Cordless Drill/Driver

[Hokiefyd]

Hey guys,

I have an old Craftsman 19.2V cordless drill driver. I had two battery packs with it, but the last one has finally bit the dust. So I'm without one at the moment.

As I look around at various options, the two words that come to my mind most often are "planned obsolescence". Every company out there (Ryobi, Dewalt, Craftsman, etc) sells their own version of the exact same product, whatever it is you want. A cordless drill driver, reciprocating saw, flash light...it goes on. Every one of them has their own slightly different battery pack, slightly different charger, etc. And every now and then, they revamp their line and the new tools won't work with the old batteries. From my understanding, the charger for my old 19.2V Craftsman batteries won't charge the new versions of those batteries, but I could be wrong I guess. If you buy one product line (say, Craftsman), you get locked into continuing to buy other tools from that line to be able to use them with the same batteries...

I guess the most reasonable thing to do would be to try and find replacement new batteries for my current drill driver. But man, with the cost to replace two batteries, I might as well buy a new tool package. It seems like ink jet printers and ink. Those companies are really in the ink-selling business, and pretty much give you a printer for free so you buy the ink.

I'm not sure if this is a post just for me to vent, or if I'm asking for recommendations. I guess I'll end it as if I was asking for a suggestion on what to do! Should I just go buy a few replacement batteries? Have you guys had luck with aftermarket batteries, or do I need to get genuine Craftsman batteries? These are old Ni-CD I guess...can I replace them with new Li-Ion batteries as plug-n-play, or do I need to keep with the older battery technology?

Thanks in advance.

 

[chad8]

Depending on your usage , stop buying "homeowner" products.
Switch to a lithium ion battery drill . The ni-mh and l-ion battery packs hold up almost twice as long , but the l-ion packs hold a charge a lot longer and last 5-7 years.
Buy a whole new set.
I would look 18 volt drills by Makita , bosch, porter cable, or rigid .
The rigid drill has lifetime battery replacement.I have a 36 volt bosch that is 5 years old and works perfect . I use it for an ice auger among other tasks.
If you shop a bit , you can buy one in the $150 range and be set for 10 years.
Try and buy it away from the home centers except rigid at hd. The manufacturers spec the tools a bit cheaper to hold costs down even though the model numbers are similar.
amazon and ebay (no refurbs) are good to shop prices.
I did find refurbs at the bosch factory outlet to be very well made. The outlet store that rebulds them is near my house and they have had the same guys for 20-30 years.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I have a 19.2 Nicd porter cable drill that I also used as a driver. It is over 4 years old now, and the batteries are getting weak. The thing is a Tank. Super heavy and very powerful when the battery is straight from the charger.

I decided a while back to give PC no more of my business, and was in HD and saw the Makita LI ion 18 volt drill driver kit for 214$ and just got the thing.

While I am not really impressed with the battery life per charge, the tools themselves are awesome. Super light and powerful, and the impact driver has taken a lot of wear and tear off my wrist, at the expense of my ears I guess. The batteries charge in 15 minutes or less, but I still have run out when using both drill and driver and have added the PC drill into the mix to complete the task while waiting for the Li ion batteries to charge.

There are companies who will rebuild battery packs, but the prices seem just slightly less than buying new batteries, which of course when you buy 2 is nearly the cost of a new unit entirely. You can also but sub c Ni cad cells with some solder tabs attached and build them yourself, but that option would require the right soldering tool as to not get the batteries too hot in the attempt.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

The volts many times is a selling gimick.. it is in vacuum cleaners. In vacuum cleaners, you want to know CFM and Suction in inches... that translates to a figure called air watts. That's real info. Instead, they give you AMPS, and HP. Neither that mean much.

That said, Lithium Ion batteries are the top choice, NIMH, being the second, and NiCad being old news. I've had the best success with an 18V Porter Cable, but there are many suitable products. Search for something in the "Pro" grade with the lithium ion battery. Compare torque specs from driver to driver, you should find something useful.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Thanks guys. This 19.2V Craftsman stuff has been pretty good and has given me great life so far. The batteries are over 8 years old, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about from the perspective of durability. The only real negative is/was they took 4-5 hours to charge.

The RIDGID tools from Home Depot with a lifetime battery warranty look pretty good. I wonder if there's fine print associated with that. Such as, "this warranty is in effect only as long as we choose to continue to manufacturer the exact model of battery your tool takes." It sounds too good to be true: free batteries for life, until you die.

My neighbor is a DeWalt fan. His family is tied in with DeWalt tools somehow, so he gets them for a low price. His have seemed to last, but he's got the same problem as me: the tools outlive the batteries.

Continued discussion and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[wrcsixeight]

I have a 9.6v craftsman with useless batteries that I have hardwired with alligator clips and 20 feet of 10 awg cable.

