cordless drills

[robphelan]

i've burned through a couple of craftsman 18.x & 19.x V cordless sets - i think the batteries are dead - they won't charge.

i don't use them very often - maybe 1x month or so.. sometimes lots, sometimes not at all.

is it best to leave the batts off the chargers & only charge them when needed? or should they be left in the charger all the time? or what?

it's getting expensive.

 

[BassBomb]

depends on the type of battery (ie ni-cd or ni-hm li-ion) one type IIRC should be charged as often as possibe, whereas another needs to be fully drained before charging

 

[bruceb]

If they are NiMh batteries follow this:

What is the best state to store my Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. Charged or un-charged?

Answer:

To get the best use and longest life from your batteries, you should always store Ni-MH rechargeable batteries in a fully charged state.

It is also recommended that you charge your Ni-MH rechargeable batteries at least every 30 days or so during storage.

This will assure that your batteries are always in top peak condition and do not become incapable of accepting a charge.

Ni-Cd batteries on the other hand should be stored fully discharged.

Info from this site: http://rechargeablebatteryinfo...ble-batteries-faqs.php

 

[The Boston Dangler]

craftsman? take 'em back and get new ones.

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
craftsman? take 'em back and get new ones.

do they have the lifetime warranty

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: bruceb
If they are NiMh batteries follow this:

What is the best state to store my Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. Charged or un-charged?

Answer:

To get the best use and longest life from your batteries, you should always store Ni-MH rechargeable batteries in a fully charged state.

It is also recommended that you charge your Ni-MH rechargeable batteries at least every 30 days or so during storage.

This will assure that your batteries are always in top peak condition and do not become incapable of accepting a charge.

Ni-Cd batteries on the other hand should be stored fully discharged.

Info from this site: http://rechargeablebatteryinfo...ble-batteries-faqs.php

yeah, they're NiCd.

it's strange - i have 2 original batts. one works fine, the other shows as 'defective' in the charger and won't take a charge.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

afaik all craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty. which is good, because they break all the time.

 

[akubi]

power tools and some other stuff like torque wrenches are excluded from craftsman lifetime warranties

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
afaik all craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty. which is good, because they break all the time.

No, what breaks all the time is those crappy chinese made socket sets. Ask me how I know
I don't regret buying my craftsman socket set one bit, one of the best purchases I've ever made. I'm not cheaping out on tools like that again.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
afaik all craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty. which is good, because they break all the time.

No, what breaks all the time is those crappy chinese made socket sets. Ask me how I know
I don't regret buying my craftsman socket set one bit, one of the best purchases I've ever made. I'm not cheaping out on tools like that again.

the sockets were exactly what i was thinking of! we used to bust them all the time. i guess that's why snap-on and mac are 1000x more expensive. till, i think craftsman hand tools are a pretty good value. klein tools are my favorite :heart:

op,
yeah, ni-cads are kind of a pain to take care of, but that's where the lower price comes in. store them fully discharged, and fully charge before using. the amount of power they will hold will shrink over time, no matter what.

 

[Throckmorton]

NiCd batteries should be banned. Extremely toxic for the environment, and extremely bad for consumers.

 

[onemo]

Try purchasing a drill that uses an intelligent charger, or buy one aftermarket, hell, make one if you are feeling froggy (http://www.angelfire.com/elect...c/hayles/charge1.html). It will charge the battery only when needed so it can stay on the charger, and always be ready to go when you are. I have a 2 year old Milwaukee that has been going strong once I replaced the improperly charged pack and got a smart charger.

 

[Kirby]

Get a good Milwaukee corded drill and an extension cable. The 1/2 inch one nearly broke my wrist.

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: onemo
Try purchasing a drill that uses an intelligent charger,

Craftsmen has these, the cordless toolset I have had for about 3yrs has this type of charger, it also trickle charges most of the time.

Also quit buying chargers that charge in an hour. Those are hard on the batteries .

