Mastercraft cordless drill batteries

[DaveC426913]

I've got a Mastercraft 15.6A drill. The batteries have died. They don't seem to make this one anymore; the nearest is 14.4A or 18A.

Presuming the socket hasn't changed, anyone know what would happen if I used 14.4A or 18A batteries? I suppose I also have to worry about what might happen if I put them in my charger.

Ideas?

 

[brewnog]

Sure you're not on Volts there Dave old chap?

Might be wrong but most manufacturers Poka-Yoke the battery and socket mouldings so you have to use the right Voltage for your appliance.

 

[Danger]

Dave, I'd just find a (Makita?) 15.6V battery. I get mixed up about which is which, but I think that Mastercraft is the house brand made by Makita. It might be B&D, or some other though. You can tell by looking at them. Let's say that it is Makita. The only difference between them and the Mastercraft batteries is that the 'polarising' rib (so you can only insert it one way) is on the opposite side. I'm pretty sure that if you grind that off, you can use the Makita battery in the Mastercraft.
Failing that, I'd think about installing an appropriate resistor in the power circuit and going with the 18V. (In fact, wouldn't your charger only take an 18V battery up to 15.6 or 16 anyhow? Maybe you wouldn't need a resistor.)

 

[FredGarvin]

I looked here: http://www.mastercraft.net/
but the site is closed. It does direct you to here: http://www.altocraft.com/

Maybe they can get you what you need. They appear to have some good contact info.

You might also take a look through here:
http://www.batteries.com/power-tools/index.html

 

[brewnog]

The cells inside the battery packs are all the same anyway, if you get stuck you can always just buy any old 15.6V battery pack, butcher it, and transplant the new cells into your cacked pack.

 

[DaveC426913]

Sorry, Craftsman. And yeah, doh, it's 15.6V.

Hm, transplant the cells. Maybe.

I think first I'll contact the manufacturer.

 

[Danger]

Sorry, Craftsman.

Oh. That does alleviate my surprise that a (supposed) Yank had a Canadian Tire brand drill. I think that Craftsman things are made by B & D.

 

[russ_watters]

The cells inside the battery packs are all the same anyway, if you get stuck you can always just buy any old 15.6V battery pack, butcher it, and transplant the new cells into your cacked pack.

You can buy individual cells with solder tabs: http://www.smcelectronics.com/batt.htm

Radio Shack used to sell them, but I don't think they do anymore. I'm sure Google will turn up more.

 

[DaveC426913]

Oh. That does alleviate my surprise that a (supposed) Yank had a Canadian Tire brand drill. I think that Craftsman things are made by B & D.

I am Canadian. What made you think I wasn't?

 

[Danger]

Just that the majority of PFers appear to be Yanks, and I don't recall seeing anything in your posts to indicate otherwise. Sorry for the slur; it was unintentional.

 

[Danger]

Are you sure that the new batteries are NiCad's? They're pretty rare these days. More likely, they're NiMH's.

 

[rewebster]

The cells inside the battery packs are all the same anyway, if you get stuck you can always just buy any old 15.6V battery pack, butcher it, and transplant the new cells into your cacked pack.

I've heard that's the best way---

sometimes you can pick up new, used, and dead batteries off of ebay, too

______________________________

there's a lot of stuff on the web about it

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rejuvenating+dead+cordless+batteries&btnG=Google+Search

it seems quite a few links go to someplace trying to sell some 'kit'---I checked it out a couple years ago and the kit bascially is some type of flash jump with 12 volt power source to burn off the whiskers that form in the battery.

here's a good thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10733

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cordless-drill---Improving-the-battery/

good site for a lot of tings:
http://www.instructables.com/home


and here's a company that will re-build them for you:

http://primecell.com/

 

[sapphire4]

Help! Charging 18 v Ni/Cd batteries with 12 volt System

Help! I just bought a new 18 v mastercraft drill. I also have an older model of this 18v mastercraft, bought 3 or 4 yrs. ago. The manual for the older moder warned against charging the batteries through a 12v system as it would likely kill the batteries (both drills take Ni/Cd batteries and my old charger requires a "true sine" 12v/110v inverter... which is too costly.). The manual for the new drill has no such warning...and the Mastercraft Helpline was of no help. I would really like to charge the new batteries at my cottage using our 12v solar system but don't want to be buying new batteries as a result. The new charger seems more sophisticated... it's heavier, has an automatic shut-off, and only takes an hour to charge (vs 5hrs for old charger and no shut-off). Can anyone help me out here?