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

From: Jim Stone <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2025 16:33:54 -0400

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Thanks, Ronnie. I=E2=80=99ve watched Project Farm videos before, but =
never spent time reviewing everything he has to offer.  I could (and =
undoubtedly will) kill a lot of time there!  I watched a few of the =
knockoff battery reviews and they were very informative.  Still, I am =
not sure what my options are here, since there is no longer an OEM =
version available.  The one I bought (not one of the brands he reviewed, =
I am afraid) should be here shortly and I will post my review - absent =
the extensive testing - when I have some experience with it.

> On Jun 27, 2025, at 8:16=E2=80=AFAM, Ronnie Day <[email-masked]> =
wrote:
>=20
> For third party replacement battery packs check out the various tests =
on the Project Farm YouTube channel. He does very extensive testing and =
evaluations.
>=20
> On Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 9:52=E2=80=AFPM Jim Juhas =
>> Jim,
>>=20
>> For what it's worth, in case you decide to rebuild, I have rebuilt =
battery packs for my obsolete Craftsman 12 volt drill,
>> and the battery packs for my old Sunpak high voltage camera flash =
units. All of these originals were made with NiCd batteries and I've =
used NiMH with great success. I source the batteries from =
ONLYBATTERIES.COM <http://onlybatteries.com/>. The great advantage to =
the rebuild route is I get to select higher capacity batteries than the =
originals. They take longer to charge with the original chargers but =
last enough longer in the devices to make it worthwhile. This has been =
an incredible advantage in using the camera flash unit. The Sunpak packs =
uses low voltage sub c or AA sizes, depending on when they were made, to =
operate an oscillator circuit to generate a 510 volt equivalent for the =
flash.
>>=20
>> In my case, the original types are not available anywhere so =
rebuilding was my only choice.
>>=20
>> Jim
>>=20
>> On 6/26/2025 8:13 PM, Jim Stone wrote:
>>> Thanks, David.  The Amazon listing indicates compatibility with the =
original charger and several reviews say they had no trouble doing so.  =
It is a $40-$50 gamble either way and I have too many projects at the =
moment to add rebuilding a battery pack to the mix.  I will give the =
Amazon pack a try and report back.
>>>=20
>>> Jim
>>>=20
>>> p.s. I switched to Milwaukee battery tools, as well.  I started with =
the M12 set and then added M18=E2=80=99s as well.  I especially like the =
fact that one charger will charge both the 12v and 18v batteries.  I =
still have some of my old tools and have bought a couple of adaptors to =
be able to continue using a few of them with the M18 batteries.  They =
are reasonably inexpensive and work very well.  I wish I could do that =
with the Bosch saw, but no one make one and, while I could probably rig =
something using the old pack, I don't want to risk burning out the motor =
running it at only 18 volts.
>>>=20
>>>> On Jun 25, 2025, at 7:48=E2=80=AFAM, DAVID MASSEY =
>>>>=20
>>>> 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.
>>>>=20
>>>> 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.
>>>>=20
>>>> BTW I bought a pair of Milwaukee 12V tools and never looked back.  =
I pitched all my Ni-Cad drills and recycled the batteries.
>>>>=20
>>>> Dave
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> On Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 01:36:47 PM CDT, Jim Stone =
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> 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 won=E2=80=99t hold a charge long enough to be =
useful. And, I don=E2=80=99t think there is a way to utilize other, e.g. =
Milwaukee M18, batteries in a 24v system.  Besides, there don=E2=80=99t =
appear to be any adaptors available.
>>>>=20
>>>> So, that leaves me with two choices: rebuild my current batteries =
or buy new ones on Amazon.  I=E2=80=99ve taken one of the battery packs =
apart and can see that it just uses standard Sub C 1.2v batteries - 20 =
of them!  I=E2=80=99ve 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/B=
073Z9QHXS/ref=3Dsr_1_17). =20
>>>>=20
>>>> I=E2=80=99m 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.
