Dead Cordless Drill Battery - any clever options?

[aesmith]

Hi,

The battery for my not too old 1.4V B&D cordless drill is now short. It charges, but runs flat really quickly making it virtually useless. I am not convinced that it's worth paying out £25 for a new battery, but not sure what else to do. It seems a shame to scrap the drill. I had a look inside the battery which comprises 12 NiCad cells. Anyone know of a source for replacement cells? NiMH are easy enough to find, but these wouldn't work with the charger. Or any other bright ideas?

Thanks, Tony S

 

[Racers]

I used to buy them from Maplins (Search for tagged cells) but they aren't cheap.
I would buy a new drill, I bought this one as I have 3 12V makitas and the batteries are getting a bit old
http://www.its.co.uk/pd/6271DWPE-Makita ... 71DWPE.htm
It gives me a new pair of batteries and a drill/charger for less than the price of two batteries!

Pete

 

[mind_the_goat]

If you Google you will find quite a few places that supply or fit replacement cells, much cheaper than Maplins I imagine, but, Nicads do seem very expensive. It's also worth looking on ebay where you may be able to pick up a replacement pack for less than you buy the cells for. Been trying to justify the cost of replacing my 18V B&D battery.
packs.

I've not purchased from these but they stock your packs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/ancatown1
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/powertoolcentre

Pete has a point though, although I think it's a crime against the planet that this is possible.

 

[carlb40]

If you Google you will find quite a few places that supply or fit replacement cells, much cheaper than Maplins I imagine, but, Nicads do seem very expensive. It's also worth looking on ebay where you may be able to pick up a replacement pack for less than you buy the cells for. Been trying to justify the cost of replacing my 18V B&D battery.
packs.

I've not purchased from these but they stock your packs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/ancatown1
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/powertoolcentre

I have used the first seller a few times. All been good so far.

 

[wizard]

When my batteries pack up they go in the bin with the drill and i buy old wolf corded drills from car boot sales, £1.00 for small ones and up to £5.00 for large ones.

 

[RogerP]

It is possible that only one of the cells is causing the problem but finding out requires individual testing. Unfortunately a set of replacement tagged cells will cost almost as much as a new battery.

 

[MMUK]

You could try picking up a second hand DeWalt battery and transfer the internals to your B&D casing. They're pretty much identical inside except the DeWalt has better quality cells.

 

[gasman]

Worth trying putting the exhausted batteries in the freezer for 24 hours and then taking them out and recharging - can help a lot
Regards
Mark

 

[bodge]

If you have a MIG/ARC welder and are feeling brave/stupid you could zap it back to life for a while!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0JbNX4K4fQ

Please note, I do not condone this in any way and do it at your own risk!

 

[mind_the_goat]

If you have a MIG/ARC welder and are feeling brave/stupid you could zap it back to life for a while!

You can achieve the same thing with a small 12v battery, it burns out the dendrites that build up and short out the cells. In my experience it lasts for about 5 minutes though. Trouble with cells in series is that when one shorts out, many chargers will just keep charging until the total voltage reaches the set limit, with a shorted cell this never happens and the remaining cells cook.

Still wouldn't recommend it though, I imagine an exploding nicad could do a lot of damage.

 

[aesmith]

Cheers. I might try sticking it in the freezer, nothing to lose I think. It's probably not worth replacing individual cells based on my testing. I tested on the battery after charging then using it for a bit, overall voltage was only around 8.5V by then, but some cells reading 1.2V - suggesting 5 cells flattened while the others still have life. However there's no saying that others wouldn't go the same way. I've found a source for the cells, but the price doesn't make it worthwhile in my opinion ...
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog ... ttery.html

Perhaps I should confess to a Christmas gift of a new drill (Dewalt, and very nice too, for a power tool). Also I found an old Performance Power 12V drill left in our big shed by the previous owner, and that seems to work (holds it's charge better than the B&D). So I don't really need the dead B&D drill, it just seems a shame to scrap it for what should be a repairable fault.

Tony S

 

[Bod]

Try www.recellyourbattery.com
Did an old Hiatchi one for me, works very well now.
All the usual disclaimers, just a satified customer.

Bod

 

[MMUK]

Try http://www.recellyourbattery.com
Did an old Hiatchi one for me, works very well now.
All the usual disclaimers, just a satified customer.

Bod

Shame their website is fubar, I was interested in their prices....

EDIT, just got on to the price page. Makita 18v 3.0Ah Li-Ion is £54.00 plus carriage costs. Not worth it when I can get a brand new one delivered from FFX for £63.

 

[KevM]

It worked for me just a moment ago, £54 for a Makita 18V NiMH recelled to 3Ah (my existing ones are 2.6Ah) - I think I've seen 'new' ones on Ebay for similar, but who knows about the quality of the cells, and the construction of the shonky clones.

 

[Bod]

Their not cheap granted, but did mine for less than any new replacement I could find.
I belive they change all the cells, not just the faulty ones as some "rebuilt" ones are.
Bod
PS probably only worthwhile if the drill is in near new condition, but is elderly!

 

[Jacob]

I bought a new drill with a special offer of three batteries. Sold it on ebay with one new battery and kept the other two and the old drill. Didn't make a profit but it was a lot cheaper than new batteries alone.

 

[mind_the_goat]

I bought a new drill with a special offer of three batteries. Sold it on ebay with one new battery and kept the other two and the old drill.

Now that's thinking outside the box, like it =D>

 

[aesmith]

Yes, I like that idea. More conventionally, I found a web site doing pattern compatible batteries, looked like around £20 but I need to check the exact version. The "recell your battery" looks to be around £30.

Another idea - use it as a DC powered drill, but I wonder how well it would work off 12V. Probably better than with the dead pack at least.

 

[rafezetter]

Yes, I like that idea. More conventionally, I found a web site doing pattern compatible batteries, looked like around £20 but I need to check the exact version. The "recell your battery" looks to be around £30.

Another idea - use it as a DC powered drill, but I wonder how well it would work off 12V. Probably better than with the dead pack at least.

I could have sworn I did a reply that said this, but can't find it so here goes...

you could always turn the drill into a corded version, all you need it the same power transformer and solder the wires to the right battery connectors inside, my father did this for an old drill he kept on the yacht, worked just fine, and there's loads of youtubes on it. Some clever people have even found a way to make the corded power removable so you can have both; corded when you are near a supply, thus reducing the amount of times the battery is charged, and normal.

a bit; horse gate and bolted, but got it off my chest

 

[MMUK]

Some clever people have even found a way to make the corded power removable so you can have both; corded when you are near a supply, thus reducing the amount of times the battery is charged, and normal.

That's easy enough to do. Just take a dud battery pack and remove the cells and circuitry. All you need to do then is fit a cable gland into the pack, run the DC cable through it and solder to each terminal in the stem. Alternatively, fit a DC power socket and just plug the lead in.