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Cordless Drills

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bczoom

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I went to charge the batteries for my cordless drills. So far, every one of them is coming up as "defective battery" from the charger. This is multiple batteries in multiple chargers

I looked at replacements and to get a pair of new batteries, it costs as much as a replacement drill.:4_11_9:

So, off to get new drills. I'm thinking of getting DeWalt's but open for suggestions if someone has another brand they like.

Thoughts?
 
I bought a Ridgid cordless drill/screw for the same reason last year. My 14 year old DeWalt had dead batteries, and they cost too much to replace.

Why did I buy Ridgid? They have a warranty that covers the batteries!

WHAT IS COVERED UNDER THE LIFETIME SERVICE AGREEMENT:
The Lifetime Service Agreement on RIDGID® Hand Held Power Tools, Stationary Power Tools and
Pneumatic Tools covers all worn parts in properly maintained tools, including normal wear items such
as brushes, chucks, motors, switches, gears and even cordless batteries in your qualifying
RIDGID®Brand hand held and stationary power tools; and replacement rings, driver blades and
bumpers on RIDGID® Brand pneumatic tools for the lifetime of the original owner. This Lifetime
Service Agreement does not apply to other RIDGID® Brand products.
Click to expand...

I bought the 18V 1/2" model.
 

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Warranty said:
... properly maintained tools ...
Click to expand...

That is the open-ended statement that lets them off the hook. Have you tried a warranty replavement on a battery, yet? I bet they will claim abuse, freezing, excessive heat or some other thing to let them out of replacement.

I think there may be a reason that most of the professional contractors are using DeWalt now days...
 
I bought a Ryobi 18V impact driver at Home Depot last year and have been pleased with it. One reason I settled on it was the price for batteries. $39.97 for a pair right now.
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...earchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+3966&pos=n24

The same batteries are used in all their 18V products. And the price on the impact driver was right. $67 I believe, but I had to buy batteries and a charger separately. Still cheaper than most and the quality has been great for my use.
 
I've been using the heck out of my 18v DeWalt stuff for years now. I guess I've had them for about 7 years or so now. At about 5 years the batteries started to really fade. Rather than buy new ones, I took a chance and sent them to a guy who advertised on the internet that he "remans" them for about $20 a battery. I had them reman'd by him a couple of years ago and they are still running fine. They actually seem to run better than new. I got one "new" (couple of years ago now) battery when I bought the 18v DeWalt grinder, and my remans last just as long. As a side note, that 18v DeWalt grinder has been amazing! It will eat batteries faster than other cordless tools, but it has great power. I've actually worn the brushes out in mine and had to replace them; $5 or so.

So, not just because I have 6 or 8 of the cordless tools and have to stay with Dewalt, but because they work well and hold up well I'd recommend DeWalt. As a side note, I used my builder's DeWalt 36 volt cordless driver one day. Talk about a beast! The issue is that it is so big and bulky, not to mention expensive. It lasted longer on a charge and was noticably stronger than my 18v stuff, but I really haven't been left wanting for more power than my 18v stuff has. His theory is that he leaves the house with 3 of his 36 volt batteries charged up in the morning and can work all day without worrying about finding an outlet. On some of his job sites there is no power. I don't have that problem, so 18v is plenty strong for me. (believe it or not)
 
bczoom said:
I went to charge the batteries for my cordless drills. So far, every one of them is coming up as "defective battery" from the charger. This is multiple batteries in multiple chargers

I looked at replacements and to get a pair of new batteries, it costs as much as a replacement drill.:4_11_9:

So, off to get new drills. I'm thinking of getting DeWalt's but open for suggestions if someone has another brand they like.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Bc,
You might want to read this article from Tools of the Trade which just came out in this month's issue:
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/arti...leID=2481&&position=1&&type=article&&partID=1

Specs and Testers comments:
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/articles/showarticle.asp?articleID=2481&partID=2

I doubt it will change your preferences, but it might help you from buying something useless for what you want to do...
 
BTW,
one good thing i've heard about DeWalt, they are coming out with the Lithium-Ion in 18volt pretty soon. And perhaps might take Milwaukee's and Ridgid's lead of backwards compatibility across Ni-Cads and Li-Ion platforms. You'll just have to use the proper charger.
 
Thanks for the articles.

OK, I'm pretty sure I'm sold on the DeWalt.

I think I'm going to get their package thingy (below)

Anyone know who's got the best price on tools?

DEWALT DC9PAKRA
• DC925 hammerdrill/drill/driver
• DC385 reciprocatng saw, blade
• DC330 jigsaw, blades
• DC390 circular saw, carbide blade, rip fence
• DC410 cut-off tool, side-handle, depressed center wheel, spanner wrench
• (2) guards, matches flanges
• DW960 right angle drill
• DW059 high torque impact wrench
• DC550 cut out tool
• DW919 flexible floodlight
• 1 hour charger
• (2) DC9096 XRP battery packs
• two contractor's bag
 
bczoom said:
T
Anyone know who's got the best price on tools?
Click to expand...

Check out Amazon.com. Their tool prices are often the best I can find. They also sell aftermarket batteries for the DeWalt tools for a bit less than the brand name. So far those batteries are working well for me.
 
If you want extra 18v batteries for the DeWalt tools, watch Lowes. Typically during the late spring early summer months they get a blister pack where you can either get one for $89.99 or two for $99.99. You can decide which is the better deal.:drink: I bought a 2 pack about 2 years ago to replace my 8 year ones. Brought the drill and circular saw back to brand new. I'm wanting one of the 18v impact guns, but for $300 I can drag an air hose around quite a bit.
 
Dargo said:
I've been using the heck out of my 18v DeWalt stuff for years now. I guess I've had them for about 7 years or so now. At about 5 years the batteries started to really fade. Rather than buy new ones, I took a chance and sent them to a guy who advertised on the internet that he "remans" them for about $20 a battery. I had them reman'd by him a couple of years ago and they are still running fine. They actually seem to run better than new. I got one "new" (couple of years ago now) battery when I bought the 18v DeWalt grinder, and my remans last just as long. As a side note, that 18v DeWalt grinder has been amazing! It will eat batteries faster than other cordless tools, but it has great power. I've actually worn the brushes out in mine and had to replace them; $5 or so.

So, not just because I have 6 or 8 of the cordless tools and have to stay with Dewalt, but because they work well and hold up well I'd recommend DeWalt. As a side note, I used my builder's DeWalt 36 volt cordless driver one day. Talk about a beast! The issue is that it is so big and bulky, not to mention expensive. It lasted longer on a charge and was noticably stronger than my 18v stuff, but I really haven't been left wanting for more power than my 18v stuff has. His theory is that he leaves the house with 3 of his 36 volt batteries charged up in the morning and can work all day without worrying about finding an outlet. On some of his job sites there is no power. I don't have that problem, so 18v is plenty strong for me. (believe it or not)
Click to expand...

Ditto ..... I bought most of mine through e-Bay also

My first 2 batteries from a purchase 8 years ago went bad 2 years ago. When I went looking for new batteries I found out that those had a recall on them and they both were replaced.

I since have bought other tools and the list follows. I sent up a shop cart with power strip and all my cordless tools are available on the cart with 5 chargers and 6 batteries...............I'm ready!

DEWALT
• DC925 hammerdrill/drill/driver
• DC759 HD drill
• DC385 reciprocatng saw, blade
• DC330 jigsaw, blades
• DC390 circular saw, carbide blade, rip fence
• DW919 flexible floodlight
• 1 hour charger (5)
• (6) DC9096 XRP battery packs
 
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