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

In article , mike wrote:
I have a big pile of 20 year old cordless drills and saws.
I have a big pile of batteries.
...

I have a DeWalt 12V drill & saw. 20-25 years old (I'd have to check). 4 battery packs: 2 original, 2 ~10 years old. The only battery that can
provide any runtime is one of the originals.

What I'd like to do is, since these are 12V, is get power from a AC adapter--a corded battery pack. The most ambitious and unachieveable would be to embed the switching power supply electronics inside the battery pack shell. Or, more reasonably, put a connector on the battery pack to receive the barrel plug of a off-the-shelf AC adapter. I've already removed the cells from one dead battery pack and found one gotcha: the pins sticking out of the pack were held in place by the cells.

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is supposed to
deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would be needed. I
attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free multimeter. I put the
probes on the battery pins and immediately smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has already implemented this idea.

m

On 04/04/2017 03:02 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...

[snip]

Recommendations?
Thanks


I too feel your pain. We have two choices, either buy new batteries
every 3 years or buy corded tools.


And FWIW, the after-market batteries are total junk.

mike news 2017 07:02:49 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

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

Well, I've had a porter cable 12volt lithium drill for several years
now. It's still just as dependable as it was when I bought it, new
from Lowes. It's got a considerable amount of torque for a 12volt,
too. Doesn't weigh much either. I've drilled many holes with it and I
can't even count how many screws it's screwed in for me. It's been a
great drill for electrical work, I must say. It outperforms several
18volt drills I had; they always burned out on me. The battery packs
outlived them. I'm a bit hard on my tools at times, but, that's part
of it. I bought this one after I killed my Black and Decker 18volt
nicad drill that I always thought was a piece of ****. And, I spent a
lot more on that ****ing black and decker than I did the porter
cable. LOL!

Anybody have experience with the Kobalt 24-volt brand at Lowes?

Yes. Strong drill. Torque monster. The impact/driver combo kit was a
good purchase for my friend. I don't personally own the kit, but,
I've used hers several times. I've sunk some pretty long deck screws
with it, no trouble. In fairness, my porter cable 12volt could sink
em too. It didn't like it, though. The impact driver is kickass too.

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.

Brushless digital motors are the new thing. Lots of power for less
energy consumption. Milwaukee has been using them for years now. I've
had no trouble with them.

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

The kobalt should do the job for you, but you didn't specify if you
needed the impact driver or the drill. If you can catch the combo on
special, it's well worth the 100 or so dollars for both.


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

I like kobalts hand tools, and some of their cordless ones, too. And,
I really like my porter cable.



--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!



--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

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

Per mike:
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.

Lithium is my choice for intermediate/occasional use because it does not
self-discharge very much: I can pick up a drill that has been sitting
for three months and it will have a full charge.

I am committed to Ryobi, but if I were starting from scratch would
choose a higher-end line after investigating the conditions of the
battery warranty.

When one of my Ryobi batteries failed - obviously before it's time - the
answer from Home Depot was "Sorry, not covered". I think they based it
on the length of time since purchase... but occasional use *does* get
you into those situations.

IIRC, Home Depot's "DeWalt" line offered a warranty that covered the
batteries better.

OTOH, after that one failure, I have not had any additional battery
problems with Ryobi.
--
Pete Cresswell

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 .
--
Snag

On 4/4/2017 8:49 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per mike:
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.

Lithium is my choice for intermediate/occasional use because it does not
self-discharge very much: I can pick up a drill that has been sitting
for three months and it will have a full charge.

I am committed to Ryobi, but if I were starting from scratch would
choose a higher-end line after investigating the conditions of the
battery warranty.

When one of my Ryobi batteries failed - obviously before it's time - the
answer from Home Depot was "Sorry, not covered". I think they based it
on the length of time since purchase... but occasional use *does* get
you into those situations.

IIRC, Home Depot's "DeWalt" line offered a warranty that covered the
batteries better.

OTOH, after that one failure, I have not had any additional battery
problems with Ryobi.


My Ridgid from HD has a lifetime battery warranty.

In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the house
and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem with.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to see
about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is only rated
for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by placing a meter
across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps out when shorted in
that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the meter is reated for.

In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the house
and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem with.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to see
about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is only rated
for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by placing a meter
across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps out when shorted in
that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the meter is reated for.

