Old new Dewalt batteries - keep or return?

[RobinMayaHawke]

Just received two new 3Ah "20V Max" batteries to supplement my original 1.3Ah batteries for a DCD711 drill/driver (all rec'd in 2021). (I also bought a second DCD711 b/c that model has worked so well for me.)

Mfg date on these new ones is 2023 28 !!!!! I was hoping/expecting late 2025. Part of the reason to buy this new pair was to be set up with new equipment, as battery form factors can go out of production before the tools die. These were purchased from an extremely large online vendor with two-day shipping (wink).

Am I right to be dismayed? Or is the wisdom of the masses that I'm likely to get newer ones if I return these and order again? (There's also the whole cost to the world of shipping batteries to and fro.)

A very first world problem,
Thanks!

 

[eviltwin]

I wouldn’t even trust the jungle website to send me real DEWALT batteries vs knockoffs.

 

[dnschmidt]

They are very likely fine. I bought some 4.0 Makita 18V batteries from Acme tool a legit dealer and they were dated 2021. They work fine but I will admit to being shocked at how old they were. I've had 12 year old Makita and Milwaukee 5.0 batteries that still work fine. The old school NiCd batteries would die in unopened containers. LiOin seem a lot less concerned with manufacturing date.

 

[david3921]

I would expect that lower amp batteries to be slow movers. Users tend to want the higher amp batteries for the more demanding tools like circular and reciprocating saws. That being said, for what it's worth, I wouldn't have an issue with a new battery being that old. It's never been used and many here have batteries that are many years old and going strong. I know I do. I would assume that the batteries have a warranty from date of purchase rather than manufacturing if you have an issue.

 

[finn]

They’ll work, but it makes me question the validity of a company that has such poor inventory turnover (or control) that it lets product sit around that long.

Turns per year is an inventory metric term that comes to mind.

 

[mikedodge]

If you paid a lot for them id expect newer. If you hunted around for a great deal you get what you pay for.

In reality they should be OK. They don't seem to be affected by age as much as older battery types, more use like cellphone batteries.

 

[OccupantRJ]

They may have been sold online due to the date code.

 

[PCustoms]

They’ll work, but it makes me question the validity of a company that has such poor inventory turnover (or control) that it lets product sit around that long.

Turns per year is an inventory metric term that comes to mind.

3 levels deep into retail distribution on batteries that are 2.5yrs old. LOL

Maybe we should go even deeper and figure out when the raw cells were made?

This place is ridiculous sometimes.

 

[dscheidt]

3 levels deep into retail distribution on batteries that are 2.5yrs old. LOL

Maybe we should go even deeper and figure out when the raw cells were made?

This place is ridiculous sometimes.

it's not at all ridiculous. dewalt is going to base the warranty term on the date of manufacture, plus a reasonable supply chain dwell time.[1] So he's giving up a substantial fraction of the warranty period. If he paid retail for them, he's not getting what he paid for. If they were discounted to allow for the age, that's different.

[1] yes, it's supposed to be date of purchase, but good luck getting them to believe you bought a 2.5 year old battery at retail, versus trying to slip an older battery past them...

 

[thesilverone]

lets go even deeper and figure out when all the components were made

 

[dnschmidt]

it's not at all ridiculous. dewalt is going to base the warranty term on the date of manufacture, plus a reasonable supply chain dwell time.[1] So he's giving up a substantial fraction of the warranty period. If he paid retail for them, he's not getting what he paid for. If they were discounted to allow for the age, that's different.

[1] yes, it's supposed to be date of purchase, but good luck getting them to believe you bought a 2.5 year old battery at retail, versus trying to slip an older battery past them...

Not if they are like Milwaukee. If you have the dated sales receipt, which Amazon stores automatically for DeWalt as does Home Depot for Milwaukee, the battery guarantee starts from date of purchase. On all battery purchases ALWAYS keep or store on your computer the sales receipt. This situation is extremely common and this is your best protection from being rejected for warrantee.

 

[Steve_P]

I personally wouldn't worry about it and just use them; you probably got a good deal for this reason- so that they could move them from stock. One of the Ego batteries I purchased was well over a year old, but again it was on sale for probably the same reason- move stock.

As said, the new battery chemistry seems to be holding up very well over time. There are Teslas that are 5+ years old, 100K+ miles, and still have >90% of the battery performance (mile range) as they did when new; they've obviously been charged a lot. I've not noticed any degradation in performance in my DeWalt or Ego batteries, which mostly sit unused, and many are 5 years old now.

 

[rust in the eye]

As batteries are a perishable item I'd be disappointed if paying typical retail.
If these were a screaming deal I think you've found why.
DeWalt is a good product, I expect they'll probably be fine regardless.

 

[finn]

3 levels deep into retail distribution on batteries that are 2.5yrs old. LOL

Maybe we should go even deeper and figure out when the raw cells were made?

This place is ridiculous sometimes.

Typically my car batteries have a label dated within a few weeks of purchase.

That’s not the manufacture date of course., but it is a representation of “freshness”.

It took three weeks after manufacture date for my car to get from Mexico to Michigan.

Tires are dated, and typically sold well within a year.

My milk from the local grocery store was bottled pretty close to the expiration date, too, and even the bananas don’t hang around..

No reason for a power tool battery to hang around for more than a year.

 

[dnschmidt]

Typically my car batteries have a label dated within a few weeks of purchase.

That’s not the manufacture date of course., but it is a representation of “freshness”.

It took three weeks after manufacture date for my car to get from Mexico to Michigan.

Tires are dated, and typically sold well within a year.

My milk from the local grocery store was bottled pretty close to the expiration date, too, and even the bananas don’t hang around..

No reason for a power tool battery to hang around for more than a year.

Your milk doesn't come from China nor does it go through customs.

 

[finn]

Your milk doesn't come from China nor does it go through customs.

That would add a day or two.

My car batteries ( at least the last two) came from China, and the last two batches of tires came from Korea and China.

My milk comes from Wisconsin. Isn’t that almost as far?

 

[Tractorsellr]

I ordered batteries from Grainger last yr and got batteries with a 2023 manufacturer date.

Just received two new 3Ah "20V Max" batteries to supplement my original 1.3Ah batteries for a DCD711 drill/driver (all rec'd in 2021). (I also bought a second DCD711 b/c that model has worked so well for me.)

Mfg date on these new ones is 2023 28 !!!!! I was hoping/expecting late 2025. Part of the reason to buy this new pair was to be set up with new equipment, as battery form factors can go out of production before the tools die. These were purchased from an extremely large online vendor with two-day shipping (wink).

Am I right to be dismayed? Or is the wisdom of the masses that I'm likely to get newer ones if I return these and order again? (There's also the whole cost to the world of shipping batteries to and fro.)

A very first world problem,
Thanks!

I bought 4 batteries from Grainger last year 10/25. Didnt pay any attention to the date till I got home and looked. I took those 2 packs back and asked for my money back or newer batteries. Amazing how they came out with 2 packs made in 6/25. With a 3 yr warranty on dewalt batteries, I dang sure not going to pay for batteries that are almost out of warranty.

 

[82355]

I have Dewalt batteries from 2017 that still work fine. New batteries from a couple years ago will be fine.

Martin