Sick of Cordless Power Tool Battery Technology Changes?

[D from BC]

Ever need to replace that 12V battery in that old cordless tool?
Then toss it in the garbage because the new 18v tools make the 12V
tools seem dated.

I propose a new product to save all cordless tools from the switcheroo
incompatible non-cross battery game.

It's a power supply with various settings..but here's the cool
thing....
It comes with cheap set of adapters that fit all popular power tools
such as Black and Decker, Mikita, Ryobi etc..
No batteries...it just turns the cordless tool into a corded.

Benefits
Unit is probably cheaper than a replacement battery or spare battery.
Fits many tools...Perhaps includes a hack kit.
Use the power supply if you run out of charged batteries.
Use the power supply with cheap flea market power tools with dead or
missing batteries.
D from BC

 

[krw]

Ever need to replace that 12V battery in that old cordless tool?
Then toss it in the garbage because the new 18v tools make the 12V
tools seem dated.

I propose a new product to save all cordless tools from the switcheroo
incompatible non-cross battery game.

It's a power supply with various settings..but here's the cool
thing....
It comes with cheap set of adapters that fit all popular power tools
such as Black and Decker, Mikita, Ryobi etc..
No batteries...it just turns the cordless tool into a corded.

Why? Corded tools cost 1/5 what cordless tools do. There is a
REASON I spend the money.

Benefits
Unit is probably cheaper than a replacement battery or spare battery.

Rebuilding batteries is much cheaper than buying replacements. I
just sent a 14.4V Porter Cable batter in for rebuild; $35.

Fits many tools...Perhaps includes a hack kit.

Have you actually looked at the connector on the tools?

Use the power supply if you run out of charged batteries.

All sane people have at least two batteries.

Use the power supply with cheap flea market power tools with dead or
missing batteries.

Not going to sell.

 

[D from BC]

Why? Corded tools cost 1/5 what cordless tools do. There is a
REASON I spend the money.

Rebuilding batteries is much cheaper than buying replacements. I
just sent a 14.4V Porter Cable batter in for rebuild; $35.


Have you actually looked at the connector on the tools?


All sane people have at least two batteries.


Not going to sell.

I haven't worked out all the details but I really think its possible.
Give it some time..Somebody will probably start making this and
selling it on Ebay..

I already have a cordless rotary tool, cordless drill and a cordless
screwdriver...Well they're not cordless anymore.. They all have cords
and plug into a variable power supply.
Why...all these tools are old and have dead batteries.
The battery replacement is a pita..

Now I have:
No charging
No swapping batteries
No dumbass chargers cooking the batteries
No battery babysitting
No out of power interruptions
And the tools are lighter!

It's wonderful!
D from BC

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

Why? Corded tools cost 1/5 what cordless tools do. There is a
REASON I spend the money.

Rebuilding batteries is much cheaper than buying replacements. I
just sent a 14.4V Porter Cable batter in for rebuild; $35.

I've saved some spent Milwaukee 18V battery packs. They are nothing more
than standard C size NiCads strapped together in series. That would be a
do-it-yourself rebuild, except I think the shops that do it get a better
price than I can on cells.

Have you actually looked at the connector on the tools?


All sane people have at least two batteries.

Yep. And I've got spares for my power tools as well. ;-)

 

[(David P.)]

We tossed all the names into a hat and the first one
we pulled out was a Dr. Eric R. Pianka.

==========

Pianka warned of the population bomb, and Mims
claims he presented no evidence whatsoever.
Industrialization itself levels out population trends and
even despite this world population models routinely
show that the earth's population will level out at 9 billion
in 2050 and slowly decline after that.

Then it'll be 50% more crowded than it is now.
Will you and your ilk step forward and invite people
from 3rd world countries to move into your neigh-
borhoods until they're 50% more crowded than they
are now? We somehow doubt it!

If Pianka is so vehement in the necessity of
culling the human population will he step forward
to be the first one in line? Will he sacrifice his
children for the so-called greater good of the planet?
We somehow doubt it.
Will the students who so enthusiastically greeted
his ideas go home and kill themselves for the
cause if it is so righteous?

See above, argument loser!
..
..
--

 

[Ross Herbert]

I haven't worked out all the details but I really think its possible.
Give it some time..Somebody will probably start making this and
selling it on Ebay..

I already have a cordless rotary tool, cordless drill and a cordless
screwdriver...Well they're not cordless anymore.. They all have cords
and plug into a variable power supply.
Why...all these tools are old and have dead batteries.
The battery replacement is a pita..

Now I have:
No charging
No swapping batteries
No dumbass chargers cooking the batteries
No battery babysitting
No out of power interruptions
And the tools are lighter!

