18 v Lithium battery

[Frank]

Are all 18 v Li batteries interchangeable with certain tool products? I hav e a Worx trimmer and edger that takes such a battery. I realize they eventu ally will lose their power or so I was told, after so many recharges. Out o f curiosity, I checked with the company and they are charging a ridiculous amount for the replacement. For a few dollars more I can buy another edger of theirs, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the one I have. Rece ntly, I saw an ad for a cordless drill that comes with a 18 v Li battery se lling for half the price of what just the battery would cost with Worx. I just as soon as buy 'another drill', just as to benefit from the battery, b ut I do not know if they are interchangeable.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I've never seen any two that are interchangeable, even when the "innards" (the Li-Ion cells) are identical. Many different brands use the same Sanyo cells with the same part numbers -- even the Ridgid with the lifetime warranty and the allegedly "19.2V"* Craftsman -- but the physical configuration of the package differs from one brand to the next.

*Perhaps they show 19.2V for the first few seconds after they're removed from the charger.

Perce

[Frank]

I had same problem years ago with, I believe a Homelite brand, hedge trimmer and edger that I bought at HD for $100. These were not Li batteries, probably NiCad but when both went bad the replacements were $50 each.

I hated to toss out perfectly good tools but replaced them with corded tools that were not only about the same price but much more powerful.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, eBay could be a source for new battery or control board within. Some times the board goes bad while battery pack is still good. My B&D 20V ones parts shows from now and then on eBay.

[nestork]

I'd try Googling the battery model number and see if anyone is selling them on Amazon or eBay.

So far as I know, the only rechargeable battery packs that can't be rebuilt with new cells are Li-Ion battery packs. Apparantly, each Li-Ion battery pack has it's own circuit board inside it that monitors the voltage of the pack and will shut it down before the voltage gets so low that the circuit board forgets it's own programming. You can't rebuild these battery packs without removing the power to the circuit board, and thereby causing it to lose it's programming so that even with new cells, the rebuilt battery pack is useless.

An alternative might be to just buy yourself a corded trimmer and chalk this one up to experience.

[Art Todesco]

Yeah, I have a really nice 12v LIon Bosch drill ... and a 12v LIon small Milwaukee sabre saw. The battery packs use virtually identical plastic case parts, but are assembled in such a way (180 degrees twisted) to make them totally incompatible. Even the polarity is reversed! When I acquired the 2nd tool above, I was excited when I looked at the battery ... that is until I put them side by side.