I have got a couple of drills, both Ni-cad and I intend to rebuild the battery pack. Easily done, just buy the rightnumber of batteries and wire them in series in teh pack. I presume you can do the same with the lithium batteries etc.
Uhh, assuming the battery packs were built using standard cell sizes. My 18V battery packs certainly don't look like they contain 15 AA cells inside (AAA won't provide enough current).
Mike
You may be able to do that, but I don't think it's a viable option for most of us. First problem is getting into the plastic battery case. Mine seems to be fused together with no way to get in without destroying it. Next problem is where to get replacement batteries of the correct dimensions and voltages. Not saying it can't be done, I'm just not sure it's worth the trouble.
DonkeyHody "We talk about the Good Old Days, but we weren't Good, we weren't Old, and we're talking about the Nights."
There are a bunch more odd sizes used for rechargeables. Places like
Reminds me of what I did with my Phillips/Norelco cordless shaver a few years ago when the built-in Ni-Cads began to fade. When I took the unit apart I discovered that the batteries had been installed by the manufacturer in such a way as to prevent anyone from replacing them. I took this as a challenge to "my rights" as a consumer and after a few days of thinking it through plus asking key questions, figured out a way to successfully replace the worn out Ni-Cads with new ones. The shaver is now 18 years old and runs like new. Unfortunately, my Dad died two months ago and I inherited his much nicer, more advanced top of the line Phillips/Norelco shaver, which I had bought for him as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. So my old perfectly good shaver now sits unused in a drawer. Guess it's time to give it away to someone else who could use a good shaver.
The moral is, never throw out a cordless appliance only because its batteries have expired; even if it's been designed to prevent them from being serviced.
Ken
This seems similar to a challenge I had to get inside and repair a sealed fan speed-control switch for my car (for which used parts are now rare and new ones are unreasonably expensive, plus take ages to arrive after placing in an order). In this case I carefully cut the plastic casing open with a blade-shaped hot soldering iron tip. Then after fixing the insides, I resealed the case by again using soldering iron (with a different tip) to meld edges back together again. Didn't look very neat, but it's concealed from view and it did the trick.
Look for an electronic technician's supply outlet. There's at least one in the town where I live which carries a whole assortment of such rechargeable batteries and can order in anything you don't see on the shelf.
You're right. Unless you have the time to tinker and you just happen to derive enjoyment from such challenges, it is probably is not worth your trouble; especially if you rely on the tool for professional work and therefore can't tolerate the occasional unexpected 'surprise'. For example, discovering while busy on the job that your battery-case re-sealing work could have been reinforced or strengthened better to prevent the seam from splitting open after an accidental, but routinely common, fall to the floor... On the other hand, if you intend to replace batteries this way into the future, once you get the knack of it, or with refinement of technique along with greater efficiency and practicality gained from further practice and experience, one may decide it to be worth one's while in the long run, I don't know.
Ken
It's funny how our experiences mold our personalities. My Dad came of age during the Great Depression, and it had a profound effect on him. His mantra was repeated to me at least once a week during my formative years. "Use it up, wear it out. Make it do, or do without."
Once he had a tire with a slow leak. I noticed the low tire, dragged the air compressor out of the barn and filled the tire up for him. "There, Dad, that should hold you 'til you can get to a service station and get it fixed." "Fixed?? There's nothing wrong with that tire. It just goes down."
Last summer, the computerized climate control quit working on his '92 Cadillac (barely broken in with 165,000 miles). Rather than pay to get it fixed, he ran a wire from the AC compressor back to the base of the windshield. Too much trouble to fish the wire through a hole in the firewall (he's 82). So he just ran the wire outside around the "A" pillar and back in through the open driver's door. The wire continues to a residential light switch in a handi-box he mounted to the steering column with zip ties. When it gets too hot, he turns the AC on. When it gets too cold, he turns it off.
Growing up on a farm with him had a profound effect on me. I have absolutely no tolerance for anything "rigged". Nothing at my place is held together with baling wire or duct tape. I may not have all the toys I want, but the ones I have are nice.
But I'll probably die broke instead of comfortable like him.
DonkeyHody "We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore." - Mark Twain
Made 100% in China, looks ok...runs fine for a homeowner.
for someone that makes his living with his tools, we would pass.
You just have to love a guy like that.
But what isn't made in China these days? For example, Hitachi is a well known Japanese manufacturer whose respectable-quality products we naturally expect, logically enough, to be made in Japan. But not so with my new Hitachi (model WH 14DMR) impact driver. At the bottom of the specs label situated on the housing it reads (in finer print than everything above it), "Made in China".