On 4/4/17 9:56 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the house
and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem with.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to see
about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is only rated
for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by placing a meter
across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps out when shorted in
that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the meter is reated for.


Gotta just love these pinheads that use an item the wrong way- or for a
purpose it's not designed and intended only to find that, guess what? It
malfunctions, breaks, or does harm.

From here, the knuckleheads progress rapidly from surprise and alarm to
anger and blame-externalization.

Eventually this leads to revenge-seeking against the manufacturer or
seller. This scenario has put many product liability lawyers' kids
through college;-)

--
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained ۬by
stupidity.
- Hanlon's Razor

On 4/4/17 9:56 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the house
and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem with.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to see
about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is only rated
for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by placing a meter
across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps out when shorted in
that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the meter is reated for.


Gotta just love these pinheads that use an item the wrong way- or for a
purpose it's not designed and intended only to find that, guess what? It
malfunctions, breaks, or does harm.

From here, the knuckleheads progress rapidly from surprise and alarm to
anger and blame-externalization.

Eventually this leads to revenge-seeking against the manufacturer or
seller. This scenario has put many product liability lawyers' kids
through college;-)

--
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained ۬by
stupidity.
- Hanlon's Razor

On Tue, 04 Apr 2017 00:02:49 -0700, 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

Bought a Rockwell 3rill sometime back for ~$100. Free replacement
batteries for the life of the tool. It does everything I need around
the house. Drill/driver/impact modes with two batteries. Bigger jobs I
can pull out the corded Milwaukee.

https://www.rockwelltools.com/drills-drivers.html

Those drills have free batteries for 20 years -- 20V

Good luck.

On Tue, 04 Apr 2017 00:02:49 -0700, 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

Bought a Rockwell 3rill sometime back for ~$100. Free replacement
batteries for the life of the tool. It does everything I need around
the house. Drill/driver/impact modes with two batteries. Bigger jobs I
can pull out the corded Milwaukee.

https://www.rockwelltools.com/drills-drivers.html

Those drills have free batteries for 20 years -- 20V

Good luck.

I have a big pile of 20 year old cordless drills and saws.
I have a big pile of batteries.
So, might be time for a new drill.
Early lithium batteries weren't up to the task.
Are the newer ones reliable?
Anybody have experience with the Kobalt 24-volt brand at Lowes?
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.

You get what you pay for. The money you have spent on that "pile" of
drills and batteries would have been better invested in a good quality tool
that lasts.

I have had exactly TWO cordless drills over the last 16 years or so.

The first was an 18V Craftsman brand. It worked well but the NimH batteries
didn't hold up as well. I had to buy new batteries every few years and they
weren't cheap.

Several years ago I bought a Dewalt 20V drill with lithium batteries. So
far I haven't had to replace a single battery. They all hold a charge as
well as the day I bought it. Over the years I've added a variety of Dewalt
20V tools to my collection, including lights and impact drivers.

I recommend staying with the major brands, Dewalt, Milwaukie, Bosch, etc.
as you can buy them just about anywhere. This lets you shop around for the
best price and replacement batteries and other tools are widely available.
I typically buy mine online from Amazon and they get shipped right to my
door.

If you buy a store brand like Kobalt, Rigid, Ryobi, etc. you're basically
stuck buying them at the one store (Home Depot or Lowes). You can't shop
around for better pricing or better selection, and if the store is out of
stock you're out of luck.

Based on my own experience, I would choose Dewalt's 20V tools.

Good luck!

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

I have a big pile of 20 year old cordless drills and saws.
I have a big pile of batteries.
So, might be time for a new drill.
Early lithium batteries weren't up to the task.
Are the newer ones reliable?
Anybody have experience with the Kobalt 24-volt brand at Lowes?
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.

You get what you pay for. The money you have spent on that "pile" of
drills and batteries would have been better invested in a good quality tool
that lasts.

I have had exactly TWO cordless drills over the last 16 years or so.

The first was an 18V Craftsman brand. It worked well but the NimH batteries
didn't hold up as well. I had to buy new batteries every few years and they
weren't cheap.

