# old power tool battery chargers?



## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

Had anyone found practical uses for old out dated chargers? Since the battery or say a drill is no longer available.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Hope someone comes up with some ideas. I have quite a few along with the tools themselves. Batteries are not any good and cannot be replaced.
Seems like a waste to not find a use for them.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

find some poor guy that has tools that need them.
I have 2 tools at the moment that I need chargers for but am unable to get with the move to the new style batteries.

A Bosch 18V and a Workforce 18V


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

Been quite awhile, but I went to pick up two new batteries for for my old 12V DeWalt cordless drill at Lowes and asked one of the clerks where their cordless drill batteries were. "You don't want to do that!" Seems I could buy a brand new drill with two batteries, charger and case for _less_ than the price of two new batteries. IDK if that's still the way it is, but there's just something totally wrong with that.

So I still have a brand new 12V DeWalt cordless drill in a new case with a new charger sans batteries. I wish I could find an organization to donate it to. Hate seeing a good drill go to waste.


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

i keep all old chargers and just change the adapter when i find the same volts............also you can wire up the old drill to a cord and plug into a battery jump pack or cigarette lighter hole and use the drills anyway...someone i saw somewhere on the net said he used same approach from 9volts to 18 volts........


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

I am an amateur archaeologist & quite often have very rusty objects that need to undergo electrolysis. You can easily make one from one of the adapters.


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## Nica (Oct 3, 2009)

Esteban29304 said:


> I am an amateur archaeologist & quite often have very rusty objects that need to undergo electrolysis. You can easily make one from one of the adapters.


Can you post instructions on how to do this or a link....I would like to build one. Thanks.


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## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

I opened a couple of batteries and they don't look like they are all that hard to rebuild. And batteries are cheap on the bay. I haven't had time to try it but I got enough batteries to fill a 30 gal can. So I will try it. There gettin to expensive not too. Will be lookin at what interesting solutions pop up.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

> also you can wire up the old drill to a cord and plug into a battery jump pack or cigarette lighter hole and use the drills anyway


the whole point of a cordless drill is being "cordless"


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

How Do I said:


> Seems I could buy a brand new drill with two batteries, charger and case for _less_ than the price of two new batteries.


You can get new replacement batteries for 12v DeWalt for under $35 on Ebay. They're much higher capacity than the original batteries, and NiMH so no worries about memory effect.



> So I still have a brand new 12V DeWalt cordless drill in a new case with a new charger sans batteries. I wish I could find an organization to donate it to.


I'd be happy to take that off your hands.  I have a 12v DeWalt and a 12v B&D (same batteries) that are the best drills I have. (Not that I have, or need, anything fancy, but I sure like those two.) Only have a couple good batteries at present, but I have several others I need to repair.

Repairing battery packs is easy, but can take some time. Usually it's just 1 or 2 cells that are bad. The hardest parts are identifying the bad cells, and the good cells from donor packs, and the soldering. If you have to solder directly on the batteries, it takes a lot more heat than an ordinary little hobbyist soldering iron can make. I use a small butane torch to add more heat to the copper tip. A propane torch with a soldering tip would probably work great.

If you want your battery packs to last as long as possible, stop using them the moment they start losing power. If you try to get one last screw or hole, or even finish the one you're on, you reverse the current on the weakest cell. You can't do that very many times before you kill the cell. This is one place where lower voltage is a big advantage over higher voltage -- with fewer cells, it's a lot easier to notice when the weakest one goes flat.

The other thing for long life is, use the slowest charger you can find; fast charging is hard on batteries.


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

I tried to find new cells awhile back on ebay and didn't have any luck. Maybe I should try again. I've already had my packs apart several times trying to figure out how easy they would be to replace the cells. I was getting ready to buy an 18V DeWalt for Christmas, but decided not to. :smack


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

these guys were talking about ditching there's and i find it better to get all i can get from something before ditching it..........i was just trying to help.........


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

Nica said:


> Can you post instructions on how to do this or a link....I would like to build one. Thanks.



This is an easy simple set up . 


http://gometaldetecting.com/electrolysis_cleaning.htm


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## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

No problem, all options on on the table. 

Thanks,
Ky-Jeeper



coup said:


> these guys were talking about ditching there's and i find it better to get all i can get from something before ditching it..........i was just trying to help.........


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

Nica said:


> Can you post instructions on how to do this or a link....I would like to build one. Thanks.


When we used to live in an apartment I frequently found myself bored out my mind and I played around with this. I used an old DC train power supply for my current (probably not real schmardt thing to do, but.... ).

In the example on the page shown, if you attach the coin where the spoon is and place a penny or piece of copper pipe where the coin is you can coat the coin with copper. I had several nickels that were coated in copper... er, uh, I mean i had a _friend_ that did, yeah.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

I have had success with arcing the old batteries and then charging them. The last time I suggested this everybody pitched a bithc about how dangerous it was and I do not think anyone of the responders knew what they were talking about. The method is on you tube.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

agmantoo said:


> I have had success with arcing the old batteries and then charging them. The last time I suggested this everybody pitched a bithc about how dangerous it was and I do not think anyone of the responders knew what they were talking about. The method is on you tube.


I saw a large battery explode when a man did that. 
I doubt that one as small as those on tools would be a problem.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

pancho said:


> I saw a large battery explode when a man did that.


That's what a couple of us told him last time, but I guess any clueless yahoo who can figure out how to upload a video to Youtube knows more about it than someone who has been playing with electrical stuff for several decades.



> I doubt that one as small as those on tools would be a problem.


That depends on how close your fingers and eyes are when it explodes, and whether you want to keep them.


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## clong (May 9, 2009)

I have used this company to rebuild a couple of battery packs. About half the price of a new battery and much better quality.

http://www.primecell.com/index.html


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## Rootdigger (Jan 26, 2011)

I was going to say, there are batt refurb places. The is a large chain here on the west coast but I can't remember the name. It is a huge market and opportunity, there are a ton of us cheap "pc people that don't swear".


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## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

Clong would you care to post your battery rebuild link in the shop forum under the sticky parts resources. 

Thanks,
Ky-Jeeper.



clong said:


> I have used this company to rebuild a couple of battery packs. About half the price of a new battery and much better quality.
> 
> http://www.primecell.com/index.html


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

How Do I said:


> I tried to find new cells awhile back on ebay and didn't have any luck. Maybe I should try again. I've already had my packs apart several times trying to figure out how easy they would be to replace the cells. I was getting ready to buy an 18V DeWalt for Christmas, but decided not to. :smack


On bay, search under remote control vehicles...all sorts of Mah ratings available.

Matt


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