[Shop-talk] #!@#*@* Cordless Drill Batteries!!!

[David C.]

At 10:47 PM  12/7/2007  -0500, Mark Andy wrote:

>Whichever way I went, I think I'd either be getting the true chinese crap
>at Harbor Freight or the true name brand pro stuff...


I had three H.F. cordless drill/drivers I bought when I was building my 
pole shed several years ago.  My 7 volt Makita had died and I didn't want 
to spend a bunch of money and do a lot of research on drill/drivers, and 
H.F. had their 14.4 volt drills on sale for something like $12.00 each.  I 
got three because they didn't have a quick charger and I wanted one for 
drilling, one for driving and one for a spare.  The biggest drawbacks were 
the six hour charge time, and the fact that they didn't have a high/low 
speed range.  That being said I used them for something like 3 or 4 years 
after the project was finished.  Eventually the batteries stopped taking a 
good charge so I tossed them and replaced them with a 14.4 volt DeWalt with 
a quick charger and 2 batteries.  I have it's identical little 12 volt 
brother at school in my wood shop, and I love them both.  Long battery 
charge life, quick charging and they seem very sturdy.  You can usually 
find them on sale for under $100 without too much trouble.  I can't really 
tell much functional difference between the 12 and 14.4 volt models; the 
latter may hold a charge a little longer, is all.

Dave C