On Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:11:02 -0800, "Bruce L. Bergman (munged human
readable)" wrote:

On Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:44:32 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I have a perfectly good Bosch 18-volt model 3850 cordless drill that I
bought new for $200 in June 2000 at a closeout sale that is getting weak
as the batteries wear out. The batteries (model 2 610995 894) are NiMH
construction.

Bosch sells replacement batteries for $120 list each, and I need two.

http://store.boschpowertoolsource.com/boba18voba.html

But $240 is a good fraction of the price to simply buy another cordless
drill, so Bosch batteries are not going to happen.

There was a company that rebuilds tool batteries for far less. Who was
it?

Thanks,

Joe Gwinn


Well, the local "Batteries Plus" outlet offered to rebuild my DeWalt
18V XRP packs for $65 each "with far better quality cells than the new
ones" and it is tempting... But every Christmas season DeWalt runs a
"Two Pack" special on batteries, 2 for $99.

Point one, go looking for sales like that, now's the time. Even with
off names (In the US) like Bosch - Yeah, they bought Skil...

Point two, your old packs can be rebuilt, but let someone with the
fancy cell connector spot-welder assemble them.

I let X (name sounds like "Interstate Battery") rebuild my Ryobi 14.4v
nicad battery and it was as gutless as the original, then it died
(lost all charge after a day or two, full charge good only for a
couple minutes) less than a year later. Most places upgrade the mAh
rating but I think IB used the same or lesser capacity cells. I
wasn't thrilled.


Point Three, check if they interchange. Especially store branded like
Sears - I started saving $20 a battery pack when I realized my old
Craftsman cordless drill was really a Skil.

Oh, and as an aside Batteries Plus is the only place I've found that
stocks the High Rate SLA batteries for UPS's and you just go in and
grab one. A $42 battery beats a $99 new UPS. (At Costco - a 1000VA
at retail would be ~$140)

But how do you determine the effectiveness of the used protection
circuitry in rebuilt UPSes? I put a new battery ($17, 7Ah LA) in my
old UPS and about 5 years later, the test switch died. I figured it
was time for a whole new UPS at that point. AFAIK, there is no way to
test for damaged or almost-used-up MOVs, etc.

--
Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.
-- Margaret Lee Runbeck