Several years ago I bought a Dewalt 20V drill with lithium batteries. So
far I haven't had to replace a single battery. They all hold a charge as
well as the day I bought it. Over the years I've added a variety of Dewalt
20V tools to my collection, including lights and impact drivers.

I recommend staying with the major brands, Dewalt, Milwaukie, Bosch, etc.
as you can buy them just about anywhere. This lets you shop around for the
best price and replacement batteries and other tools are widely available.
I typically buy mine online from Amazon and they get shipped right to my
door.

If you buy a store brand like Kobalt, Rigid, Ryobi, etc. you're basically
stuck buying them at the one store (Home Depot or Lowes). You can't shop
around for better pricing or better selection, and if the store is out of
stock you're out of luck.

Based on my own experience, I would choose Dewalt's 20V tools.

Good luck!

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

Ralph Mowery
k.net Tue, 04 Apr
2017 13:56:23 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news 04 Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter
would be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor
Freight Free multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins
and immediately smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot
to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the
house and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem
with.

I wouldn't rely on them, myself. I've seen them drift too much. One
by as much as 30 volts or so. As, reading 30 volts LESS than what was
actually on the circuit. Not good. Sometimes, even free, isn't worth
having.

Fluke's are great meters, but, pricey. I'm still trying to locate a
decent and reliable meter that can measure into the thousands for me.
I've been on their website, so I've either missed it, or, they don't
make one?

I don't need a million volts ability mind you, but 10k or so would be
very helpful for those rare occasions when I want to get a reliable
readout for so called high voltage output. Instead of just knowing
it's generating some.

I can't test the output of say, a microwave transformer or anything
else essentially like those with the meters I've got handy. My fluke
isn't a ****ty model, but it's not rated beyond 1000Volts, either. I
don't know of any mw transformers or neon sign power supplies (the
newer ones aren't really just a transformer, it's actually an
electronic power supply that produces 5k+ volts) that produces 1k or
less voltage, even if it has no real punch behind it.

That includes the itty bitty ballast you don't see common in laptops
anymore, or flatpanels for that matter. Most (all?) have switched
over to LED backlighting and done away with the cold tubes.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to
see about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is
only rated for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by
placing a meter across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps
out when shorted in that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the
meter is reated for.

I didn't address that aspect of his post. I thought? it was relative
common knowledge, but, that's what I get for assuming. Right?
That's usually hard on the battery too. I observed a mechanic (yea, I
know.. crazy) do the same thing with a high output GEL battery once.
The wire actually caught fire before he could disconnect it. ROFL.

The insane aspect was that he had a battery tester on his bench and
opted to test with the meter instead. stupid, but, wasn't my decision
or my equipment. So...


--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

Ralph Mowery
k.net Tue, 04 Apr
2017 13:56:23 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news 04 Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter
would be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor
Freight Free multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins
and immediately smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot
to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the
house and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem
with.

I wouldn't rely on them, myself. I've seen them drift too much. One
by as much as 30 volts or so. As, reading 30 volts LESS than what was
actually on the circuit. Not good. Sometimes, even free, isn't worth
having.

Fluke's are great meters, but, pricey. I'm still trying to locate a
decent and reliable meter that can measure into the thousands for me.
I've been on their website, so I've either missed it, or, they don't
make one?

I don't need a million volts ability mind you, but 10k or so would be
very helpful for those rare occasions when I want to get a reliable
readout for so called high voltage output. Instead of just knowing
it's generating some.

I can't test the output of say, a microwave transformer or anything
else essentially like those with the meters I've got handy. My fluke
isn't a ****ty model, but it's not rated beyond 1000Volts, either. I
don't know of any mw transformers or neon sign power supplies (the
newer ones aren't really just a transformer, it's actually an
electronic power supply that produces 5k+ volts) that produces 1k or
less voltage, even if it has no real punch behind it.

That includes the itty bitty ballast you don't see common in laptops
anymore, or flatpanels for that matter. Most (all?) have switched
over to LED backlighting and done away with the cold tubes.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to
see about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is
only rated for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by
placing a meter across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps
out when shorted in that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the
meter is reated for.

I didn't address that aspect of his post. I thought? it was relative
common knowledge, but, that's what I get for assuming. Right?
That's usually hard on the battery too. I observed a mechanic (yea, I
know.. crazy) do the same thing with a high output GEL battery once.
The wire actually caught fire before he could disconnect it. ROFL.

