Tool Battery Pack Rebuild Kits?

SubLGT · May 30, 2015

I am considering buying a rebuild kit for my Milwaukee 18V 2.4Ah NiCd battery. The battery is easy to disassemble. A new battery is around $100 (!), and a kit is around $53 from Amazon.

I am looking at these kits:
http://stores.springgrovebattery.com/battery-pack-rebuild-kits/?sort=featured&page=1

Looking for feedback, good or bad, on rebuild kits. Or pointers to other kit providers.

Donald · May 30, 2015

I have sent out a Dewalt XPR battery and had new cells installed. The cells they installed were a higher amp-hr capacity than what came from the factory. But I did not save much.

Note you can only spot weld to these batteries, not solder but it looks like its all connected for you and hopefully the cells are matched.

I have now gone to Milwaukee M18 batteries which are LiIon so I am hoping for a good long battery life.

4D-56 · May 30, 2015

Heres a link (I think your battery might be close to the bottom of that page) to a place that I ordered a DeWalt battery from. The battery has increased run time over std and has been awesome. The company appears to be sound with decent ethics.

http://www.batteryship.com/htmlos/htmlos...+Tool+Batteries

HerrStig · May 30, 2015

Originally Posted By: Donald
I have sent out a Dewalt XPR battery and had new cells installed. The cells they installed were a higher amp-hr capacity than what came from the factory. But I did not save much.

Note you can only spot weld to these batteries, not solder but it looks like its all connected for you and hopefully the cells are matched.

I have now gone to Milwaukee M18 batteries which are LiIon so I am hoping for a good long battery life.
I have had no problem soldering to the connecting strips. Hot iron, and good electronic solder, not stuff from the "Fright".

Shannow · May 30, 2015

One of my workmates has been rebuilding packs for a while (he solders).

The ubiquitous 18650 battery (same as they use in Teslas and laptops) can be either very light (not much inside it), or quite heavy.

He reckons that a lot of the packs have an always on minder circuit that's usually the problem.

spk2000 · May 30, 2015

If I have an older Milwaukee Nicad can I buy a Li-Ion replacement battery and have it work? Will I need a different charger as well?

901Memphis · May 30, 2015

Just find out what cells you need and look for them individually. You will need to solder. I get stuff from Battery Junction dot com but there's other places.

If you need 18650s for packs the only one I can think off off hand is the Tenergy 2600 mah with pre made tabs.

http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Cylindrical-2600mAh-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B001JDPHG4

spasm3 · May 30, 2015

I would be hesitant to solder on an 18650 battery. You don't want a runaway reaction.

Clevy · May 30, 2015

I own countless cordless tools. When the batteries no longer carry a charger I buy new ones. I am not prepared to rip old ones apart to add new cells and whatnot. I'd rather pay more and get a warranty.

Clevy · May 30, 2015

Originally Posted By: spk2000
If I have an older Milwaukee Nicad can I buy a Li-Ion replacement battery and have it work? Will I need a different charger as well?

The Chargers aren't the same. Planned obsalecence. Pawn shops have the old chargers and they are usually pretty cheap.

901Memphis · May 30, 2015

Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would be hesitant to solder on an 18650 battery. You don't want a runaway reaction.

That's why I recommended ones with tabs already attached. They are safe to solder on.

Donald · May 30, 2015

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would be hesitant to solder on an 18650 battery. You don't want a runaway reaction.

That's why I recommended ones with tabs already attached. They are safe to solder on.

Soldering needs to get the area hot. Its not recommended. If you cannot spot weld, then buy them with tabs attached.

Tool Battery Pack Rebuild Kits?

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