I had a couple of 5 yr old Milwaukee packs that were weak. I went to do the same thing as you thinking I would just replace all the cells with some top of the line Molicels and upgrade the performance......Well after removing the cells, which was a pain as the cases are continuous and it takes a wood block and press or nylon hammer to extract the cells. I found that the 21700 cells they use are the Top of the line Panasonics.....yeah the top of the line Molicels would output more power.....about 5% LOL. So I will just be replacing the defective cells and putting them back in service. When you compare Milwaukee to other tool packs you find out the extra money you paid was money well spent.
They do hold up very well in most cases. They are having issues with packs with the Samsung 21700 40T cells in the 8Ah and 12Ah packs as mentioned in previous videos.
@@ThriftyToolShed That BS!!!!!! Oh wait a minute. Both the packs I am having trouble with are the 8Ah with the 21700 cells ;-) My 12 Ah pack is still holding up fine but its a couple of yrs older whereas both the 8Ah packs were bought at the same time. The other strange thing is my oldest 5Ah bundled with tool packs are doing fine despite being the oldest and getting used the most. All of my tools are beat on daily and sit in the covered bed of my truck so they get both frozen and baked on a daily basis. Thanks for the feedback!
@@1bottlefed I have noticed my 5Ah heavy used batteries are holding up super well also over the years. I think the Samsung 40T ( in the 8Ah and 12Ah) had some issues early on and the 40T3 which oddly enough is just the 2nd Gen of the cell not the third, but anyway, hopefully they are much better now. I am not sure what manufacturing dates that may have changed. We shall see!
They both make great tools and some tools seem better in one than the other. As far as batteries I do like both, but I like the way DeWalt has the terminals at the top and you can actually test cell balancing if needed. One of the only packs out there to have that. I do not like the FlexVolt DeWalt packs though as they are complex and switch the cells groups from series to parallel. I have had better luck with Milwaukee M18 packs than any platform I have had. Now lately the 8Ah and 12Ah packs have been problematic with the Samsung 21700 40T cells. They are not lasting like my old 5.0 packs have. I use Milwaukee at home (and in my previous small business) and that is my main platform. I also use DeWalt at work and I have had excellent experiences with both. If I had to choose which one to start from I would lean towards Milwaukee, but you can't go wrong with either. Flex is a newer option as well that seems to be excellent especially just coming out and standing pretty tall. I will always like Makita and I do have some Makita tools, but the price keeps me from ever being straight Makita platform.
I love these 20P's. I bought a bunch when I first got into 18650's and at first thought it was kind of a dumb pick. Wished I had gotten more 33V's. Now that I know how valuable these high drain cells are and seeing that I'm swimming in a sea of LG MJ1's, I wish I had gotten more 20P's for that price! I put them in all my 18650 tool packs and they've never let me down. At $2 a piece they were just no brainers for just about any tool pack unless you were really trying to get as many Ah's as possible and wanted to put in VTC6's but those are pricey. No clue how I only recently stumbled upon your channel. Like I said in a previous video, you are extremely knowledgeable. I don't think I've ever heard you say anything that was factually inaccurate and you're not just pigeon holed to 18650's, seems like you are a jack of many trades.
Thanks so much for your kind comment! I do enjoy working on many things. My career has been Industrial Electrical Technician Its not as much board level electronics as it used to be, but electronics repair has always been a hobby. I enjoy seeing the value in things that with a little time can keep them from the landfill. Glad you shared your experience with these cells I really appreciate that!
Rewatching this I noticed you talked about reusing nickel strip. After doing some testing with a milliohmeter (along with using a SunStone welder that has a pneumatic weld head that is NOT forgiving when it comes to nickel not laying flat on the terminal) I've realized how important it is to use new nickel that is cut to length and has not been bent or kinked in any way. If you lay a flat piece of nickel on a terminal and hit it about 3 times you can get quite a bit of the terminal covered perfectly by the nickel in a way that provides a solid connection. When it comes to power applications like this resistance is EVERYTHING and putting 5 14mR (AC IR) cells in series gives you 70mR....add the nickel to that and you're probably closer to 90mR. Obviously if you do a 2P configuration you don't quite cut the 5S number in half because to create the 2P you are using nickel but its not too far off.....So instead of 70mR....say its 40-45mR...Then maybe up to 60mR for the entire pack. If you reuse nickel (or heaven forbid use nickel plated steel, YUCK) I could see the resistance for the pack being nearly double...48W at 20A with 120mR and 24W at 20A with 60mR. You're one of the reasons why I bought that spot welder though along with that Steve guy that tests them on here. You can get them for about $18 on Aliexpress. I blew my first one up paralleling a 3S2P Headway 38120 Pack with a 3S8P A123 26650 M1B pack...Use either one of those by themselves and you get great results even with 0.20mm thick pure nickel...wanted to see if 0.30mm thick pure nickel was possible but definitely pushed it over the edge. Both packs measure 3.6'ish milliohms with my RC3563 so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that 2.5mR is probably close to maxing out the capabilities of that board and its mosfets. I like how that spot welder essentially has its own IR calculator by making you enter the pack Ah and C rating. As long as you are honest about the C rating and Ah size it definitely does a good job telling you if you are underpower, good or overpower. Before my first one blew up it flashed overpower (red) at me so I should have known better. I havent had much luck using Lipos. Tried a CNHL but it was garbage straight from the seller, had one cell that was a couple milliohms higher than the other two. The whole Lipo C rating thing is BS, they just can't tell the truth. I've now learned that companies like Turnigy and SMC are appropriately priced high C packs....but having to discharge the pack to storage level every time I'm done using it is just too much work. LiFePO4 lasts forever and you can keep it at 90% without harming it too much. Headways are dirt cheap from BatteryHookup, you can build a pack for a spot welder that'll do 1500A for $100'ish. I'd suggest doing 3S3P or 4S3P...maybe 4P but if you get a decent batch of cells from BH then you might be blowing mosfets like I was....luck of the draw there. At $5.50 each it doesn't hurt to order a few extra and test them all before deciding which ones you want to use for your pack. If you can come across an A123 12S8P pack that WASN'T used in an E-Bus and still has >95% capacity they are a great deal for ~$100. Cut it into thirds and you have 3 12V 20Ah packs that can start any engine, spot weld, etc while also being used as small LiFePO4 power stations. Could even run a 1000W inverter for a short period of time...a great option for running a microwave with a small batter (or some other >1000W appliance that only gets used for several minutes a day)
Yes reusing the strips is not only difficult and sometimes nearly impossible it is also absolutely going to be higher in resistance. Even if flattened well like I try to do and hit a different (unused) or new spot. If it matters in situations I would use new strips for sure. I feel like I don't have the power to properly spot weld many of the original strip anyway so especially after removing and re straightening them. The new strips are a breeze! Thanks so much for sharing!
