Aftermarket tool batteries VS factory batteries.

[FredH]

Both My Brother and Myself have the Craftsman C3 drills and impact drivers . I also have a small lawn trimmer / weed eater and a hedge trimmer that run on the same batteries . We bought after market batteries that are rated for 3000 mAh instead of the 2000 mAh that the OEM are rated at . Two 3000 mAh batteries for $43 with free shipping or go to Sears and buy 2 2000 mAh battieries for $80 . The Oem's brand new would not entirely trim our lawn while the Aftermarket's will trim the lawn plus extra . Oh and they have twice as long now than the OEM's did and are still going .
I am by no means a Pro , We just use Our's around the house and through out the 3+ year remodel of Our Mom's house .

Oh and these are the NiCd batteries , not Lithium's .

Fred H.

 

[jenkinsph]

That's really odd, I've always thought of Milwaukee as a good if not great tool brand who backed up their products well. I've been going with DeWalt for most of the battery stuff. I had one Ryobi 12V NiCd drill that I converted to plug into a vehicle when the batteries gave up on it. The only Milwaukee tool I have is a corded sawzall. So far it has worked great. If I'm not mistaken, Milwaukee invented the sawzall.

The older Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Black and Decker Professional corded tools were good quality tools imo. I still have several of these that I use today. The cordless tools are not comparable though, I don't see where these brands are much different from the others such as Ryobi for less cost.

 

[ultrarunner]

Huge fan of Milwaukee... some are almost 40 years old and going strong... especially like the Magnum line with the extra set of brushes inside and detachable cord.

Seems an overall decline when manufacturing shifted to China.

I have a $600 drain auger kit that came with a Milwaukee Power head... a few months after the warranty the pistol grip switch went out... was told by Spartan the switch is obsolete and the design was changed... Milwaukee told me the same... I had only used it about 6 times... and one person said the reason for the design change is because of problems...

Seems Spartan bought a lot of these power heads and even though mine was Brand New... it had been discontinued by the time I bought...

We also have very good local service centers... there is one now and my friend had a bad Milwaukee tool and took it in... he was told 30 days turn around unless he wanted to pay $20 for expedited Warranty Service... I realize others do this like Moen... but it just shows how things have changed.

He took the tool back to home depot and they exchanged it...

The battery did surprise me... in that I did send it in and was expecting it to be replaced as it was in warranty...

I went to Home Depot and paid to buy a new one as the Drill/Driver set was a gift... and there is no way I would want my 10 year old niece to have to deal with it...

As a side note... it is my brother that is always asking to borrow her Milwaukee... It does my heart good.

 

[Gregster613]

Thanks for the C3 Li-on link Midniteoyl; I have yet to look and see how much $$ it would cost to change style of battery, but I'll bet it will be as cheap if not cheaper to just exchange the tool for new. Shucks.
FredH, where do you get aftermarket 3000mAh C3's from? Probably amazon, but could you please post a link for me? I really liked the difference in $43 from $80!! I'd sure try that route first I believe. I'm just a homeowner user to, not serious 8 hour use on a daily basis, but like a battery that can last when I need to get a job done.

Thanks, Greg

 

[dickfoster]

I just got the lithium ion replacement batteries for my DeWalt 14.4V tools in along with the free charger from Battery Ship out of Cheyenne, WY. I charged up both batteries then tried one out in my tools they fit and work great. Although not an exact fit like the OEM originals they fit well enough and are much lighter and hold more charge. Now only time will tell if they hold up. Right now I am happy to have these tools restored to use.

 

[ultrarunner]

One of the things I like about my old Bosch cordless tools is the 15 minute charger...

Have not kept up but do lithium also charge as fast?

 

[4570Man]

My Bosch and Makita batteries fully charge in 30 minutes. My buddy is a big Porter Cable fan ( I don't like them nearly as much as my Bosch and Makita stuff ) and his batteries take forever to charge.

 

[ultrarunner]

The quick charger was an option that I really appreciate...

Bosch no longer sells replacement 12v last I checked so I have mine rebuilt... so far so good... the tools are almost 20 years old... maybe 18?

 

[Xfaxman]

I found this battery re-builder on eBay several years ago, bought a higher amp hour 19.2 volt C3 battery.

It had more power and lasted longer than the battery that came with the drill.

Bought another one after he started his own Website: currentbatteries.com - Home

 

[FredH]

Thanks for the C3 Li-on link Midniteoyl; I have yet to look and see how much $$ it would cost to change style of battery, but I'll bet it will be as cheap if not cheaper to just exchange the tool for new. Shucks.
FredH, where do you get aftermarket 3000mAh C3's from? Probably amazon, but could you please post a link for me? I really liked the difference in $43 from $80!! I'd sure try that route first I believe. I'm just a homeowner user to, not serious 8 hour use on a daily basis, but like a battery that can last when I need to get a job done.

Thanks, Greg

Here you go Greg : Enegitech 2 Pack Battery For Craftsman C3 19.2V XCP 3.Ah High Capacity 11375... | eBay

Same seller We have bought from 3 differnet times without any issue's .

Fred H.