cordless drill batteries

Get a cheap cord drill, and should you need portability borrow from a neighbor or friend, almost everyone has some kind of power tools.
 
Bigdaddyrooster said:
I use rigid cordless, they have replaced my battles for free.
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For home owner use, this is the best idea. Ridgid makes a decent tool and the batteries are free. For people who make a living with their tools, they are so-so, but I've seen them last quite a while in a gangbox.
 
How far away is your nearest tool rental place? sure it adds a logistical step to any major projects, but it means you get to use near new tools, no cost of storage, no cost of maintenance. a corded drill would handle most of what you need, if you need one. alternatively, wait until you can get a decent set on sale.
If you want cordless, Panasonic isn't a name you'd think of first for power tools, but they are one of the few OEM Li-ion battery mfgs, and so the best batteries go into their branded tools, and lesser grade ones go to others. so I've heard.
 
As someone who has used a drill daily for the past 10 odd years in an industrial fabrication / assembly environment I can say corded drills are an absolute PITA and I refuse to use them, I need the portability and accessibility of cordless tools, not to mention outlets aren't always an option in the field. I also need a torque clutch, drill brake and hammer setting which most corded tools do not have. People that bag on cordless are generally using cheap gear or don't know how to maintain the batteries.

I had a dewalt nicad set up with 3 batteries which I used for 5 years and sold to an apprentice in great condition, batteries still took a good charge. I have now upgraded to the Lithium Ion tools and batteries, they like to be kept/stored at 80-90% charge for the best life, if they get drained completely they are ruined but any decent battery will have an under voltage fail safe. You need to pay attention to the amp hour rating when choosing a battery also, not all batteries are created equal. You get what you pay for either way, you can get a great corded drill if you spend some good money but much better spent on cordless tools IMO.

Cordless brands I can vouch for with personal experience are dewalt, milwalkee, blue bosch. Most of the guys at work use makita's, they offer similar specs to dewalt and slightly cheaper, but we have lots of problems with the chucks not holding and the drill brakes failing, so I would not recommend them for industrial use.

But yeah for the OP who uses a drill a handfull of times a year around the house, a cheapo corded item is your most sensible option.
 
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I have all DeWalt 18V XRP stuff.

I have rebuilt the Nicd packs using cells purchased online, as well as using other brand tool batteries, and swapping in to my DeWalt case. The Ryobi 18V battery cells 'swap out' in a couple of minutes. Harbor Freight pack work well for donors too.

Keep the battery packs somewhere warm in the winter, and don't charge them if the temp is below 50 degrees. Also, if you aren't going to use the tool for a while, fully charge the battery and store it out of the tool. It will last longer.

I'm going to purchase a pair of Lithium Ion packs next time I need to replace, and start building up my supply. They last longer, and it make sense in the long run.
 
I have a DeWalt 14.4V that I got over 10 years ago. I really like its convenience over a corded drill, but I also still have a 3/8" Craftsman VSR that I bought 36 years ago. My DeWalt came with 2 batteries and both have worked fine, but when I tried to charge one of them last week the charger told me that the battery was bad. I'll look for a replacement battery but I'll probably take the battery apart and replace the inner cells myself.

I have a Ridgid 18V LiIon set that I bought a couple of years ago, a set with drill, impact driver and small reciprocating saw. The batteries only lasted a few weeks on those. Actually I think the design of the batteries is probably defective. LiIon batteries are sensitive to rapid discharge, too much discharge, too much charging, etc. The batteries or the chargers usually have protective circuits builtin so the batteries aren't damaged in use or during charging. My tools will run fine for a few seconds, then they will completely stop. Let the tool set for 5 or 10 seconds and it will run again. This is with no load, just holding the drill and pulling the trigger. With a load they run even less time. I've tried to find Ridgid replacement batteries but they are incredibly expensive, 2 replacement batteries will cost about what I paid for the whole kit. I can't bear to throw it all away and buy a new drill and driver but I may have to do that if I ever get back in the job market and have an income again.
 
I'm a new-product developer and so I get copied on all product recall notices in the US, Canada, and the EU. I've been getting these for many years.

I can only remember one recall for a corded drill. The design called for insulating, fire-resistant "paper" (it's called "Fish Paper," fire-resistant, insulating, something, something... I can't remember.). The Chinese contract manufacturer substituted ordinary card stock paper; it looks the same, but it's not. This little change bumped up the contract manufacturer's profit by a few cents per drill. But it also created a serious risk of both electric shock and fire. You really can't fault the design of the drill for this. And the recall notice noted that there had been no reported incidents.

But, I often see recalls for cordless drills and other tools, recalls involving serious risks of explosions, fires, and caustic/corrosive leakage. Many of these recalls list multiple incidents, even fatal incidents. Several of these have involved the risk that the battery can burst into flames while charging; if that happens while you're not home, you could come home to find that you have no home left. There have just been too many of these recalls. Many of these recalls have been for cheap brands or for off-brand replacement batteries. But all of the big names have had such recalls too. I'm just spooked off of cordless power tools, myself.

If you need 'em for your work, then take that risk. But for the average weekend DIYer homeowner, they are not worth the cost or the risk. And if you're such a homeowner and you've got some special project, maybe resurfacing your deck, which will go much easier with cordless tools, then take Mr. Gadgetgeek's sound advice: rent 'em for a few days.
 
The Ridgid batteries are part of their lifetime guarantee.

I'd ask your local Home Depot how you get warranty service.
 
Gollnick said:
maybe resurfacing your deck, which will go much easier with cordless tools
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In my experience it is the other way around. I built a new deck some years ago and used my old CORDED drill for it. This was a lot of screws to be put in place at one time in one place. It was worthwhile to string out the extension cord and do the work with the less convenient corded tool. It is relatively powerful and I didn't have to worry about batteries needing to be recharged.

When I use my cordless drill is when my wife decides she wants to install some blinds or when I want to do a quick home repair project or hobby project. I need to get the drill out, maybe drill 2 holes, and put it away. Yes I could plug in a cord in just a few minutes but it also makes the tool less easy to use. And in the average room in our house it is a major effort to get behind the furniture to find an outlet, and the short cord of my corded drill would always require an extension cord which is another item to find, bring into the house, unroll, plug in, use, unplug, roll back up, and take back into the garage. The cordless is so much easier to deal with, it is like an expensive luxury, that I'm happy to pay the price for its use.

I've watched car repair shows on TV and they sometimes use cordless tools there. I worked in a garage for a number of years and was used to using air tools for those jobs. An air tool is even less convenient than a corded tool because the hose is heavier and less flexible than a cord, but the tradeoff is that the air tool is usually very powerful.
 
Mike G said:
The Ridgid batteries are part of their lifetime guarantee.
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If this is correct (and I have no reason to doubt you), that would be very difficult for me to pass up. I'm investigating. Thanks. I appreciate all of the good input.

From the Ridgid website: "The Lifetime Service Agreement provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGID® Brand tools a lifetime of free replacement batteries, free service and free replacement parts . . . ."

For you guys who use these things regularly, is Ridgid a decent brand? Thanks.
 
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