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Craftsman only warrants hand tools for life, not power tools.

Get Ridgid, they have a lifetime battery warranty.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Craftsman only warrants hand tools for life, not power tools.

Get Ridgid, they have a lifetime battery warranty.

Good to know about Rigid. I have had a Ryobi cordless set for 3.5 years now and they have seen tons of abuse and the batteries still hold a good charge. I've been very happy with them.

 

[SoulAssassin]

I have a craftsman drill from about 6 or 7 years ago, works like a champ but one battery died last year and I think the other one is now toast. Unfortunately they changed the battery type and no longer make those so my only option is paying $70 for a used battery on ebay or wherever that probably doesn't hold a charge. A new drill + battery is like $99 so this is bs. Pisses me off I'm going to have to throw away a perfectly working drill.

 

[Squisher]

I seem to have a problem with my batteries after I have dropped the thing a few times.

Be nice to your rechargeables.

 

[ric0chet06]

Craftsman=crap, and you get what you pay for. I've spent $180 on a Makita 18volt drill that came with 2 lithium ion batteries, case, and smart charger. NEVER ran out of juice on either battery, at the end of the day i take a fresh one and put the other on the charger, plus they're built like tanks.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I have a craftsman drill from about 6 or 7 years ago, works like a champ but one battery died last year and I think the other one is now toast. Unfortunately they changed the battery type and no longer make those so my only option is paying $70 for a used battery on ebay or wherever that probably doesn't hold a charge. A new drill + battery is like $99 so this is bs. Pisses me off I'm going to have to throw away a perfectly working drill.

I haven't really looked into this...but I'm guessing that the battery pack probably has standard cells inside. You could probably pop the pack open, buy some cheap cells online somewhere, and replace the ones in the pack with the new ones without too much trouble. This is my plan for when one of my 18V packs fails. Hasn't happened yet though.

 

[marvdmartian]

The standard Craftsman battery put out these days is (I believe) a NiMH. They last quite a bit longer than the old NiCad's did, but they'll still die off after a while. I've replaced both batteries for my 19.2v drill-driver, but it's ~4-5 years old, and sees quite a bit of use.

If you haven't replaced your batteries yet, OP, you might want to check out the new lithium ion batteries that Sears has now. They're available for the 19.2v tools, and I believe a battery & charger kit goes for ~$90 (tho that might be a sale price, don't recall). Well worth the cost, imho, since they won't hold a memory of any kind, and should last a lot longer than even the NiMH batteries do. Next time I need batteries, I'll be picking up those.

 

[Itchrelief]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
The standard Craftsman battery put out these days is (I believe) a NiMH. They last quite a bit longer than the old NiCad's did, but they'll still die off after a while. I've replaced both batteries for my 19.2v drill-driver, but it's ~4-5 years old, and sees quite a bit of use.

If you haven't replaced your batteries yet, OP, you might want to check out the new lithium ion batteries that Sears has now. They're available for the 19.2v tools, and I believe a battery & charger kit goes for ~$90 (tho that might be a sale price, don't recall). Well worth the cost, imho, since they won't hold a memory of any kind, and should last a lot longer than even the NiMH batteries do. Next time I need batteries, I'll be picking up those.

I don't think his problem is the total charge/energy capacity of the batteries, but rather their robustness and self-discharge characteristics. In this regard, NiCad may be better than NiMH, depending on quality of construction. Lithium may not be appreciably better than NiCad in robustness, but are probably better in terms of self-discharge.

source
Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years.

...

The lower energy dense manganese-based lithium-ion, also known as spinel, maintains the internal resistance through its life but loses capacity due to chemical decompositions. Spinel is primarily used for power tools.

...

High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss.

...

Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

I am no expert on matters, but maybe the charger's trickle charge is too high for the battery pack cells to handle, or some sort of maintenance needs to be performed on them. I'm sure the RC fans know more about this than I do, large battery packs are kind of what powers their entire hobby.