Use a 12v Car Battery to Power Cordless Drill?

[picard335]

I have a Skil 14.4 volt cordless drill, I'm replacing tin on another barn, I'm using screws that have rubber washers on them instead of nails.

My Skil is great (being that it was from Walmart), its great for small jobs, but I'm finding It won't keep up with the job that I'm doing, I can do about 5 sheets of 10ft tin, and the battery is kappuuut.

No electric nearby, so I tried my 375 watt inverter, ran it to a spare car battery I use for remote work, this is my 3/8th Skil corded drill, it'll screw but stops 1/2 way.

I wish I had a generator, or a bigger inverter tying it to the tractor. But $$$. I don't feel like getting more batteries, as there $40 a pop, a new drill is $59. And this is just a one time deal with the tin.

? Why can't a person hook up there cordless drill to a bigger 12v source like a tractor battery or a car battery? Whats the volts for a newer tractor alternator? 14v? 12v? If the tractor does run at 14v, I'm tempted to try this.

Would the even drill run, or would it just turn slower, and burn it up?

Just makes me wonder why they don't sell a 12v drill that you can hook into a 12v car battery, anyone I've ever seen has the battery included with no way to plug it up.

Thanks, just wondering if anyone has tried this before I start tearing apart my drill. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Chuck52]

Seems like you should be able to run your battery charger from the inverter, but it sounds like you only have the one battery for your drill? I bought the cheapest 14.4v drill I could find when I was getting ready todo my barn. It was a Ryobi from Lowes, and it came with two batteries. I don't recall the price, but I think it was in the $69 range. I only used tin on the roof of the 32x24' shed. A buddy came over with his 14.4v DeWalt to help with the roof. He did one side while I did the other. My Ryobi batteries lasted longer than his DeWalt's, but perhaps they were just newer. Anyway, I almost got through my whole side before changing batteries while he was just a bit over half way. I think, were I you, that I'd look for a drill with two batteries and then you'd be able to charge one with your inverter while using the other two.

Chuck

 

[CTyler]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ? Why can't a person hook up there cordless drill to a bigger 12v source like a tractor battery or a car battery? )</font>

You can use a 12v car batt for a source, it will not cause any problems. You'll have to make up the wires and connectors though and get them to stay in place.

Personaly I'd just get another batt or drill. What about borrowing a drill? Then you could let yours charge while running the borrowed drill.

 

[picard335]

Thanks... Correct me if I'm wrong, on the cordless drills, the higher the voltage, the stronger the drill (as in torque) to do heavier jobs. I've always understood the "Mah" milliamps per hour, factor to give you the longer run times, not the volts.

Borrowing is an option, but I don't like borrowing stuff. If I break/drop it, they get a new one, not me. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I'd rather have the 2 more battery packs, and the charging on the inverter while working is the way to go when no electric is available. Makes you wonder how much $$ contractors have in cordless tools and batteries, I bet they take some major abuse. Wonder how long there battery packs go before needing replaced. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

John

 

[Chuck52]

There's a new place called Batteries Plus in Columbia....not too far from California?...and I called them to get their price for battery packs, thinking they might be much cheaper. I just asked for a DeWalt pack, since the guy on the phone was having trouble finding the code I got from their web site, and it was more than $70 for a 14.4v pack! Didn't sound like a bargain to me! Their web site is:
Batteries Plus

if you want to check it out. They apparently do offer rebuilts, too.

Chuck

 

[CTyler]

Yes that is correct. Your Ma rating is how long it will run. The voltage is the pressure sort of speak. So the higher the voltage, as in 14 vs 12, the more power you will have. This is assuming all else is equall. There is considerable differences in sub-C battery Mfg's. Sanyo and Panasonic make very good NiCd and NiMh batts. Others like Saft are horrible by comparison. The NiMh RC 3300's by Sanyo and Pan are the best. This is what we use in electric RC car racing competitions. You wanna talk about putting a batt to the test...Oh Boy!

Now for the twist...
You will have as much or more torque using a 12v car batt than you will with a 14 volt batt pack. The reason is that the voltage will drop considerably under load from your 14v pack. The car batt has much much more capacity and will hold the voltage under any load that drill can dish out.

Just holding the trigger with noload or light load a fresh batt pack would spin it a little faster.

 

[NIXON]

[Makes you wonder how much $$ contractors have in cordless tools and batteries, I bet they take some major abuse. Wonder how long there battery packs go before needing replaced. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

A Lot of $$$ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif But they are SO convenient ! I find that homeowner type stuff ( craftsman , Skil , etc ) doesn't hold up to everyday hard use . But then it shouldn't be expected to either . My favorite cordless tools are Milwaukee , Bosch, and Makita . Dewalt is also right up there .The newer TASK FORCE stuff looks like it might also work well in the daily use environment as well . With proper care you should get several years out of a set of quality NiCads .
As to the newer NIMH's ...... Just don't have the experience with them . But they look promising . John

 

[jinman]

I have three Dewalt cordless drills that are all 12 volts. Each of them came with an extra battery, so when I go to do a job away from electricity, I have six batteries in reserve. Some batteries are better than the others, but they all like to be fully discharged and recharged often. In the case of NiCads, the more use, the better/longer life of the battery. If I had an old battery pack that had "given up" to the point of being useless, I might disassemble the pack, solder in some wires, and put a cigarette lighter adapter on the free end of the wires. Since you have only one battery, I'd think you wouldn't want to take a chance on messing up the pack, nor would I want to go inside the drill to rig up a cord. I agree with everyone here who has suggested that you get another battery and use your inverter for a the charger. Of course, some chargers are quick-chargers and will charge a battery in 45 min. or less. Others may take several hours and they are useless for the type of work you are doing.

My advice to anyone buying cordless tools is to try and buy all the same brand and the same voltage rating so you can swap battery packs and have a gang of chargers and spare batteries for any job. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif