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So, I decided to replace the battery on the Dewalt. I thought the battery was a little pricy, but you probably get what you pay for. I also am not in a hurry to buy the new drill. But since they are expensive, I also want to get it or something similar on sale. My Dewalt drill still works fine but the original batteries were not holding up well.
The new battery is a little heavier, but the weight at that location on the drill seems to provide good stability. I wanted to buy one of the new hammer drills such as the Hitachi DV18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-inch Cordless Hammer Drill. This battery is as others have described as being much better than the original, being stronger and holding a charge longer. We'll see. I don't think I really need two batteries for the amount of time I use the drill.
I was so impressed that I got a second one and recycled my remaining (operable) original battery. When one totally died during a project I sent my wife out to get a replacement battery. I was disappointed in the DeWalt 14.4 volt batteries that came with my drill/driver. She returned with a NiCad version which I loved. It makes using the drill much more practicle. It holds a charge extremely well and lasts much, much longer between charges.
There's not much to say it's a battery, but so far it seems to be working great
One word of caution, the XRP batteries will not fit in the older drill case whether on or off the drill because they are larger. These XRP batteries are a lot better than the original battery if your drill was made after about 1999. My original batteries only lasted about 3-4 years on my new drill (purchased 2004). The older case has a more molded appearance on the inside and is double wall plastic. I have a Dewalt 14.4V I bought in 1994 and still use the original batteries.
There are companies that'll rebuild the battery pack, typically with longer-lasting sub-C cells, for less than the cost of a new one (but admittedly not by much). However, given the relative cost and simplicity of manufacturing a unit, you should be able to get more performance for less from a reputable battery rebuilder.EDIT (12/04/2009): Bought a DeWalt DC9310 charger DeWalt DC9310 Heavy-Duty 7.2 Volt - 18 Volt 1 Hour Charger to replace DC9116 charger. The DC9310 was able to charge the dead DC9091 to ~12 volts consistently, indicating two dead cells. I'm hoping the other one will continue to work, but now I'm stuck with only one working battery. Battery is now usable again, but at 12 volts. The NiCad technology is proven, dependable, and is suited well for high drain devices such as power tools. Bought a set of DeWalt tools, which included two XRP 14.4v batteries and a charger over four years ago.
Unfortunately, last weekend one of the batteries died out and wouldn't take a charge anymore (it's been on the wane for a couple months before that). I came nowhere near the advertised 1,200 charge/discharge cycles, so that was disappointing.I've had these units for more than four years, so I can't complain about one dying. I didn't really use the set much until the last two years, when I suddenly had a couple of backyard projects. While not ideal, it was good enough for me to effectively operate all the tools, thus extending the life of the battery. These batteries pack quite a charge, and provides plenty of power and duration, especially for the reciprocating saw and trim saw. While I agree that these batteries are excellent, and should be priced accordingly, I'm not sure they need to be quite that expensive.
Based on trade reviews, the rebuilds either meet or exceed specifications, and I'm leaning that way not so much for the cost savings, but for the extended runtime.So, in summary, these are absolutely great batteries.
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