Ready For Retirement....

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Yep, these guys are ready to retire.....
zHyRK.jpg

None of the batteries will hold a charge, so they are all going to be scrapped, kind of a shame, but I have more than enough drills and impact drivers, so these guys are just taking up precious space.

Some first of the year cleaning going on..... :D
 
I'm down to one battery for 4 of the Makita 14.4's that I have and that battery only takes about a third of a charge. Tonight I'm going to pick up a couple of Hitachi's Lithium ions that are on sale at Lowes. For what I do, impact drivers are pretty useless.
It sure hurts to take a bunch of tools and toss them in the trash though:(
 
I have an old 12v hitachi drill which I almost never use any more, due to battery issues. I've toyed with the idea of turning it into a Corded drill.
(not really because I have any strong need, but just to see if I can. I'm a nerd, what can I say.)

So I googled around, wondering if I can take a wire from the charger to the drill... I know I'd have to get around the charging circuitry... but then found a website where it was suggested that you find a scrap charger for a laptop, as those typically put out 14-18v at a pretty decent amperage. I'm not sure what my 12v drill would do if I put 18v through it, but I can probably figure out how to step down the voltage.

But I'm too busy with other projects, so I may just end up doing the same thing you did.
Oh, and as an aside -- I did try replacing the batteries. I found a place in the US where I ordered a pair of batteries for $50, and one of them went belly up after 12-18months, won't charge AT ALL. Which is pretty much when I went shopping and picked up that nice Ridgid 12v.

:threadjacked:

oh yeah, have fun purging! Purging is hard, I know, but afterwards it is fun to see how much space is freed up. It's a "lighter" feeling.
 
Funny thing, Stu,
I just asked for and received a pair of batteries for my Ryobi 18v One+ system. I have almost the complete set of 18v tools now, only missing the impact driver (on my short list of tools to buy this year though). Looks like you've gotten decent use out of them though.
 
Its always a tough decision but, one we all make from time to time. Congrats on freeing up some space. Kudos to the tools for giving you a good run of service.
 
Looks like you have field tested several brands. Any favorites? My Dewalt batteries are dieing.

I'm a fan of the Hitachi tools, the new Li-Ion impact I have, 14.4V totally rocks, but was not cheap here in Japan, about $450 for the driver with charger and two batteries, that being said, it has held up very well, drives long big screws into 2x4s all day long without fail. Comparatively I have well over $450 into the stuff on the bench you see in the picture, none of them lasted very long.
I also very much like the Makita tools. I have had bad luck with the green Boche tools, the blue ones rock, but the consumer grade greens ones are best avoided, IMHO.

Cheers!
 
I have an old 12v hitachi drill which I almost never use any more, due to battery issues. I've toyed with the idea of turning it into a Corded drill.
(not really because I have any strong need, but just to see if I can. I'm a nerd, what can I say.)

So I googled around, wondering if I can take a wire from the charger to the drill... I know I'd have to get around the charging circuitry... but then found a website where it was suggested that you find a scrap charger for a laptop, as those typically put out 14-18v at a pretty decent amperage. I'm not sure what my 12v drill would do if I put 18v through it, but I can probably figure out how to step down the voltage.

But I'm too busy with other projects, so I may just end up doing the same thing you did.
Oh, and as an aside -- I did try replacing the batteries. I found a place in the US where I ordered a pair of batteries for $50, and one of them went belly up after 12-18months, won't charge AT ALL. Which is pretty much when I went shopping and picked up that nice Ridgid 12v.

:threadjacked:

oh yeah, have fun purging! Purging is hard, I know, but afterwards it is fun to see how much space is freed up. It's a "lighter" feeling.

Yeah, I looked into that as well, but I already have 8 or 9 corded 3/8" drills, I only bought two, the others have been given to me by people leaving Japan. I also have a very old but very strong good 1/2" drill motor, this is perfect for mixing up buckets of concrete or dry wall mud, I keep if just for this purpose. Add to that one corded impact and two hammer drills, one 3/8" and the other 1/2". I think I have enough corded drills :D
 
The battery issue is a real crime. My DeWalt is only a couple years old. It is an occasional use tool. But the batteries are dieing also, they won't hold a charge between uses. Did I say, this is a crime? :mad:
 
I've got an old, old dewalt cordless drill that I've been hanging on to that the batteries are shot on. Did see a replacement battery at the local Ace Hardware on clearance, but they were still wanting $32. Would consider it, but the battery packaging looked as old as the drill I have, so not sure it would last long. Perhaps if they knock off 50% I might bite.

I've been having good luck with my Hitachis too, I bought them as refurbs and they've been holding up as well as the dewalts.
 
...

So I googled around, wondering if I can take a wire from the charger to the drill... I know I'd have to get around the charging circuitry... but then found a website where it was suggested that you find a scrap charger for a laptop, as those typically put out 14-18v at a pretty decent amperage. I'm not sure what my 12v drill would do if I put 18v through it, but I can probably figure out how to step down the voltage. ...

I bet you would not have a problem with 14-18 volts from a computer supply. Unlike light bulbs, motors tend to like higher voltages, and I bet that with a load on the supply, it would be running at the lower voltage anyway.

...
I did try replacing the batteries. I found a place in the US where I ordered a pair of batteries for $50, and one of them went belly up after 12-18months, won't charge AT ALL. ...

In a thread I started a couple weeks ago, I was looking for rebuild services, and found them uneconomical. Someone suggested a company who had inexpensive replacement batteries - I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but am considering doing so. Would you mind sharing which company sold short-life batteries?
 
...
None of the batteries will hold a charge, so they are all going to be scrapped, kind of a shame, but I have more than enough drills and impact drivers, so these guys are just taking up precious space.
If Tokyo has the equivalent of Craig's List, I would post them as "working but batteries need replacement" for $5 each. Somebody may want to play, and it will keep them out of the land fill. I have learned to never post something as available for free, but I have been amazed at the junk someone will buy for a dollar or two.
 
In a thread I started a couple weeks ago, I was looking for rebuild services, and found them uneconomical. Someone suggested a company who had inexpensive replacement batteries - I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but am considering doing so. Would you mind sharing which company sold short-life batteries?

ATTbatt.com -- bought these hitachi-compatible nicd back in may of 2010. These aren't refurbs or rebuilds, but advertised as brand new. But IMHO the original batteries lasted longer, and it is true that one of them completely stopped working sometime during the 12-18 month timeframe.

LiOn are so much better than NiCds regardless.

...art
 
Well if one was to make them into corded tools just go plain DC and use them with your car, truck, tractor, lawnmower, rv or even one of the jumper boxes that are so popular today. 18 volt tools might run a little weak but 9, 12 and 14 volt tools work great off of 12 volt lead acid batteries.
 
I've had the fortune to work with lots of different brands and am not a specific brand person as I have found various brand tools are better than others in certain applications. Dewalt won me over Makita in the cordless drill department as they hold the charge longer and the added bonus is that any of the old batteries work in the new lithium ion drills. I also found that the older batteries hold the charge longer than the new ones in the cycle. The new ones just suddenly stop when they run out of charge yet the old ones gradually start slowing down. Still weight is a huge factor with Dewalt and Makita over lots of the other brands if you will be handling the tool all day long. Lots of the other brands are wrist busters which in turn make one tire early of using the tool.
 
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