>>>>=20
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Jim
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>=20
>>>> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
>>>> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
>>>> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk =
http://autox.team.net/archive
>>>>=20
>>>> Unsubscribe/Manage: =
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
>>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>=20
>>> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
>>> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
>>> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk =
http://autox.team.net/archive
>>>=20
>>> Unsubscribe/Manage: =
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
>>>=20
>>=20
>> _______________________________________________
>>=20
>> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
>> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
>> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk =
http://autox.team.net/archive
>>=20
>> Unsubscribe/Manage: =
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
>>=20
> _______________________________________________
>=20
> [email-masked]
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk =
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>=20
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<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"content-type" content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Dutf-8"></head><body style=3D"overflow-wrap: break-word; =
-webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">Thanks, =
Ronnie. I=E2=80=99ve watched Project Farm videos before, but never spent =
time reviewing everything he has to offer. &nbsp;I could (and =
undoubtedly will) kill a lot of time there! &nbsp;I watched a few of the =
knockoff battery reviews and they were very informative. &nbsp;Still, I =
am not sure what my options are here, since there is no longer an OEM =
version available. &nbsp;The one I bought (not one of the brands he =
reviewed, I am afraid) should be here shortly and I will post my review =
- absent the extensive testing - when I have some experience with it.<br =
id=3D"lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage"><div><br><blockquote =
type=3D"cite"><div>On Jun 27, 2025, at 8:16=E2=80=AFAM, Ronnie Day =
&lt;[email-masked]&gt; wrote:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><div><div dir=3D"auto">For third =
party replacement battery packs check out the various tests on the =
Project Farm YouTube channel. He does very extensive testing and =
evaluations.</div><div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote =
gmail_quote_container"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Thu, Jun =
26, 2025 at 9:52=E2=80=AFPM Jim Juhas &lt;<a =
href=3D"mailto:[email-masked]">[email-masked]</a>&gt; =
wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 =
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><u></u>

 =20
   =20
 =20
  <div>
    Jim,<br>
    <br>
    For what it's worth, in case you decide to rebuild, I have rebuilt
    battery packs for my obsolete Craftsman 12 volt drill,<br>
    and the battery packs for my old Sunpak high voltage camera flash
    units. All of these originals were made with NiCd batteries and I've
    used NiMH with great success. I source the batteries from
    <a href=3D"http://onlybatteries.com/" =
target=3D"_blank">ONLYBATTERIES.COM</a>. The great advantage to the =
rebuild route is I get
    to select higher capacity batteries than the originals. They take
    longer to charge with the original chargers but last enough longer
    in the devices to make it worthwhile. This has been an incredible
    advantage in using the camera flash unit. The Sunpak packs uses low
    voltage sub c or AA sizes, depending on when they were made, to
    operate an oscillator circuit to generate a 510 volt equivalent for
    the flash.<br>
    <br>
    In my case, the original types are not available anywhere so
    rebuilding was my only choice.<br>
    <br>
    Jim<br>
    <div><br>
      <span =
id=3D"cid:ii_197b14de781916cec71">&lt;MGA_311_LRP_2.JPG&gt;</span></div>
    <div>On 6/26/2025 8:13 PM, Jim Stone wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type=3D"cite">
     =20
      Thanks, David.&nbsp; The Amazon listing indicates compatibility =
with
      the original charger and several reviews say they had no trouble
      doing so.&nbsp; It is a $40-$50 gamble either way and I have too =
many
      projects at the moment to add rebuilding a battery pack to the
      mix.&nbsp; I will give the Amazon pack a try and report back.