Absolutely, the latest M18 pack I built on video was using the 4200mah Molicel cells as a 2P setup. The 8.4Ah is awesome as well. I was playing around with the "Beast" 10Ah LiPo and decided I needed to also make one that was not just a play toy for testing. It has been a very handy pack and still pretty light weight for the capacity it has.
When you are using the screwdriver to pry up the nickel strips be very careful on the positive side not to put any real pressure on the edge. The negative side is only a thin plastic sleeve away. It's real easy short out the cells in that location. The arcing can completely destroy the positive terminal. These cells were 0 volts so it probably would not actually arc at all.
The charger cannot do cell balancing. The charger can only provide voltage (approx. 21 volts) through 2 pins. No way to balance 5 cells inside, the individual cells are completely hidden from the charger.
So you are saying that your charger does not use the pins that we show do in fact go to all 5 cells as mentioned. The pins that can in fact monitor all cells individually.
@@ThriftyToolShedon a second thought, since manufacturers probably sell many more batteries than chargers, it makes sense to put the BMS into the charger like deWalt does, rather than in the battery. I think Bosch, Makita etc. put BMS electronics in all batteries while budget brands like Parxide et co. omit balancing altogether.
Great Video and information Thank you for sharing. How's your multimeter working out for you? i ordered mine on the 10th and its coming from Hong Kong, how long did it take to get yours? Thanks.
It came from Kaiweets stock in the US, so it only took about a week or so. I really have enjoyed using all my Kaiweets meters. Thanks for your comment!
I almost always use .15 strips. The .15 strips just spot weld so solid. I will double them up at times when I feel the current demand will be really high. Like around the positive and negative ends. The parallel and series strips have multiple current paths. The factory strips seemed to be around .25, but I did not measure. Thanks for your kind comment!
Hi, I have some links in the video description, but not to the newest Bench power supply that I have. I really like the Wanptek 60V with presets and output on and off. I just got this supply last week and it also comes in a cheaper 30V version if that is enough for you as well. I use this with the Current set to 1A or so: amzn.to/3Y1GVi6 As for individual cells charging and testing I use this: amzn.to/3IVa361 For the spot welder battery charger I use this: amzn.to/3Ybdr1m Thanks for your kind comment!
They do put in nice cells. Theyre only 1500mah but 30a draw. I would use 2 strips on the drains (positive and negative ends of the pack) just ro be safe since thats where the highest amperage is
Usually 0.25 - 0.3mm from my experience. As mentioned I have doubled up on the .15 also when I need to. As shown in the latest EGO cell replacement video. Most folks don't have spot welders that can handle the 0.3mm. It takes a 14KW or above to spot weld some of those thick strips. I just finally posted a video today about a new 24KW spot welder I am testing. It is pricey, but it is nice to be able to effectively spor weld .3mm nickel strips.
@ThriftyToolShed mine stretched pretty hard to get good ones on 1.5mm x 6mm which I doubled. A lot of time, but the result was fantastic! Benchmarked result was >5× a similar cell.
I have and they will work ok if you use the pack size within the range of your spot weld board. For example most boards will accept 3S and 4S some not 5S packs. One more advantage of the Lipo pack is higher instantaneous current output.
Hi John, I have showed enough to get a good idea of how they work. I don't know how many I will repair. I do find them interesting, but the design is one the worst for repair on the market in my opinion. The connector, all the contact points and the board being under all of that and coated makes it so time consuming. It is a shame because DeWalt 20V MAX packs are one of the easiest to repair and test in my opinion. That is one reason I will spend time repairing these 20V packs. The regular 20V packs have a simple cell monitoring board and easy to disassemble. If I do come across some other FlexVolt packs I may show a repair in the future if the video doesn't turn out to be super long. Thanks for your comment!
Either of you near Alpharetta (metro Atlanta)? Someone there has a DeWALT lawnmower with two malfunctioning FlexVolt batteries for $125. I’d love to take a crack at it but I’m kinda between homes at the moment (displaced by a tornado). Hate to see it go to waste.
@@ThriftyToolShed Thanks. I just donated my two gas mowers that got crushed under the collapsed balcony. Gave them to a small engine place in Whitesburg for parts. I don’t even know if the place I end up will have a lawn and I don’t have enough storage so I can’t go buying stuff like that right now. My twin bro goes to West Point daily on the border with Alabama if that’s any closer and you want him to pick it up. It’s a seller on Craigslist in Alpharetta. Edit: Just realized I typo’d before. He actually only wants $125.
I do use ceramic blades at times, but they are way too brittle to pry with I believe. I use plastic when I can but it's simply not strong enough to do many jobs to me. I am trying more plastic type pry tools at the moment. I always find myself going back to the metal tools and trying to insulate with plastic or mica sheets when needed so I have the control I need. I just stay very mindful of where the tool is touching at all times.
Hey! Super cool video!. I was thinking what if I remove the batteries completely and attach direct power with AC to DC Adjustable Power Supply. so I can use all power tools plugged in. Is this something possible? its like making a direct power adapter for all stationary tools like mitre saw etc. Thanks!
