sears cordless tool batteries

I have no prob with sears cordless tools for homeowner use, if you use them according to the way they were designed. But the battery pacs just plain SUCK. They want hold a charge long, just give up the ship to easy. What brand of cordless tools has a good battery pac for homeowner use?

thanks mike lane

Reply to
Rebel Rouser
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My son has a Sears cordless set, circular saw, recip saw, drill and light and this doesn't seem to happen. Sears uses different voltages that other don't seem to use, like 19.2 ... I think that's what his is. He likes his set very much. I like the 6 1/2" circular saw ... very quiet and powerful. BTW, I have a DeWalt

18V circular saw, recip saw and fluorescent light. I've had the circular saw for about 8 years now. I think I like the Sears circular saw even a little bit more, especially because it uses standard 6 1/2" blades and it seems to run very smooth. My original DeWalt battery, when fully charged, will still work, however, not quite as good as the new batteries I bought when I bought the recip saw and light, about 1 1/2 years ago. Also, the old battery will not hold the charge for more that a week or so of non-use. Maybe you just have a bad battery. I recently bought a small cordless screwdriver for\\ taking things apart and its battery was just plain junk although I haven't replaced it yet.
Reply to
Art Todesco

I'm not sure there is one, once the tool is six months or a year old. 'Rechargeable' and 'occasional use' are two things hard to build into the same tool. It is a lot better than it used to be, but even with modern batteries, not deep-cycling the tool on a regular basis tends to lead to degraded performance and short battery life. Cordless tools are great if you are doing production or making a living with them- the cost of new batteries or a new tool every 'X' hundred charging cycles is more than offset by the time savings in not dragging cords around. But for a tool that gets used in spurts, and then not touched for a month, not so much. I see lots and lots of 2-3 year old rechargeable stuff at garage sales and auctions, still shiny, with crapped out batteries. New packs are either unavailable, or cost almost as much as a new tool.

Other than maybe stuff on deep discount on the remainder table, I don't plan to buy any more rechargeable tools. I drive a desk for a living now, so the work I do is so occasional that stringing a cord is not a major burden.

aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

re: ...a good battery pac for homeowner use

I guess it depends on your definition of "homeowner use".

I own a home, thus I'm a homeowner. I've used my cordless tools to install my own windows, remodel my own bathrooms, build 2 decks, hang a couple of hundred feet of fence, etc.

Other homeowners may drill one hole year to hang a picture. For that type of homeowner use, a cordless tool with a short-life battery is fine. For my type of homeowner use, that won't do.

Search this group as well as rec.woodworking for terms like cordless drills and cordless tools. Your question has been raised numerous times and the opinions vary widely.

Myself, I'm a big fan of DeWalt tools, both corded and cordless.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Batteries are the weak point of off cordless tools. They don't last forever and they are expensive. If you leave them for a long time without charging them, that does hurt the battery.

Replacement batteries are available and often you can get a better battery for less by going to a battery supply house rather than to the original manufacturer brand.

Many times it is cheaper to buy a new tool that comes with the battery than to replace just the battery, especially with the homeowner lines.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Won't happen. All cordless batter packs go bad after a few years.

My story: Got one of those Xmas cordless drill specials from Sears in the mid-1990s. Bought a replacement battery pack around 2000 maybe '01. Now dead again. Very cheap cordless battery drill packaged with two batteries at W-M place cheaper than 2nd replacement battery in '06. $32.00 for new drill and batteries, or $56.00 plus shipping for replacement.

Question: I opened up the original battery pack and inside were just off the shelf Ni-Cad batteries connected together. So, why hasn't someone come up with a battery pack with a way to just replace the internal batteries. For example remove four screws, pop the batteries, insert new batteries, reseal the battery case, and charge it. (and repeat every 4 to 5 years.)

What, H.F. wouldn't sell such a battery packs? China wouldn't make such a thing?

I know, I know, cheaper to build and buy new than repair old.

Phil

Reply to
Phil-In-Mich.

on 11/3/2007 9:02 AM Rebel Rouser said the following:

My 18v Ryobi batteries just died. I have had them for about 4 years and used the cordless drill for almost everything. With the new lithium-ion batteries coming out now, the older types are going on sale. I just bought a twin pack of 18v Ryobi batteries at HD for $40 ($20 each).

Reply to
willshak

Since finding these folks I have gone with their rebuilds. Worth a look - the pricing is about half the cost of new.

Reply to
C & E

"Phil-In-Mich." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Because drills draw a higher current,and need a better connection between cells,thus the welded straps.

For people who only use their cordless drill every couple of months,get a Li-ion system;they retain a useful charge for about 6 months. they COST,though.

With NiCds,it's basically "use it or lose it".

Reply to
Jim Yanik

on 11/3/2007 12:46 PM C & E said the following:

What folks?

Reply to
willshak

Ridgid at HD has a lifetime warranty on batteries if you send in the reciept and barcode. Batteries should not be run dead or overcharged. Makita, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Bosch all use quality batteries.

Reply to
ransley

That makes a lot of sense but cut into profits for the toolmaker.

I sent a couple of battery packs to

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and got them back better than new with a higher AH rating. There are quite a few rebuilders out there.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

When you say "don't hold a charge long" do you mean that when in use they run out in the middle of the job or between jobs(days apart) the batts die. If yer looking for a drill that last longer on the job, then look for batt spec that state 2.2 or greater amp hr rating. The good guys come with at least 2.5 amp/hr batts- some oat 3 amp/hr. The nicads and nimh cells both discharge while not being used. At one time the preferred batt was nicad for a heavy disharge (at one point the nimhs couldnt handle getting really hot) I gather that's pretty much over and the majority of makers have goine to nimh and are now going to lithium chemistry. Pricier yet than the nimh but better energy density and lighter to boot. Also supposed to hold a charge for longer periods . The battery chargers for the various battery types(nicad,nimh and lithium) are not interchangeable unless they specifically say so. Pat

Reply to
patrick mitchel

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