Drill batteries

[Yorick]

5 amp batteries are about £100 each.

I hear you about the 5aH stuff - but I've renovated an entire house using 3.5aH powered tools which are a chunk cheaper.
I'm not a contractor where I'm going to be at it for hours-and-hours on end.

I got a similar kit to that 6 years ago, but 1.5 amp batteries.
I finally gave in and bought a 4 amp recently. Much less waiting time.

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[DefTrap]

I tell a lie , the original Makita batts were only 2.0aH and (digging around in my pile of stuff that i won't throw away) there's another set of 1.5aH deaduns. So approx 6-7 years service per set of 2, not too bad really.

[Count Steer]

Unfortunately Screwfix availability of stuff is a bit weird across borders.

This one is available on the FR website https://www.screwfix.fr/visseuse-sans-f ... on-xr.html and looks ok
But it means leaving my comfort zone of Makita.

Shame. Can't even snag a set in the clearance and send them over because most of the postal services get v twitchy about batteries. They even make a song and dance about sending phones.

[DefTrap]

Shame. Can't even snag a set in the clearance and send them over because most of the postal services get v twitchy about batteries. They even make a song and dance about sending phones.

Well I come over reasonably regularly anyway - so it's not a big deal for me to wait a few months if necessary.

[cheb]

I tell a lie , the original Makita batts were only 2.0aH and (digging around in my pile of stuff that i won't throw away) there's another set of 1.5aH deaduns. So approx 6-7 years service per set of 2, not too bad really.

I seem to get about 7 years about the batteries before they aren't good enough to use too.

[David]

I have a Bosch drill (18v) that is at least 14 years old and gets used a lot, hammer drilling, screws etc. the chuck fell apart a couple of weeks ago so I bought the nearest equivalent bosch...£70, two bigger batteries that still fit the old one. The chargers are a bit different, but the old batteries fit the new one and the old one still works anyway....the drill is still useable, but you need gloves to change a bit....
They are both green, so Bosch's domestic rather than proffesional range, but a definite win, methinks...

[DefTrap]

I have a Bosch drill (18v) that is at least 14 years old and gets used a lot, hammer drilling, screws etc. the chuck fell apart a couple of weeks ago so I bought the nearest equivalent bosch...£70, two bigger batteries that still fit the old one. The chargers are a bit different, but the old batteries fit the new one and the old one still works anyway....the drill is still useable, but you need gloves to change a bit....
They are both green, so Bosch's domestic rather than proffesional range, but a definite win, methinks...

Interesting to hear about Bosch longevity - thanks. I have a couple of corded Bosch tools, and whilst they don't suffer from battery issues naturally, I just don't get the same good feeling about them that I do with my Makitas.

[David]

The old one has had a hard time of it lately as I am building a woman cave for SWMBO'd (btw, does anyone know were that comes from? I do.).
I have been banging in 100mm 6's and 10mm by 100 coach bolts for weeks!

[Horse]

Rumpole?

[DefTrap]

My Makitas (battery aside) have been virtually indestructible. I mean I replaced a chuck recently - very easy and surprisingly cheap - but tbh that was due to my own cackhandedness and terrible maintenance. It's not quite "trigger's broom" Literally every other drill I've ever owned I've eventually blown the motor.

I feel I should move on in models at least because my BIL has some newer Makita stuff and they look awesome. I particularly coveted a Makita rotary saw - so much lighter and useable than the old and terrible heavy corded one I have.

[Yorick]

My Makitas (battery aside) have been virtually indestructible. I mean I replaced a chuck recently - very easy and surprisingly cheap - but tbh that was due to my own cackhandedness and terrible maintenance. It's not quite "trigger's broom" Literally every other drill I've ever owned I've eventually blown the motor.

I feel I should move on in models at least because my BIL has some newer Makita stuff and they look awesome. I particularly coveted a Makita rotary saw - so much lighter and useable than the old and terrible heavy corded one I have.

Love mine. Often take it down the tip when I see some pallets that need chopping to fit in the car

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[Zimbo]

I've bought several knock off 18V Makita batteries off Amazon over the last few years and they've been absolutely fine, can't say I've noticed them being lacking in performance compared to the genuine batteries.
I have an 18V Bosch drill as well, and back to back I find the Bosch is the better drill, especially hammering masonry bits into concrete. My Makita impact drivers are great though, even cheaper ones, and cordless grinder also v good!

[David]

Rumpole?

A long way before that....

