are most cordless drill batteries interchangeable/easily replaceable

[holden j caufield]

or are they proprietary? I only have one drill but all my rechargeable batteries seem to die pretty fast.

 

[Cyberian]

No.

 

[Colt45]

generally prprietrary between brands i think..

dewalt, B&D (they own dewalt dont they?wtf?) , makita, etc all have different shaped batteries IIRC.

the idea is basically that if you have X brand's cordless drill, and you want Y brand flashlight/whatever/saw you'd need different batteries, so you stick to brand X and give them more business..

but you know that!

/ramble off

 

[danzig]

They are not usually interchangeable . Accessory items like batteries offer huge margains to the tool manufacturers . I know Makita and Milwaukee factory salesmen make twice the commission percentage on accessories .

 

[Moohooya]

I know dewalt allow some mix and match between their batteries. For example, you can put a 12v in a 14.4v drill. However, you won't get anyone elses to fit.
If you get a combo kit, you'll want two batteries. I lived for 8 years with a dewalt 14.4v drill with a single battery. It wasn't bad, but every now and then I wanted a second. I wouldn't consider buying one seperatly as they almost cost half the price of a new drill with two batteries!

If you are 12v or less, they will die faster. Also, some of the newer ones have lots of power, but drain when unplugged. If unplugged for 2 days, you can lose as much as 20%, yikes! By the end of a week, half your power has gone!

 

[danzig]

Ya'll should check out Milwaukee's new 18 volt cordless drills coming out the first of October - they are bad to the bone.

 

[Mday]

open the case for your battery, look inside, count. go online to radioshack or something, and look for nicads (or nimh) that are the same size as those cells. when they arrive, solder them together, and rewire it.

 

[MWink]

Originally posted by: Mday
open the case for your battery, look inside, count. go online to radioshack or something, and look for nicads (or nimh) that are the same size as those cells. when they arrive, solder them together, and rewire it.

That's what I would do.