I have done that years ago with NiCd powered tools mostly. It was easy to do with straight up 18-20VDC in and the tools were back in use again after getting so tired of the expensive and crappy NiCd packs not holding up. With the newer Lithium packs it gets a little bit more difficult. You have to figure out what the tool needs to run as far as feedback from the BMS board and after that it is difficult to find a supply that will deliver the current demand of some tools. Some of these newer Brushless tools can spike to over 100A in use. Just things to consider. I believe TTC has done this with a Milwaukee set-up and did some testing with it a couple years ago also. Thanks for your kind comment!
You know, they sell “rebuild” packs for DeWALT batteries with pre-made nickel strips and everything. If you had to buy all new cells anyway you could have used one of those to build DeWALT packs from scratch… though I’d still prefer to transfer the original DeWALT casing and circuit board.
That's the thing about DeWalt packs in my opinion. Typically they are easy to rebuild and the cell monitoring is so simple it gives many years of good life. I mentioned this in the video description as well. So if it has a little corrosion on it just clean it up, re-cell if needed and it's good to go for another 8-10 years or so (more than likely). I will say I did not realize the case was this bad before I started disassembly and that may be your main point here? I admit, if I had known the case was damaged like that I most likely would have not repaired it and simply removed the board for spare parts. I will do that more often than not. I decided to do it for my friend and the video sake as well. Thanks for your comment!
@@ThriftyToolShed I just mean that the 10-cell “20V Max” rebuild kits are only about $8 with casing and fuel gauge. At $2 a cell you can build a totally new pack for about $28 and you don’t even have to cut your own nickel strips… you can use the heavy-duty stamped and folded ones included with the rebuild kit, which might even be the same thicker gauge as the original battery. Just thinking it could save you the trouble of concerning yourself with the condition of the corroded originals which you ultimately replaced anyway.
Yes, $8 may be worth it. I have seen these for around $20 or so a while back. Good to know. I will admit though I like knowing the quality of my nickel strips you have to really watch some of the Chinese material some seem to be mostly iron. They all have some, but not as much as the cheaper ones.
@@ThriftyToolShed It seems that AliExpress is flooded with genuine DeWALT parts so I kinda wonder if some of these are too… just without the branding. For example, I already knew I could get a DeWALT DCF899 replacement housing and wondered if I could use it on the rebadged Craftsman CMCF940. Of course, the battery terminal block would be different since it’s made to fit Craftsman batteries… and DeWALT only sells the motor, trigger, and battery terminals as one expensive assembly. I looked on Amazon and eBay first but AliExpress had loads of them with every replacement part imaginable in “Genuine DeWALT parts” packaging and everything. Most counterfeits on AliExpress try to hide logos and branding in their listing even if they actually have them… and they rarely copy the OEM parts packaging… so I’m pretty sure these are legit or at least factory seconds. I’m so cheap that I’ll probably try to take apart an old charger or something instead and try to see if I can wire it in, but the whole assembly is cheap enough that it certainly looks like an option!
@@ThriftyToolShed Just checked my view history and the $10 DCB200 set doesn’t show any logos but the user review does: “DeWALT 20v MAX XR 5Ah” even though it’s technically 0Ah. ;) The plates cover four cells at a time and even have the gaps that force current to go through the battery terminal during spot-welding. Edit: OK, scratch that. The user’s English was pretty broken but it sounds like he transferred (“rolled”) the labels from his DeWALT battery to make it look original. Figured it would say 18v anywhere else.
I think one layer of .015 pure nickel is enough. Thwy used thicker but looks like nuckel plated steel they used since it corroded. .015 pure handles more current than .020 or .025 plated i believe.
Hello, this is regarding your fix you did for the dyson supersonic hair dryer. Mine has completely packed up. There’s no lights on it and no power at all. There was nothing clogged up in the motor. However, I did open the switch box and where the metal strip meets the other metal once the switch is turned on, there was a lot of black on the metal strips. Almost as if it was burned. Please can you advise? Let me know what my next steps should be for troubleshooting. Thank you
So the power switch (slide switch) is black like it has arcing or burning? I have not seen a switch failure, but have only worked on 3 of these now. I have 2 videos on them. Sounds like it could be the switch from your description.
Can you comment on the DeWalt 1820 adapter that allows the 20v batteries on a 18v tool? Do you have any experience with the knockoff adapters? My understanding is that there is no low voltage protection in the 18 v tools, so it must be built into the adapters. I’ve got a feeling the knockoffs have no protection. So, running them down will cause damage to the lithium cells. Let me know if I’m possibly correct.
I do have some experience with both. The DeWalt DCA1820 does have Mosfets to cut the power to the older tools to protect the newer Lithium packs as far as how much protection I am not sure. I have used it for a while in the past until mostly all tools have been phased out on the older brushed tools now. It has some monitoring to some degree at least. The knock off.... Not so much. They are basically or simply connection adapters and will allow the pack to be pulled down too low if not careful. That does sound bad and it can be bad of course, but not as bad people have commented on it. It should be noted that it has zero protection and not the best for everyday use, but is handy in a tight and will get older tools working again when they are not worth new pack replacements. Also one thing people don't think about is that some tools like the small hand held blowers don't have the protection anyway you can hear the air flow get really low and realize no lights on the pack even light up at all. This is on the actual 20V lithium powered blower it's just cheaply made. So I simply listen when the tool starts to get weaker and you can hear it then I will stop using it and charge the pack. I have not let mine get too low to charge, but of course it is possible to do so. I was thinking of doing a video on the subject, but just have not gotten around to it.
I just made a 36v hover board battery pack from Samsung 18650 cells and the range on it was crazy. The cheap Chinese batteries are not good and fail often. I like doing these mods to my battery packs but I think dewalt and similar use actual Samsung batteries. I love when 18650 sends out the free flash light with the purchase but I didn’t know there was a section for cheaper used cells. I kept buying brand new cells. Also I have a spot welder that I bought from Amazon it’s an all in one rechargeable battery but sometimes I feel like it’s not strong enough unless it’s fully charged. I’m wondering if I can open it up and use my 3S helicopter battery and keep the voltage up while using it.
