Rebuilt cordless batteries

B

Bob McCarty

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Staff member
I had breakfast with a friend who had several 12 V cordless drill batteries rebuilt at the Interstate Battery store. The cost was 1/2 of what a new one would be and he claims that the new batteries last longer and have more power than the OEM's. They open the case and replace the dead ones. I didn't know that this could be done.

Bob
 
You can rebuild some of the NiCad or NiMH yourself but I think the lithium-ion batteries are different and need to go to a shop. Rebuilds are available on ebay but I think I would trust a reputable rebuilder such as Interstate
 
Before rebuilding your weak batteries, contact the manufacturer to see if the batteries might be on a recall list. I have had (2) 14 volt and (2) 18 volt replaced by Milwaukee free of charge. In fact the shipping was paid for by Milwaukee too.

Knowing which batteries were on the recall list got me a great deal on a 18 volt Milwaukee Sawzall at a garage sale. The Sawzall was being sold because the batteries were no good and the cost of replacing the batteries was near the price of a complete new saw. I got the saw for $15 and contacted Milwaukee with the serial numbers of the batteries. They were on the recall list. Milwaukee sent me a package to mail the batteries back in and promptly sent me 2 new batteries. :{_}: :{_}:
 
Rick:

I like that.

I am hoping for the DeWalt Drill and Driver deal for Christmas. Been considering the Milwaukee as well. I like Milwaukee corded tools and think they are equally as good as the DeWalt pro line. I am hoping that the cordless ones are the same :)
 
I had a pair of 18 volt Skil batteries rebuilt by Interstate about 4 or so years ago. They cost almost as much as new ones, and only lasted about 6 months. i was not happy.
 
Don't know if my experience was typical, or not. I had a 14 volt Craftsman rebuilt by a local company that specializes in batteries, of all kinds. Batteries is all they do. My end result parallels John's. I was not a happy camper and have not been back.
 
I have had several batteries rebuilt at school lately, I will say I will just go buy new one for now on, the rebuilds are about $3 per volt from Interstate here. I find them on line for cheaper new, so I go that route now.
 
18 volt DeWalt rebuilt batteries. Purchased/exchanged a couple of batteries from a "rebuilder' for a bit less than the cost of new batteries at the store. I won't do that again. Results were less than satisfactory.
 
I've never had any batteries rebuilt, I've heard too many negative results like the others here have mentioned. I have several 18V Dewalt tools and I try to buy one new battery every year. I can usually find them for about $50 each for the XRP's. The two batteries that came with my first Dewalt drill, 9 yrs. ago, have just recently expired. I feel they have served me very well. I do love my Dewalt cordless tools!
 
Gary Dotson":1qarze2q said:
I've never had any batteries rebuilt, I've heard too many negative results like the others here have mentioned. I have several 18V Dewalt tools and I try to buy one new battery every year. I can usually find them for about $50 each for the XRP's. The two batteries that came with my first Dewalt drill, 9 yrs. ago, have just recently expired. I feel they have served me very well. I do love my Dewalt cordless tools!
Click to expand...

I use Dewalt in my shop as well and have always been pleased with the performance (even though it is a glorified B&D), nowadays if you shop at the right time, an 18V drill w/ two batteries can be bought for $99, they sell the individual batteries for $70-$80 each around here.
 
[/quote]I use Dewalt in my shop as well and have always been pleased with the performance (even though it is a glorified B&D), nowadays if you shop at the right time, an 18V drill w/ two batteries can be bought for $99, they sell the individual batteries for $70-$80 each around here.[/quote]

For that very reason, you can buy used battery powered equipment (without the batteries) on e-bay, cheap. If you've got batteries at home, sometimes you can pick up other tools cheaply.
 
I use nicads in my R/C aircraft, these are basically the same as used in cordless equipment. The difference is in the number of cells and capacity. Because so much is at stake in a flight session, we monitor and cycle batteries in the off-season. (now) I use a cycler which discharges and recharges at the rate selected. You may have to fully discharge and recharge several times to develop rated capacity. I would try it before giving up on the rebuilt battery packs. The worst thing is lack of use. You may want to look inside the case to see if the rebuilder replaced with the same capacity cells.
Just my 2 cents worth...
 
I've even re-purposed drill batteries which are sub-c size for use in my starter pack. Disassembly and checking with a volt meter will usually indicate dead cells.
Nickel metal hydride and Lipo's are the coming things, but require different charging equipment, and caution. I haven't needed to convert anything yet, but Nicads are on their way out, so I've been told. Sorry to ramble..
 
Years ago I got the 5 tool 18V DeWalt kit. Love it but the batteries seem to expire at 3 years. I have been buying 'reman' kits with batteries, chargers, case etc. Sometimes cheaper than the batteries and get a tool out of the deal. Love the big impact, surprising power! Last set I got was a lithium drill & impact driver set, $190 delivered. Toolking.com has some decent specials.
 
Something to think about. Most rebuilders only replace the bad cells in a battery. If the other cells test good they leave them alone. It's cheaper for the rebuilder that way. Just because the other cells test good does not mean they won't fail in a short period of time. You could have a bad rebuilt battery in a few weeks.

The same usually goes for rebuilt power tools. Some rebuilders only replace what is known to be bad. Something else could fail soon after it leaves their shop. A lot of rebuilt tools give good service long after a rebuild but always remember, you are still buying a used piece of equipment.
 
City Electric says they can get my DeWalt drill repaired and swap out old batteries for reman ones. Have not tried them yet. I have a 4 piece kit won fron Video Doc's fest. Bought two additional batteries. All batteries are numbered and rotated. First to flashlight,then to tool of choice, then back to flashlight unless discharged. If so, then fresh charge to flashlight. That way they all get regular use.
 
I have found that Amazon.com is a great place to get Dewalt batteries as well as most other Dewalt items including tools. If you have several batteries you can buy bare tools for a surprisingly low price.
 
Yes John, Amazon has some great deals. Tool King handles a lot of 'factory refurbished' stuff, essentially if the tool has been out of the package (like a return) it cannot be sold as new, so it gets checked out and sold as 'factory refurbished'. A few years back I got a cutoff tool (angle grinder) with 2 XRP batteries, case, charger and some wheels for $159. Cheaper than the batteries! Everything has the factory warranty and the only time I ever had an issue was the switch on a Bosch angle grinder broke the first time I used it, sent it off to get fixed (cost me the postage).
 
I have a couple of Milwaukee 14.4 volt tools. Their battery recall was in 2007 and I got 4 new ones-- happy day! One of those has now died. 2.4 Ah, or 2400 mAh. Some of the offerings on eBay are only 1.5 Ah. Would not run as long between recharges. Some are 2000 mAh, same problem. One seller claims 3000 mAh with one year warranty. Feedback must be posted within 90 days (?) so a bad experience a few months later would not and could not be posted.
Lots of unsatisfactory experiences posted here. And Amazon sells the new for $75.00- which is not very satisfactory for me.
 
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