DIY: Ni-Cd To Lithium Battery Conversion By Using 18650 Cells

In this video I'll transform this old, cordless power drill Ni-Cd battery to lithium battery by using 18650 Sony VTC5 cells.

Update! From the date when video was made pased some time and Sony released new version of high drain cells with bigger capacity 3120mAh - VTC6. Genuine Sony VTC6 cells could be bought here:



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[ourmail]

Extremely interesting. Solves a problem that everyone has sooner or later. Namely, revival of a good tool from the dead. Presenter has great skill as an educator.

[sailingavocet]

We just upgraded from AGM's to Lithiums by building our own battery bank on our sailboat (we liveaboard) using 180 amp hour, 3.6-volt CALB cells, and a DALY BMS, wiring the cells in a 4s2p orientation. So stoked on the upgrade! We charge our lithiums in 2 different ways. We send the power from our 120 amp Balmar alternator on our engine to our 100 amp-hour sealed lead-acid starter battery. From there a Renogy 60 amp DC-DC charger takes the load from the alternator and puts it in a lithium profile and in turn charges the lithium batteries. It was a fun build!

[milvolts]

Finally! Was able to get my 18v harbor freight impact drill to work just like this. I used 10 batteries 5s2p. It was a tight fit. The old batteries would self drain after each use. But now, used it and after a week its still fully charged. Awesome. You are a life saver. Or I mean a drill saver. Thanks, and good luck!

[Beaches_south_of_L.A.]

Nice job in production of this video. The narration, no music or miming. Two thumbs up.

[Babylonbadders]

Great vid, thanks! I switched from a battery to wired drill when my batteries died after 3 years use, and I found out the price of a battery pack was the same price as the drill! Most of my drill use is within reach of a plug socket, and I don't have to worry about my project coming to a halt because both of my battery packs are have ran out of juice ;) But I have kept the old drill so I could resurrect it now, cheers!

[boonang]

Awesome. Amazed at your confidence opening up the Battery case and modifying to replace with Li-ion Batteries and Bonus metering.
I always have the fear that 'rough handling' battery packs is hazardous. Truly you have done a super super job.
Luckily I have not thrown away my industrial AEG 14.4V Nicd power drill. I hope someone can help me convert like you did.
👏👏👏

[Itzpugs]

I have been messing with 18650 batteries for over a year a assumed they all had around same current draw until this video, I am not going to buy laptop battery packs anymore thank you and great vid.

[jmoyet]

I was just thinking of doing this for my battery powered impact gun of which the battery pack is no longer in production and will lose its charge within 2 days even being on its own without being connected. Now I just need to get 5 matching batteries to make up the 18 volts. I use the 18650 for phone chargers and flashlights but now it will be even more useful for work since I'm a mechanic and the old battery just doesn't hold up to the job anymore. Awesome Video!

[dackjaniels]

Good shit, man. Taping over those annoying piezo speakers was a great idea.

[wingcmdr]

Very nicely done. Great idea for using the LIPo battery voltage tester and installing it into the battery pack.

[jp-umfr]

I have a pair of 7.2V Bosch drills that look very similar to your 9.6V. They both are around 20 years old and replacement betteries about 6 years ago cost more than the drills did. I didn't go as far as you have, I just fitted twin 18650 battery holders inside the original battery case with thicker wire and used high drain 18650's. The original snap mounting onto the drill holds everything together quite well. Doing it this way does mean I can replace just the batteries when they need it. The mistake I made is that they do not have any protection circuits so I will have to get batteries that do. It was your video that made me bite the bullet and convert the very old dead original batteries. With the original batteries these little 7.2V drills could punch a 100mm screw around 5mm below the wood surface. Just goes to show that Volts has absolutely nothing to do with power, It's volts x amps = WATTS that matter. Ni-Cd actually can deliver a higher current but the 18650's seem fine.

[geoffbirkinshaw]

I have the same Bosch 9.6V drill. I used three 18650 2.1AH Lithiums from a 6 cellToshiba laptop battery bought on Ebay for £3, (£2 postage) so they cost me £2.50 & 3 spare cells.
I wired a 12V 5W Zener in series with a 39 ohm resistor across them, then used the voltage across the resistor to switch on a transistor wired across the existing thermistor to switch off the charger (which also has a convenient max output of 12.6V 750mA). Charges them up to 4V each so likely no balancing problems & no overcharge. I can still use the original Bosch charger for both this battery and for a spare 9.6V 1.7AH NiCd battery pack. Works fine, plenty of torque and hasn't caught fire yet.

[SantaClaw]

I love how you used a drill to fix your drill... :P

[gerrymcerlean]

great idea! I noticed your drill was rated for 9.6v. Three LI-ion batteries in series have a max. voltage of 12.6V and a nominal voltage of 11.1V which means your drill will draw about 16% more current and might overheat and burn out. On the up-side, the drill should be more powerful. I think it's worth taking a chance on this as it's such a great idea.

[gordbaker]

I wish you lived in SW Ontario Canada. I have several Makita tools that need the upgrade.

[pilotsmoe]

My personal opinion, I would replace with high capacity Ni-mh batteries, the lithium are a pain in the ass, you always have to make sure the batteries are balanced with a balance charger(some say you can charge a few times without the balance lead, but if the battery was sitting for a long time, and a cell looses it's charge, then you got a fire). At least with Ni-mh batteries, you can put them on trickle charge to balance out all of the cells. I did this with one battery, used an old charger, gutted it, and use it as a base so I can hook up to my Imax b6 charger. (which used to always kill batteries, as it wasn't a computerized charger with delta-v cutoff, so the batteries would just cook.) Every so often, I'll just hook it up to my constant current charger and just let it trickle at 100 mA for 24 hours to even out the cells.

[zeroone]

Hi, good job, I have done almost the same to my old skil 12v drill, but with sealed lead acid batteries instead, much cheaper and works like a charm

[moash]

Good work. A small note: take off the ring or cover it with electrical tape when dealing with electricity. Lithium batteries pack quite a punch, and if they short across the ring you are in for a serious burn.

[ElevenShop]

That's some great content and production value. That kit looks great.

[jwuethrich]

soldering on an 16850 terminal? you've got some balls of steel my friend