Looking for an economical source of 4/5 Sub C NiCad cells for power tools...

jk037

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
156
Location
Yorkshire, UK
Evening CPF'ers, I know this isn't strictly related to flashlights but it IS about batteries! :cool:

I've got a little 12-volt DeWalt cordless drill which is about 5 years old, and the original NiCad battery packs are, well... ****ed. And that's putting it politely. One will only charge up to 7.1V (i.e. only 5 of the 10 cells working), the other manages 10V (7 out of 10 working), and even the better one only gives a fraction of the working life that it used to.

Ideally I'd like to re-cell both packs but I'm finding it difficult to get my hands on the required cells - I believe they're what are termed "4/5 Sub C", being about 22mm diameter by 33mm height. Not only are they quite hard to find - even the usual Hong Kong discount emporiums have failed me! - but I can't seem to find them for less than £2.50 each which makes it almost as expensive as buying a replacement DeWalt battery pack, which can be found for just under £30 on fleabay.

Soooo... does anyone know of a cheap way to get hold of these cells? I don't necessarily mean recommend me a retailer; what I'm wondering is if there are any battery packs for other applications that are (a) full of 4/5 Sub C's, and (b) can be picked up for much less than the cost of the individual cells.
 

HighlanderNorth

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
1,593
Location
Mid Atlantic USA
I second this question, as I was just looking for battery packs for my 18v Ridgid professional hammer drill and circular saw. I bought both tools like 9 years ago, and although they still work, they dont hold nearly as good a charge as before. I assume they are NiCd. They want like $70 or so for each replacement battery, so I'd like to know what type of cells are in these, and where to get them too?
 
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