# Ni-Cad Battery Rebuild



## psh

Useful info, thanks!


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## Woodwrecker

Great to know. Thanks a bunch.


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## Ken90712

Wow! What a great review! Very interesting. I have 3 drills at home at 2 at work. My Dewalt Batteries seem to last forever and have yet to go bad. They're the expensive ones so this would be well worth it. I have the Ryobi 18 Volt drill as well. These batteries constantly go bad. I suspect that's why they sell them two for $39.99. I might have them try one of my weak ones and use the 45-dollar service and see how well it improves it.

The one thing I have noticed is that the Dewalt 18 Volt skill saw will cut wood very well. The Ryobi 18 Volt skill saw could barley cut a piece of paper. I hate that thing. Shows the Amperage or battery in the Dewalts are just better made and of higher quality.

Great post Thx.
.


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## craftsman on the lake

I got a pair of Bosch drill/drivers lithium combo on sale but still it was pricy.

That said I've had a Craftsman 18v tool that i bought discontinued at Sears marked down to 29.95 from $99 a few years ago. It still works but I went to buy a replacement battery. The cost? $28. Too bad, It's been a good working rugged tool. I just can't bring myself to pay the same for the battery that I did for the drill. oh well.


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## tenontim

Thanks for this info. I've bookmarked the web page for future reference. I have a Craftsman 14V drill that has been a workhorse for years. I bought another one a few years ago on Ebay, that had a bad battery. Picked up an aftermarket battery for it and now I have two good drills. Got the aftermarket battery for a decent price, but I think this rebuild is an even better deal.


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## Grandpa

Craftsman, this is still a good buy on batteries. What you need to ask yourself is do you want to spend $30 for a battery or $130 for an equivilant drill. You just got a bargain on a drill. If the drill motor is in good shape it might be worth a few more dollars. On the other hand, I have a friend that was using a 12V Dewalt XRP. He abused it by his own admission and it was squawking and smelling bad. I told him he could have that model repaired. He called the service center and the man there confirmed he could get it rebuilt. The cost is $75 for the drill rebuild. The man then said I want you to think about this. How old is the drill? if it is 5 years old then the batteries are about to give it up. they are designed to last 5 years. (I personally don't know how they design something to last 5 years but anyway they seem to have done that.) The service man went on to say you will spend $65 each for the batteries. What is the cost of that drill today? My friend said I have found them at Home Depot for $129. He said now you have to decide do you want to spend the money for the new drill and batteries or do you want to rebuild that old drill for $75 and buy 2 batteries for $130. I just asked my friend if he could pick up a drill for me while he was there. LOL


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## longgone

I had a Ryobi 18v nicad drill and it constantly had batteries that would go bad. I gave it to an electrician doing some wiring on my house and he was very appreciative to get it since the employees were rough on tools. At least I found an appreciative person who could use it. I bought 2 Makita 18v lithium drills since I had a Makita 18 v jig saw and 18v circular saw that has been exceptional tools and has interchangable batteries with the new drills. I like the lithium since the can sit for months without losing any noticable charge and the Makita tools are solid and extremely dependable.


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## pintodeluxe

Nice environmentally friendly method. Let's put an end to the disposable lifestyle!


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## JSilverman

totally agree with the sentiment. I have a Panasonic 9.6 v drill that I bought in 1990… the batteries have been replaced twice but the drill seems indestructable… next time I need batteries I will check out your supplier! thanks


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## adrocker

great timing! My craftsman drill batteries are dying and I just can't bring myself to replace a perfectly good drill.


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## Jonwilliam

I've rebuilt a handful of Milwaukee 18v batteries myself using a tutorial found at instructables.com I used NiMh batteries that I ordered from a site that sells batteries for RC cars. It was a little cheaper doing it that way vs sending them in plus I learned how to solder correctly so for the experience it was worth it. Even said I do have a milwaukee m18 lithium drill that crushes that old nicad milwaukee drill… I just dropped the old batteries at home cheapo for recycling.

Caution: instructables can get addicting…


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## legoman

This is a great idea! Thanks for the info ….

However, I have an old Ryobi 12v drill/driver that works great but the batteries wouldn't hold a charge anymore. I took them to HD for recycling, but still have the drill. The batteries have been discontinued, but does anyone know where I could find a substitute battery or buy an old battery cheap to have reconditioned? I bought an M12 and love it, but I like the idea of having a backup-or I would donate the Ryobi to the local not-for-profit trades school.

Thanks.


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## TopamaxSurvivor

I was going to rebuild some Rigid 14 volts but I found new ones on Amazon cheaper than the rebuild outfit was gong to charge. Lucky break, eh? But I still have the old batteries ;-(


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## b2rtch

Did anyone of you "zap" his batteries?






http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091027050502AAvnicO


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