Replacement Battery Packs

[woodchopper]

Does anyone have any experience on replacement battery packs for dewalt cordless drills? My old drill's ( a Performance Pro ) batteries have knackered and refuse to charge after 8yrs and are not available anymore and don't want to buy another cordless drill if the batteries are going to end up the same way. Have looked into replacing the actual batteries inside the packs but will cost around the price of a new drill.

[Clanad]

You don't say what type of batteries they are… I expect, with the drill being 8 years old, they are probably nickel-cadmium or NiCad for short. These batteries are infamous for manufacturing a "memory"… that is, if you've never let the batteries discharge fully, they take a memory set which they reach in a very short time. There are sites that describe "deep discharge" of NiCad batteries to help overcome this problem… but it's all academic since, as you've discovered, the manufacturers of the devices in which they are installed have all migrated to the Lithium batteries which, apparently, don't have this problem,

So… long way of saying… you're gonna have to shell out the money and buy a new cordless. In fact this was discussed on a recent thread maybe under "How it Works"…

Here in the U.S, Rockwell makes a great drill/driver in various voltages. I have an 18 volt one and can get about 1 year out of the batteries. Nice thing is, Rockwell has a "Free Battery for Life" program. When a battery refuses to charge a quick e-mail to them is answered with a new battery in about 10 days… postage paid. You might see if they are available in the U.K.

Think of it as a belated Christmas present! Merry Christmas, by the way...

[douglas9401]

We used to have a Black & Decker outlet shop locally and they did genuine DeWalt replacement stuff. Maybe one near you?

[alavahalf]

If you manage to get a drill to last 8 years then I'd say you have have had your money's worth.
In the past 8 years batteries have come a long way. We now have li-ion batteries.
They re-charge in half an hour, weigh 40 percent less than ni-cad batteries... and more importantly they don't gain a memory which reduces the effective usage time.
For around £100 you can treat yourself to a new drill.
Chuck your old drill and charger on eBay for spares and repairs. ..someone will buy it. and whatever you get will go towards the cost of your new drill.

[batteryshopsuk]

Maybe you can try a replacement battery. First, you should know the model number your dewalt drill, and second, it is better if you know the part number marked on your old battery, and use the above two numbers to search and find the best battery for you.