Hi, I also capacity test my cells as shown in the FAQ video and make sure they are capacity and internal resistance matched. Of coarse as mentioned and shown 18650battetystore has the higher end cells as well and I buy them pretty often. It is most likely possible to use the 3S pack in the all in one as I have had one similar I have done that with, but I also have seen many all in one that have only 1S or 2S and they may not work with 3S pack since it could over voltage the control circuit. I would guess yours is likely a 1S or 2S since it seems under powered because that is my experience with the smaller all in ones. The spot welder I shared is by far the best I have used so far and runs circles around the all in ones I have used and so worth the price of $29. I actually bought a spare still in the package because I liked using it so much.
I built my own super cap spot welder and did use it for several years. I just mentioned in my last EGO repair video that I do want to try the newer super cap spot welders. I mentioned the model below and just I ordered it this week. It will be nice to have that kind of power. Good to know yours works well. Thanks for sharing. amzn.to/4dsCeGv
@@ThriftyToolShed you can get very similar one for a lot cheaper. Mine is US solid 14kw and was less than 200. Not sure if the one you linked is better but I'm willing to bet it's the same lol made in China probably in same factory. Looks like a 2x 3000F super cap machine That one might be a bit better since it says it does copper 🤷🏻♂️ mine will do .3 pure nickel maybe more haven't pushed it that far. Will blow through .15 if turned all the way up I look forward to the video on it. I do want to get leads for mine that are separate like the one you have. Mine came with a spring action double pin one
Great to know. I have been looking at US and the SeeSii. I like them and I almost ordered one a while back when TTC shared one on their channel. It seemed to work well for them. I was a bit concerned about the online reviews, but also the one I am ordering has not had many reviews to say really. So I will give a video review hopefully. They also have the 14KW and it may have been enough. I held out for a 24KW simply because I seem to be let down on what sellers claim the weld capabilities are on the past. I do feel like 14KW is plenty for most packs! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
You look at the mAh rating of the cells and how many you will have in parallel. So the example in the video is using the 2000mah cells in a (2P) 2 in parallel then you have 4000mAh or 4Ah.
It can take 6.5 - 16V input. I use a 3S Lipo with good results. You could go as far as 4S it seems. I added the XT-60 Connector on mine to conveniently connect to the Lipo packs I have. You can connect the cables how works best for you.
@johnclarke6647 It should work with one. You may find Lipo packs punch harder with the short burst. I have used Lead acid with other spot welders in the past and it did work well.
@@ThriftyToolShed I am a former Radar Maintenance Chief in the Marine Corps as well as an electronics instructor, so I know what to do without screwing it up.
I think they will be fine. I do know that DeWalt uses resistors to set the pack ID and that may be used by some tools to know which pack it has connected to it. As for any limitations and which tools have it versus Which ones don't I have not tested out since I don't have a lot of newer DeWalt tools. Best of luck and have fun!
I've got some old batteries I would like to try and fix, what is the difference between 2000 amh and 3000amh and can I use the better batteries for my repair. There ryobi 18v with 18650's in it.
The 2000mAh is 2.0 Ah and the 3000mAh is 3.0Ah. (m= milli) So if in parallel like this pack in the video then the 2.0Ah is 4.0Ah. As far as the better cells, they had the higher end cells at 18650batterystore.com as well. I simply used the cheaper on sale since they were still 30A cells and will work fine to save this older pack from the landfill. I would typically prefer the Samsung cells. They run anywhere from 3.99 -6.99 each of the pack was in good shape and worth it.
cID- current interruption device. I wish folks would use the correct name instead of using an acronym for it. We live in an era of acronyms instead of just plain English, probably since a lot of folks are not taught proper grammer or the King’s English in school. I’m sorry, I was.
I wish I had time, I do get asked this often. I do not have a repair service at this time. I work full time+ in an Industrial job and try to have time to edit videos to post. I try to help by posting what I have found with a repair as we learn together. I don't have alot of time left. I hope you can find someone you know that likes to tinker and hopefully after watching the video can help you out. I wish you the best of luck with yours.
I wish I had time, I do get asked this often. I do not have a repair service at this time. I work full time+ in an Industrial job and try to have time to edit videos to post. I try to help by posting what I have found with a repair as we learn together. I don't have a lot of time left. I hope you can find someone you know that likes to tinker and hopefully after watching the video can help you out. I wish you the best of luck with yours. Phillip TTS
Probably the best battery repair video out there.
I had a couple of 5 yr old Milwaukee packs that were weak. I went to do the same thing as you thinking I would just replace all the cells with some top of the line Molicels and upgrade the performance......Well after removing the cells, which was a pain as the cases are continuous and it takes a wood block and press or nylon hammer to extract the cells. I found that the 21700 cells they use are the Top of the line Panasonics.....yeah the top of the line Molicels would output more power.....about 5% LOL. So I will just be replacing the defective cells and putting them back in service. When you compare Milwaukee to other tool packs you find out the extra money you paid was money well spent.
They do hold up very well in most cases. They are having issues with packs with the Samsung 21700 40T cells in the 8Ah and 12Ah packs as mentioned in previous videos.
@@ThriftyToolShed That BS!!!!!! Oh wait a minute. Both the packs I am having trouble with are the 8Ah with the 21700 cells ;-) My 12 Ah pack is still holding up fine but its a couple of yrs older whereas both the 8Ah packs were bought at the same time. The other strange thing is my oldest 5Ah bundled with tool packs are doing fine despite being the oldest and getting used the most. All of my tools are beat on daily and sit in the covered bed of my truck so they get both frozen and baked on a daily basis. Thanks for the feedback!
@@1bottlefed
I have noticed my 5Ah heavy used batteries are holding up super well also over the years. I think the Samsung 40T ( in the 8Ah and 12Ah) had some issues early on and the 40T3 which oddly enough is just the 2nd Gen of the cell not the third, but anyway, hopefully they are much better now. I am not sure what manufacturing dates that may have changed. We shall see!
Dewalt or milwa which one is better ?