The insane aspect was that he had a battery tester on his bench and
opted to test with the meter instead. stupid, but, wasn't my decision
or my equipment. So...


--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

Meanie news 2017 12:33:48 GMT in alt.home.repair, 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


When Dewalt was actually Dewalt, sure. Now, they're actually black
and decker. And, if you have an impact capable one, it's using
plastic (yes, plastic) gears instead of the Metal ones they USED to
use. Older Dewalt, good choice. newer Dewalt, black and decker junk.



--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

Meanie news 2017 12:33:48 GMT in alt.home.repair, 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


When Dewalt was actually Dewalt, sure. Now, they're actually black
and decker. And, if you have an impact capable one, it's using
plastic (yes, plastic) gears instead of the Metal ones they USED to
use. Older Dewalt, good choice. newer Dewalt, black and decker junk.



--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

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.

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.

On 4/4/2017 12:06 PM, Diesel wrote:
Meanie news 2017 12:33:48 GMT in alt.home.repair, 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


When Dewalt was actually Dewalt, sure. Now, they're actually black
and decker. And, if you have an impact capable one, it's using
plastic (yes, plastic) gears instead of the Metal ones they USED to
use. Older Dewalt, good choice. newer Dewalt, black and decker junk.




Welcome to the real world where almost everything is being built with
plastics or another form of composite material.

On 4/4/2017 12:06 PM, Diesel wrote:
Meanie news 2017 12:33:48 GMT in alt.home.repair, 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


When Dewalt was actually Dewalt, sure. Now, they're actually black
and decker. And, if you have an impact capable one, it's using
plastic (yes, plastic) gears instead of the Metal ones they USED to
use. Older Dewalt, good choice. newer Dewalt, black and decker junk.




Welcome to the real world where almost everything is being built with
plastics or another form of composite material.

In article , says...


Fluke's are great meters, but, pricey. I'm still trying to locate a
decent and reliable meter that can measure into the thousands for me.
I've been on their website, so I've either missed it, or, they don't
make one?

I don't need a million volts ability mind you, but 10k or so would be
very helpful for those rare occasions when I want to get a reliable
readout for so called high voltage output. Instead of just knowing
it's generating some.

I can't test the output of say, a microwave transformer or anything
else essentially like those with the meters I've got handy. My fluke
isn't a ****ty model, but it's not rated beyond 1000Volts, either. I
don't know of any mw transformers or neon sign power supplies (the
newer ones aren't really just a transformer, it's actually an
electronic power supply that produces 5k+ volts) that produces 1k or
less voltage, even if it has no real punch behind it.



You probably will not find a voltmeter/multimeter that goes over around
1000 volts. Or not at a reasonable price for most.

To go over 1000 volts you will need to get a high voltage probe. That
converts the common meter to read a higher voltage. I think Fluke has
some good to about 6 KV for just under $ 100 and some good for 30 or 40
KV for over $ 200. Lots more than I want to spend to check out the few
things I have that will do over 1 KV.

I would not buy a used probe for that kind of voltage. Once you get
much over 1 KV things that should be insulators seem to want to arc
over.

If I want to get an idea of a bad transformer I use a varac to cut the
primary voltage way down and bring it up slow to the meter on the
secondary gets close to 900 or so volts. Then do the math to see if it
is reasonable.

I have also used a 6 volt transformer in the same way .

In article , says...


Fluke's are great meters, but, pricey. I'm still trying to locate a
decent and reliable meter that can measure into the thousands for me.
I've been on their website, so I've either missed it, or, they don't
make one?

I don't need a million volts ability mind you, but 10k or so would be
very helpful for those rare occasions when I want to get a reliable
readout for so called high voltage output. Instead of just knowing
it's generating some.

I can't test the output of say, a microwave transformer or anything
else essentially like those with the meters I've got handy. My fluke
isn't a ****ty model, but it's not rated beyond 1000Volts, either. I
don't know of any mw transformers or neon sign power supplies (the
newer ones aren't really just a transformer, it's actually an
electronic power supply that produces 5k+ volts) that produces 1k or
less voltage, even if it has no real punch behind it.



You probably will not find a voltmeter/multimeter that goes over around
1000 volts. Or not at a reasonable price for most.

