DeWalt 12 volt drill

[Dave Fritz]

I'm wondering if the new lithium ion battery fits on an older DeWalt 12 volt NiCad unit?

May be time to step up to a 20 volt outfit.

Dave Fritz

[Chris Hachet]

Really I have had horrible luck with Dewalt Drills. YMMV, but getting rid of them got rid of a lot of frustration for me.

[Rich Engelhardt]

DeWalt makes a special 18V LiIon battery to retrofit the older NiCad tools.
You'll need a new charger also.
The Dewalt model number is DC9180C for a charger & battery and it runs about $140.00

In all honesty, I planned on doing just that - getting LiIon & a new charger for my 18V DeWalt drill, but, the deal Home Depot had this past weekend on the 12V LiIon Milwaukee drill and impact driver set for $99 made me rethink that.


Drat - never mind, I should have read your post closer - I read 12 V, but, had 18V on the brain. Sorry.

[Prashun Patel]

The price of retrofitting will likely be nominally less than a new drill.
In fact, HD has the Dewalt 20v drill on sale with 2 LiIon bats for $99 right now. I can't figure out why it's so cheap vs their other 20v set @ $199.

[Ed Labadie]

The price of retrofitting will likely be nominally less than a new drill.
In fact, HD has the Dewalt 20v drill on sale with 2 LiIon bats for $99 right now. I can't figure out why it's so cheap vs their other 20v set @ $199.

It's an entry level "homeowner" model....also packaged with small batteries to achieve a low price point.

2 speed transmission, the better one has 3 speeds (and a metal gearcase), the chuck looks to be non-ratcheting also.

Ed

[Mike Henderson]

DeWalt makes a special 18V LiIon battery to retrofit the older NiCad tools.
You'll need a new charger also.
The Dewalt model number is DC9180C for a charger & battery and it runs about $140.00

In all honesty, I planned on doing just that - getting LiIon & a new charger for my 18V DeWalt drill, but, the deal Home Depot had this past weekend on the 12V LiIon Milwaukee drill and impact driver set for $99 made me rethink that.


Drat - never mind, I should have read your post closer - I read 12 V, but, had 18V on the brain. Sorry.
Bit of a hijack, but I looked at the same thing - converting my 18V NiCad to Li ion but came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper in the long run to buy the 20V tools. While the 18V tools work fine, they've made some improvements in the new tools that are desirable. For example, my 18V reciprocating saw uses an Allan wrench to change blades and the new one has a lever.

And the conversion batteries are very expensive and I'd have to buy a new charger.

Mike

[Dave Fritz]

Picked one up today at Home Depot. I don't use one everyday so it will be just fine.

That's the end of NiCad in my shop.

Dave Fritz