Cool. I just purchased almost the identical parts before seeing this. I just got them but I did not consider the switch. Good idea. The only difference is I purchases a large quantity of used A123 cells and intend to use them. Thanks for the switch idea. I’m going to order some switches tomorrow. There is a guy on another video who admits he’s using his original charger. And he’s not using the voltage alarm circuit either. One forgetful moment and it’s toast. So far yours is the best idea I’ve seen tonight. I like the way you mounted the balance plug.
I have a 24V Black and Decker drill too. Not a Firestorm, but it is a 24V drill. I have two dead batteries. Would love to rebuild them as Lithium Ion batteries.
good stuff, i have a drill, weed-eater, circular saw, and chain saw all using the same 18v battery back which i can no longer find, leaving me with 1 ok pack and 5 dead ones. this is going to be a great help thanks so much :)
Laptop (18650 cells) are Li-Ion and not Li-Po. The difference is that Li-Po cells have a peak voltage charge of 4.2V/cell while often Li-Ion it's 4.1V/cell. A slight difference but that RC charger you have there has both settings. However, Li-Ion cells can discharge a bit more without damaging a cell. Nice conversion but might be lacking in current output as others have mentioned. If I just had to save an older tool, and who likes to get rid of perfectly good tools, I think I might consider an operation such as yours but purchasing a 5S (5-cell) RC Li-Po pack that can be had for ~$25 or less. They can deliver more than the tool will draw and have the balance lead already connected. There's still the issue of charging but for me that's not a problem as I'm into RC. A fun little project to keep an older tool going. Thanks for the video.
thank you very much, learned a lot, was looking for this and here I found it very well explained. I use google translator because I do not speak English
Hello i liked your video! But it is only missing the links to where and which parts to get to make the mod like the cable balance leads and volt alarm meter
You should get a 5 cell BMS from ebay (china) for this pack, with it you can use your old drill charger and the BMS will keep the cells balanced and prevent over and under voltage. So you wont need to bring out the balance lead or special charger. I made mine with 5s2p with 10 cells, I did need to cut and extend 4 cells out the front, but I have great capacity :) .
Cool project ! Frenchman says ! Considering the same, 5S 1P from salvaged laptop batt, no BMS but external charger Cant find for the moment female side of balance lead
Unfortunately, these types of reclaimed batteries are not that great for this upgrade because they are lacking in the area of maximum current draw. Under heavy load this type of drill can draw upwards of 30 amps.
why are there 2 negative connections? If I want to power if from another 18V battery, do I run the negative wire to both negative terminals on the connector?
Can u do a video on swapping out bad lithium cells for others one on 18v drills. I’m trying to swap a dead ryobi battery. I kept all electronics and swapped the cells, but’s it’s not taking charges. The charger detected it then charges it few seconds then rejects it. It did increased from 6v to 13v when I first charging new cells. but it’s stood there
Is foam in a lithium battery wise ? I'm asking because I don't know it's not in any way a criticism .but I'd think by adding that much foam would be an insulator and lithium doesn't like hot
Enjoyed you vid, I was actually going to do the same thing on my B&D tonight. I have a question though, is it really necessary to use a balance charge connector, rather than just a straight ~13v charge connection? Whadyya think? Thanks, Dave
David T. The balance wires are important as they used to balance charge each cells in the battery pack using a hobby charge.. if you do not use a balance wire and charger, you will have to use a BMS and lithium charger suited for that bms.
Hi... can you show us how you connected the balanced charger connector up as you only showed the completed item after you covered the batteries. It's not on your battery pack video either. Thanks for sharing by the way
There are several suggestions for battery repairing Don't attempt to do this until you know what you are doing - the acid can burn you check the voltage first - there may be a dead cell which would waste your time. Check the battery fluid. Try to fully charge the battery. (I read about these and more from Jons Mender Guide site )
Hi I saw another vid of an technician he said these batteries does not need balancer cause the not lithium polymer as many think. They are another type of lithium.
