Cordless Drill Question/Problem

[Matt Bridges]

I have a Black & Decker 18 Volt Firestorm cordless drill I bought about 4 years ago. My charger for the batteries seems to be going out, so tonight I went to price a new charger at the local Walmart. Well, it seems Black & Decker has completely changed their batteries and chargers to one that slides into place where mine, the old versions, pops up into the bottom of the drill. I've tried looking on-line without much luck to this point to find a charger that will charge my batteries. Do any of you know if they still sell the older style or am I basically stuck with a great drill that I paid a nice chunk of change for that I can't charge the batteries for? If I'm stuck, I am NOT a happy person.

Matt

[Wes Bischel]

Matt,
I'm going through the same situation with my Craftsman. Sears does sell a replacement charger for it, but I found a drill motor, two batteries and the better style charger on eBay for about the same price - "slightly used" :rolleyes: . It may be worth a try for your B&D. I'm surprised B&D doesn't have replacement parts. The other way to go would be to buy a new transformer for the charger (if that's what actually went) and install it.
No matter which way you go, I feel your frustration - when you've got a perfectly good drill motor and no economical way to get it going again - I also have an older unit that the batteries went bad on it. It costs so much to rebuild the batteries that I bought a new drill package on sale for a few buck more.

Good luck,
Wes

[Mark Singer]

Hi,
I have several fine cordless drills and the batteries don't charge anymore... The batteries cost more than the drill! Now I buy them at the woodworking shows and spend about $100 to $125 not more. I found the new Bosch are the best ,I have one thats 4 years old and I used the heck out of it. I buried a Panasonic and Porter Cable that were half as old! The new Bosch have a 3 year warranty. My favorite is the little 9.6 volt great power and not heavy.
Mark

[Ed Gray]

I looked on ebay and there are several of this type of charger on there. I have bought several tools from ebay sellers, just take a good look at their feedback before bidding.

Ed

[Steve Hepditch]

Matt,
B&D is owned by Dewalt, and the batteries/chargers will intermix. I also have an older firestorm. The charger that came with the firestorm died approximately 366 days after purchase (as all 1-year warranteed products are wont to do) so I was stuck. That was the same year that they changed to the sliding batteries you've described. I bought a Dewalt battery charger and it works perfectly well. In fact, it's a much better charger, and I'm pretty sure it has extended the life of the B&D batteries beyond what I could have expected.

On a side note, I picked up a new Rigid cordless over the holidays, taking advantage of their limited time warranty offer. Cordless drills purchased before Dec. 31 have a lifetime battery warranty, so when the batteries die/won't take a charge anymore (eventually they all do this, even the best drills) they will replace them at no charge. Cordless drills are turning into disposable commodities, but I'm counting on the BORG to live up to their printed word.

Finally, I was always under the impression that you should completely discharge batteries before recharging them - not true. It's been covered here before, but to make a long story short, you should put your battery in the charger as soon as it shows signs of depletion, and take it out when it is fully charged (to prevent overheating). Heat is the thing that kills these batteries the fastest. The same is true for cordless and cellphone batteries.

Steve

[Craig Honeysett]

Check in your yellow pages and see if you have a Dewalt / B & D service location near you also. I was in our local one a while back for the B&D drill recall and picked up a rapid charger for my drill very cheap. This was an official factory center, not someone who ia authorized to service the products.

[Matt Bridges]

Thank you all for all the information. I knew that DeWalt and Black & Decker were the same company and I was HOPING that their batteries and chargers could be interchanged, but I didn't know for sure. I tried calling their factory service center in Nashville, but of course they aren't open on Saturdays. Once again SMC is a life saver.

Thanks!

Matt