It's wonderful!
D from BC

All you are saying is that you are "recycling" your old battery
powered tools because you can't afford, or can't be bothered replacing
the battery. While this is admirable, it does sort of negate the whole
reason for buying a battery powwered tool in the first place. ie, to
avoid having to drag a power cord around wherever the tool is used.
Your solution not only re-imposes that condition but it also adds an
additional piece of hardware - the power supply unit. Now you have to
drag around the cord and the power supply as well. Also, in order to
avoid dramatic power loss, the cord from the power supply to the tool
must be less than about 2 metres in length which means that you may
have to perch your PSU on a ladder when drilling at ceiling height
above the floor or, where the length of cord won't allow sufficient
reach. Hardly a safety concious approach...

 

[Jasen]

Now I have:
No charging
No swapping batteries
No dumbass chargers cooking the batteries
No battery babysitting
No out of power interruptions
And the tools are lighter!

a mains powered tool will typically work much better than the battery one.
eg 1200RPM from 0.25" a battery drill and 8000RPM from a 0.25" corded drill,
and yeah the corded drill does drill holes 6 times easier.

Bye.
Jasen

 

[krw]

I've saved some spent Milwaukee 18V battery packs. They are nothing more
than standard C size NiCads strapped together in series. That would be a
do-it-yourself rebuild, except I think the shops that do it get a better
price than I can on cells.

I'm hoping they are better at opening and resealing the case than I
could be, as well.

Yep. And I've got spares for my power tools as well. ;-)

I've got spare power tools for my power tools. ;-)

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

I'm hoping they are better at opening and resealing the case than I
could be, as well.

My Milwaukee packs are closed with half a dozen screws. Opening and
resealing them is so simple I think they may have designed them with
rebuilding in mind. Something to look for when selecting a brand of
tools?

 

[krw]

My Milwaukee packs are closed with half a dozen screws. Opening and
resealing them is so simple I think they may have designed them with
rebuilding in mind. Something to look for when selecting a brand of
tools?

It is, now that I know such a thing exists. Another useful feature
I'll be looking for next time is easily replaced (accessible without
opening the case) brushes.

 

[joseph2k]

All you are saying is that you are "recycling" your old battery
powered tools because you can't afford, or can't be bothered replacing
the battery. While this is admirable, it does sort of negate the whole
reason for buying a battery powwered tool in the first place. ie, to
avoid having to drag a power cord around wherever the tool is used.
Your solution not only re-imposes that condition but it also adds an
additional piece of hardware - the power supply unit. Now you have to
drag around the cord and the power supply as well. Also, in order to
avoid dramatic power loss, the cord from the power supply to the tool
must be less than about 2 metres in length which means that you may
have to perch your PSU on a ladder when drilling at ceiling height
above the floor or, where the length of cord won't allow sufficient
reach. Hardly a safety concious approach...

Can't speak about your power tools but the batteries in my battery operated
tools cannot be charged while in the tool. They have to be removed to be
charged.

 

[krw]

Can't speak about your power tools but the batteries in my battery operated
tools cannot be charged while in the tool. They have to be removed to be
charged.

The OP's proposed power tool has no batteries (anymore) thus they
aren't being charged. ;-)

 

[[email protected]]

On Jun 11, 9:47 pm, D from BC

Now I have:
No charging
No swapping batteries
No dumbass chargers cooking the batteries
No battery babysitting
No out of power interruptions
And the tools are lighter!

It's wonderful!
D from BC- Hide quoted text -

I never understood the attraction of cordless tools for an homeowner,
for all the above reasons, so I never considered buying them in the
first place. Cordless electric shavers are even a bigger mystery to
me.

I do have a cordless weedwacker, your moving over a large distance
outside very quickly, now that makes sense to be cordless (or gas
powered), but a cordless shaver?
Maybe they should market a gas powered shaver too, just as useless....

 

[Phil Allison]

<[email protected]

I never understood the attraction of cordless tools for an homeowner,
for all the above reasons, so I never considered buying them in the
first place.

** A cordless, electric screwdriver is very convenient - never any need
for long extension cables.

Cordless electric shavers are even a bigger mystery to me.

** They are electrically safe even when wet, you can shave anywhere in or
out of the house.



....... Phil

 

[Joel Kolstad]

I never understood the attraction of cordless tools for an homeowner,
for all the above reasons, so I never considered buying them in the
first place. Cordless electric shavers are even a bigger mystery to
me.

You might try a few cordless tools yourself and find that you like them. They
really are more convenient than getting a cord out any time you're going to
need to be drilling/cutting/etc...

Cordless electric shavers are nice in that there isn't a cord that tries to
sweep other items on your vanity off onto the floor , you can wander around
the house to get back to watching the news, starting the coffee, etc.

For professional carpenters, I think you could perform a time-in-motion study
and demonstrate that cordless tools increase productivity more than enough to
offset the increased price.