Monster torque when hooked to my vehicle's battery. Not a viable option for 14.4 and plus volt drills, but a way to keep the older sub 14.4 volt units from the landfill for a while longer

 

[expat]

I went with a Ridgid from HD, great drill and under $100 but, for the warranty you have to register the Drill, Battery and Charger and if you have a problem you must send the failed unit back for repair/replacement (it's not an over the counter thing)
But I love the drill and it has a super fast recharge time, and can be used after a partial charge, even a minute or two, with full torque!

 

[bigmike]

I've had the 19.2 Craftsman tools for many years now and can't complain about any of them.

Batteries are expensive, however, and that's probably my only complaint about any cordless tool manufacturer.

I'd just buy new batteries if you like the tools you have. Wait for a sale or discount. You might check into buying a 2 pack with an extra charger, which is what I did last time I needed batteries.

 

[Eddie]

I could not buy a new battery for my 18 v Craftsman as the changes the thermal location on the same drill with the same battery voltage.

 

[volvos_rock]

I use my cordless tools heavily and last year wanted to replace my full Ryobi set up. Looking at "pro" level tools and ended up with Rigid. Lifetime service contract...and basically same price as Dewalt...nuff said

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
...My neighbor is a DeWalt fan. His family is tied in with DeWalt tools somehow, so he gets them for a low price. His have seemed to last, but he's got the same problem as me: the tools outlive the batteries....


They do outlive the batteries, but you can still buy DeWalt batteries. Good luck on other brands.

The big suprise has been our shop's Hitachi.

I don't remember when we got it but it was at least 5 years ago. It has done everything all it's Makita and DeWalt predecessors did, is still on the original two batteries, and most importantly, it's still here. I have a bunch of empty Makita and Dewalt boxes for the drills that were stolen. Nobody wants the Hitachi...I guess pawn shops don't pay much for Hitachi.

And this is for mobile electronics installations. It gets used on many cars a day. And my guys leave it on the work bench, forget to charge it, etc.... It still keeps on going.

 

[chad8]

... Ryobi drills are made by TTI, which also makes the Rigid, Craftsman and Milwaukee brands. ...

 

[IndyIan]

I guess in theory you can take apart the weak battery pack and test each cell, and hopefully only 1 or 2 of them are dying. Order a couple cells and resolder the pack up.

 

[bigmike]

There's a few repair shops here in town that do just that. Cost is about $10-15 from what I remember.

 

[someguy]

For normal use check out the Dewalt 18V compact drill its not too bulky but still has plenty of power and torque. You can find the set with 2 batteries for $100 if you shop around. It also has a little led light that I thought would be useless but now I love that feature.

 

[spackard]

I think replacing a bad cell in a used pack is a bad idea, for NiCd and NiMH (and also for flooded-cell car batteries as well as multi-pack UPS), and potentially very dangerous for Li-Ion.
They're wired, charged, and discharged in series. The batteries are closely matched when new. That won't be true with one new cell and the rest used.

 

[123Saab]

Hitachi's are great, had a 12 driver drill for years as well as a compound miter saw.

Never an issue.

 

[ffracer]

Spend the money - buy a Panasonic.

They actually make their own stuff and are the world's leader in battery technology.

It will last.

Getting harder to find good stuff:
Black & Decker makes DeWalt and Porter-Cable, and of course, B&D with nylon gears.
Techtronic Hong Kong makes Milwaukee (oh the humanity!), Rigid, and Ryboi (North America stuff only) and AEG (Europe).
Bosch makes Skil and Dremel.
Craftsman comes mainly from Chervon in China. Some stuff is B&D/Porter-Cable or TTI.
Makita still makes its own.
Hitachi makes its own in China.

 

[Hokiefyd]

To finish this topic up, I got a DeWalt XRP Hammerdrill/impact combo at Lowe's this weekend. 18v L-ion.

This is the one I got

So far, I'm very happy with it. It sounds like a professional tool, and looks like a professional tool. Much better than the Craftsman...of course the price was more dear as well. The reviews were good on it and my neighbor has only DeWalt stuff. I've used his DeWalt tools before and all seem top-notch.

Did I pay too much, or is this really that good?

I did see the Compact line of DeWalt stuff, but they had smaller 1.5 Ah batteries. I think the XRP batteries are 3 Ah. The Compact stuff looked good, I just wasn't comfortable with the smaller size.

Many of the tools were made in China. This DeWalt set is made in Mexico, for what it's worth.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I was searching for something else just a few minutes ago and ran across this thread, and thought I'd update it.

I've had the DeWalt XRP drill and impact combo for nearly three years now, and I've used the heck out of them. I have to say that I'm 100% satisfied. Both tools have performed without flaw and the batteries have excellent battery life. I figured that I was paying for the DeWalt name as much as anything else, but I had comfort in the fact that you can buy accessories and batteries for DeWalt nearly everywhere. In the end, however, I haven't had the need. They just work.