anyone here ever rebuild a Dewalt 18v battery?

[vash]

i think there is just a series of small battery cells on the inside right? anybody ever crack one open to check it out?

[71T Targa]

[slodave]

I build my own battery packs for my R/C glider. It's not as easy as just soldering on leads. You can easily destroy a cell by keeping the soldering gun on the contact points too long. Your typical Radio Shack soldering iron won't cut it.

You also have to be careful not to short out a cell - I just did this and caught it just before the battery caught fire.

If you decide to give it a try, practice on a dead set of batteries.

One more thing. Battery pack batteries do not have the nipple like traditional store bought rechargeables and probably would not fit in the plastic housing. You need to order special batteries.

[GH85Carrera]

There is a local Interstate battery store on my way home. They rebuild my battery packs for less than half of the cost of a new one. I don't know how much I could have saved if I just bought the cells but I suspect it was not much.

[jyl]

Or, on craigslist you can probably score another dewalt tool plus two batteries plus charger for the cost of having two batteries rebuilt. Stuff is going for a song.

[Zeke]

You wanna get crazy?

[Joeaksa]

Ya wanna go REAL crazy? There is some guy in Wisc or so who uses a Dewalt rechargeable drill motor to start his airplane.

[look 171]

We have a whole bunch of Dewalt cordless tools. I always just buy new batteries when they go out. Its cheaper for me then monkeying around with rebuilding them my self. I just got a new battery for my truck at my Local Interstate Battery and they will put in new batteries for 40 bucks. they will only do the ones with a screw. 40 bucks is a lot cheaper then 80 dollars. I stop buying tools bacause their batteries tend to go dead so fast. Industrial tools just not made like they use to.

I am trying out a cordless drill form Festool ( have their compound miter saw and I / we love the thing). They seem to be a really nice tool. A bit more money, and seem really well made. Those Germans.

[vash]

yea. i hear you. my dewalt 18v, i bought from a builder's Square. they went out of business maybe 13 years ago. someone hid it in the rafters hoping to get in on a bigger price reduction when the store had the closing sale. i dont know what made me look up, but seeing that box was amazing. i quickly climbed up and grabbed it. i got 70% off, and the cashier was stunned that there was even a drill left. i mean this store was selling fixtures already. my drill is maybe a tiny bit out of alignment, but other than that it is bulletproof. 13+ years of living with me, is not easy. i am going to check out my interstate store. thanks