Ken
I love the Pit Stop and Helicopter commercials. Check their web page if you haven't seen them.
Hadn't seen the helipcopter commercial before. Thanks for the link. :-)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+"DonkeyHody" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Well compared to your Dad, at 46 I'm just a youngster, never having had to experience anything like the great depression. But I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to today's disposable modular car parts, where there's no apparent advantage over the old fashioned kind except more money to the manufacturer when the most minor of repairs are needed. Maybe I learned this from my Dad because he was always handy at repairing things that other people wouldn't even try to repair. In fact, before struck by chronic illness, he had a humble but thriving small appliance sales and repair business whose customer base largely was attracted to his reputation for repairing items other dealers would either refuse to, or do so for a price that was in line with all that actually needed to be done. For example, if somebody's vacuum cleaner's motor brushes were worn out, and the wholesale cost for a set of replacement brushes was unreasonably steep, my Dad would simply take a larger sized set of brushes out of his collection of otherwise worthless spare parts, take a couple of minutes to file them to the size required, install them and the machine and it would be running like new again. I did this myself about 8 years ago when my car's defrost motor conked out, due to what I discovered was in fact worn out brushes. Paid $7 for a set of vacuum cleaner brushes (after convincing the reluctant owner of the vacuum cleaner store what made me presume he even carried such a part in his store, and then that I wasn't attempting to deprive him of any business by intending to use them to repair my own vacuum cleaner. Filed them to the right shape and size, etc...etc... I still drive the same car (with almost 300,000 km on the odometer) and the defrost motor hasn't been any problem whatsoever since. Saved myself a lot of money not having to buy, not merely a replacement motor per se, but the whole modular unit which a new defrost/heater motor comes encased in. (PS: The car is a '91 Dodge/Mitsubishi Colt 200, which I bought when it was new.)
Ken
Most battery packs take what's called a "sub-C" cell. These are standard sizes, just not what you're used to from the bunny.
BTW, I bought a Porter-Cable 14.4V driver to supliment my 12V Makita (batteries going) a couple of years ago. The PC driver is quite nice, as are the other PC tools I've bought.
My parents grew up in the depression, as well. However, they are/were (mom's still alive) more like you than your OM. If they wanted something they'd wait and buy the best. Cars were for transportation and didn't impress them much though. If something broke it was fixed. Usually. ;-)
You're right though, depression kids have a very different outlook on life.
Priorities.
Consumer reports says that the drill they tested had quite a bit of power. So much so that it burned out its motor during their test.
Ouch.
Greg Guarino
Further to my inquiry below, does anyone happen to know how a typical corded driver would rate if actual torque specifications were provided for corded drivers like they are for cordless? For example, roughly how many inch-pounds of maximum torque from, say, my 4.6 amp (Skil "Slugger", geared to rev up to 2600 rpm) corded drill?
Ken
Point taken, but if you CAN buy something still made here, and its rock solid, why not?
Ken, I wish it were that easy. I can tell you that 4.6 amps at 120 volts translates to 18 inch pounds of theoretical torque at 2600 rpm. BUT (you knew there would be a but, didn't you?) that doesn't consider friction losses in the gear box which will eat a lot of that torque. And it doesn't consider that the motor will slow down when a load is applied, and will generate more torque at lower speeds. Just how much torque it can develop is determined by the torque curve of that particular motor. That particular drill probably won't develop as much ultimate torque as a good cordless.
Torque alone is not a good indicator of performance because it ignores speed. If you grab the chuck, the cordless seems stronger, especially in low gear. But when put to the task of drilling, your "Slugger" is whizzing around at close to 2600 rpm, while the cordless is chugging along at under 1400, even in high gear.
Consumers are left without reliable ways to compare one cordless to another, much less cordless to corded. Check out the Consumer Reports article where they found some higher-voltage drills didn't develop as much power as other lower-voltage ones. That's why I said ignore the specs and buy what feels good in your hand. The major brands all put out enough power for most of our uses. When that's not enough, grab your extension cord.
But you are right that cordless cannot develop as much power as even a medium duty corded drill.
By the way, a 4.6 amp 2600 rpm B&D wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I suggested a corded drill for those times when your cordless couldn't get the job done. I was thinking more along the lines of this
7.8 amp Dewalt geared to turn 850 rpm.DonkeyHody "Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him."
I looked into this and now have 2 options. 30 sub C cells @ 2.10 ea. for 2 battery packs plus shipping and my time to re-build them or my local hardware store has the drill, 2 batteries, charger and case for 60 buck on sale right now.
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