You have apparently been around the block quite a few times with this! I really like the way you thoroughly teach leaving no mysteries for when we're in the middle of our attempt to copy you! You've also spared us a lot of pitfalls by letting us know problems you've experienced along the way. Thank you for taking your valuable time to teach in detail how to safely do this rebuild in such an affordable way. You're worth your weight in gold!
And you handle interruptions and brownout blips better than most! Thanks for taking the time to share your hard earned knowledge with like-minded souls! 👍🏻 Even though the camera angle wasn’t perfect at all times, glad you decided to upload this. I appreciate learning all the details of the cardboard sleeve and the temp sensor. 🙏🏻
Thanks for this video. I appreciate all your cautions about shorting the cells. Thanks for the harbor freight tip as a place to purchase a replacement battery pack to repair the DeWalt pack.
i watched every second of your instructive mini movie. i have a similar job to do for myself and found this very useful. especially cutting the batteries into pairs, as i was thinking i would have to cut them into singles then juggle them and see where they fall. lots of enthusiasm and no idea. i loved your vid. thanks from england.
One of the best videos, if not the best, on this topic. Nice step by step instructions and thanks for mentioning the soldering iron power. I wasn't sure if I could do the job with my 48W unit, but I think I'll be ok.
fantastic video.. I have 4 Dewalt 18v ni-cads to do .. now I can do it with a 100% more confidence after having watched this superb video.. and even more refreshing... you never said "Bad boys" or "Puppies" or "Boom" etc etc.. Thanks for taking the time to make this. U.K. Veteran...
Best bang for the buck. I like your resourcefulness. If you are in a bind and you have limited funds, this is a great how-to rebuild. I will be doing the same soon with a 12v model and this is identical with some extra cells. This gives me an idea of what to expect. Thanks for the walk-through!
Nice job on rebuilding your pack. I used to work in a major battery company and never solder to the metal of the cells always use the tab. The reason is, the material in the cells for insulation between the cell walls will melt and short out. Soldering the tabs you cells will last. Here's a tip holding your cells in position while lining up and sodering the tabs. Use a spot of hot glue on the adjoining cells. It keeps them together from flopping around and possibly shorting out. Good luck with your packs and pick up higher capacity cells. It pays in the long run.
Thank you very much for this very interesting and educational video. You're pretty steady with the soldering iron with either hand. Real crafty. Have several of those Dewalt batts that are not rechargeable, now I know what to do with them.
I like the idea of using tape to keep the cells in place and also saw another tip on using rubber bands to hold them in place. The combination would work super. Also like the idea of snipping the tabs and using copper strips to join the batteries. Orientation of the tabs is also a good idea and understand your concentrating on the video is a distraction in that aspect. Agree that the continuous distraction of phone calls is a real pain. Too many expect immediate response. There are few things that need that type of response. It'll wait until I get time! Good video, well presented!
Great video! I was just thinking about how my may need a new battery the other day. Doesn't hold a charge for very long any more. Of course it was made in 2009 though. lol I will definitely attempt this procedure.
Thank you! Glad you found it useful! I have pretty well stopped carrying the phone with me. Just check it when I am taking a break now. Enough of that nonsense LOL!
Great video. might give this a go for the 2x Ryobi batts I have. I love my Ryobi drill (only used as a driver) and don't want to pay£90 for an inferior replacement.The Ni-Cds do charge but don't hold the charge for long, especially if not used straight off the charger. Just one thing. get a Stanley knife for that blade before you slice valuable fingers ! ❤👍🤞
great no frills video ...much appreciated from England ..i just wanted to see what was going on insude these battery packs because i have one to throw out ..so now i am just going to open it separate the batteries and put them in a nearby recycle bin .. but once again a very succint video ..great job
Soldering is a great skill. I worked in assembly at IBM for a while and did a lot of it. We had a school and learned that flux and pre tinning are important. I replaced a few nicads when I used to fly RC aircraft. I'll give you a call later. Ha ha.
Great video. I've done this but you do it better than me. I will adopt your method. My only critique would be to use your sponge to clean the soldering iron tip. Paper napkin will leave impurities in the solder. A wet sponge will sort of boil the oxides off.
