Craftsman 14.4 Cordless Drill

[Stark Raven]

The price is right. Are these drills okay for light home repair and incidental use. Had a B & D Ranger cordless but either the battery or the charger went kaput from non-use.

Tks

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[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes. It is now what I'd buy for heavy use, but the home handyman will be happy with it. Enough power for most jobs in the house. Ed

[PhotoMan]

I wish I knew, so I could prevent it. I'd call myself a moderate user - not pro, but probably more than the average DIY-er. I've bought 3 of the 14.4 kits, and each set of 2 batteries failed after about a year.

[George E. Cawthon]

Yep the battery is a large part of the total cost. So follow the direction on battery maintenance. Don't let the batteries get low, but don't charge them longer than recommended. Most batteries get ruined from neglect and then over charge. Make a chart/schedule to hang on the wall charge them once a month (only an hour or so if they haven't been used). People have problems with travel trailer batteries too because they sit idle for a long time. Keeping wet batteries a high percentage of charge make them last a long time. I check mine at least every 2 month and charge them any time they get indicate less than 12.6 V(that's about 60 percent of full charge).

[Stark Raven]

What about the Craftsman guarantee? Are they no longer offering it, or are batteries excluded? Strange if batteries are the major feature of the tool.

[TOM KAN PA]

____Reply Separator____ About as portable as a corded drill!

[DJ]

It has a cord, yes. But that cord goes to a portable battery, not to a wall outlet. I'm not saying you should/could take it up on the roof with you to hang tin, but it sure would work for putting up a fence or such when stringing an extension cord would be a problem.

DJ

[Dave Mitton]

speak of the devil... Both of my Craftsman 12v cordless drill battery packs are low, and the charger is complaining.

A new one seems to be about $35. (and the Ryobi at HD seems compatible)

I've dabbled a bit with R/C, and I was a bit peeved so, I pulled the pack apart and found it just to be 10 Panasonic Sub-C cells. (mhA not labled) I did a little web hunting, and found I can buy similar cells (with tabs) in the range of $2 to $9 per cell. If you are handy with soldering, you can rebuild these packs with new batteries and maybe even more power than the original.

I'm thinking about it....

Oh, and going to NiMH would require a different charger, so skip that for now.

Dave.

[mark Ransley]

Sub Cs are crap , as I said , Low amps. No run time... To much BeeSS is placed on VOLTAGE, Its all Voltage Voltage Voltage,,,, Talk...Talk,,, Talk,,, Well B.S. - B. S- B.S. My 9.6 Makitas perform like other 12v . and 14.4 v. Sub Cs Its in the Gearing and Amps and quality that count . My Mikita cost

170 in 83., 9.6v .. now 9.6 can cost 15.oo.. Good stuff costs, cheap is crap..

[mark Ransley]

Dave Mitton Im sure the 2$ cells are better than what was included, and will work great. but the 2$+ up to 9$ cells are for competition , they are matched for racing RC Stuff.--------

[mark Ransley]

Even with tabbed cells use a heatsink when soldering

[coloradotrout]

I bought the 14.4 EX a few months ago. EX suppose to be more torque

-- who knows.

Seems very solid for the $70 or so I paid. I had 2 12V Bosch electric clutch models that the bats finally died. After some time it was just not worth messing w/ them anymore. The torque of the Sears is rated at 275 in-lbs.

I need to learn abt how to care for the bats.. cause I tend to not use it for 4 weeks or longer...

Tips? === keep them charged? or let them die? (charged makes more sense.. as I understand what can happen is a bat can take on a reverse charge if left uncharged for a long time. )

store at some high/low temp? (low again seems more logical.. low as in 60-70F )