How long should a Dewalt drill last???

gt350mike · 01-20-2008, 03:50 PM

I think I know the answer to my question but I'm going to ask anyway......I have a Dewalt drill 12v that I bought 9 years ago and it has always performed flawlessly. Today I was installing sheetrock in my garage and the battery died after zipping in 6 or 7 screws. I had a recharged battery available and experienced about the same number of screws installed before the battery died. I know that batteries perform best when charged after being completely drained but I'm wondering if my Dewalt has gone above and beyond the call of duty?? What is the typical lifespan of a cordless drill?

It appears that I may need to replace this drill so if anyone has any recommendations, I'm all ears!

legion · 01-20-2008, 03:59 PM

Sounds to me like your battery is dead. They can only be recharged so many times. Buy a new battery before buying a new drill.

dweymer · dweymer's Garage

You have worn out the battery, just buy a new battery($40-50) and keep screwing!!! I have had mine about the same, maybe 10, and replaced the battery last year.

legion · 01-20-2008, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweymer

You have worn out the battery, just buy a new battery($40-50) and keep screwing!!!

gt350mike · 01-20-2008, 04:09 PM

I think dweymer has just opened Pandora's box.......I'm coming up on my 21st wedding anniversary so I'm going to refrain from any comments about replacing anything but a battery.

Chocaholic · 01-20-2008, 04:11 PM

Problem is...the batteries cost nearly as much as a new drill (with batteries). Newer technology, etc. What to do. . .

gt350mike · 01-20-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Problem is...the batteries cost nearly as much as a new drill (with batteries). Newer technology, etc. What to do. . .

Yep! You are 110% correct..........I just looked at Lowe's website and they want $64 for a @%!* battery!

I'm leaning toward a new drill.........

dweymer · dweymer's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by gt350mike

I think dweymer has just opened Pandora's box........

Takes A LOT of batteries for that!

MT930 · 01-20-2008, 04:29 PM

I think you got a pretty good run out of your battery. 9 years is pretty good for a Dewalt battery. Buy 2 new ones wait for a sale. Or treat your self to a 18 volt I just bought 2 18V bats for $99.00 They are good tools.

DMRK · 01-20-2008, 04:31 PM

Saw a Ryobi 18v lithium at Home Depot. I was thinking of buying it to replace my old 12v Dewalt, my batteries are pretty sad as well.

David · David's Garage

9 years is great battery life!!!

After my next pair of batteries I'll have more drills than batteries

gprsh924 · 01-20-2008, 05:08 PM

How many batteries does a rabbit take nowadays?

legion · 01-20-2008, 05:11 PM

Depends on the model....er...at least that's what a friend tells me.

Bob's Project · 01-20-2008, 05:33 PM

You can usually have a battery pack rebuilt with high quality cells for cheaper then buying and OEM pack. The OEM packs often have cheaper grade cells. A yellow pages search should lead you to a place that can rebuild your pack.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

You can probably find cheap NOS batteries on eBay.

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

DeWalt = Black and Decker
You were lucky to get 9 yrs, buy a new 18v driver/drill.
If you use it a lot, go w/ Milwaukee, you'll never look back.

jyl · jyl's Garage

I just had to replace one of the batteries on my 12v Makita drill, which is about 10 yrs old. I bought some extra batteries for my 18v Makita at the same time. Bought from Amazon, the free shipping is helpful.

$160 total, but now I have 2 batteries for the 12v, which is my light-duty drill, and 4 for the 18v, which is the workhorse drill. I hate having to pause work because I've drained all my batteries, so 4 is not overkill IMO.

Thought about a new lithium drill, but they are not cheap - not Makitas anyway - and I'd still want plenty of extra batteries for them.

Robert Coats · Robert Coats's Garage

[hey, I was going to trash it anyway...now it can live as a bad pun for a good movie

]

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

My 18v DeWalts lasted about 2 years with very light use. My Ridgid 18v set is about 3 years old and is already giving me problems. The replacement batteries are so expensive that it's cheaper to just buy a new set. I've switched back to corded tools and my new Milwaukee 10 amp drill is the mac daddy!!

RickM · RickM's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by gt350mike

I think I know the answer to my question but I'm going to ask anyway......I have a Dewalt drill 12v that I bought 9 years ago and it has always performed flawlessly. Today I was installing sheetrock in my garage and the battery died after zipping in 6 or 7 screws. I had a recharged battery available and experienced about the same number of screws installed before the battery died. I know that batteries perform best when charged after being completely drained but I'm wondering if my Dewalt has gone above and beyond the call of duty?? What is the typical lifespan of a cordless drill?

It appears that I may need to replace this drill so if anyone has any recommendations, I'm all ears!

If your battery pack has a screw on cover then it is quite easy to rebuild with the use of a soldering iron. http://forums.batteryspace.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6195&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Batterys can be ordered from here and other places http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=162

If you can find a replacements with higher Mah ratings then you'll get longer charge times.

Another route may be to "resurrect" your cells by use of this method: http://www.csohio.com/BATTERY314.HTM Please be careful.