Those small wires you cut off are most likely to the thermistor tucked down in the nicads that the charger uses to prevent the nicads from melting down. The drill might be able to use that to see if you are overheating the battery pack when using it. I think you could have kept that...
kirkb4989 . Look in the drill if you see only + and - poles. Thats how i found out. Would have been nice if the drill knew when the battery was overheating instead of only on the charger. With nicads its a bit harder to look for a bms than li-ion batteries. They behave as lipo,s. Maybe for nicads a total low voltage cut off.
kirkb4989 . For a balance charger it would not have been a bad idea to extend the lead of the temperature sensor and plug it in to your balance charger temperature port. Free sensor anyway. Good call.
2.7v is way too low for li-ion cells. Try 3.4v/cell. This will ensure your drop off rate doesn't draw too much from your weaker cells. I'm glad you chose to use a balance charger
What would you suggest for a battery pack for a flashlight which takes 3 C cells and has a 4.5V max operating voltage. could i put 2 26650s in parallel??
Lowegy yea the same here I did my conversion yesterday on a skil 12v I only used 3 18650 batteries witch is 12.3 fully charged I think I'm going to run 4 18650s on it though it's a little sluggish but I don't know if it was like that before I converted it though because it was dead when I got the drill.
Timothy Mosley 3s is too low for 12v drill IMO. Unfortunately 4s is 16.8v at fully charged. You will get more power but run risk of burning up the motor or speed controller.
Look for name brands like Sony, LG, or Samsung. Don't order the any cells with *FIRE* in the name. Look at the sellers feedback from past battery purchases. That will give you an indication of a rep seller.
Timidater I recommend not buying 18650s on ebay. You need high drain cells for this application. The best way is to order from Gearbest.com. You can log in with your google account and buy genuine brand name high drain batteries cheaper, than on ebay. Remember 20A or more is needed. You can also wire more cells in parallel to get more current and capacity. Having 2 or more cells in parallel reduces the stress on the batteries.
you show connecting the battery polarity connecting and then you show the battery pack sealed with plastic and a group of wires comming out. You don't show how yo connect the wires to the battery pack
WHY! did you skip showing the wiring for the for the charging system, this would be so important you went from a solder pack to a blacked taped bundle with numerous wires that many will not have a clue about. otherwise this would have been a good video.
SHAME on manufacturers for not updates and upgrades it right out of the factory as upscale replacement for loyal customers. Yes, throw everything away and buy complete new system.
It's a nice idea but it's not practical or safe because: - Laptop batteries typically have a max current or 2 amps - not suitable for power tools. - You have no cell balancing scheme, which makes it unsafe. - The high-current batteries which would be OK will cost you far more than a replacement drill.
@@chriswesley594 LG blues are not high current but they're good enough for these tools. You're also not going to find any tool with good batteries going for very cheap either. Manufacturers have to buy batteries too, you know?
The cells were low and depleted when took that shot after some tests. Yup, one cell show signs of faster discharge rate then the other cells. I did confirm that after a full balance charge, all the cells were within 4.16v - 4.18v.
The others wires of a balanced cable are all positive (one for each battery) so you need to put the switch on the negative line to switch off all the lines.
Why bother? Li complete drill batteries are less than $70. Seems, this video are trying to sell a charger which is same price as a new set. if fearfull of fire. try charging by solar panel. New pot lights use Li and no electronics. As long the current and voltage minimal under 4.14 voltages each battery in series and max 24 time charge no fire hazard
Great project and you seem to know what you're doing BUT your explaining it stinks!!! You never showed how it was connected OR never showed us the wiring diagram
john smith thanks for the comment. The wiring diagram is straight forward. Check out my battery pack video (link in the description) for more detail battery pack wiring diagram.
Google "wiring in series", because thats all that you are doing. NOT parallel. If you dont know the difference, then you would be best to learn basic electronics before you burn your house down.
Cool. I just purchased almost the identical parts before seeing this. I just got them but I did not consider the switch. Good idea. The only difference is I purchases a large quantity of used A123 cells and intend to use them. Thanks for the switch idea. I’m going to order some switches tomorrow.