Maybe they should market a gas powered shaver too, just as useless....

http://www.gasblender.com/detailed.htm

Remember the old wind-up shavers?

 

[D from BC]

You might try a few cordless tools yourself and find that you like them. They
really are more convenient than getting a cord out any time you're going to
need to be drilling/cutting/etc...

Cordless electric shavers are nice in that there isn't a cord that tries to
sweep other items on your vanity off onto the floor , you can wander around
the house to get back to watching the news, starting the coffee, etc.

For professional carpenters, I think you could perform a time-in-motion study
and demonstrate that cordless tools increase productivity more than enough to
offset the increased price.


http://www.gasblender.com/detailed.htm

Remember the old wind-up shavers?

http://repair-place.com/page2/3505~Do_the_pros_really_use_Cordless_Tools.html

I'm not totally against cordless tools..
I'm just picking on the batteries.

How about a tool battery pack with easy to change size C NiMH or NiCd
cells?
Over the years there's been model changes, multiple cordless tool
makers and battery voltage changes.

I did a quick search..
Makita 6935 14.4V volt lithium ion
Bosch PS20-2 10.8Volt
Dewalt DC759 18Volt
Panasonic EY6432 15.6Volt
Dewalt DCX640 Lith Ion 36Volt
Black and Decker XD1200 12Volt
Dewalt DW920K-2 7.2Volt

Someday I'm going to see all these tools in a flea for cheap because
the owners tossed away the tools to switch to other voltages.

This is why I thought of making a variable power supply to bring these
batteryless tools back to life.

I've installed power jacks on 3 batteryless cordless tools.. Works
great!
D from BC

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Hi D,

I'm not totally against cordless tools..
I'm just picking on the batteries.

I think your idea of a universal battery adapter for cordless power tools
would sell, although it's not clear to me if it would be in such quantities
that you'd be able to make any money at it. The tools almost always comes
with batteries, so you're looking at the battery replacement market. Folks
like DeWalt do charge enough for batteries (often $50-$100) that people will
seek out alternatives, but the big stores like Home Depot already address that
concern with their own Ryobi line of tools that uses cheap ($30?) batteries
with the tools costing less to begin with as well.

There *are* a handful of universal *chargers*, where you use different inserts
(or they have a quite convoluted multi-purpose mold custom made) to match up
the battery you want to charge.

Someday I'm going to see all these tools in a flea for cheap because
the owners tossed away the tools to switch to other voltages.

For stuff like Black and Decker, yes. For the better quality stuff like
DeWalt (which is just high-end B&D these days), there's a thriving market on
eBay... and quite often people will comment on whether the batteries included
are pretty much dead, new, etc.

I've installed power jacks on 3 batteryless cordless tools.. Works
great!

There was one manufacturer... Skill, perhaps?... that had a line of cordless
tools where they included a battery-shaped "pack" with a power cord coming off
of it that would power the tool if your last charged battery was spent (i.e.,
the "pack" was actually a little switching power supply). Seemed like a good
idea, although I don't think it ever caught on.

---Joel

 

[Jim Yanik]

Hi D,



I think your idea of a universal battery adapter for cordless power
tools would sell, although it's not clear to me if it would be in such
quantities that you'd be able to make any money at it. The tools
almost always comes with batteries, so you're looking at the battery
replacement market. Folks like DeWalt do charge enough for batteries
(often $50-$100) that people will seek out alternatives, but the big
stores like Home Depot already address that concern with their own
Ryobi line of tools that uses cheap ($30?) batteries with the tools
costing less to begin with as well.

There *are* a handful of universal *chargers*, where you use different
inserts (or they have a quite convoluted multi-purpose mold custom
made) to match up the battery you want to charge.


For stuff like Black and Decker, yes. For the better quality stuff
like DeWalt (which is just high-end B&D these days), there's a
thriving market on eBay... and quite often people will comment on
whether the batteries included are pretty much dead, new, etc.


There was one manufacturer... Skill, perhaps?... that had a line of
cordless tools where they included a battery-shaped "pack" with a
power cord coming off of it that would power the tool if your last
charged battery was spent (i.e., the "pack" was actually a little
switching power supply). Seemed like a good idea, although I don't
think it ever caught on.

At one time,Hitachi also offered a hi-capacity belt-mounted battery pack
and a coiled-cord adapter to fit one of their drills.

---Joel

I would like to see cordless tool makers (or aftermarket) make Li-ion
battery packs and chargers for older tools that used NiCds or NiMH packs.
It seems that a 14.4 volt tool could run on either Li-ion (4 cells)or the
other chemistries,and I suspect my 9.6V Makita drill could run on a 10.8
volt Li-ion pack (3 cells)without problems.
18 volt Li-ion tools would use 5 cells.