To go over 1000 volts you will need to get a high voltage probe. That
converts the common meter to read a higher voltage. I think Fluke has
some good to about 6 KV for just under $ 100 and some good for 30 or 40
KV for over $ 200. Lots more than I want to spend to check out the few
things I have that will do over 1 KV.

I would not buy a used probe for that kind of voltage. Once you get
much over 1 KV things that should be insulators seem to want to arc
over.

If I want to get an idea of a bad transformer I use a varac to cut the
primary voltage way down and bring it up slow to the meter on the
secondary gets close to 900 or so volts. Then do the math to see if it
is reasonable.

I have also used a 6 volt transformer in the same way .

On 4/4/2017 2:27 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Tue 04 Apr 2017 12:02:49a, mike told us...

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


I bought a Ryobi. It's only an 18-volt battery, but the power is
outstanding and the charging time is 30 minutes. I like that the
batery and charger can be used with a variety of their tools, not
just drll. Very good quality, but not the cheapest. I also boght a
rotary saw and a hand-held air compressor. Check these out.



I have the Ryobi 18-volt battery tools, too. Drill, saw, light, blower,
and they've never failed me on any wood working project I've done.

--
Maggie

On Tue, 4 Apr 2017 18:10:01 -0500, Muggles
wrote:

I have the Ryobi 18-volt battery tools, too. Drill, saw, light, blower,
and they've never failed me on any wood working project I've done.

.... only a matter of time

Do-Do happens.

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 11:09:04 AM UTC-5, Diesel wrote:
Ralph Mowery
k.net Tue, 04 Apr
2017 13:56:23 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news 04 Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter
would be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor
Freight Free multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins
and immediately smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot
to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!

The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the
house and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem
with.

I wouldn't rely on them, myself. I've seen them drift too much. One
by as much as 30 volts or so. As, reading 30 volts LESS than what was
actually on the circuit. Not good. Sometimes, even free, isn't worth
having.

Fluke's are great meters, but, pricey. I'm still trying to locate a
decent and reliable meter that can measure into the thousands for me.
I've been on their website, so I've either missed it, or, they don't
make one?

I don't need a million volts ability mind you, but 10k or so would be
very helpful for those rare occasions when I want to get a reliable
readout for so called high voltage output. Instead of just knowing
it's generating some.

I can't test the output of say, a microwave transformer or anything
else essentially like those with the meters I've got handy. My fluke
isn't a ****ty model, but it's not rated beyond 1000Volts, either. I
don't know of any mw transformers or neon sign power supplies (the
newer ones aren't really just a transformer, it's actually an
electronic power supply that produces 5k+ volts) that produces 1k or
less voltage, even if it has no real punch behind it.

That includes the itty bitty ballast you don't see common in laptops
anymore, or flatpanels for that matter. Most (all?) have switched
over to LED backlighting and done away with the cold tubes.
--


When I worked on CRT TV sets, I had a high voltage accessory probe like the one in the link. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

http://en-us.fluke.com/products/all-...ke-80k-40.html

[8~{} Uncle Zapped Monster

On Wed, 05 Apr 2017 00:07:24 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On Tue 04 Apr 2017 05:05:12p, Oren told us...

On Tue, 4 Apr 2017 18:10:01 -0500, Muggles
wrote:

I have the Ryobi 18-volt battery tools, too. Drill, saw, light,
blower, and they've never failed me on any wood working project
I've done.

... only a matter of time

Do-Do happens.


Nothing lasts forever, and that's particularly true of rechargeable
batteries. Batteries of all types have always been a temporary source
of power. Why would you expect anything different.

Cordless tools are great on a construction site with no power pole or
generator for a corded tool. Give me a corded tool any day. I'm down
to one cordless just for giggles around the house for easy tasks.

Any hi-voltage probe must be used with a voltmeter of the correct input impedance/resistance, as it acts as part of a voltage divider.

On 4/4/2017 7:05 PM, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 4 Apr 2017 18:10:01 -0500, Muggles
wrote:

I have the Ryobi 18-volt battery tools, too. Drill, saw, light, blower,
and they've never failed me on any wood working project I've done.

... only a matter of time

Do-Do happens.