There is a guy on another video who admits he’s using his original charger. And he’s not using the voltage alarm circuit either. One forgetful moment and it’s toast. So far yours is the best idea I’ve seen tonight. I like the way you mounted the balance plug.
Huge help! I have a 24v Firestorm set. Batteries have always been an issue.... Bet it will end up alot lighter!! Thanks!
I have a 24V Black and Decker drill too. Not a Firestorm, but it is a 24V drill. I have two dead batteries. Would love to rebuild them as Lithium Ion batteries.
good stuff, i have a drill, weed-eater, circular saw, and chain saw all using the same 18v battery back which i can no longer find, leaving me with 1 ok pack and 5 dead ones. this is going to be a great help thanks so much :)
Buy the adapter instead & use 20v max way cheaper.
At last a diagram of connection!!!
Thank you very much!!!!
Very good job.
Laptop (18650 cells) are Li-Ion and not Li-Po. The difference is that Li-Po cells have a peak voltage charge of 4.2V/cell while often Li-Ion it's 4.1V/cell. A slight difference but that RC charger you have there has both settings. However, Li-Ion cells can discharge a bit more without damaging a cell. Nice conversion but might be lacking in current output as others have mentioned. If I just had to save an older tool, and who likes to get rid of perfectly good tools, I think I might consider an operation such as yours but purchasing a 5S (5-cell) RC Li-Po pack that can be had for ~$25 or less. They can deliver more than the tool will draw and have the balance lead already connected. There's still the issue of charging but for me that's not a problem as I'm into RC. A fun little project to keep an older tool going. Thanks for the video.
thank you very much, learned a lot, was looking for this and here I found it very well explained. I use google translator because I do not speak English
You just made yourself a new battery. Nice. I just replaced 2 dead nicads and was done. Spotwelded them back.
Hello i liked your video! But it is only missing the links to where and which parts to get to make the mod like the cable balance leads and volt alarm meter
You should get a 5 cell BMS from ebay (china) for this pack, with it you can use your old drill charger and the BMS will keep the cells balanced and prevent over and under voltage. So you wont need to bring out the balance lead or special charger. I made mine with 5s2p with 10 cells, I did need to cut and extend 4 cells out the front, but I have great capacity :) .
so if I use a 5 cell BMS for this pack, then I can use my original charger ?
great video. The only thing I would have liked to have seen as how you wired the low voltage cutoff alarm to the batteries. keep up the great work.
Cool project ! Frenchman says !
Considering the same, 5S 1P from salvaged laptop batt, no BMS but external charger
Cant find for the moment female side of balance lead
Unfortunately, these types of reclaimed batteries are not that great for this upgrade because they are lacking in the area of maximum current draw. Under heavy load this type of drill can draw upwards of 30 amps.
Very helpful, thanks. How did you find out the AH of each 18650 battery?
robviolin1 I tested the capacity of each cell using a hobby charger (IMAX B6)
why are there 2 negative connections? If I want to power if from another 18V battery, do I run the negative wire to both negative terminals on the connector?
You did a great job, very neat.
Can u do a video on swapping out bad lithium cells for others one on 18v drills. I’m trying to swap a dead ryobi battery. I kept all electronics and swapped the cells, but’s it’s not taking charges. The charger detected it then charges it few seconds then rejects it. It did increased from 6v to 13v when I first charging new cells. but it’s stood there
Is foam in a lithium battery wise ? I'm asking because I don't know it's not in any way a criticism .but I'd think by adding that much foam would be an insulator and lithium doesn't like hot
Enjoyed you vid, I was actually going to do the same thing on my B&D tonight. I have a question though, is it really necessary to use a balance charge connector, rather than just a straight ~13v charge connection?
Whadyya think?
Thanks,
Dave
David T. The balance wires are important as they used to balance charge each cells in the battery pack using a hobby charge.. if you do not use a balance wire and charger, you will have to use a BMS and lithium charger suited for that bms.