They both make great tools and some tools seem better in one than the other. As far as batteries I do like both, but I like the way DeWalt has the terminals at the top and you can actually test cell balancing if needed. One of the only packs out there to have that. I do not like the FlexVolt DeWalt packs though as they are complex and switch the cells groups from series to parallel. I have had better luck with Milwaukee M18 packs than any platform I have had. Now lately the 8Ah and 12Ah packs have been problematic with the Samsung 21700 40T cells. They are not lasting like my old 5.0 packs have. I use Milwaukee at home (and in my previous small business) and that is my main platform. I also use DeWalt at work and I have had excellent experiences with both. If I had to choose which one to start from I would lean towards Milwaukee, but you can't go wrong with either. Flex is a newer option as well that seems to be excellent especially just coming out and standing pretty tall. I will always like Makita and I do have some Makita tools, but the price keeps me from ever being straight Makita platform.
I love these 20P's. I bought a bunch when I first got into 18650's and at first thought it was kind of a dumb pick. Wished I had gotten more 33V's. Now that I know how valuable these high drain cells are and seeing that I'm swimming in a sea of LG MJ1's, I wish I had gotten more 20P's for that price! I put them in all my 18650 tool packs and they've never let me down. At $2 a piece they were just no brainers for just about any tool pack unless you were really trying to get as many Ah's as possible and wanted to put in VTC6's but those are pricey.
No clue how I only recently stumbled upon your channel. Like I said in a previous video, you are extremely knowledgeable. I don't think I've ever heard you say anything that was factually inaccurate and you're not just pigeon holed to 18650's, seems like you are a jack of many trades.
Thanks so much for your kind comment! I do enjoy working on many things. My career has been Industrial Electrical Technician
Its not as much board level electronics as it used to be, but electronics repair has always been a hobby. I enjoy seeing the value in things that with a little time can keep them from the landfill. Glad you shared your experience with these cells I really appreciate that!
I always seen these Drill and saw battery packs but had no idea what they had inside. It's encouraging that it can be repaired.
Every now and then theres a legit video on youtube, thanks man
Rewatching this I noticed you talked about reusing nickel strip. After doing some testing with a milliohmeter (along with using a SunStone welder that has a pneumatic weld head that is NOT forgiving when it comes to nickel not laying flat on the terminal) I've realized how important it is to use new nickel that is cut to length and has not been bent or kinked in any way. If you lay a flat piece of nickel on a terminal and hit it about 3 times you can get quite a bit of the terminal covered perfectly by the nickel in a way that provides a solid connection.
When it comes to power applications like this resistance is EVERYTHING and putting 5 14mR (AC IR) cells in series gives you 70mR....add the nickel to that and you're probably closer to 90mR. Obviously if you do a 2P configuration you don't quite cut the 5S number in half because to create the 2P you are using nickel but its not too far off.....So instead of 70mR....say its 40-45mR...Then maybe up to 60mR for the entire pack.
If you reuse nickel (or heaven forbid use nickel plated steel, YUCK) I could see the resistance for the pack being nearly double...48W at 20A with 120mR and 24W at 20A with 60mR.
You're one of the reasons why I bought that spot welder though along with that Steve guy that tests them on here. You can get them for about $18 on Aliexpress. I blew my first one up paralleling a 3S2P Headway 38120 Pack with a 3S8P A123 26650 M1B pack...Use either one of those by themselves and you get great results even with 0.20mm thick pure nickel...wanted to see if 0.30mm thick pure nickel was possible but definitely pushed it over the edge. Both packs measure 3.6'ish milliohms with my RC3563 so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that 2.5mR is probably close to maxing out the capabilities of that board and its mosfets. I like how that spot welder essentially has its own IR calculator by making you enter the pack Ah and C rating. As long as you are honest about the C rating and Ah size it definitely does a good job telling you if you are underpower, good or overpower. Before my first one blew up it flashed overpower (red) at me so I should have known better. I havent had much luck using Lipos. Tried a CNHL but it was garbage straight from the seller, had one cell that was a couple milliohms higher than the other two. The whole Lipo C rating thing is BS, they just can't tell the truth. I've now learned that companies like Turnigy and SMC are appropriately priced high C packs....but having to discharge the pack to storage level every time I'm done using it is just too much work. LiFePO4 lasts forever and you can keep it at 90% without harming it too much. Headways are dirt cheap from BatteryHookup, you can build a pack for a spot welder that'll do 1500A for $100'ish. I'd suggest doing 3S3P or 4S3P...maybe 4P but if you get a decent batch of cells from BH then you might be blowing mosfets like I was....luck of the draw there. At $5.50 each it doesn't hurt to order a few extra and test them all before deciding which ones you want to use for your pack. If you can come across an A123 12S8P pack that WASN'T used in an E-Bus and still has >95% capacity they are a great deal for ~$100. Cut it into thirds and you have 3 12V 20Ah packs that can start any engine, spot weld, etc while also being used as small LiFePO4 power stations. Could even run a 1000W inverter for a short period of time...a great option for running a microwave with a small batter (or some other >1000W appliance that only gets used for several minutes a day)
Yes reusing the strips is not only difficult and sometimes nearly impossible it is also absolutely going to be higher in resistance. Even if flattened well like I try to do and hit a different (unused) or new spot. If it matters in situations I would use new strips for sure. I feel like I don't have the power to properly spot weld many of the original strip anyway so especially after removing and re straightening them. The new strips are a breeze!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Very nice work on the repair and the video work.
I took a 4AH and repacked it with 3500 mah cells for a 7AH. Really nice to have a 7AH SFF pack
Absolutely, the latest M18 pack I built on video was using the 4200mah Molicel cells as a 2P setup. The 8.4Ah is awesome as well. I was playing around with the "Beast" 10Ah LiPo and decided I needed to also make one that was not just a play toy for testing. It has been a very handy pack and still pretty light weight for the capacity it has.
wonderful and patience maintaining and continuing with pros and cons of safties and all proper tools used.