Hopefully, they'll last as long as I need to use them. I've had them
about 4 years, now. So far so good.

--
Maggie

In article t,
Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article ,
says...

(Fake ID) news Apr 2017 08:11:00 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

One thing I'm not sure about is how many amps the battery is
supposed to deliver so I'd know how powerful of an adapter would
be needed. I attempted to test this with a Harbor Freight Free
multimeter. I put the probes on the battery pins and immediately
smelled smoke and the black wire became too hot to touch.

Those meters are piles of ****. Don't trust their readouts!


The 4 or 5 that I have seem to be ok for general usage around the house
and car. I do have several Fluke meters to compairthem with.

When the first poster said he put the meter across the battery to see
about the amps, he was using the meter wrong. That meter is only rated
for 10 amps. You do not test a battery for amps by placing a meter
across it. Those batteries will dump lots of amps out when shorted in
that way. Lots more than the 10 amps the meter is reated for.

Another way to look at it: if your meter is going to burst into flame, HarborFreight Free is the right choice.

The "10 amps" reminds me that the neg probe was plugged into the port labeled "10A", not the regular negative port. The reading with the regular port was too low to be believed, but no fire. So the HF meter wasn't quite as fragile as portrayed, and I don't know much about using it.

In any event, powering the tool with an adapter didn't seem viable.

mike wrote:

....
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?

for something that doesn't get used much
i'd never go with a battery operated device
again.

i had a cordless drill, but i ended up giving
it away to someone who'd actually use it.

by the time i needed it the batteries always
lost their charge and by the time it would
recharge i could do the job with a regular
screw-em-driver.


songbird

i had a cordless drill, but i ended up giving
it away to someone who'd actually use it.
by the time i needed it the batteries always
lost their charge and by the time it would
recharge i could do the job with a regular
screw-em-driver.

I just leave a battery on the charger so it's always ready to go when I
need it. However, lithium batteries don't self drain the way the old Nimh
or NiCad batteries did. I've had batteries sit unused for months and they
still have a lot of usable power left in them.

Also, I use my drill/driver in a lot of places far away from an electrical
outlet. I could drag out an extension cord, but that's a real hassle for a
small project.

I have a really nice corded DW246 corded drill, but I only use it when I
have a lot of drilling to do, or when I need the high torque for a 2-inch
auger bit or something:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW246-.../dp/B00002233G

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

Ralph Mowery
k.net Tue, 04 Apr
2017 17:15:24 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

You probably will not find a voltmeter/multimeter that goes over
around 1000 volts. Or not at a reasonable price for most.

Has to be one. obviously. Otherwise, various companies would have no
way of reliably testing their HV output devices to ensure it is
providing enough juice to energize neon and/or a magnetron tube.

I'm looking for one thats hand held and doesn't require being pushed
around on a cart due to it's own weight. Reasonably priced. By that,
I mean less than say, 2 grand or so. I couldn't justify anything more
than that for the times I'd have use for it.

To go over 1000 volts you will need to get a high voltage probe.
That converts the common meter to read a higher voltage. I think
Fluke has some good to about 6 KV for just under $ 100 and some
good for 30 or 40 KV for over $ 200. Lots more than I want to
spend to check out the few things I have that will do over 1 KV.

Understood. Like I said, I don't do much with 1+kv on a daily basis
or anything, but, it would be nice to acquire an accurate reading on
the display.

I would not buy a used probe for that kind of voltage. Once you
get much over 1 KV things that should be insulators seem to want
to arc over.

It's not the insulators directly at fault, rather it's the airgap and
how far the voltage can jump it. The voltage does not need to be 1kv
or more to do this, either. You can get an airgap jump with a 240volt
water heater, too. Just make sure it's under load, preferably with
both elements fired up. Take the wirenuts free, and connect a
mulimeter to them to take a reading. Now, slowly take the probes off
the wires; An arc will form going from each wire you were reading
from to the probe attached to it, until you pull the probe far enough
way where the arc can no longer follow. It's nowhere near 1kv, it's
only 240 volts, but, as the water heater is running, it's 240volts
under load vs just being present on the line. The arc will try to
keep the connection between each wire you tested and the probe that
was previously touching it.

