On Dec 4, 7:09*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Why not offer a CORDED battery replacement?

If the battery poops out, you could continue to use the tool with a cord -
much like you can with a cell phone.

The working parts business of battery charger that comes with the tool is
smaller than the battery itself, and could easily be fitted in a case the
size of the battery.

In the alternative, why doesn't some clever entrepreneur concoct the device
to sell as an after-market product? Certainly non-OEM battery replacements
are available; why not power-cord replacements for the battery?

Heck, I've got some old batteries lying about, I might just try building a
small DC power supply to fit in the scooped-out innards of one.

Just thinking out loud.

I think there's a couple of reasons, a crummy reason and a good
reason.

Crummy reason: Because it is very much part of their product strategy
that when the batteries quit taking a charge a couple of years after
purchase, *you buy a whole new tool*. There used to be companies that
made affordable tools that lasted a homeowner's lifetime...where are
they now? Gone, their brands walking among us like zombies,
artificially animated by holding companies and investment funds. The
smart money is in planned obsolescence.

Good reason: take this DeWalt that turns up on a random Google search:
http://www.grainger.com/1/1/134517-d...1-2-3-spd.html.
Blurb says it's a 510 Watt motor (it's rare to see Wattage quoted for
cordless tools, but let's take this as typical) so that 18 V battery
pack is putting out 28 Amps. The leftover power bricks you've got
lying around from old cellphones put out *milli*-amps. Sure you can
build or buy a 28 Amp 18 V power supply, but it ain't gonna fit in to
the hollowed-out battery case, and you'll need booster cables to
connect it to the tool.

Chip C
Toronto