Cordless Drill Battery Costs As Much.....

[Old Moparz]

....as the damn cordless drill when I bought it!!   

Must be the throw away mentality of today's society.

I bought a cordless drill less than 2 years ago, & the battery won't hold, or take a charge anymore. I got it at Lowes one day for $39 with the case. I figured that since I won't use it for any heavy duty work, it would be okay. It was regularly over $60 & has a 14.4 volt battery. It worked fine for what I used it for, has plenty of torque even though it isn't a top of the line drill, but I did expect the battery to last.

I have a heavy duty, professional grade, 1/2" Craftsman, electric drill, so at least I still have one. This cordless one is a LD model I wanted so I didn't have to drag out the extension cord all the time, or when I'm up on a ladder I won't get tangled in the cord. After realizing the battery was shot I went back to Lowes & saw the replacement battery for $39 & said screw it. Even on line these things are over $30.

I should have bought 2 drills back then so I wouldn't be drill shopping now. 

[4402tuff4u]

I have a Bosch cordless drill, 18.8 v and it's amazing how powerfull that thing is. Came with case two batteries and charger - never had a problem. I try to steer away from the China/Taiwan made tools, unless I'm going to use them once. I call those tools from that origin "disposal tools"

Take it back, they might do something for ya, you never know!!

[chrisII]

where i used to work we had a drill, that was a really nice drill , but at 2 years the batt died (both of em) went back to ACE and 2 batterys were MORE than the drill kit , again with 2 batterys. everybody liked the drill so we bought the new one , then we had 2 drills, 2 good batterys , 2 really weak batterys, 2 chargers. it worked nicely

[Old Moparz]

I have a Bocsh cordless drill, 18.8 v and it's amazing how powerfull that thing is. Came with case two batteries and charger - never had a problem. I try to steer away from the China/Taiwan made tools, unless I'm going to use them once. I call those tools from that origin "disposal tools"

Take it back, they might do something for ya, you never know!!

I might just do that. I read it has a 2 year warranty, but I doubt I have the receipt. I also don't usually buy cheaper tools, but I saw this one & figured that if I didn't use it for any heavy work, it would last. Everything else I have is Craftsman or Makita. The drill itself is fine, just the battery crapped out. I only use it for light work, & anything heavy I get out the 1/2" electric drill which I've had over 10 years. The cordless is nice to use under a dashboard, up on a ladder, or anywhere difficult. If I can't get another battery under the warranty, it bugs me to get another for the cost of the drill.

[REDNECK]

de walt is an ok brand but i would go with bocsh

[John_Kunkel]

You can have the batteries rebuilt and upgraded to Nimh for about half the cost of new.

http://www.primecell.com/pcmain.htm

[REDNECK]

you can i didnt know that

[mikepmcs]

ridgid, home depot, free batteries for life.  expensive but, i do a lot of woodwork in my spare time so it comes in handy. 
v/r
Mike

[Troy]

I was having a discussion with a Lowe's employee one time when another employee dropped off a drill that had been returned for restocking. The guy asked if they had checked it and, of course, they hadn't. It was missing the drill battery as well as the spare so someone ended up with $80-90 worth of batteries for free. He says it happens all the time (unfortunately since that jacks up the price everyone else has to pay). I haven't bought any cordless stuff because of the cost of batteries and the limitations on run time. I have outlets about every 6-8 feet in my garage too so that helps. As you found out, it is usually cheaper to buy batteries as a package deal with a new tool than it is to get replacements. Have you tried finding printer cartridges lately? 

Troy

[Old Moparz]

You can have the batteries rebuilt and upgraded to Nimh for about half the cost of new.

http://www.primecell.com/pcmain.htm

This looks good, thanks. 

ridgid, home depot, free batteries for life. expensive but, i do a lot of woodwork in my spare time so it comes in handy.
v/r
Mike

The free batteries for life sounds good, but what happens when the tool is discontinued, or the model is changed requiring a different battery? I just faced this problem a few months ago with a camcorder battery. I finally located one that fit for $50 & only bought one.   

I have outlets about every 6-8 feet in my garage too so that helps. As you found out, it is usually cheaper to buy batteries as a package deal with a new tool than it is to get replacements. Have you tried finding printer cartridges lately?

Troy

The garage set up for me is the same, no problem with an outlet.

Cheap printers get tossed now, it doesn't seem to make sense, but if you're in business to sell ink cartridges, give someone a free printer so they come back to you for ink. 

I like electricty alot more now.

[kab69440]

Rechargeable cells of all configurations are available from most hobby shops. Open the battery pack, pull the old cells and bridge new ones into it. It isn't as hard as you think. Radio Control equipment manufacturers get first dibs on every rechargable cell that rolls off the line. They cherry pick the good ones, and leave everything else to everyone else. Odds are your cordless drill runs on "Sub-C" cells. and those are aplenty to be found. While you are at your local hobby shop pick up a good quality CA to glue the pack back together with. Red label "Jet" (brand name) is a personal favorite of mine.

[bluesfool]

I got one of those 1 million candlepower spotlights for Christmas one year and I promptly lost the power cord to charge it up so I shopped around for a new cord...the cord itself would have cost me just $1 less than buying a whole new spotlight with the battery and cord included! Go figure.

[bull]

I own a Ryobi 12v drill and what a POS. At least the batteries are. Since day one the charge on the batteries lasts exactly one day whether I use it or not. I figured that removing the battery at night would prevent any parasitic draw but no dice, it's dead the next day whether I seperate them or not. On the other hand my Skil 12v cordless drill is awesome.

[azraelck]

Hmmm. My grandfather kept a Ryobi 14v drill that he used while he worked as a bodyman for a Frieghtliner shop here in Mempihs for over 15 years before having a problem with it.

I've sold 18v el cheapo drills for 19.00, and the Batteries for 25.00... And we had a bigger markup on the drills. I'm not sure what the reasoning for such a price difference is.

[BrianShaughnessy]

At home I still have mostly cords....   I'm old.    Sometimes there a pain but the stuff works.

I got some Makita stuff at work.   I admit it's pretty good for the most part - my problem is that the contractors  or my co workers either rip off our tools on my test floor or co workers from other areas borrow stuff permanently or they trade me their old dead batteries.    After awhile it's no fun anymore.   I have to order replacements thru the proper channels and it takes weeks.

As for ink...   I get the 7 pack (2 black) of no name stuff for my Epson off ebay for about $20 shipped.   Works fine.


           

[Silver R/T]

buy Li-ion batteries if you buying battery powered tools. I just dont get cordless tools for reason that I have to buy batteries all the time

[MassCharger73]

   I've had many different brands of cordless drills, for the money the Craftsman 19.2 drills and other tools are a bargain. The Dewalts that I have had are well overpriced both to purchase and to replace the batteries ( same with the Bosch ).