[Screwdriver]

Anyone had any success repairing the ni-cads?

I have done a fair few Li-ion battery pack restorations. Local vape shop gave me a box full of "dead" battery cells when typically a battery pack will only have one dead cell in it, the rest are usually fine. So I ended up with a few dozen good 18650 cells.

The process is fraught because those things pack a real punch and you'll have wire ends and connector strips/bus bars all connected to a matrix of live cells, capable of dumping hundreds of amps instantly. Having a well planned workflow is absolutely critical so that during your order of operations you minimise the amount of time live ends are dangling about the bench top.

I have also picked up a fair few "broken" high end Li-ion tools because just one 18650 cell went bad and the previous owner assumed the worst since it can appear to be "working" properly other than the fact that it doesn't cut or displays random errors with speed control etc.

Best thing I did was to buy a 6ah aftermarket pack for my Bosch 12 system = pennies off Ali Express and stuff it full of top quality cells. I can use it for weeks at a time if I'm not driving 6 inch screws through wooden frames all day.

<edit> almost forgot to mention; you will need a small spot welder for cell replacement (using nickel strips). Forget about soldering battery cells directly. I've done it, it's not pretty and it will be unreliable. Your best bet is to buy top quality OEM packs. If I could justify the expense, I certainly would.

[DefTrap]

Thanks for that Screwd.

You'd think there'd be some bright spark selling knock-off battery cases that you could just refill with bog-standard AA rechargeables.

Or there'd be a 'standard' for battery packs. The tool companies don't seem to know whether they're primarily sellers of tools or batteries these days.

[Screwdriver]

The 18650 Li-ion cell is the new "standard". Even the Tesla batteries are made up from thousands of individual 18650 cells.

To replace an 18650 with AA you'd need three of them to get up to a similar voltage and two or three sets of those to reach a similar power output. Even then, such a pack would struggle to match a decent 18650 some of which have insane levels of horsepower.

You can replace a D cell with an 18650 by putting it inside a D size jacket but you still need to drop the volts to D spec.

They are selling batteries. The thrust of retail these days is to hook you into providing them with a long term revenue stream. Hence the bespoke design for each pack. Even Bosch deliberately engineer almost identical 12v (triple 18650) packages so that they cannot be interchanged between product lines. It would be trivially easy to make the packs so that dead cells can be replaced. The fact that virtually no one does is very telling.

So my Dremel (owned by Bosch) can't use the same battery system as the 12v tools in the Bosch branded range. You can swap the plastic cap because the main body is literally identical but it's a chore and the adapter cap is a compromise for both tool systems.

In fairness, it is fantastically dangerous to "hack" these things because the concentration of power is verging on the ridiculous. A tiny pack no bigger than a paperback can start a car.

[Felix]

I only buy genuine 5Ah Makita. FFX on ebay have them for around 70 quid. Less if you buy two or more. I did but 4 Chinese copies about two years back. The last one only died last month. The rest went ranging from weeks to a couple of month

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233291240622 ... Sww4FlDKd2

[Kneerly Down]

I've replaced a couple of 18650 cells in duff battery packs. I got a moderately priced spot welder that's also a decent portable power pack for the mobile and other devices that need charging on the move.

I've given up on my old Ryobi battery packs and just use an adapter with the DeWalt batteries.
Similar to this one, that will enable Makita Lithium packs on your old tools...but NEVER think about charging them on the NiCad charger.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225593538444

[cheb]

Bosch are involved with or own Ampshare, a battery platform that can be used with more than one tool brand.

I don't know if Bosch own or have an interest in all the other brands, I don't need to find out.

I think it was Ryobi who prodded the market by selling bare tools, previous to that every tool came with a battery and charger IME.

[Screwdriver]

Bosch are involved with or own Ampshare, a battery platform that can be used with more than one tool brand.

I don't know if Bosch own or have an interest in all the other brands, I don't need to find out.

I think it was Ryobi who prodded the market by selling bare tools, previous to that every tool came with a battery and charger IME.

Interesting, never heard of that. Also never heard of the vast majority of the non-Bosch tools it supports, except for Fein and Leister which are high end manufacturers.

I'd be willing to bet there will be an unhackable chip which prevents any possibility of using this battery outside of the Ampshare sandbox. No doubt the batteries themselves will be at the top end of the price range.

So ironically while the premise of such a system is that it can be used with a variety of equipment, the reality will be they have gone out of the way with additional security measures to ensure each battery pack is even more difficult to use with anything else. This is the way of things...