B&D FireStorm 24VDC Batteries - DIE QUICK!!!!!!!!!!!

If they're only lasting a few months take them back for a refund. And buy a decent make. B&D hasn't been this for years.

=A0 London SW

What do you recomnmend as a replacement for the Versatek 3.8V batteries?

I've no idea. Replacement batteries often cost as much as a complete tool

- such is the vagaries of supply and demand. Even with good makes.

About the only way to get more life from the tool, is to rebuild the battery packs.

The 24 volt packs will require 20 cells (20 x 1.2V). You might be able to locate some decent cells for under $2 each, but better quality cells cost more. Be glad that you didn't buy a 36V tool.

There are numerous pack rebuilders, which may be a better option, since the cells generally require spot welding to connect the cells.

There are 2 common/basic problems with cordless tool performance. Sometimes both apply. The manufacturer uses low quality batteries because better cells cost more. The charger supplied with the tool doesn't adequately charge the packs for long life, and/or overcharges the packs (cheap, crap charger).

Another factor is that the user often neglects to keep the packs in a good state of charge.

A final alternative may be to add a cord to the tool, and use gel cell batteries with a good charger (specifically for gel cells), to be able to get more useful life from the tool. It won't be as portable, but if the new battery pack is attached to your belt, the tool will be much lighter.

There are likely tens of thousands of cordless tools being sent to landfills because of poor battery performance/early failures. Some users buy cheap generic battery packs at places like Harbor Freight, to disassemble them to rebuild their expensive battery packs.

Unless there is an internal connection broken (straps connecting cells) that can be repaired, rejuvenating methods are generally a waste of time, and some are definitely dangerous.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Yes, maybe, but its not a safe process.

Most cells i see fail shorted. This will work with NiCad packs only. You have to take the pack apart and measure each cell voltage will DMM. Mark each cell that does not measure arouind 1.2v or so. Use a small bench power supply that does 6 to 12 volts at five to 10 amps. Put on gloves and eye protection. hook up the negotive lead to the bottom of the battery. Now, touch the postitive lead for a second or less and repeat the process. Doing this, sometimes you can burn the dendrite short open internally in the battery. Sometimes this will work, sometimes not. Never leave high current on for more than a 1 second or so burst. Do this to all cells that appear to be shorted. when the pack has all cells reading ok, run it down as far as you can and recharge. If your real lucky, you might get a little more life out of it.

bob

I got fed up with the NiCd and NiMH battery game long ago. Some of my portable hand tools are now running off lead acid gel cell batteries. In obtained a pile of 12V 7A gel cells which have kept various UPS's running. I try to buy 12V and 24V power tools, so that they'll run directly off the battery. I use about 6ft of #12 or #14 wire to the battery. Charging is with a home made gel cell charger, that I have set for long battery life to not go above about 85-90% of charge. It's actually easier to kill a gel cell than a NiCd or NiMH pack, so the charger is critical.

Oddly, I've found that using the tool without the battery pack reduces the weight sufficiently to make it easier to use the power tools. However, the balance on a drill is all wrong, with the drill appearing top heavy and awkward.

I've also been doing some very disorganized experiments with a West Mtn Radio CBA-II battery tester:

I do not have the professional software, so I can't do cyclic battery life testing. However, I have noticed an oddity comparing no-name and quality NiMH cells. The initial charge point for the quality cells is at about 90% of full charge, while the cheap no-name cells are closer to 100%. This is sorta an artifact of the way the CBA-II works. It does not charge the battery packs. It just discharges them, and graphs the discharge curve. The stored power (energy?) is the area under the curve. When I charged a pack using the supplied charger, I saw the differences in initial charge. When I used my home made charger, I could not tell the difference between quality and junk cells on the initial few runs.

Therefore, my guess(tm) is that you can make your B&D 24VDC Fire Belching Drill battery packs last much longer if you use a different and more conservative battery charger that stops charging well before hitting 100%. Incidentally, the easy way to tell if you're overcharging a NiCd or NiMH battery pack is that if they get hot or even warm, you're overcharging or charging too fast.

This should offer a clue on NiCd and NiMH charging:

Note that not all cells can be quick charged.

I got a 12V firestorm I bought 5 years ago with 2 bats for $29 bucks, I beat the crap out of it at work for basic things like screw driving, small holes, nut drivers and tap driver via the use of the clutch and reverse switch..

its been dropped several times, couple small cracks here and there, crappie battery charger and the damn thing is still going strong!

When ever I need to unscrew something for inspection, I pop out my B&D drill and attach the proper bit! , I disc cut the elbow off of generic hex keys wrenches for the driver bits instead of wasting money on those socket bits, this also gives me the option of making long ones from junk hex wrenches and grind the ends down when rounded off.

The secret here guys is! don't keep your batteries on the charger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When ever I get ready to use it, I use what ever is left in a battery and if I suspect that I'll be a heavy user, I'll just pop in the spare battery and charge the other. when finished, they all go back into their carry case for storage or at least, the charger becomes unplugged.

I do the same for my laptops!... I don't keep them plugged in when not in use.

I don't generally have battery problems.

I have a friend that does that with a dummy pack plugged into the tool, he has a small 24 volt battery supply he carries with him in his car that is mounted on a small dolly that he takes with him on jobs :) He built the step down in the base of the dummy packs so that he can use the various tools he has. He has an array of power jacks on this small dolly. This dolly will charge from 120 or 12 volt car supply!

He also runs his laptop from it. He has a lap supply that operates down to 12 volts AC/DC up to 120 Volts universal type with just a cord change. I think he uses 2 12 volt batteries, not sure..

Not sure of the battery sizes how ever, I know its got capacity, He does plug it into 120 AC if its available locally and does have some batteries for some of his stuff if the cord gets in the way. THis is just a back up when those go down, he keeps the dummy packs in a pouch mounted on the back side of the dolly for each device. P.S. This dolly also has a small inverter on it!, much like one of those portable power units you see.

It's an interesting concept for guys on the go and I am sure that units like this are available with out building your own. You just need to gutt out a bad pack on the tool and put in a heavy heat sink with a pwm supply with power mosfets and set the correct voltage, like he did :)

That was certainly true of many of the crude chargers found on low end power tools - often no more than a DC supply with a series resistor. But good modern ones shouldn't do any harm if left on.

Incidentally, all such things that work GREAT are usually discontinued by the manufacturer: