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Re: [Shop-talk] Rebuilding a Battery Pack vs Buying New Generic

To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Rebuilding a Battery Pack vs Buying New Generic
From: Bob Spidell <bspidell@comcast.net> FVLNB8+nI0/S+Cupyb6okyLZbPjMRoOiEXLRyuINNBuntMYRq44Yd6RkWE+tfqFKFWkrg0QRXBGMC5oO6NdU5X8CECObSl+aYEM=
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2025 07:03:11 -0700
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References: <C1B3B120-D305-4727-8921-EC0B8BADD7C0@gmail.com> <114219685.2328749.1750852096833@mail.yahoo.com> <2CE11D19-5D1C-429E-9830-8444EBEC1850@gmail.com>
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I'll offer a general observation: Chinese batteries are crap, and a lot, 
if not most, of the 'name brand' batteries--Duracell, Energizer, 
etc.--you see on the Brazilian rainforest site are counterfeit (although 
you'll occasionally get a Chinese battery that is reasonably good). I 
got a 'tip' off Reddit that DigiKey sells legit batteries, and I just 
ordered some Panasonic CR2450s from them (both my welding helmet and 
Mustang key fobs use them).

I have an old Makita 9V drill that I don't use, but can't bear to chuck 
(pun intended). I bought knock-off batteries and they barely hold a 
charge, so there it sits, full of memories but useless. I'm all in on 
DeWalt, but you even have to be careful buying DW batteries as there are 
a lot of deceitful websites that advertise 'DeWalt' but sell Chinese crap.

I think best you can do is buy some of the counterfeits and hope for the 
best, or put your miter saw in your personal museum (like my Makita).

Bob

On 6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Jim Stone wrote:
> Thanks, David.  I hadnâ??t noticed that the Amazon replacement was 
> Ni-MH.  I know a little bit about Li-Ion and Ni-Cad batteries but 
> nothing about Ni-MH.  Does the fact that the replacements would be 
> Ni-MH have any impact on my rebuild vs. buy decision?
>
> Jim
>
>> On Jun 25, 2025, at 7:48â?¯AM, DAVID MASSEY <dave1massey@cs.com> wrote:
>>
>> I used to have an old Makita drill that came with Ni-Cad a battery 
>> that eventually stopped being usable.  I bought a pair of 
>> lithium-based replacement batteries.  On the surface they looked like 
>> a much better option with double the capacity and they worked with 
>> existing drill and charger. But (there's always a but, isn't there?) 
>> to make Lithium batteries work in a Ni-Cad environment required a 
>> electronic circuit and this circuit was always on and drew enough 
>> power to deplete the battery overnight.  I could charge them up in 
>> the evening and the next morning they would be close to dead.
>>
>> But I see these are Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries.  Ni-MH batteries 
>> have characteristics more similar to Lithium - at least with regards 
>> to the charging regime (I've designed a battery charger for Ni-MH so 
>> I am familiar with this) but are less susceptible to abuse.  I also 
>> see the bullet point about no self-discharge - which was my problem.  
>> This is a $45 gamble (as it is with most no-name stuff from the 
>> Pacific rim) but YMMV.  This might be a good one.  Let us know.
>>
>> BTW I bought a pair of Milwaukee 12V tools and never looked back.  I 
>> pitched all my Ni-Cad drills and recycled the batteries.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 01:36:47 PM CDT, Jim Stone 
>> <1789alpine@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I have an old Bosch 24v miter saw that I would like to be able to 
>> continue using for quick, non critical cuts.  The only problem is 
>> that the NiCad batteries wonâ??t hold a charge long enough to be 
>> useful. And, I donâ??t think there is a way to utilize other, e.g. 
>> Milwaukee M18, batteries in a 24v system.  Besides, there donâ??t 
>> appear to be any adaptors available.
>>
>> So, that leaves me with two choices: rebuild my current batteries or 
>> buy new ones on Amazon.  Iâ??ve taken one of the battery packs apart 
>> and can see that it just uses standard Sub C 1.2v batteries - 20 of 
>> them!  Iâ??ve never rebuilt battery packs but it looks pretty straight 
>> forward; just time consuming.  20 Sub C batteries would run me about 
>> $40-50.  (Having it done professionally looks to cost at least twice 
>> that.)  Or, I could just buy a Chinese-made replacement pack for just 
>> a few bucks more. 
>>  (https://www.amazon.com/Exmate-Replacement-Battery-Compatible-BH-2424/dp/B073Z9QHXS/ref=sr_1_17).
>>  
>>
>>
>> Iâ??m sure the replacement batteries are also made in China, but is 
>> there any reason to assume that rebuilding the packs myself will 
>> result in a better, longer lasting battery?  Any advice from those 
>> who have done this before will be much appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jim
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Shop-talk@autox.team.net
>> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
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>>
>
>

