Battery powered drill

[Tom L.]

I have a Dewalt 18 volt drill. It is about 12 years old and the battery packs (2) are getting weak one is exhausted. Two new batteries cost almost as much as a new drill with 2 batteries and charger.

First any one know of a place to get replacement batteries economically.

Second  Harbor Freight has a 1/2" 18 volt cordless on sale for $40.00 with one Battery and the second is around $19.00 Making a replacement for the Dewalt about $60.00.

Finally,can anybody recommend this Chicago Electric drill from Harbor Freight.

Tom L.

[wes]

Chicago Electric is HF's house brand. China Electric would be more accurate. I would never buy a power tool from HF unless I intended to use it for one project and then throw it away. But that's just me.

Wes

[Tom L.]

You are right HF tools and most of their products are made in China. I don't share your scepticism. I think a lot of people think of them as we use to think of Japanese cars. That of course has changed.

My experience has generally been good with the HF  Chinese made products. I have built a trailer from them. It was assembled and put to use in 2009. It has made at least ten 900 mile trips plus many local projects. It is my Pick-up truck replacement. I also have a variable speed polisher that has about 2 years of light use but it has been very reliable. I recently replaced my boat battery with a jump start battery from HF. I use very little power on my Sun Cat. It is new so I don't have enough time to know if it will last.

Having said all that what I want is to get replacement Batteries for my Dewalt drill. But if a HF drill is 1/2 the cost...

Tom L.

[Bob23]

  I'm a professional building contractor and when it comes to cordless tools, it's Makita all the way. I don't mind spending the $ on tools that last while being used all day, every day. We even dropped a Makita cordless impact into the bay while working on a bayfront project. While the battery dies immediately, the tool still worked after a fresh water rinse. Of course, after one of the guys dropped it in for the second time, it dies.
  However I do buy Harbor Freight when it's a small power tool that is kind of sacrificial. I work with a lot of cement board and that material is hard on tools. I'll buy HF with the 2 year replacement plan, use the tool and if it dies, so be it. I'd rather not expose my Makitas to cement board dust.

Bob23

[HeaveToo]

I share Bob23's idea.....HF tools are disposable tools.  If you won't use it much it will work okay.  If you end up using it a lot replace it with something good!

[Tom L.]

I agree that the HF tools are not as good as the high end tools but probably plenty good enough for our type of use.
What I was looking for is a reasonably priced replacement battery for my Dewalt but just the batteries are as much as a drill with batteries. So if I can't find reasonably priced batteries for my Dewault I will most likely go with a HF for less than half the price of just the dewault replacement batteries.

Tom L.

[Bob23]

I'm sure you've checked Amazon. I found inexpensive (relatively) Makita factory batteries there. Not Chinese knockoffs...the real deal. Gotta watch those online sellers. They'll give you a picture of the real deal but if you look closely, it's not.
Bob23

[hoddinr]

I've got the same drill, Tom.  If you find a good replacement, let me know please.

I've already replaced one of the batteries, but they were way high at Home DePot (DeWalt).  Didn't want to buy two, because as you say, there are some deals out there.

Also, the DeWalt 18 Volt drills like ours used Lead Acid batteries that take a long time to recharge.  Some of the new lighter Lithium batteries would charge faster and probably last longer.

Ron

[Tom L.]

Yes Ron There are some deals. I think last month Ace was offering the same drill with two Batteries and a charger for $89.00 But I hate to just pitch the old drill motor. I guess I would just keep it in case the newest one somehow got damaged. But at the end of the day it just frosts me to think I have to buy a hole drill kit and can't just buy two batteries for less. I will keep looking until this last battery dies or I buy the HF drill.

Tom L.

[Allure2sail]

Hi Guys:
Went through the same scenario with a Rigid drill (which is the Home Depot house brand) The batteries would not take a charge and they stop selling replacement batteries. The batteries were supposed to have a lifetime warranty. But because they don't carry them anymore I cannot get them replaced. I will never buy a Home Depot or Lowe's house brand again. I ended up getting a Milwaukee unit instead. Built like a tank and priced accordingly LOL. Still a great product and for me worth the extra bucks....my two cents worth !!!
Bruce
S/V Allure

[hoddinr]

Bruce,

Did your Milwaukee drill have Lithium Batteries?  I bought a little screw driver/nut driver with lithium batteries, and it's fantastic!  Forget the brand.

Ron

[Bob23]

Just remembered: I got an el cheapo Ryobi at Home Depot with lithium ion batteries. I keep it in my shop so it's lightly used. Don't remember the price but it was a drill/impact combo with 2 batteries. 100 clams comes to mind. It does, however, have the smaller of Ryobis batteries. Still it works ok.
Bob23

[brackish]

The Cheap HF unit is a NiCad unit.  You are throwing your money in a hole with that.  Whatever you get make sure it is Lithium Ion.  The difference is dramatic.  I have a half dozen very good Porter Cable tools, some drivers and portable saws of different types.  While the tools are fine, all the NiCad batteries are gone. I was going to rebuild the batteries, bought some cells to try one, found out it is very difficult and gave up.  I bought a relatively cheap ($59) B & D 20V max Lithium Ion driver to tide me over until I got the rebuild done.  I like that thing so much I am going to pitch all the PC tools and the battery rebuild stuff and never look back from the LI conversion.  Since then I've bought a hedge trimmer and weed trimmer that uses the same battery packs and I'm considering others.

Bottom line you can get a lot of tools that will suffice, but make sure you go with Lithium Ion.  The tool can sit around for months without losing charge and don't wind down like NiCad, they maintain design torque until they just shut down.

[capt_nemo]

Tom L.,

If you have a "Batteries Plus" Store nearby take the Dewalt battery pack to them and ask if they can rebuild it, and at what cost.

I saw our local shop putting what looked like a cordless tool battery pack together for a customer.

No promises but worth a try.

P.S. First HF cordless Drill I purchased a few years ago didn't work/charge very well. The smaller 18 volt HF Drill purchased as a replacement works quite well and I'm very satisfied with it. I use my drills a lot, drilling holes and driving screws in building small boats.

capt_nemo

[Tom L.]

Capt_Nemo,

Thanks for the info. The HF drill I am looking at is has a 1/2" chuck. I am only looking at the picture so I don't know physically how big it is but it seems very similar to the Dewalt 18V drill. 

The one I am considering is on sale for $40.00 and includes one battery and the charger. Do you think it is the model that you have had good results with.  Basically that is almost less expensive than one Dewalt battery. A Second HF battery is $20.00. So I am thinking just do the HF drill. BTW my Dewalt is 9 years old and the forward/reverse switch is giving me trouble. Another reason to by a new drill, not just batteries. It would be my luck the switch would stop working altogether.

I use the drill for a lot of work around the house,boat and RV. I used it to raise and lower the jack screws on our travel trailer.

Tom L.