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Jim</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>p.s. I switched to Milwaukee battery tools, as well.&nbsp; I
        started with the M12 set and then added M18=E2=80=99s as =
well.&nbsp; I
        especially like the fact that one charger will charge both the
        12v and 18v batteries.&nbsp; I still have some of my old tools =
and
        have bought a couple of adaptors to be able to continue using a
        few of them with the M18 batteries.&nbsp; They are reasonably
        inexpensive and work very well.&nbsp; I wish I could do that =
with the
        Bosch saw, but no one make one and, while I could probably rig
        something using the old pack, I don't want to risk burning out
        the motor running it at only 18 volts.<br =
id=3D"m_-7545381191938205372lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage">
        <div><br>
          <blockquote type=3D"cite">
            <div>On Jun 25, 2025, at 7:48=E2=80=AFAM, DAVID MASSEY
              <a href=3D"mailto:[email-masked]" =
target=3D"_blank">&lt;[email-masked]&gt;</a> wrote:</div>
            <br>
            <div>
              <div>
                <div =
style=3D"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px">
                  <div>
                    <div dir=3D"ltr">I used to have an
                      old Makita drill that came with Ni-Cad a battery
                      that eventually stopped being usable.&nbsp; I =
bought a
                      pair of lithium-based replacement batteries.&nbsp; =
On
                      the surface they looked like a much better option
                      with double the capacity and they worked with
                      existing drill and charger.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I
                      could charge them up in the evening and the next
                      morning they would be close to dead.</div>
                    <div dir=3D"ltr"><br>
                    </div>
                    <div dir=3D"ltr">But I see these
                      are Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I also see the bullet =
point
                      about no self-discharge - which was my =
problem.&nbsp;
                      This is a $45 gamble (as it is with most no-name
                      stuff from the Pacific rim) but YMMV.&nbsp; This =
might
                      be a good one.&nbsp; Let us know.</div>
                    <div dir=3D"ltr"><br>
                    </div>
                    <div dir=3D"ltr">BTW I bought a
                      pair of Milwaukee 12V tools and never looked
                      back.&nbsp; I pitched all my Ni-Cad drills and =
recycled
                      the batteries.</div>
                    <div><br>
                    </div>
                    <div>
                      <div =
style=3D"font-style:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-weight:normal;font-s=
tretch:normal;font-size:12pt;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial,Helvetic=
a,sans-serif">
                        <div =
style=3D"font-style:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-weight:normal;font-s=
tretch:normal;font-size:12pt;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial,Helvetic=
a,sans-serif">
                          <div><font size=3D"4">Dave <br>
                            </font></div>
                          <div><span =
style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"><br>
                            </span></div>
                          <br>
                        </div>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                  <div><br>
                  </div>
                  <div><br>
                  </div>
                </div>
                <div =
id=3D"m_-7545381191938205372ydp39c7469ayahoo_quoted_1269154354">
                  <div =
style=3D"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px">
                    <div style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica =
Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a">
                      <div> On
                        Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 01:36:47 PM CDT, Jim
                        Stone <a href=3D"mailto:[email-masked]" =
target=3D"_blank">&lt;[email-masked]&gt;</a> wrote: </div>
                    </div>
                    <div style=3D"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">
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div>
                        <div =
id=3D"m_-7545381191938205372ydp39c7469ayiv7389328937">
                          <div>I have an old Bosch 24v miter saw that I
                            would like to be able to continue using for
                            quick, non critical cuts.&nbsp; The only =
problem
                            is that the NiCad batteries won=E2=80=99t =
hold a
                            charge long enough to be useful. And, I
                            don=E2=80=99t think there is a way to =
utilize other,
                            e.g. Milwaukee M18, batteries in a 24v
                            system.&nbsp; Besides, there don=E2=80=99t =
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.&nbsp; I=E2=80=99ve taken =
one of the
                              battery packs apart and can see that it
                              just uses standard Sub C 1.2v batteries -
                              20 of them!&nbsp; I=E2=80=99ve never =
rebuilt battery
                              packs but it looks pretty straight
                              forward; just time consuming. &nbsp;20 Sub =
C
                              batteries would run me about $40-50.
                              &nbsp;(Having it done professionally looks =
to
                              cost at least twice that.) &nbsp;Or, I =
could
                              just buy a Chinese-made replacement pack
                              for just a few bucks more. &nbsp;(<a =
href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/Exmate-Replacement-Battery-Compatible-BH-24=
24/dp/B073Z9QHXS/ref=3Dsr_1_17" rel=3D"nofollow" =
target=3D"_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Exmate-Replacement-Battery-Compat=
ible-BH-2424/dp/B073Z9QHXS/ref=3Dsr_1_17</a>).
                              &nbsp;</div>
                            <div><br>
                            </div>
                            <div>I=E2=80=99m 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?&nbsp; 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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