When you're dealing with voltage without amperage behind it, you need
more volts to make the airgap arc jumping effect. IE: neon sign power
supply. A typical neon sign power supply can jump approx 2 inches
from the contacts feeding the tube. So it can shock you without you
actually touching the connections, two inches or so before you
reached the connection point itself.

Obviously, the higher the voltage, the further it can jump. Which is
why a simple power switch isn't going to do **** in a lightning
storm. As the lightning storm has a high voltage level AND a ****load
of amps behind it too.

It's also why the devices that blow to seperate your mains because of
a surge may not be as effective as you might think. If the incoming
voltage is high enough, it's going to jump across the break and re-
establish the connection until the juice is gone OR it's burned off
the connection points enough with the arcing that it cannot remain
established.

While the connection is by no means a stable one in these situations,
it is a connection and power is flowing (even for a short period of
time) into your panel and anything connected to it, even if the
breakers are set to the off position. It's just arc jumping those
open points too.


If I want to get an idea of a bad transformer I use a varac to cut
the primary voltage way down and bring it up slow to the meter on
the secondary gets close to 900 or so volts. Then do the math to
see if it is reasonable.

While I understand where you're coming from, that doesn't take into
consideration a failing transformer. While it may have little to no
trouble delivering 900 or so volts with/without a load present, it
doesn't mean it's actually still capable of delivering say the 5kw
with or without a load present. Which is why I'd be interested in a
meter with the high voltage probes to check it while it's inline with
the circuit it's supposed to be providing power to.

I can see if it tries to drop out under load with that. Or, if it
tries to drop out under no load getting closer to the output it's
supposed to be supplying. As I'm sure you know, transformers can get
weak due to the insulation failing in the wrapping and it may not
show any signs at lower (for it) voltage levels. But, as it gets
closer to the expected output, the weakness can show.

I have also used a 6 volt transformer in the same way .

Yes, and, like I said, this doesn't really help for the above stated
reasons. The math may be perfectly sound, but, it's making the
assumption that the transformer has no issues and is delivering what
it's supposed to be. Without it being tested with a meter capable of
reading the higher voltages, one cannot be sure.


--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

Meanie news 2017 16:13:50 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

Welcome to the real world where almost everything is being built
with plastics or another form of composite material.

Umm, no. The milwaukee family of impact drills aren't using plastic
gears. The porter cables aren't either, afaik. And, depending on the
model kobalt (if one so desires to purchase it) doesn't use plastic for
the impact driver either. Those manufacturers fully understand that
plastic gears won't hold up for any real length of time if the tool is
actually used on a daily basis. If you're just screwing off about the
home or something, it probably wouldn't make any difference. If you're
using it for professional work, as say, an electrician, it does make a
difference. A big difference.

Mounting boxes to bricks all day via tapcons for a large job will
usually result in the premature death of a plastic gear driven impact
driver. If you depend on quality tools as a professional, in this case,
plastic is a bad choice.

I can only assume you're being cheeky, otherwise, you're trolling and
doing a poor job of it. Or, you just don't know.







--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

Uncle Monster
Wed, 05
Apr 2017 00:13:40 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

When I worked on CRT TV sets, I had a high voltage accessory probe
like the one in the link.

http://en-us.fluke.com/products/all-...ke-80k-40.html

Thanks. I'll check this out in more detail. Which meter did you pair it
with?



--
I would like to apologize for not having offended you yet.
Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.

On 04/06/2017 01:03 AM, Diesel wrote:
Meanie news 2017 16:13:50 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

Welcome to the real world where almost everything is being built
with plastics or another form of composite material.
Umm, no. The milwaukee family of impact drills aren't using plastic
gears. The porter cables aren't either, afaik. And, depending on the
model kobalt (if one so desires to purchase it) doesn't use plastic for
the impact driver either. Those manufacturers fully understand that
plastic gears won't hold up for any real length of time if the tool is
actually used on a daily basis. If you're just screwing off about the
home or something, it probably wouldn't make any difference. If you're
using it for professional work, as say, an electrician, it does make a
difference. A big difference.

Mounting boxes to bricks all day via tapcons for a large job will
usually result in the premature death of a plastic gear driven impact
driver. If you depend on quality tools as a professional, in this case,
plastic is a bad choice.

I can only assume you're being cheeky, otherwise, you're trolling and
doing a poor job of it. Or, you just don't know.