I have been looking for a "how-to" on refurbishing my DeWalt 18 volt XR+ (DW9096)batteries, but have not found anything.
I ran up on what appears to an exact replacement (DE9039) for the NiCad batteries going to NiMh, but they seem to only be available in the UK. Does anyone know about this?
Sounds like a good idea, but from a trial replacement we did in November with NiMh cells none of the available DeWalt chargers tested would successfully fully charge the battery at the time, perhaps in the UK they also have a higher capacity charger too???
UPDATE....
In the UK they also have a DeWalt charger that says it also charges NiMH:
The DE9116 1 hour charger for 9.6v-18v NiCd & NiMH batteries.
I'm not sure if the UK's DE9116 is actually the same charger as the DW9116 as they have omitted 7.2v from its capabilities.
The DW9116 1 hour charger for 7.2v -18v XR batteries with auto tune up mode.
I will try & confirm with DeWalt if the US & Canada have access to the NiMH system.
The UK version will be 220 volt and it will have a great huge plug on it that fits nothing here. Its price with shipping will probably also outweigh sticking with Nicad's.
Bob
The UKs prices on any cordless tools make me wonder how they sell any at all, & yes of course the UK versions of all the battery chargers will be different in the step down transformer & plug dept due to being 220, I wonder though if it is actually a modified higher capacity charger to accept NiMH batteries or is it in fact the same one used for NiCds in the UK.
I don't know on any of those questions. I lived in Ireland for almost a year and found the same dilemma on just about anything. Ireland and UK consumer economies are virtually married to each other and they use the same electrical standards. The pricing is high due to taxing. I ended up buying lots of things online in the USA and having family members stow it in their luggage when they visited. I also found that just about anything that was single voltage only could not be easily adapted for use in the USA. I was surprised how many manufacturers actually build 220v only equipment and appliances, even though they are global suppliers.
By the way, what did you hope to accomplish by going NiMH? I know it makes a difference in small consumer appliances and laptops, but I believe a heavy duty Nicad battery for a tool is a different animal from the battery in a digital camera. All batteries wear out after so many recharge cycles. I'm surprised that my Dewalt batteries have held up a couple of years. I think its because we use them until dead and then recharge fully. Nicads work best when deeply discharged before recharging. They do not perform well if you leave them on a charger all the time.
Bob
I guess from what I have read, the NiMh batteries hold a charge better, last longer between charges, and batteries last longer before needing to be replaced. At what I would consider and exobitant price for NiCads I thought I would try to go for something that would last as long as possible.
I have read about others attempt to recondition their 18 V batteries. Tey said they were hard to disassemble. I took mine apart easily. It had a bunch of what appeared to be AA NiCads hooked together. If someone could tell me what battery to use and where to get it I would go ahead and fix mine.
Thanks again for all the help!
Steve Maye Nashville, TN
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Stephen, how were the batteries connected? Were they soldered or spot welded? This is the messy part of replacing a factory built cluster. Most replacement battteries don't have solder-friendly contacts and you run the risk of damaging them with the heat.
Bob
Bob, I really can not remember what type of connections there were. it has been about 2 years since I looked. The soldering should not be a problem with the AA NiCads that have solder tabs. As I remember though, the batteries seemed a little shorted in length. I never confirmed this. it just looked that way.
Well I have one totally bad batery pack. I have nothing to lose.
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