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    I'll offer a general observation: Chinese batteries are crap, and a
    lot, if not most, of the 'name brand' batteries--Duracell,
    Energizer, etc.--you see on the Brazilian rainforest site are
    counterfeit (although you'll occasionally get a Chinese battery that
    is reasonably good). I got a 'tip' off Reddit that DigiKey sells
    legit batteries, and I just ordered some Panasonic CR2450s from them
    (both my welding helmet and Mustang key fobs use them).<br>
    <br>
    I have an old Makita 9V drill that I don't use, but can't bear to
    chuck (pun intended). I bought knock-off batteries and they barely
    hold a charge, so there it sits, full of memories but useless. I'm
    all in on DeWalt, but you even have to be careful buying DW
    batteries as there are a lot of deceitful websites that advertise
    'DeWalt' but sell Chinese crap.<br>
    <br>
    I think best you can do is buy some of the counterfeits and hope for
    the best, or put your miter saw in your personal museum (like my
    Makita).<br>
    <br>
    Bob<br>
    <br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Jim Stone wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
      cite="mid:2CE11D19-5D1C-429E-9830-8444EBEC1850@gmail.com">
      <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
      Thanks, David.  I hadnâ??t noticed that the Amazon replacement was
      Ni-MH.  I know a little bit about Li-Ion and Ni-Cad batteries but
      nothing about Ni-MH.  Does the fact that the replacements would be
      Ni-MH have any impact on my rebuild vs. buy decision?
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Jim<br>
        <div>
          <div><br>
            <blockquote type="cite">
              <div>On Jun 25, 2025, at 7:48â?¯AM, DAVID MASSEY
                <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" 
href="mailto:dave1massey@cs.com";>&lt;dave1massey@cs.com&gt;</a> wrote:</div>
              <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
              <div>
                <div>
                  <div class="ydp5b697443yahoo-style-wrap"
style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;">
                    <div>
                      <div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I used to have
                        an old Makita drill that came with Ni-Cad a
                        battery that eventually stopped being usable.  I
                        bought a pair of lithium-based replacement
                        batteries.  On the surface they looked like a
                        much better option with double the capacity and
                        they worked with existing drill and charger. 
                        But (there's always a but, isn't there?) to make
                        Lithium batteries work in a Ni-Cad environment
                        required a electronic circuit and this circuit
                        was always on and drew enough power to deplete
                        the battery overnight.  I could charge them up
                        in the evening and the next morning they would
                        be close to dead.</div>
                      <div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
                      </div>
                      <div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">But I see these
                        are Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries.  Ni-MH
                        batteries have characteristics more similar to
                        Lithium - at least with regards to the charging
                        regime (I've designed a battery charger for
                        Ni-MH so I am familiar with this) but are less
                        susceptible to abuse.  I also see the bullet
                        point about no self-discharge - which was my
                        problem.  This is a $45 gamble (as it is with
                        most no-name stuff from the Pacific rim) but
                        YMMV.  This might be a good one.  Let us know.</div>
                      <div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
                      </div>
                      <div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">BTW I bought a
                        pair of Milwaukee 12V tools and never looked
                        back.  I pitched all my Ni-Cad drills and
                        recycled the batteries.</div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="ydp5b697443signature">
                        <div
style="font-style: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-weight: normal; 
font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial, 
Helvetica, sans-serif;">
                          <div
style="font-style: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-weight: normal; 
font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial, 
Helvetica, sans-serif;">
                            <div><font size="4">Dave <br>
                              </font></div>
                            <div><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: sans-serif;"><br>
                              </span></div>
                            <br>
                          </div>
                        </div>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                    <div><br>
                    </div>
                    <div><br>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                  <div id="ydp39c7469ayahoo_quoted_1269154354"
                    class="ydp39c7469ayahoo_quoted">
                    <div class="ydp39c7469ayahoo-style-wrap"
style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;">
                      <div
style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 
sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">
                        <div class="ydp39c7469aquoted-text-header"> On
                          Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 01:36:47 PM CDT, Jim
                          Stone <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" 
href="mailto:1789alpine@gmail.com";>&lt;1789alpine@gmail.com&gt;</a> wrote: 
</div>
                      </div>
                      <div
style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 
sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;border-left: 1px solid 
#ccc;padding-left: 8px;margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px"
                        class="ydp39c7469ainline_reply_quote_container"
                        data-split-quote-node="true">
                        <div><br>
                        </div>
                        <div><br>
                        </div>
                        <div>
                          <div id="ydp39c7469ayiv7389328937">
                            <div>I have an old Bosch 24v miter saw that
                              I would like to be able to continue using
                              for quick, non critical cuts.  The only
                              problem is that the NiCad batteries wonâ??t
                              hold a charge long enough to be useful.
                              And, I donâ??t think there is a way to
                              utilize other, e.g. Milwaukee M18,
                              batteries in a 24v system.  Besides, there
                              donâ??t appear to be any adaptors available.
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div>So, that leaves me with two choices:
                                rebuild my current batteries or buy new
                                ones on Amazon.  Iâ??ve taken one of the
                                battery packs apart and can see that it
                                just uses standard Sub C 1.2v batteries
                                - 20 of them!  Iâ??ve never rebuilt
                                battery packs but it looks pretty
                                straight forward; just time consuming.
                                 20 Sub C batteries would run me about
                                $40-50.  (Having it done professionally
                                looks to cost at least twice that.)  Or,
                                I could just buy a Chinese-made
                                replacement pack for just a few bucks
                                more.  (<a
href="https://www.amazon.com/Exmate-Replacement-Battery-Compatible-BH-2424/dp/B073Z9QHXS/ref=sr_1_17";
                                  rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.amazon.com/Exmate-Replacement-Battery-Compatible-BH-2424/dp/B073Z9QHXS/ref=sr_1_17</a>).
                                 </div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div>Iâ??m sure the replacement batteries
                                are also made in China, but is there any
                                reason to assume that rebuilding the
                                packs myself will result in a better,
                                longer lasting battery?  Any advice from
                                those who have done this before will be
                                much appreciated.</div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div>Thanks,</div>
                              <div>Jim</div>
                            </div>
                          </div>
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            </blockquote>
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      <pre wrap="" class="moz-quote-pre">

</pre>
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