4/13/10

how to save 50 bucks

I was just thinking, rechargable batteries and ink cartridges are a bunch of crap. You can buy a printer cheaper than you can buy ink, that's stupid but I aint figured that one out yet. Batteries are a different story, if you need a battery for your cell phone, get on Ebay, you can get one for a couple of bucks, the cell phone companies will charge you 20 or 30 dollars. Batteries for my tools are another story.

I have a few tools (a lot actually) and I have a whole set of Dewalt 18 volt cordless tools. After a couple of years, the 2 batteries that came with them started to die. I thought "No big deal, just buy a new battery." Lowe's wants $79.99 for a Dewalt 18 volt battery, you can but a drill and battery for that, just don't make sense. I searched the internet and finally found one for about $50; bought it, but still felt like I got ripped off.

Since then I've done a little more research and found out that the insides of all those batteries are the same, they all have a bunch of the same little batteries on the inside. You can find companies that will replace/recycle them for you but they still cost too much and all they do is put a new cell or two in your old battery.

I figured, "Why can't I buy a cheap battery and use it to replace the bad parts of my battery." My thoughts were that I'd go out, buy a battery, take it apart and fix my old battery. A little time and a soldering iron and I'd have a new battery. Well, actually, it aint even that hard. Here's how to save 50 bucks:

My tools (like I said) are Dewalt, same company as Black and Decker, I think. All them companies have a "high end" and a "low end" brand, you just have to figure out what's the low end brand for the tool you have. I went to the Black and Decker Outlet Store and found a 18 volt batery for $23.99. Here it is side-by-side with my Dewalt battery:
Look about the same don't they, just a few small differances. I didn't take a picture but inside are 15 little batteries, about the size of a C cell battery. I was expecting to have to pull the batteries out and do a bunch of solding to make them fit into the Dewalt case. As I looked a the cases, I saw the reasons that one wasn't interchangable with the other.

First are these little tabs, the Dewalt is on the left, B&D on the right.

The tab is in the center here, on the B&D, it's on the left side, I figure if I grind that sucker off, it should fit in my Dewalt.
Here it is after I ground it off. Not pretty but who cares, I just stuck it against the grinder wheel until I thought enough of it was gone. Now it would fit in my tools but wouldn't click in tight like it should so after looking a little futher, I found a differance in the bases.
Right above the tabs you push in to unlock it from your drill are a couple of X (I don't know what the hell they are, I just know they aint the same so you gotta fix'em). You have to grind the ends of the X so the battery will fit in the drill.

Here it is after I did some grinding on X, you have to do it on both sides. Just make it smaller and not as tall as the one on the Dewalt, as far as I can tell, it aint good for s**t, just makes one battery not work with the other drill.

Here they are after I was done and yea, the one on the right looks a little hoopty (with all my grinding on it) but who gives a rat's ass? It was $50 dollars cheaper.
Done and done. Sweet, works perfect. Only drawback of not soldering the batteries in, the Dewalt charger shows a bad battery when it's done charging. It still shows that the battery is charging (flashing light) but when done, it just flashes rapidly, not steady-on like the factory battery. Oh well, 50 extra bucks to buy beer with and a new battery for my drill. Cool...


I'll add a note: don't leave your batteries on the charger. Heat builds up in the battery if left on the charger all the time and heat will ruin the battery. Let it charge then take it off the charger, that's why I don't worry to much about the the charger just flashing after it's done, I take it off the charger and put it up. Leaving a battery on the charger is why mine didn't last any longer than they did. The exception is if you have a smart charger that cuts off automatically after the battery is done charging.

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