On 4/4/2017 9:09 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Meanie wrote:
On 4/4/2017 3:02 AM, mike wrote:
I have a big pile of 20 year old cordless drills and saws.
I have a big pile of batteries.
Problem is that the batteries that seem to be
good don't fit any of the drills...

I expect that any "new" batteries for such an old
tool were sitting in a container in Arizona
for a decade or two and will
be crap. Ditto for EBAY and old store stock.

I have a battery tab welder and have tried numerous
times to make one good pack out of several bad ones.
But, when the cells are all 20 years old, they fail
quickly. Purchasing new cells is prohibitively expensive.

So, might be time for a new drill.
Early lithium batteries weren't up to the task.
Are the newer ones reliable?

Do they use balance chargers? If not, doesn't that guarantee
early battery failure? The Kobalt brand has taken
the electronics out of the battery pack and put it in the drill.
Looks like only three contacts.
That seems like a failure sooner than later.

Anybody have experience with the Kobalt 24-volt brand at Lowes?
They have a $10 lithium battery pack.
They have brushless motors. I like the idea, but it seems
like a lot more stuff to fail.

I'm a light user. I've never had a cordless tool fail.
It's ALWAYS the battery.

I won't be using it much, so don't need super quality,
just want it to work when I need it.

I don't want to spend a fortune, so looking at
the stuff you get at Lowes or home depot on sale.

Recommendations?
Thanks

Dewalt

I'll second that . I use the older NiCad packs , and they last well if you
remember to fully discharge before charging .


Likewise. I use the tools until it doesn't have enough spunk to to the
task, then I hold the trigger until the battery drains completely.
Probably overkill but I've had them for years now and still going strong.