When you are using the screwdriver to pry up the nickel strips be very careful on the positive side not to put any real pressure on the edge. The negative side is only a thin plastic sleeve away. It's real easy short out the cells in that location. The arcing can completely destroy the positive terminal.
These cells were 0 volts so it probably would not actually arc at all.
That was absolutely mentioned with a picture reference in the video! As mentioned you don't want to pry on the edge at all for that exact reason.
Brilliant work. Would love to be able to do this, instead of having to throwing stuff out.
Great video! The lead aren’t just cell monitoring. DeWalt has pinouts on the pack that allow the charger to do cell balancing.
The charger cannot do cell balancing. The charger can only provide voltage (approx. 21 volts) through 2 pins. No way to balance 5 cells inside, the individual cells are completely hidden from the charger.
So you are saying that your charger does not use the pins that we show do in fact go to all 5 cells as mentioned. The pins that can in fact monitor all cells individually.
@@ThriftyToolShedoh, I missed that this comment was specifically about DeWalt batteries.
@@Surmoka,
Oh ok. I know there are many different charger styles also so I was just wondering also. Thanks for your comment!
@@ThriftyToolShedon a second thought, since manufacturers probably sell many more batteries than chargers, it makes sense to put the BMS into the charger like deWalt does, rather than in the battery. I think Bosch, Makita etc. put BMS electronics in all batteries while budget brands like Parxide et co. omit balancing altogether.
Excellent Video Thanks
Thanks for this vid and the link to your FAQ
Nice video and good information. Thank you
Another awesome repair Sir.
Great Video and information Thank you for sharing. How's your multimeter working out for you? i ordered mine on the 10th and its coming from Hong Kong, how long did it take to get yours? Thanks.
It came from Kaiweets stock in the US, so it only took about a week or so. I really have enjoyed using all my Kaiweets meters. Thanks for your comment!
Great video! how thick were the strips please?
I almost always use .15 strips. The .15 strips just spot weld so solid. I will double them up at times when I feel the current demand will be really high. Like around the positive and negative ends. The parallel and series strips have multiple current paths. The factory strips seemed to be around .25, but I did not measure. Thanks for your kind comment!
Thanks! Very helpful
super video! the author is well done, he told everything very well.
Excellent video. What is the brand or name of your battery charger ? Thanks. Maybe you can share a link where to buy it.
Hi,
I have some links in the video description, but not to the newest Bench power supply that I have. I really like the Wanptek 60V with presets and output on and off. I just got this supply last week and it also comes in a cheaper 30V version if that is enough for you as well. I use this with the Current set to 1A or so:
amzn.to/3Y1GVi6
As for individual cells charging and testing I use this:
amzn.to/3IVa361
For the spot welder battery charger I use this:
amzn.to/3Ybdr1m
Thanks for your kind comment!
Very well explained ❤
They do put in nice cells. Theyre only 1500mah but 30a draw.
I would use 2 strips on the drains (positive and negative ends of the pack) just ro be safe since thats where the highest amperage is
I measured my pack stock from Dewalt, the Nickle strips are 3mm thick and 12mm wide. Beware most YTs downsize to half or less of factory specs.
Usually 0.25 - 0.3mm from my experience. As mentioned I have doubled up on the .15 also when I need to. As shown in the latest EGO cell replacement video. Most folks don't have spot welders that can handle the 0.3mm. It takes a 14KW or above to spot weld some of those thick strips. I just finally posted a video today about a new 24KW spot welder I am testing. It is pricey, but it is nice to be able to effectively spor weld .3mm nickel strips.
@ThriftyToolShed mine stretched pretty hard to get good ones on 1.5mm x 6mm which I doubled. A lot of time, but the result was fantastic! Benchmarked result was >5× a similar cell.
I'm assuming that I can use a power tool battery pack to power the spotwelder?
I have and they will work ok if you use the pack size within the range of your spot weld board. For example most boards will accept 3S and 4S some not 5S packs. One more advantage of the Lipo pack is higher instantaneous current output.
@@ThriftyToolShed Thank you kindly, I didn't want to buy a lithium pack, just for a one-off job.
Are you going to repair anymore flexvolt packs? I thought I saw a video a while back showing a few.
Hi John,
I have showed enough to get a good idea of how they work. I don't know how many I will repair. I do find them interesting, but the design is one the worst for repair on the market in my opinion. The connector, all the contact points and the board being under all of that and coated makes it so time consuming. It is a shame because DeWalt 20V MAX packs are one of the easiest to repair and test in my opinion. That is one reason I will spend time repairing these 20V packs. The regular 20V packs have a simple cell monitoring board and easy to disassemble. If I do come across some other FlexVolt packs I may show a repair in the future if the video doesn't turn out to be super long. Thanks for your comment!
Either of you near Alpharetta (metro Atlanta)? Someone there has a DeWALT lawnmower with two malfunctioning FlexVolt batteries for $125. I’d love to take a crack at it but I’m kinda between homes at the moment (displaced by a tornado). Hate to see it go to waste.
@@emmettturner9452
I am only 2 hrs away but not real close. So sorry to hear about your Tornado displacement. Hope everyone is Okay!
@@ThriftyToolShed Thanks.
I just donated my two gas mowers that got crushed under the collapsed balcony. Gave them to a small engine place in Whitesburg for parts. I don’t even know if the place I end up will have a lawn and I don’t have enough storage so I can’t go buying stuff like that right now.
My twin bro goes to West Point daily on the border with Alabama if that’s any closer and you want him to pick it up. It’s a seller on Craigslist in Alpharetta.
Edit: Just realized I typo’d before. He actually only wants $125.
18650 battery store is great. So is liion wholesale. But when you catch a sale its awesome.
I wonder if a ceramic screwdriver would be better/safer than using a steel screwdriver on the spotwelds to prevent arcing?
I do use ceramic blades at times, but they are way too brittle to pry with I believe. I use plastic when I can but it's simply not strong enough to do many jobs to me. I am trying more plastic type pry tools at the moment. I always find myself going back to the metal tools and trying to insulate with plastic or mica sheets when needed so I have the control I need. I just stay very mindful of where the tool is touching at all times.
