cordless drill question - future of NiCads

[Bruce Haugen]

Hiyall,
I'm pondering a replacement cordless drill. My old 9.6 has bit the dust after 15 years of faithful service, and the drill itself is fine, but the charger is unique and no longer available.

I'm heading down the path of a 12 - 14 V cordless, but these seem to be all NiCads, and the future of cordless tools seems to be NiMh or Lithium. Am I missing something here? When I need to replace those NiCads, will there likely be support or am I building a mountain where only a molehill now exists?

I would really like Makita to produce a 12V lithium drill, but they don't so... Is the 18V Makita drill overkill for home shop use?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Bruce

[Steve knight]

NiCads are pretty much history in all but low end tools. lithium for most people will only give you less weight and less battery drainage if you don't use the tool often. the makita 18c li on is a great drill it has a nice high rpm and works pretty well. but you won't get as long of life out of the batteries then you did. Li on cells have a limited number of full charges.

[Donnie Folangelo]

FWIW

I still prefer corded tools. There are some really compact items out there that provide the added(when needed) power one can use from time to time...or more often then not.

[Kyle Kraft]

Regardless of what the future popular choice of battery is, Nicads will probably still be around for a long time. You can have your Nicads rebuilt...I just had my 7 year old DeWalt's cells replaced. I had the choice of Nicads or Nimh and I went with the Nicads because it's "old technology that works".

[Todd Jensen]

I've got the Makita 18v Li-ion 1/2" drill and impact driver. They are the favorite set I've owned. I do some pretty delicate work with both of them, and their light weight and sensitive triggers make them very easy to control. I have a 1/2" Bosch corded that sits in a dusty drawer; its just overkill for anything I do in its bulk and power. I've also noticed outstanding battery life between charges with these drills. I don't know what the numbers are as far as how many less full charges these batteries will take, but it seems I'm charging them a good third to half less than my old Makita Ni-cads. JMO.:) Good luck with your decision and have fun with your new toy.

[jason lambert]

All I have to say is 15 year out of a drill, impressive.... And the battery still held a charge? Anyhow depends what you want to spend the festool is my favorite, 12v tork of a 18v, light, small, different chucks so it is more versitle than most drills, down side is cost but with the right angle chuck it is still cheaper than buying 2 drills.

I also have a DeWalt 14.4 and it is ok but it is the drill i use the most.

[Mike Vermeil]

For me, NiMh was a big step up from NiCd. The only drawback has been the discharge associated with periods of non-use. Even with that, I can't imagine I'd ever want to go back.

[Randal Stevenson]

When I replaced my two 9.6 Makita's this year, I was looking at a various range of tools. There are times when I would have liked a little more oomph, but that was probably due to the age of the batteries. I wasn't ready for the price of Lithium Ion or its weight (most available around me was 18v), but I knocked my choices down to two (as a couple years ago I picked up a Ridgid impact driver to extend my drills lifespan). The White Makita (Li) at the borg, or the Panasonic 15.6 (NiMH). I went with the Panasonic due to longer amp hour batteries and costs were close, as I don't think the lithium one would benefit me nearly as much as the longer charge.

Now it has a decent balance and size, but even my Makita seemed large at times, so I am also looking at the Bosch pocket driver series 10.8 Li (PS20). It doesn't have a regular chuck (my issue with it), but you can get a smaller chuck to go in it (can't use larger bits) and from watching others I know have them, it has become the go to drill.
Anything larger then my 15.6 and I tend to switch to one of my corded drills.

[William Nimmo]

panasonic twin pack 14.4 volt lithium ion , drill and impact gun
LOVE THEM!!!

[David G Baker]

Bruce,
If your drill is still functioning and you still want to use it with out upgrading, do an Ebay search. I find that there are always many types of chargers listed on their site, it may take a while to find what you are looking for.
You didn't list the make and model of your drill, it as has been written in this thread that the old style of batteries are obsolete, maybe someone on SMC has a charger they would be willing to part with that will take care of your problem.

[Bruce Haugen]

Jason says: All I have to say is 15 year out of a drill, impressive.... And the battery still held a charge?

