Cordless tools and batteries

[stonedeaf]

agree on ni cad packs

Even Ni Cads loose some capacity in extreme cold weather - but especially the first generation of Li-Ions were nearly worthless below 0C/32F. Milwaukee's newer "Red" Li Ions are noteciably better than past efforts with this chemistry battery at having some charge at much lower temperatures.

 

[Guest113]

Sharing my hunt for usable home use cordless tools.

I have cheaper cordless tool sets, and the batteries did not hold charge for long. Tools worked fine by the way. NICAD will not hold charge for long and I have to plan ahead to get them charged. Then I got a Good Will sale Ridgid set with bum batteries. I was able to make one good battery pack out of two bad ones. Interesting circuits on those LI-ION battery packs. It is only 1Ahr pack and works just fine. Then I wanted the 4Ahr batteries (same reason I went from a 50Watt Amp to 250Watt).

I broke down and bought a Ridgid drill and driver set because of its battery waranty. It is kind of pricy and I may have gotten just as well by buying the cheaper brand $99 dual pack batteries and harvest the 4Ahr batteries for the old tools. To get the Ridgid battery replacement is a bit of a hassle from reading. I will see when I get there in 3? years.

....

I'm a Builder and buy Ridgid cordless tools exclusively. You can have the batteries re-built or you can buy factory reconditioned batteries a lot cheaper than what you'd pay retail. They're are a number of websites that offer re-certified tools. Most of the time it's cheaper to buy the whole kit with the tools and 2-3 batteries than buying the batteries separately. That's typically what I do.

 

[SolderIron]

One battery pack I did not charge all the way and I put it on the shelf at 75%. That is what you should do when you put the LI-IONs on the shelf.
Two I have used on and off after a full charge. One month later they still show full charge. I am very happy with the tools for now. No need for power cords and have them getting in the way, the time to find and stow them, and getting to the outlet.

 

[pdm4606]

Why batts.?

I am converting my 9.6 V Dewalt to run on a chord from a 10V-5 amp. power supply. I know it sounds rediculous but I like the drill just not the batt. games.
I figure if that works I have 2 old Ryobi's with the same setup.

Paul

 

[SolderIron]

I am converting my 9.6 V Dewalt to run on a chord from a 10V-5 amp. power supply.
Paul

It will work, and you will have "power cord" drills. A good way to make them useful, but why not just rebuild the battery pack?

 

[SolderIron]

The lowest price I find is a $15 LI-ION battery pack with charger included from a big chain store. It event has charge indicator lights on the pack. It is not for my tools, but the batteries will fit in one of my bad packs. I will rebuild the bad pack with batteries from it. I wish they would standardize the pack on the cordless. When done I will have 6 packs for the new tools.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Best tools I ever got are Bosch drill drivers with Li-ions. Very durable batteries. Problem I have with NiCd is they can sit for up to weeks at a time, and that's bad for NiCds. If you use them all the time and charge them, they hold up better.

Now if I can just get Mrs. Tox to avoid buying more NiCd tools, and match brands we already own so the batteries are interchangeable. Still working on that.

 

[SolderIron]

It would be nice if the same voltage battery packs use one physical interface. I have about five 18 volt battery packs and can’t interchange any. They all use the same cells but put in a slightly different package.

The two 4 Ahr battery packs are still showing 100% charge. I have been using them on and off for three months now. I am just a home owner needing a drill or driver in a hurry a couple times a month. So far it is fantastic on just one charge in all these months.

The LI battery I was going to harvest the cells from is still sitting there. It is hard to find time to do something with it. Part of the problem is the new pack has the charge indicator that I like to keep, but not easy to move to the target. Yeah, they have to make the physical package non interchangeable.

 

[Pio1980]

It would be nice if the same voltage battery packs use one physical interface. I have about five 18 volt battery packs and can’t interchange any. They all use the same cells but put in a slightly different package.

The two 4 Ahr battery packs are still showing 100% charge. I have been using them on and off for three months now. I am just a home owner needing a drill or driver in a hurry a couple times a month. So far it is fantastic on just one charge in all these months.

The LI battery I was going to harvest the cells from is still sitting there. It is hard to find time to do something with it. Part of the problem is the new pack has the charge indicator that I like to keep, but not easy to move to the target. Yeah, they have to make the physical package non interchangeable.

I chiseled the slot keys in my 2 Craftsman drills to take the same packs.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[CoogarXR]

I have the Hitachi 12v (10.8v) LiON set. I bought them back when I worked at the electronics recycler. We had 5 sets of them at work, and they were used and abused daily. Dropped repeatedly on the concrete, etc. They charge fast, and hold a charge quite a while. I loved them so much I bought a set for myself to use at home.

