Monday, September 28, 2009

Black & Decker 18V Firestorm Drill Charger

My cordless drill died. Or more specifically, the charger for the battery died, and when you can't charge the batteries, it effectively becomes a large paper weight. So I did some digging around, and discovered that this is a common problem with the Black & Decker Firestorm drills (not just the 18 Volt unit which I own). But the good news is that I also learned there is a work around for these poorly made/designed chargers - it is the DEWALT DW9116 7.2-Volt to 18-Volt Pod Style 1 Hour Battery Charger. Apparently the Dewalt charger/batteries are exactly the same (well other than color scheme) as the Black and Decker ones. This Dewalt charger has smart technology that will hopefully prolong my battery life. I'm ordering one today, so I can start using my drill again. You forget how nice a cordless drill is until you have to revert to using a corded drill. If you haven't used a corded drill (mine is also a Black and Decker) to drive a screw home recently, you may have forgotten how powerful the drills are, and how the motors don't immediately stop when you let off the trigger. That means no precision, and with extra power that's a problem. It's like trying to kill a fly with a sledge hammer. So I am excited to get this unit in my hands so I can go back to using my drill!

2 comments:

KC/Walt said...

Hey Pastor,
How did the new battery charger work out? Our Black and Decker charger just died and we need to get a new charger, so I'd be interested in your experience.
thanks,
Kaycee

Chris Meirose said...

Kaycee - thanks for stopping by my blog! I wrote a full post response to you - Black & Decker 18v Firestorm Drill Charger Revisited.