The drill is great! B&D Industrial, the last model made before they came out with the Dewalt line, but I've replaced the batteries with PrimeCell.

Bruce

[Bruce Haugen]

David,
the drill is a B&D Univolt Industrial. B&D has chargers for every other battery pack and drill but not the Univolt. They are not repairable and B&D hasn't made replacements for 5 years.

My first charger crapped out 3 years ago, and I replaced it with one I got on Ebay. That has now gone kaput, and I've looked for a long time and can't find that Univolt charger. It really irks me because this drill is so good. I can twist off 3" deck screws with it, and how much more power I need is beyond me.

Bruce

[Randy Denby]

Actually, li-ion last longer than the others from what I've read....by at least 25%. Also,Say the battery is rated at 1000 full charges then , if you re-charge the battery at 1/2 empty, it will only count as a 1/2 of a charge. Your not shortening the total full charges any by doing this. As well, the battery doesnt sit on the shelf draining down, so that also lessens the charges over the life of the battery

[rich murray]

here's another vote for the makita 18v LI. have had one for a year and no complaints. would not call it overkill in my two-car garage shop. comes to hand nicely and batteries charge in less than 30 min.

[Jamie Smith]

NiCads do appear to be dwindling, but I think that they will be with us for awhile.

I just picked up three 18v niCad cordless drills from home depot. They were on clearance-- each with a charger, bag, and two batteries- I think it was this one:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/18-Volt-Cordless-12-Drill-Kit/EN/index.htm

They were about the same price as the batteries alone.

These support lithium-ion batteries that come with the new tools, so if the nicads die on me, I can move to them w/out having to replace the tools (unless it is another deal!)

[Hank Knight]

Bruce,

I have a 15 year old Ni Cad 12V Panasonic. I've bought one new battery for it in those 12 years and it's still going strong. Last year I bought a 12V Panasonic impact driver. The batteries for it are NiMH. One of the unexpected advantages of the new impact driver is that the 12V NiMH batteries work just fine in my old drill. Moreover the charger for the new impact driver works with my old NiCad battery. I've thought about getting the old 12V NiCad rebuilt with NiMH batteries, but there is no need at this point since I can swap them out with my impact driver.

My point is that as long as the interface between the drill and the battery is the same, the voltage is the same and you have a charger that works, it doesn't matter what kind of battery supplies the power. Moreover, when the old batteries die, you can have replaced (rebuilt) with the new battery technology. I wouldn't worry too much about your drill becoming obsolete as long as you buy a good one to start with.

My $.02

Hank

[Bill Brady]

I have 2 14.4 volt Craftsman, cost was about $45 apiece. These work very well in the shop and are light weight enough to make them easy to use. I also just bought a 19.2 Craftsman, this will run a forever on a charge but the weight difference is anoying when assembling projects.

[Rick Christopherson]

A lot of this battery discussion is Marketing Hype so manufacturers can convince you to buy their newest tool. Li-Ion batteries have their greatest advantage in low-drain devices and will last longer per cell, but when it comes to high-draw devices, the NiCd battery still has the highest available amperage drain. I believe that Li-Ion batteries have a lower self-drain shelf life, but this is only applicable if the tool sits without being used.

A lot of people get confused about charge density with batteries, but this is one of the primary aspects that differentiate one from another. When people see that a NiMH or Li-on battery has a higher charge density, they assume it means that it will give them more power. This is not totally accurate. It means that they will deliver the same power, but weigh less, or be more compact. This is a benefit, just don't confuse it to say they will give you more power. They will give you the same power, but just not weigh as much. Yes, it is possible that a manufacturer could take advantage of this higher charge density and give you a more powerful battery, but to date, I have not seen this actually taking place. That's because the cost would be even higher than what it already is for the other battery types.

[Chris Parks]

Brushless anything, battery type is then largely irrelevant. Brushless motors mean light weight and compact tool size.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'm more of a corded tool person. Reason, I fail to remember to charge the spare battery and the current one I'm using runs down at a most inopertune time.

That being said I bought a couple of years ago a Makita 14v IIRC NiMH set. Only complaint.....they do run down over time without being used and the old guy operating them forgets to charge the spare.