|
I just got done with this exercise. I had been putting it off for the last couple of years, and had a collection of 4 old Dewalt 18v batteries laying around and a couple of Black and Decker cordless tools with the batteries inside them/internal that were from about 20 years ago. Couple of years ago, I purchased a generic 18v battery for my Dewalt stuff that had NiMh cells in it. Its worked great, lasts a long time, and I know that my Dewalt Charger can handle it. (Strange Note: Dewalt has been selling NiMh batteries over in the UK for years, just google it) So a few weeks ago, I went onto www.batteryspace.com (I read in a battery forum that these guys have a direct relationship with some company in China that makes these things, so cheaper prices). I bought the latest and greatest 4200 mAh SubC cell batteries in bulk (ordered 20 of them with solder tabs). There were enough of them for me to rebuild 1 of my old Dewalt 18v packs and both of my old Black and Decker tools. Now, all 3 are like new again--actually much better than new. And it takes a VERY long time to run these things down. Of course on the Black and Decker tools, I'm careful not to leave them plugged in too long, as I'm not sure if they will overcharge and get damaged or not. As for cost, this wasn't the cheapest route, and I have an Interstate battery nearby, and have looked at the online guys, but I really like having these batteries run so long. So much better performance than the batteries had when they were new... The address the previous post about solder problems, the batteries with tabs come with tabs on both poles. You need to keep the rubber cover on the pole that you don't use--if you accidentally short some of them together, you'll get a big surprise! When you solder the tabs together, it takes a bit of patience, probably some fresh roslin core solder, and a lot of heat--if you've got a whimpy soldering iron, you'll be waiting a lot. I don't solder everyday, but I do it occasionally for work, and doing the 15 cells for the 18v pack took me less than 2 hours (and I was kinda watching TV). good luck, Stephen
|
