Rebuild a battery pack??

[Caesar Romano]

Wow!

I just checked what it would cost to rebuild the battery pack on my Black & Decker rechargeable 12v drill. At

For a 12.0 Volts rebuild:

Replace NICD with high capacity upgrade: $ 33.00

plus $9 return shipping and I assume approximately $9 to ship the battery TO primecell.com. That a total of $51. The cost of a new

12v B&D rechargeable in Lowes is $39.97.

Would the rebuilt battery pack be better than that which comes with a new drill?

Or should I just avoid rechargeables, as is my inclination.

[trader4]

You don't need a spot welder if you buy batteries that have tabs already on them. I recently rebuilt an old Milwaukee one with batteries I bought on Ebay. Cost about $20, including shipping.

It was a bit tricky though. Biggest potential problem that I narrowly avoided is that there isn't any extra space and while the replacement batteries are the same size, it's still a tight fit to get it all back together again. Also, my batteries arrived at least partially charged, so you have to be careful while soldering/assembling.

If you have decent soldering skills you can do it.

[Joe]

B & D is the bargain line of the company, IMO replacement is a dubious choice. The world has mostly adopted Li ion. so look for a new drill powered that way. Makita is a favorite of tradesmen, Milwaukee, too. I upgraded my Milwaukee 18V NiCd to Li ion batteries with new charger when they became available and haven't looked back. Read the reviews at Amazon and pick what you like best. The serious DIYer will have corded and cordless in his kit, taking advantage of the unique characteristics of each. Better tools =3D better results.

Joe