Re doing cordless tool battery's results so far!

[Rex in OTZ]

I had 3 coordless drills, SKIL professional 12volt super pack model # 2735 a very odd looking drill and battery's no longer available, drill's are still in really good condition so boxed up the crummy batteries and shipped them off to Primecell battery rebuild service thet rebuild old NiCad batteries I had two old fashoned batteries re-done for approx $78 That was over 3 years back since I'd had them done,i even sent out a couple 12 volt Millwalkies as well, the batteries are going to outlast that millwalkie drill.
Primecell claims that the new cells they put in your old houseings have 20% more charge capacity than the OEM batteries!
Anybody do this with other company's??

www.primecell.com they do other batteries as well.

[bilmac]

Hey thanks Rex. I was on the verge of throwing away a Bosch driver that I couldn't get batteries for. I really like it and it would have hurt to toss a perfectly good tool.

[GRIMJIM]

That's the problem. You can get a new drill for a little more than what it costs for a couple of new batteries.

I'll have to remember that also.

[mirage1988]

I have a porter-cable 19.2 volt kit (light, sawzall, drill, and circ saw) that the batteries are bad. Been thinking about having them rebuilt, do the rebuilt ones really work as good as the new ones? PC doesn't make them anymore so that really is my only option.

[bilmac]

You know it seems like the high dollar outfits are the ones that leave you stranded without batteries. I have almost all the Black and Decker Versa Pack tools that they stopped making maybe 10 or 15 years ago, but you can still find batteries for them.

[hunt-m-up]

There's a chain called Batteries Plus that also rebuilds batteries. I had them do a couple Craftsman batteries a couple years ago and they have better battery life than when they were new. Then the charger broke...story of my life.

[Rex in OTZ]

From what I understand they do repairs to chargers, have the ability to change your NiCads to Nickel Medal Hydride's you can get your charger upgraded to charge the NiMh batts
all the above mentioned tools they either stock batteries for or they can rebuild for you, these guys actually somehow cut open my old Skil Batteries because I got the same old scratched caseings with new guts. they have a Phone #(814) 623-7000 give them a call see what they can do for you.
I found out about these guy's in a neat publication (www.farmshow.com) was featured amongst other uniuque and hard to find venders & services.

[mirage1988]

Just got my porter-cable batteries back from batteries plus. First job- 100 feet of privacy fence, better part of a 5 pound box of screws on 1 battery at high speed, started raining, had to wrap it up. The rebuilds have more power than they did when new!

[30-30man]

The same deal applies to batteries as it does to printer ink.  It's cheaper just to buy another tool or printer in most cases.

[mechanic]

Thats why I went with the Ryobi tools.  Got tired of not being able to replace batteries at all because the design was changed.  I wait until they are having a sale, and I can usually buy some tool, like a drill with batts. and charger cheaper than the batts. alone.  Been using the same stuff for over 5 yrs. now, just have a lot of spare drills.

[hunt-m-up]

Yup, I bought a new 18 volt hammer drill on closeout for the price of the battery and I've actually used the heck out of it

[Kragman71]

There's a chain called Batteries Plus that also rebuilds batteries. I had them do a couple Craftsman batteries a couple years ago and they have better battery life than when they were new. Then the charger broke...story of my life.

Too late for me.I had two stihhy sears cordless drills,and got rid of both of them,and bought a B&D Lithium drill.I really like it.It has more power then the bigger sized Sears drills,and stays charged.
Frank

[Rex in OTZ]

Sounds like you fellers got some good deals!
for the few not able to find deals like that we have to make do the best way we can and if I can save some money
I live over 420 Air miles away from a urban center (Anchorage) that would support a tool outlet that affords deals such as your's, thus limiting my options, Ive been to yard sales and lots of Makita,Dewalt, Milwalkie cordless tools with and without batteries and chargers and varying combinations of that.
Making do best one can. repairing what you have can be a positive thing.
Two years back while mowing in a corner the yard I'd never mowed before I hit a steel lot marker pin ruining my favorite lawn mower bet the blade and sheard the key and was burning oil bad & shuddering so I looked into replacing the motor and it was darn near $300 for a replacement not includeing shipping to bush alaska.
I bought a new WeedEater push mower from Sears for $110 and this model had a larger engine than the old one.
By the time I'd tore down the old motor and replaced the parts I would have been better off getting a new one.
I miss that old Craftsman mower, it never clogged and the carrage rolled great.
New mower more powerfull but cloggs and doesent roll well (like a sack of taters)

[sr sawyer]

There's a chain called Batteries Plus that also rebuilds batteries. I had them do a couple Craftsman batteries a couple years ago and they have better battery life than when they were new. Then the charger broke...story of my life.

Even though the instructions tell you there are no useable parts in the charger there is a fuse.  Unless you have that special screw driver they are a pain to get into but most of them with the fuse replaced will work like new.

[Jay HHI6818]

I have a Delta 12 V cordless drill and the batteries died. Dropped it off at Bulldog Batteries and the rebuilt the battery pack for $40.

http://www.bulldogbattery.net/


               
   
 
Rebuilding cost is based on battery voltage and
number of cells. This table is for the most common
2100 mAh configurations we handle. If you don't
see yours, don't worry - we handle many types
of cells and configurations in our pro shop.    
13.2 volt       $42.00    
14.4 volt       $45.00    
15.6 volt       $47.00    
16.8 volt       $50.00    
18 volt       $55.00    
19.2 volt       $64.00    

[mbopp]

Just to update this thread.
I sent Primecell 2 batteries from my Dewalt drill, one was shorted totally and the other wouldn't even drill a 2X4. I got them back and all I can say is "Wow!" For 1/2 the price of new batteries I get new life out of my drill. My motive is that I modified my case trimmer so I can use my drill instead of the hand crank, it's way easier if I have a lot of cases to do.