Rebuilt Batteries .........

[Tony Falotico]

I'm getting ready to send my DeWalt 14V batteries to Primecell Rechargeable Battery Service in Bedford, PA (http://www.primecell.com/) to be rebuilt. They just won't hold a charge for more than a few minutes anymore. Has anyone had experience with these folks or any other battery rebuilds? Is it worth $35 a shot or should I just part with the $55 for new ones?
Any info or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tony.

[Bob Reilly]

I'm getting ready to send my DeWalt 14V batteries to Primecell Rechargeable Battery Service in Bedford, PA (http://www.primecell.com/) to be rebuilt. They just won't hold a charge for more than a few minutes anymore. Has anyone had experience with these folks or any other battery rebuilds? Is it worth $35 a shot or should I just part with the $55 for new ones?
Any info or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tony.

I had batteries rebuilt 2 years ago,by Batteries plus and they are still as strong as day one, and primecell uses a higher amp hour cell so i'd say it's probably worth a shot.

[Carl Eyman]

I just helped a friend replace cells in his PC 12V. They use size sub C and Radio Shack sells them for $3.75. If yours uses the same size being 14 V it will take 12 of them; so you can see 12 x $3.75 = $45 and you still have the labor. However, in his case we found 3 cells dead and the rest OK; so we just replaced 3 cells for $11.25 and put it back together. So far so good - about 2 months now. On the other hand he can expect that the old cells will quit sooner than new ones would. You pays your monery and takes your chances.

[David Klug]

How do you open the battery pack. I have a Wagner drill that I just love but it fell off the bench and now it will not take a charge. Any help would be appreciated.TIA

Dave

[Bob Reilly]

How do you open the battery pack. I have a Wagner drill that I just love but it fell off the bench and now it will not take a charge. Any help would be appreciated.TIA

Dave

There should be screws holding it togeather, if not may not be able to be rebuilt,but new batteries are readily available for your drill.

[Carl Eyman]

I hear some brands just run plastic studs instead of screws and then "peen" over the studs like rivets with heat. In that case some have had success grinding off the "peen" openning the pack and then using epoxy to re-seal. Risky, but maybe worth a try.

[Ross Canant]

Primecell did my Dewalt batteries early this year. They work fine, but the glue holding the housing failed on both of them. I just re-glued them with CA and they work great. The batteries themselves have been fine.

[Tony Falotico]

Thanks for all the input. I showed the website to an electronics wizard colleague of mine this morning, after reading the description he asked me if I would include his with mine. He picked them up at lunchtime and all four were shipped to Primecell today. Will keep you posted on how it works out and how the rebuilds work.

Interesting comment Ross, my 14 volt'ers were screwed together with 5 screws, my buddy's 12V (DeWalts) did not have screws.

Thanks again for the input.