Hi... can you show us how you connected the balanced charger connector up as you only showed the completed item after you covered the batteries. It's not on your battery pack video either. Thanks for sharing by the way
There are several suggestions for battery repairing
Don't attempt to do this until you know what you are doing - the acid can burn you
check the voltage first - there may be a dead cell which would waste your time.
Check the battery fluid.
Try to fully charge the battery.
(I read about these and more from Jons Mender Guide site )
Hi I saw another vid of an technician he said these batteries does not need balancer cause the not lithium polymer as many think. They are another type of lithium.
guruji243 They need balancing
The wires that go connected to the low lipo where I buy them? great video
Berli Portillo JST-XH balance wires from EBay
So does the 3rd pin on the far right not need to be connected to the negative also like it was originally?
No, the 3rd pin used on this drill
Generally, it's the temperature sensor for the *charger*, the drill doesn't care.
Hi, do you have to install the 5s balance wire. Is it for monitoring, does it stop charging if it sees an imbalance? Thanks.
Those small wires you cut off are most likely to the thermistor tucked down in the nicads that the charger uses to prevent the nicads from melting down. The drill might be able to use that to see if you are overheating the battery pack when using it. I think you could have kept that...
kirkb4989 . The small wires are used for charging temperature. Inside my drill i have no extra slot, just + and -.
I was thinking to bring out to your external charger that sometimes have a temp capability, but I understand your situation... Thanks!!
kirkb4989 . Look in the drill if you see only + and - poles. Thats how i found out. Would have been nice if the drill knew when the battery was overheating instead of only on the charger. With nicads its a bit harder to look for a bms than li-ion batteries. They behave as lipo,s. Maybe for nicads a total low voltage cut off.
kirkb4989 . For a balance charger it would not have been a bad idea to extend the lead of the temperature sensor and plug it in to your balance charger temperature port. Free sensor anyway. Good call.
I try. BTW: I am really liking your implementation- VERY clean. Thanks for the inspiration!!
I don't see how you conected the White cable and Orange cable.
I have one of those drill. Unfortunately i miss place the battery. Where could i get one?
2.7v is way too low for li-ion cells. Try 3.4v/cell. This will ensure your drop off rate doesn't draw too much from your weaker cells. I'm glad you chose to use a balance charger
What would you suggest for a battery pack for a flashlight which takes 3 C cells and has a 4.5V max operating voltage. could i put 2 26650s in parallel??
HealthSupercharger I would just use one cell. At full charge it's 4.2v
I have Black and Decker Fire Storm with old 18W battery and the battery don't last long anymore, can I get new Lithium battery ?
nice work but the main thing as long as it works for you that's the main thing
what is the charger set on to charge the lithium batteries. ?
i did the same thing with an old nicad pack but really not sure how to charge it.
I used hobby charge (iMAX B6) to charge this battery pack. It's set to lithium ion mode.
Lowegy yea the same here I did my conversion yesterday on a skil 12v I only used 3 18650 batteries witch is 12.3 fully charged I think I'm going to run 4 18650s on it though it's a little sluggish but I don't know if it was like that before I converted it though because it was dead when I got the drill.
Timothy Mosley 3s is too low for 12v drill IMO. Unfortunately 4s is 16.8v at fully charged. You will get more power but run risk of burning up the motor or speed controller.
can this battery pack be used in a cordless vacuume cleaner...cus I have a 18v B&D dustbuster that has bad Ni-MH cells?
Yes.
can you tell me which batteries you used on ebay? Ive heard alot about fake18650 cells and didnt want to get ripped off!
Look for name brands like Sony, LG, or Samsung. Don't order the any cells with *FIRE* in the name. Look at the sellers feedback from past battery purchases. That will give you an indication of a rep seller.
thanks
Timidater I recommend not buying 18650s on ebay. You need high drain cells for this application. The best way is to order from Gearbest.com. You can log in with your google account and buy genuine brand name high drain batteries cheaper, than on ebay. Remember 20A or more is needed. You can also wire more cells in parallel to get more current and capacity. Having 2 or more cells in parallel reduces the stress on the batteries.