David, I have to let you know that you have a new supporter and the way you accomplished that was from what you refered to as a Rant, and I call voicing an opinion about the need to be on beckon call at all times day or night, has I firmly believe is one of the causes of high levels of stress in the world today, I am in total agreement with you. Besides covid and concer
Sorry bout the space, concerns about loved ones every time it rings a thousand things go through your head before you get yo the phone to answer. So my friend don't let it build up keep on speaking your mind , has always worked for me. Great show, Thank you gor all your effort.
Kerry; thank you so much for the kind comments. Much appreciated! I generally have moved away from carrying my phone now-a-days; unless I have a specific call I'm expecting. The spam calls have gotten so far out of hand it is unreal. That pushed me over the edge.
Suggestion instead of nylon tyes use just a rubber band. That is cheeper and can be rearranged easily, as well as removed easily. Thanks for the very good ideas and suggestions.
If you wet the little sponge on your solder iron stand that is there to clean the solder tip. Use it before soldering and retin the tip. You will have more success with your joints and avoid dry joints. Good luck from the UK. A lot of the battery packs here have torx screws in them.
Nice job. I had one of these Dewalt 18V Ni-Cd drills given to me because of the bad batteries. I'll have to decide what to do. One of the batteries has a little punkin left in it.
Thank you for this very informative video! I do have one question; can you comment on the overall capacity of these Harbor Freight batteries as compared to the original DeWalts? If I understand what I'm reading on the internet, the DeWalts are in the range of 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000mAh while the Harbor Freight seems to say it is 1,300 mAh. SO, if this is accurate, your rebuild would be of much lower capacity. Am I reading all that correctly, or is the comparison apples vs oranges?
Thank you so much for posting this. So many people post crap to hear themself talk. You was on point the whole way and very informative! Thank you sir. I got one question I've got a 18 volt battery like the DeWalt but the battery that I want to fix is itself is smaller. So do I use higher output batteries or just left batteries then I wouldn't get the 18-volt so if you could answer that be great thanks again
Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to uncover repair battery try Jons Mender Guide (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some awesome things about it and my colleague got excellent results with it.
Man that was awesome! Thankyou for sharing your knowledge over many years of learning! ps I don't suppose you do golf learning videos LOL Dashman Australia
Man u remind me of my uncle you got skills bro I'm trying to make a pack out of mixed old double aa nicd and nimh but the mah are different does make charging times longer shorter or no effect I have old nicd c battery from Coleman drill very old but it works but charging rate low it good for about five minutes then dead
Hi David. If you see this question: What wattage and model brand of soldering iron did you use for this soldering of the battery cells? thanks great information for my 2 dead Craftsman packs for a drill that still has use here !
I was just wondering, after watching your video, why you didn't use the bottom of the DeWalt case to hold your batteries rather than using zip ties? They would have automatically fit and would be in the right position to solder with less wiggle than the zip ties. Also you wouldn't have had to tape as much as you did.
Great video...not sure gorilla tape fulfills the insulating properties of fish paper but certainly better than a pure short, albeit much thicker in tight spaces.
Thanks. And yes, gorilla tape is definitely not up to the same insulating value of fish paper, or Nomex paper we use for modern motor and transformer winding separators. I don't think it will be a problem here with this low voltage application.
Great video David! Very interesting about the temp sensor. This answers a lot of questions about charging. I have a DC728 with the 14.4 battery pack. It would be very interesting to see if one of these packs could be retrofitted with LiON cells, but I suspect the recharge would challenge vs. the conventional pack.
That's Why I Have A Soldering Iron With Inter Changeable Heating Elements. In case I Need To Switch To A Lower Wattage Element For Light Duty Soldering.
Yeah, they use screws here on most but not all battery packs. The cheaper ones seem to be glued. Those can often be disassembled as well, and then glued back.
Great vid, really helpful, how about one showing a conversion from Ni-Cad to lithium ?, and I hear what your saying about mobile phones they are great for emergencies but otherwise I pretty much refuse to use them, I just can't spend my life at the beck and call of a piece of plastic and a few components !