Hey! Super cool video!. I was thinking what if I remove the batteries completely and attach direct power with AC to DC Adjustable Power Supply. so I can use all power tools plugged in. Is this something possible? its like making a direct power adapter for all stationary tools like mitre saw etc. Thanks!
I have done that years ago with NiCd powered tools mostly. It was easy to do with straight up 18-20VDC in and the tools were back in use again after getting so tired of the expensive and crappy NiCd packs not holding up. With the newer Lithium packs it gets a little bit more difficult. You have to figure out what the tool needs to run as far as feedback from the BMS board and after that it is difficult to find a supply that will deliver the current demand of some tools. Some of these newer Brushless tools can spike to over 100A in use. Just things to consider. I believe TTC has done this with a Milwaukee set-up and did some testing with it a couple years ago also. Thanks for your kind comment!
You know, they sell “rebuild” packs for DeWALT batteries with pre-made nickel strips and everything. If you had to buy all new cells anyway you could have used one of those to build DeWALT packs from scratch… though I’d still prefer to transfer the original DeWALT casing and circuit board.
That's the thing about DeWalt packs in my opinion. Typically they are easy to rebuild and the cell monitoring is so simple it gives many years of good life. I mentioned this in the video description as well. So if it has a little corrosion on it just clean it up, re-cell if needed and it's good to go for another 8-10 years or so (more than likely). I will say I did not realize the case was this bad before I started disassembly and that may be your main point here? I admit, if I had known the case was damaged like that I most likely would have not repaired it and simply removed the board for spare parts. I will do that more often than not. I decided to do it for my friend and the video sake as well. Thanks for your comment!
@@ThriftyToolShed I just mean that the 10-cell “20V Max” rebuild kits are only about $8 with casing and fuel gauge. At $2 a cell you can build a totally new pack for about $28 and you don’t even have to cut your own nickel strips… you can use the heavy-duty stamped and folded ones included with the rebuild kit, which might even be the same thicker gauge as the original battery. Just thinking it could save you the trouble of concerning yourself with the condition of the corroded originals which you ultimately replaced anyway.
Yes, $8 may be worth it. I have seen these for around $20 or so a while back. Good to know. I will admit though I like knowing the quality of my nickel strips you have to really watch some of the Chinese material some seem to be mostly iron. They all have some, but not as much as the cheaper ones.
@@ThriftyToolShed It seems that AliExpress is flooded with genuine DeWALT parts so I kinda wonder if some of these are too… just without the branding.
For example, I already knew I could get a DeWALT DCF899 replacement housing and wondered if I could use it on the rebadged Craftsman CMCF940. Of course, the battery terminal block would be different since it’s made to fit Craftsman batteries… and DeWALT only sells the motor, trigger, and battery terminals as one expensive assembly. I looked on Amazon and eBay first but AliExpress had loads of them with every replacement part imaginable in “Genuine DeWALT parts” packaging and everything.
Most counterfeits on AliExpress try to hide logos and branding in their listing even if they actually have them… and they rarely copy the OEM parts packaging… so I’m pretty sure these are legit or at least factory seconds. I’m so cheap that I’ll probably try to take apart an old charger or something instead and try to see if I can wire it in, but the whole assembly is cheap enough that it certainly looks like an option!
@@ThriftyToolShed Just checked my view history and the $10 DCB200 set doesn’t show any logos but the user review does: “DeWALT 20v MAX XR 5Ah” even though it’s technically 0Ah. ;) The plates cover four cells at a time and even have the gaps that force current to go through the battery terminal during spot-welding.
Edit: OK, scratch that. The user’s English was pretty broken but it sounds like he transferred (“rolled”) the labels from his DeWALT battery to make it look original. Figured it would say 18v anywhere else.
I think one layer of .015 pure nickel is enough. Thwy used thicker but looks like nuckel plated steel they used since it corroded. .015 pure handles more current than .020 or .025 plated i believe.
Hello, this is regarding your fix you did for the dyson supersonic hair dryer.
Mine has completely packed up. There’s no lights on it and no power at all. There was nothing clogged up in the motor. However, I did open the switch box and where the metal strip meets the other metal once the switch is turned on, there was a lot of black on the metal strips. Almost as if it was burned. Please can you advise?
Let me know what my next steps should be for troubleshooting.
Thank you
So the power switch (slide switch) is black like it has arcing or burning? I have not seen a switch failure, but have only worked on 3 of these now. I have 2 videos on them. Sounds like it could be the switch from your description.
Thanx for info , great vid
Awesome video!! Best one ive seen
Can you comment on the DeWalt 1820 adapter that allows the 20v batteries on a 18v tool? Do you have any experience with the knockoff adapters? My understanding is that there is no low voltage protection in the 18 v tools, so it must be built into the adapters. I’ve got a feeling the knockoffs have no protection. So, running them down will cause damage to the lithium cells. Let me know if I’m possibly correct.
I do have some experience with both. The DeWalt DCA1820 does have Mosfets to cut the power to the older tools to protect the newer Lithium packs as far as how much protection I am not sure. I have used it for a while in the past until mostly all tools have been phased out on the older brushed tools now. It has some monitoring to some degree at least. The knock off.... Not so much. They are basically or simply connection adapters and will allow the pack to be pulled down too low if not careful. That does sound bad and it can be bad of course, but not as bad people have commented on it. It should be noted that it has zero protection and not the best for everyday use, but is handy in a tight and will get older tools working again when they are not worth new pack replacements. Also one thing people don't think about is that some tools like the small hand held blowers don't have the protection anyway you can hear the air flow get really low and realize no lights on the pack even light up at all. This is on the actual 20V lithium powered blower it's just cheaply made. So I simply listen when the tool starts to get weaker and you can hear it then I will stop using it and charge the pack. I have not let mine get too low to charge, but of course it is possible to do so. I was thinking of doing a video on the subject, but just have not gotten around to it.
@@ThriftyToolShed Thank you so much! Now I can make an educated decision on what to buy.
