craftsman 19.2 ni-cad

Several of my ni-cad batteries will charge, however they will not hold a charge for very long.Is is worth the effort to try and repair or find someone that can repair the 19.2v ni-cad batteries that cane with my craftsman 19.2 cordless tool set, or would it be better to up grade to 19.2 lithium batteries.Does the lithium batteries have a longer run time compared to the ni-cads. Upgrading would require new batteries and charger, which leads to the question does the lithium charger also charge the ni-cad batteries

I have a19.2 volt craftsman drill and the charger that came with it has both modes.

i have some 18v dewalt tools, some ryobi 14.4 and bosch 12 v .i take the old batteries to batteries plus and they rebuild them. about 30 dollars or so per battery. way cheaper than buying new batteries or replacing all the tools.

Lithium batteries are so far ahead of ni-cads there is no comparison. IMO

I wouldn't bother with NiCads these days. NiMH batteries are OK, but NiCads have been obsolete for two decades. If you have NiCad tools, it may be time to upgrade everything. The new brushless tools are wonderful.

Got a bunch of Craftsman 19.2 stuff, lithium batteries made a lot of difference. You'll throw the ni-cads away after using the lithium.

Was ready to ditch My Craftsman tools several years ago until my wife bought me a lithium battery/charger.

I do know the Craftsman branded charger handles both type batteries.
Was just looking at Amazon, seems most of the off brand chargers do as well. But I'd read the description to make sure.

Speaking of knock off brands...
Craftsman brand batteries ain't cheap. I've had good luck with the chinese knock offs on Amazon.
I don't feel bad about it 'cause the Craftsman batteries are made overseas as well.

This is not official, no testing done, but the knock-offs don't SEEM to have the same capacity as the branded batteries.
A 5ah knock off doesn't SEEM to last as long as a 5ah craftsman.
But you can buy 2 knockoffs for the same money as one Craftsman. Pretty much buy the knockoffs myself, although I haven't bought any batteries in a couple years.

New brushless tools are nice, have bought a few Milwaukee tools (1300 ft/lb impact, circular saw and cordless ratchet) for the things My Craftsman tools just won't do.

But my Craftsman tools are paid for (even had a guy give me a bunch of tools he was ready to pitch!) and still do the job. Love the bubble levels on the drills...why don't other makers do that?

They make an adaptor to use 20v dewalt Li batteries on craftsman 19.2 volt tools..
I think I got one from Ebay for jm.
It took about a month to get it, slow boat from China..


Dewalt 20v is my go to universal battery. I get adapters and use it on many different brands of tools.

I've also made adapters for off brand tools for Indiana Wilson, AKA Wild Bill..

As stated before, the Sears lithium battery charger also charges ni-cads quickly.

If your 19.2 tools are adequate for your needs, give a lithium battery a try. Even the $30 knock-off lithium batteries are head and shoulder above any new ni-cads. Watch the amp-hour ratings on the batteries and discount the ratings of the knock-offs.

Good used Craftsman 19.2 tools sell cheap, often around $50 for 3 to 6 assorted tools with some bad batteries.

If you need to upgrade anyway them pick a family of modern tools and replace your old ones. For an expensive tool that your only rarely use, hang on to the 19.2 version or buy a used one cheap and add a new lithium battery to power it may be cheaper than buying a new tool.

I, too, have a couple of Craftsman 19.2 V tools. I have the original Ni Cad battery and 3 LI batteries and strongly agree with the previous posters that advise you to upgrade to LI batteries. You will wonder why you did not do this years ago.

FWIW: The original charger that I bought with my first tool charges only the Ni Cad batteries. Subsequently, I bought a LI battery with charger that charges both. If your charger is early, you may need to upgrade it as well.

Likewise Im going to upgrade/convert all my old 19 Volt to 20 Volt Lithium. You can find alllllllll the adapters you ever need on Flea Bay or Amazon cheap n easy peasey. FWIW not much really I have watched a ton of reviews on You Tube and elsewhere testing and rating the many different makes brands n models of replacement battery packs and Waitley seems to be one decent choice other than the name brands. I have a lot of DeWalt but if I were to start all over Id go with Milwaukee.

John T MY experience and MY opinion only....

When was the last time any of you got a pack rebuilt for $30? Batteries Plus charges you $30 to walk in the door these days.

I feel there is NO advantage to throwing good money after bad on NiCd technology these days. Lithium all the way.

You'll get another year out of a rebuilt NiCd pack. Then you're back to dead battery packs when you need to use them.

Even the cheapest no-name lithium packs are far and away better than the best factory NiCds.

I had Ni-Cad batteries (19.2)that would not last, either using them of sitting 0n the shelf. I ordered replacements and got Vanon Batteries for very little more than the Ni-Cads.They are NI-MH and are very strong, last long and don't go dead sitting on the shelf. Do not require a different charger. They act like my lithium-ion batteries. Leave them on the shelf for weeks and it only takes five minutes to top them off.