Porter Cable 12V Batteries

[bcossa2001]

The 2 factory batteries for my 12V Porter cable cordless drill are dying.

Looks like there are a number of replacements on Amazon by companies with which I am not familiar: Shentec; Joiry; Poweraxis; Reexbon; Powergiant. These are all less than 50% of the cost of the Porter Cable brand ($58)...

Does anyone have good/bad experience with 12V replacement batteries for cordless tools??

Thanks in advance...

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted by bcossa2001
The 2 factory batteries for my 12V Porter cable cordless drill are dying.

Looks like there are a number of replacements on Amazon by companies with which I am not familiar: Shentec; Joiry; Poweraxis; Reexbon; Powergiant. These are all less than 50% of the cost of the Porter Cable brand ($58)...

Does anyone have good/bad experience with 12V replacement batteries for cordless tools??

Thanks in advance...


I was in the same situation with a decade old DeWalt set of tools. I went crazy over it but in the end I sold the old and got a new DeWalt set. man what a good decision that was. I bought the 2.5 amp batteries and waited to save for a 5amp. It was the right decision for me. from what I've gotten out of the secondary battery market (tools and camera batteries) they are a ok for a while but last no where NEAR what the OEM batteries last. And by the time you know it it's too late to return. Food for thought.

 

[Californiabob]

my experience was different. I have this Black&Decker weed whacker that uses 18V slip-on batteries.

since I use them seasonally, the OEM batteries would fail after one season. and just past the warranty.

then I tried replacing the batteries using Harbor Freight cheapy batteries and swapped the battery packs.

these lasted longer but weren't strong enough. all up to date were NiCads, about 1200 or 1500 mah

then I bought some NiMH off eBay at about 3500 Mah - these did the job: runs long, in use 3 years
and still going strong.

I suspect power tools need LiOn batteries for the draw and capacity.

I'd try a cheapy high Mah battery but make sure they're compatible with your charger
(match the battery's tabs to the charger pins and make sure the charger likes the battery type).

 

[tom slick]

I've had mixed results with aftermarket batteries for my Milwaukee tools. The replacements for my old NiMh tools were upgrades and seems better than the originals. The replacements for my LiOn tools have been mediocre.

It's worth is gamble if you like the tools.

 

[spackard]

On EBay, I've bought two 15.6V NiCd packs that were "Tank" brand, from a seller named backupdog.
They've worked out okay.
There are also battery rebuilders there, but if the pack is difficult to dismantle they'll have problems with it.

 

[WhyMe]

toss them and get a ridgid set and never worry about batteries again. i have had 2 set of batteries sent to me for free from ridgid for my close to 10 yo 18 volt set

 

[Dave9]

Most of the reviews with testing of these generic 3rd party packs, suggests that the packs (cells) are typically over-rated by quite a bit and often cannot supply as much current, so you may essentially be getting 1/2 to 2/3 the battery you think you are.

Whether that is a good value if you're only paying half as much, "depends" on the use. For a cordless drill with only 12V to work with, I'd lean towards no, it's not worth it to get a generic unless you're demoting the drill to (lighter) screwdriver duty.