I just made a 36v hover board battery pack from Samsung 18650 cells and the range on it was crazy. The cheap Chinese batteries are not good and fail often. I like doing these mods to my battery packs but I think dewalt and similar use actual Samsung batteries. I love when 18650 sends out the free flash light with the purchase but I didn’t know there was a section for cheaper used cells. I kept buying brand new cells. Also I have a spot welder that I bought from Amazon it’s an all in one rechargeable battery but sometimes I feel like it’s not strong enough unless it’s fully charged. I’m wondering if I can open it up and use my 3S helicopter battery and keep the voltage up while using it.
Hi,
I also capacity test my cells as shown in the FAQ video and make sure they are capacity and internal resistance matched. Of coarse as mentioned and shown 18650battetystore has the higher end cells as well and I buy them pretty often.
It is most likely possible to use the 3S pack in the all in one as I have had one similar I have done that with, but I also have seen many all in one that have only 1S or 2S and they may not work with 3S pack since it could over voltage the control circuit. I would guess yours is likely a 1S or 2S since it seems under powered because that is my experience with the smaller all in ones. The spot welder I shared is by far the best I have used so far and runs circles around the all in ones I have used and so worth the price of $29. I actually bought a spare still in the package because I liked using it so much.
I have a supwr capacitor spot welder that has 2 3000F huge caps in it. Have to ve careful it will birn right through strips if set wrong lol
I built my own super cap spot welder and did use it for several years. I just mentioned in my last EGO repair video that I do want to try the newer super cap spot welders. I mentioned the model below and just I ordered it this week. It will be nice to have that kind of power. Good to know yours works well. Thanks for sharing.
amzn.to/4dsCeGv
@@ThriftyToolShed you can get very similar one for a lot cheaper. Mine is US solid 14kw and was less than 200. Not sure if the one you linked is better but I'm willing to bet it's the same lol made in China probably in same factory. Looks like a 2x 3000F super cap machine
That one might be a bit better since it says it does copper 🤷🏻♂️ mine will do .3 pure nickel maybe more haven't pushed it that far. Will blow through .15 if turned all the way up
I look forward to the video on it.
I do want to get leads for mine that are separate like the one you have. Mine came with a spring action double pin one
Great to know. I have been looking at US and the SeeSii. I like them and I almost ordered one a while back when TTC shared one on their channel. It seemed to work well for them. I was a bit concerned about the online reviews, but also the one I am ordering has not had many reviews to say really. So I will give a video review hopefully. They also have the 14KW and it may have been enough. I held out for a 24KW simply because I seem to be let down on what sellers claim the weld capabilities are on the past. I do feel like 14KW is plenty for most packs! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
My battery is 35amp 4000mah what's the biggest I can go without missing up anything
When it comes to the batteries, what do I need to look at to determine how many AH I'll end up with? TiA
You look at the mAh rating of the cells and how many you will have in parallel. So the example in the video is using the 2000mah cells in a (2P) 2 in parallel then you have 4000mAh or 4Ah.
I am interested in the spot welder. Where can I find that welder?
Thank you
I put a link in the video description for this one. It seems to be still active.
amzn.to/4bIanRZ
@@ThriftyToolShed32:52
@@larryvanderford8909 yep! That's it!
What kind of battery pack does that spot welder use?
It can take 6.5 - 16V input. I use a 3S Lipo with good results. You could go as far as 4S it seems. I added the XT-60 Connector on mine to conveniently connect to the Lipo packs I have. You can connect the cables how works best for you.
@@ThriftyToolShed how about a 12 volt lawn tractor battery?
@johnclarke6647
It should work with one. You may find Lipo packs punch harder with the short burst. I have used Lead acid with other spot welders in the past and it did work well.
@@ThriftyToolShed I am a former Radar Maintenance Chief in the Marine Corps as well as an electronics instructor, so I know what to do without screwing it up.
@@johnclarke6647
Awesome! Sounds like it!
Im ordering some that at 2050mah 30A 10 for a pack like this and 5 for the small pack. Is that not enough power or too much?
I think they will be fine. I do know that DeWalt uses resistors to set the pack ID and that may be used by some tools to know which pack it has connected to it. As for any limitations and which tools have it versus Which ones don't I have not tested out since I don't have a lot of newer DeWalt tools. Best of luck and have fun!
I've got some old batteries I would like to try and fix, what is the difference between 2000 amh and 3000amh and can I use the better batteries for my repair. There ryobi 18v with 18650's in it.
The 2000mAh is 2.0 Ah and the 3000mAh is 3.0Ah. (m= milli) So if in parallel like this pack in the video then the 2.0Ah is 4.0Ah. As far as the better cells, they had the higher end cells at 18650batterystore.com as well. I simply used the cheaper on sale since they were still 30A cells and will work fine to save this older pack from the landfill. I would typically prefer the Samsung cells. They run anywhere from 3.99 -6.99 each of the pack was in good shape and worth it.
cID- current interruption device. I wish folks would use the correct name instead of using an acronym for it. We live in an era of acronyms instead of just plain English, probably since a lot of folks are not taught proper grammer or the King’s English in school. I’m sorry, I was.
Do u repair for people??
I wish I had time, I do get asked this often. I do not have a repair service at this time. I work full time+ in an Industrial job and try to have time to edit videos to post. I try to help by posting what I have found with a repair as we learn together. I don't have alot of time left. I hope you can find someone you know that likes to tinker and hopefully after watching the video can help you out. I wish you the best of luck with yours.
Hey, I'm not an electrician by any stretch of the imagination. Can I send you some batteries for repair? for repair?
I wish I had time, I do get asked this often. I do not have a repair service at this time. I work full time+ in an Industrial job and try to have time to edit videos to post. I try to help by posting what I have found with a repair as we learn together. I don't have a lot of time left. I hope you can find someone you know that likes to tinker and hopefully after watching the video can help you out. I wish you the best of luck with yours.
Phillip
TTS
Good work by a good tech! Enjoyed watching, thanks.
John,
Thanks so much for your kind comment!