Lol I’m watching this video on my phone lol. I don’t use it for social media. I use it for just about everything else lol. It’s like having a small laptop with me all the time
In this case, I bought battery packs from Harbor Freight Tools, and disassembled them to get the cells. To get the real high capacity ones, you can order them from eBay.
i just bought a Ridgid 18v Lithium-ion 2 Speed Drill/Driver R860052K . it Come in 2 new Batteries, my Question is should i only Charge 1 Battery and use it ones Every 3 Month and Keep the other Battery Sealled in its Bag , so it will Last Much Longer . or i Should use Them Both and Rotate Them , Keep in Mind i use the Drill Every 3 Month ?
Never throw lithium batteries in the trash, as the dumps a dead end. They’re accepted for recycling at major home repair & retail battery outlets. The lithium is an environmental toxin. When exposed to water, it ignites also; very not good for the trash as you stated. Occasionally, scrape your soldering tip off with a knife,& you’ll get more good use out of it. Your video was very resourceful, but was curious if the sourced battery had a usable, savable temp sensor?
Hi Paul. The cheap battery I used for the cells shown in this video didn't have a temp sensor. In these NiMH cells, the temp sensor is mainly for fast-charging control. The charger setup for the cheap battery wasn't a fast charger and didn't monitor the temperature. Therefore the new cheap battery didn't have a temp sensor. Just to be sure all are clear; this was not a lithium ion battery; neither the original nor the replacement cells. They are nickel metal hydride cells.
@@davida1hiwaaynet ok, thanks. Didn’t want to be a troll, but thought perhaps people shouldn’t throw certain batteries in the trash; just saying… Thanks for the additional info, as nothing beats a through education. Your video was very interesting & informative. Thanks again for sharing.
THANKS DAVID :THE BATTERY THAT YOU BUY HAS THE SAME 2000 mah or 1300 mah THAT YOUR ORIGINAL BATTERY’’ NOT ALL THE CELL IN THE BATT SHOW IT IN ;THAT YOUR CASE SHOWED YOUR BATTERIES THAT? AND HOW CAN YOU KNOW IF YOU DO NOT SHOW IT?
Hello Jose. I am having problem understanding your comment. The cells almost always have the mAH rating on the individual cells; and most of the time it's also on the outside of the battery pack. The important thing is to be sure all the cells in a pack are the same age and same capacity.
Maybe a little relaxation time so you don't worry if people are out to seem superior to you. If they were that smart they wouldn't need to call you for info! Throwing it back at them with a statement like, that info may be on Google and you could just use your phone to find it often brings the pompous ones back to reality. It also may teach them it's not your responsibility to be their info source when they snap their fingers! Good video by the way!
@@davida1hiwaaynet - Actually I believe they are 3 Ah, Ni-Hm, relatively the same size configuration as the 18v XRP (which is a Ni-Cd 5 Ah battery) battery pack. What I am doing now is buying a replacement NI-Hm Battery with case, taking out the internals and putting them into my original 18 v battery pack, the same 1.5 v batteries as OEM. The Ni-Hm batteries don't drain over time like the NI-Cd,, so it is more costly than a China import replacement, but about 2/3rd less than an OEM, for the same Ah battery life.
Jas George because many jobs don’t allow knock off batteries in job supplied tools. In other words don’t try recharging a knock off battery in a company supplied charger.
Great video David. Just what I was looking for. Do you think it would be to use copper wires to connect the battery cells if I cannot find copper strips? Thanks in advance.
You probably could use wire. Just remember it has to carry quite a lot of current. Round wire capable of carrying the current may be too large to fit in the battery housing.
very hard to find full size replacement batteries. Tons of 4/5 batteries around. It is easier to order the Lithium battery adapter adapter from ALI express then use the dewalt li-ion battery pack. it is 20 volts instead of 18.
Measure length of batteries first. I am trying to replace batteries in an 18volt Hitachi pack and the drill master batteries are 3/8" longer. The case is not going to be able to close. I almost had a catastrophic failure.... I smelt it quick enough.