Thanks, iLL check it out!!!!
Thank you.With imax b6 it's good
THE CRAFTSMAN COMPRESSOR IS 19V IF I PLACE A 3S 11V LIPO AND ANOTHER 2S 7V SERIES CAN BE? .PLEASE HELP ME
SHAVUA TOV Ed Solomon 3s and 2s connected in series will make 5s hence 18.5 nominal volts. Only do this if the capacity of these pack are the same.
Hi .I'm using two 2.2mah (11.1 and 7.5v) It worked out all weekend at the aeromodelling track . Thank you and I signed up for the channell
Brother you have forgott the most important thing.....where wich wire goes?For us amateurs that is important!
you show connecting the battery polarity connecting
and then you show the battery pack sealed with plastic
and a group of wires comming out. You don't show how
yo connect the wires to the battery pack
alarm may warn you in time but using protected cells guarantees no destroyed cells
Me vendieron uno pero no sé cómo quitarle el bit
Do you put on paralelo or series?
series
Gracias, thank's.
WHY! did you skip showing the wiring for the for the charging system, this would be so important you went from a solder pack to a blacked taped bundle with numerous wires that many will not have a clue about. otherwise this would have been a good video.
Tom Stewart. Hi tom, thanks for the comment. The video is broken down into two videos. Check out the diy battery pack video in the description.
SHAME on manufacturers for not updates and upgrades it right out of the factory as upscale replacement for loyal customers. Yes, throw everything away and buy complete new system.
It's a nice idea but it's not practical or safe because:
- Laptop batteries typically have a max current or 2 amps - not suitable for power tools.
- You have no cell balancing scheme, which makes it unsafe.
- The high-current batteries which would be OK will cost you far more than a replacement drill.
He put a balance charge connector on it.
Yes, if he baance charges it then that problem is gone, but the others remain.
@@chriswesley594 LG blues are not high current but they're good enough for these tools. You're also not going to find any tool with good batteries going for very cheap either. Manufacturers have to buy batteries too, you know?
big part of process missed out batteries to wired
Your awesome!
Electric diagram? Thanks.
See my other video on "DIY Lithium Battery Pack using 18650 cells". The link is in the description. Thanks.
20:01 : The balancing isn't perfect, it seems.
The cells were low and depleted when took that shot after some tests. Yup, one cell show signs of faster discharge rate then the other cells. I did confirm that after a full balance charge, all the cells were within 4.16v - 4.18v.
How many times do you need to put the battery on and take it off again in the first two minutes? Sssssllllllllllloooooowwwww
Nice video,
you are suppose to always break the positive not the negative to put in a switch
Yes, you are correct it's always good to put a switch on the positive side. However, this is a simple circuit and it doesn't make much difference.
The others wires of a balanced cable are all positive (one for each battery) so you need to put the switch on the negative line to switch off all the lines.
I hate when kidnap victims make RUclips videos they always have to be so quiet
Why bother? Li complete drill batteries are less than $70. Seems, this video are trying to sell a charger which is same price as a new set. if fearfull of fire. try charging by solar panel. New pot lights use Li and no electronics. As long the current and voltage minimal under 4.14 voltages each battery in series and max 24 time charge no fire hazard
jojo archers ฝใน
Great project and you seem to know what you're doing BUT your explaining it stinks!!! You never showed how it was connected OR never showed us the wiring diagram
john smith thanks for the comment. The wiring diagram is straight forward. Check out my battery pack video (link in the description) for more detail battery pack wiring diagram.
Google "wiring in series", because thats all that you are doing. NOT parallel. If you dont know the difference, then you would be best to learn basic electronics before you burn your house down.
This is overkill for someone that just wants a new battery.
hey....LOWEGY...dont fill inside with alot of stuff....
Mumble, mumble, mumble. SPEAK UP!
That's Too Much Rigmaroe.
I'd just Go Get A New Drill.
It cost's more to redo those old
batterys then it Would To Get
A Whole Outfit.
Tt