I especially love the impact driver for working on electronics. You can have the back off a TV in about a minute, even if it has 50 screws. It's so light too! I have carpal tunnel, so holding a big heavy drill making repeated motions kills me. But this thing is so light and nicely balanced it doesn't bother me at all.

The only gripe I could have, is the drill that comes with the set gobbles through the battery if you use it in high-torque applications (like drilling big holes, etc).

I still highly recommend the set though.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if all batteries of the same type and voltage were interchangeable, just like rolls of toilet paper, bottles of motor oil, and, well, single batteries for that matter. What a brilliant idea. :sigh:

 

[SolderIron]

>I chiseled the slot keys in my 2 Craftsman drills to take the same packs.

That is the way to go if you can get away with minor surgery. I have been thinking of piggy back the brand X top to brand Y. This will retain the charge indicator of the brand Y. .....Duct tape (Ugly) or some invention (bracket & screw) is needed....

 

[SolderIron]

>love the impact driver for working on electronics. You can have the back off a TV in about a minute, even if it has 50 screws.

The driver is a dream in taking things apart. I have taken to strip screws from old electronics I used to throw away. Many times I went looking for screws I dropped to put things back in one piece. Now I have a handy supply.

 

[SolderIron]

I took the drill out last Sunday for a hole or two. Battery pack still showed 100% charge and got the job done. After 7 months on one charge, this is what a cordless battery pack should to be useful.

I notice the Father's day deal on cordless tool set are down to impulse buying price range. I will have to watch I don't end up with too many sets...

 

[westend]

I use rechargeable tools almost daily. After shelving my last set of Makita cordless, I ended up with the Ridgid 18V Lion set mentioned in this thread. I bought Rigid for the full replacement reasoning but the impact driver has one of the highest torque values in an 18V driver. These tools are holding up well. I also have the small 18V reciprocating saw and it is one of those tools that makes you wonder how you did without it.

 

[Shain]

Been using the 18v Rigid cordless for a couple of years. Batteries last fine and drills have been very dependable. Have the regular dill, and the hammer drill.

Use them for home use and have flipped a couple of houses with them. Would buy again.

 

[Tom Brennan]

In my trade we often used air powered tools-- grinders, milling machines, drill motors, metal saws, rolling motors--all kinds of stuff. Since I retired I stay away from tools.

 

[SolderIron]

Home usage report- a dozen or two drilling/driving job a year, including disassemble a couple old VCR, TV, printers (harvesting screws & electronics):

It's been more than a year, about 16 months actually. The Rigid drill and driver set came with two 4 Ahr battery packs. I gave them one charge at the beginning. I have been using them on a that charge all these months. On heavy jobs I use the regular corded set. When I run across a few holes/ screws in a hurry, I would grab them. Just done some work last weekend and both batteries are showing 75% charge still. Lithium batteries are the way to go. If I have to do it over again, I will probably buy a cheaper brand as the replacement battery are cheaper.

 

[mistermax]

Former contractor/cabinetmaker here. Now in a different line of work but still use a lot of woodworking tools at home. The problem with many of these cordless tools is, the tool itself becomes obsolete (or just out of production), and batteries are harder to get. No experience with the Ridgid warranty, that's interesting, but again, I am skeptical, having gone thru many cordless tools (and thrown many in the trash can).

These days, the only cordless tools I will buy are the Milwaukee products, and even them I'm beginning to doubt (as my current drill has been acting up - but not the battery, more like the motor). Dewalt is absolute garbage as far as I'm concerned, I burned up two (corded) saws and have had now three cordless drills become useless (one smoked and burned out on me, two the batteries stopped charging and either were too expensive to replace or no longer available). And beyond that, for the most part I will not buy cordless tools at all. The only one is the drill really, because it is in constant use all over the house.

My 2 cents.

 

[QRanc]

I vote for Ridgid as well. I have a heavily used/abused 24V LiIon set that I've had for 9 or so years now. If a battery gives up, I just go to the service centre and they order me a new one. I've had the trigger switch replaced twice on the drill, I also had the entire gear box/chuck/clutch replaced. All of this at no charge to me, and with absolutely no hassle. My drill is starting to act up again, and I think the arbor on my circular saw it sightly bent, but I think I'll buy a new set instead of getting them repaired. With them nearing the 10 year mark, I can't complain about replacing them. Also, the 24V system is just too heavy and bulky. When I do replace them, you can bet it'll be with Ridgid.