Drill Batteries

[Ted in NE-OH]

I need to replace an 18V Milwaukee drill battery.
It is a 2.4 amp hr NiCad. On line their about $90+.

However I can purchase a 3.3 amp hr Ni- Mh ( Nickle Metal Hydride) for $50. More battery at half the price. What gives? Are Ni-Mh batteries as good as Ni-Cad?? Ni-Mh battery made in China.

 

[JF in MI]

You can't put Ni-Mh on a NiCad charger (so I learned) or it might explode or at least be ruined.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

You are right, need a special charger.

 

[Ted in NE-OH]

My Milwaukee charger says Ni-Cad Or Ni-MH. So no problem for me.

 

[thurlow]

You can buy sub c batteries for about $1.50 each and rebuild your own; anyone with a modicum of soldering skills can do it............

 

[Leroy]

Would anybody be interested in rebuilding several for me. Never could solder.

 

[evilboweivel]

I only buy Ni-Mh replacement batteries for my DeWalt tools
charge on the same charger no problems yet.
have been doing this since 09

 

[Geo-TH,In]

dewalt makes a charger special charger for all 3, ni-cd, ni-mh, and Li-ion. Never try to do Li with the old charger. Does dewalt sell a ni-mh battery?

 

[fepo]

I bought a NiMh for my milwaukee 18v tools about a year ago, works much better than the NiCd cheapies I had bought previously. I just purchased 2 more NiMh last night for $87 The charger should be ok for both, check on label. Forget about building your own with sub-c"s I done about 3 packs like that, dont last one year. It is too difficult to get all the batteries to be exactly the same "quality" when building a pack, you would need 3-4 times the amount needed to chose the best and most compatible to build a pack. If one battery is slightly less performing the complete pack will end up failing sooner.

 

[showcrop]

As Thurlow says you can rebuild your own. I have taken a few to a local Batteries Plus store. It costs about half what a new one costs to get them rebuilt.

 

[evilboweivel]

"Does dewalt sell a ni-mh battery? "


not that I am aware of
buy the ni-mh off of ebay
had good luck with them
actually better than DeWalt batteries.

"Never try to do Li with the old charger"
agree 100%
have the new charger at work for the Li-On batteries
bought a new double charger at home so now can upgrade to Li-On at home but probably will not

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I bought 2 Li and a special charger to charge all 3. One Li went bad. The other can only put out half what a Ni-mh can . I carry one Li and 5 ni-mh in turck with a 12v truck charger. I also have 2 110v chargers and 2 chargers in dewalt radios, all can handle all 3 batteries.

I would recommend getting the new charger. They stop charging completely when battery is full charged. No more hot batteries coming out of charger when a battery is left in over night.

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

The new Ryobi 18+ system chargers will charge both types of batteries.

 

[mkirsch]

The pack manufacturers don't do "cell matching." They just take the first 15 sub C cells that come down the line and WELD them together into a pack.

Soldered packs don't last because of the soldering. The cells get too hot for too long, even if you're careful. It ruins them.

Frankly, NiCd and NiMH packs don't last period. Never had one go more than a year. They're always dead when you need them.

I've gone to Li packs and never looked back. Three of mine are 4 years old now and work as good as new. If I need to drill a quick hole, or drive a couple screws, there's no waiting around for a NiCd pack to charge. The Li's are always ready.

 

[Jim W in OH]

You might want to check with Milwaukee. They had a recall on some of their batteries. I had two batteries that wouldn't hold a charge. Sent both in and got two brand new replacements.