are ready to go unlike the nicads.

If you're going to get new batteries dont buy the nicads get the Nanos.

 

[Teken]

Yeah I know, you're both right. But do you really like the look of those Nano's on the old style DeWalts? I know it fits, but they are alot smaller in terms of size. Just looks really odd to me having two different battery frames.

Teken . . .

 

[Teken]

sgrammel,

Please turn on your private mail, it says its turned off or not accepting PM's. Many thanks by the way!

EVIL Teken

 

[tcianci]

I also bought that paper from the guy on ebay...It also included a lot of other home remedies IIRC. Anyway the battery "ressurecting" involved whacking the batteries with short pulses of DC from a couple of car batteries in series or another DC source with a higher potential than the original suspect battery. IIRC, it didn't work in my case either. This was on my Ryobi stuff, it was commom to have batteries croak. I did like everyone else...moved up to Makita Lithium ion. Truthfully I would havebeen better off spending more money on Ryobi batteries. I got less than 2 years out of the Makita stuff, battery failure, charger failure, drill failure and now the recipro saw has crapped out. I just dumped another pile of cash into Ridgid Lithium ion stuff, at least they claim to have a lifetime service agreement that covers just about everything but blades and bits.

 

[35mastr]

I have brought some of my 12 Volt Dewalts back with my mig welder. It will give you a little more life out of them. I tried it on 2 of them. It worked on one of them and I am still using it.

In the end you will still need to buy new ones.

 

[Costner]

I have found it cheaper to buy a whole new drill than it is to buy just the batteries. I have had 12V DeWalt tools since 1996 and about two years ago I noticed my batteries were starting to lose their charge, so I priced out replacements.

I soon realized I could either buy two new batteries, or I could buy a new drill with two batteries and a charger for the same money. Guess which way I went?

I then bought a refurbished impact driver that came with two more batteries, and I was at Lowes when they were selling a charger with XRP battery from a display model drill for $10! I snapped that deal up in a heartbeat.

So now I have at least five batteries that are all good and three more that are due to head to the recycle bin. I know the tricks that are sent out on those eBay pamphlets but most of the time all that does is give you a very short lifespan before they fail again, and it really isn't worth the trouble. I just do my best to prevent the batteries from freezing and I hit them with a rubber mallet every now and then to break off any crystalization from the cells.

Considering my first set lasted over 10 years I don't think I can complain, but if they ever come out with a Lithium Ion version for the 12V tools - I'd start buying those instead.

For those of you who run 18V systems, you should visit Lowes and Home Depot on black Friday every year. They always have a DeWalt 18V drill kit with two batteries for $99. For that price you couldn't even buy just the batteries - and as a bonus you get an extra charger and drill in case your other one takes a **** on you. Every year I see contractors buying four or five of those drills each - so they know what a good deal it is.

 

[mark40sw]

info here of "restoring" nicad batteries.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=968411

I have heard of (never done) burning the small crystal "whiskers" that develop between the anode /cathode. The cells are on the last stages of life when you need to do this. From what I know, dewalt batteries are some of the easier types to replace the cells in.

The "desulphation" the orig poster talked about is for lead/acid batteries that have frequencies runs through them in an attempt to break up hard crystals on the plates. I do have the larger "battery minder" brand charger, can't positively say it works wonders, but am using 8 yr old battery that is on it every couple months.

 

[kbs2244]

I buy the busted drill kit’s a garage sales just to get the battery cases.
Often the drills have been dropped so often that they are beyond help.

But I open the battery cases up and use the VOM to find the bad cell then replace it.
I am not a electronics tech, but I can accomplish the soldering needed.

I have 3 drills and maybe a dozen battery packs.
All 12 VDC DeWalts so everything is interchangeable.
I like the 12VDC because they are lighter.
With so many batteries it is no big deal to swap them out during a job.

The DeWalt chargers I use have a “discharge before recharge” cycle for the ni-cads so I haven’t upgraded to the li cells yet.
That may be next, but I have 3 or 4 of the ni-cad cells sitting on the shelf waiting to be used first.

 

[1320stang]

I've wondered if Batteries Plus could use my XRP cases to build Li-On batteries?

 

[sharage71]

I've wondered if Batteries Plus could use my XRP cases to build Li-On batteries?

that's a great question !

 

[Teken]

We have a few battery repair depots here. I will ask some of the vendors if the lithium style batteries, or even the same NiCads can be rebuilt for cheap.

If it's too expensive I will definately take the suggestion of the other members and by another kit. Only problem I have with that is that I have quite a few kits already and just as many chargers.

I am totally about back up, but what can you do with 7 drills?

Regards

EVIL Teken . . .

 

[kbs2244]

I have checked out the local battery places and the online “mail it in” places.
The savings just are not there.
It is a DIY thing on an evening while you are watching a football game you don’t care much about.

 

[Markgyver]

I've wondered if Batteries Plus could use my XRP cases to build Li-On batteries?

My dad took one of his batteries to Batteries Plus and had them rebuild it. They claim that they use better quality cells than original. His battery seems better than when it was new and holds its charge longer.

I have been thinking about taking my dewalt batteries to them, I have 7 batteries and they all went bad at just about the same time.

 

[Teken]

If you do would you mind letting us know what the final cost is for doing so, and how you find the run time is after the fact. I wouldn't mind investing a few extra $$$ if the gains are measurable.

EVIL Teken . . .

 

[nissan_crawler]

I had three drills with the same batteries. Eventually, all three weren't very good at all. I charged all of them, took them apart, checked each cell, and made two batteries out of the best cells from the three. 1.5 years later, they're still working...

 

[DHCrocks]

I've wondered if Batteries Plus could use my XRP cases to build Li-On batteries?

the standard charger will not work with li-ion cells. so you would still need to get a new charger even if they could. The nano charger will charge all types, nicad, nimh and li-ion. the standard charger will only do nicad or nimh