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Thread: Charging an old G M C drill.
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7th August 2012, 07:01 PM #1Deceased
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
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- Bundaberg Queensland.
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- 76
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Charging an old G M C drill.
I have a old 14.4 volt G M C cordless drill that's been laying idle for about 5 years and want to give it to a grandson to use ,he's at the stage of driving nails into impossibly hard pieces of 6x1 hardwood to build things and i showed him how to drill a pilot hole to get a bit of success in this endevour but i want the good cordless drill back .
He can have this old G M C but i can't find the 14.4 charger for it.
Question .....can i charge it with a 18 volt charger i have several laying around. ,it's the old type you plug into the battery while the battery is assembled to the drill,or will the extra volts damage the battery. Thanks .
Lloyd.
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7th August 2012, 07:54 PM #2
Lloyd
I suspect the simple answer is "no" as the charger will attempt to bring the batteries up to 18V or more before it gives up the attempt and in so doing will destroy them (not that that will worry you too much, I imagine.)
The old batteries were often comprised of a number of smaller 1.5V batteries connected in series to give the nominal voltage.
I think a more practical solution would be to prurchase a cheap drill from the low end of the market. It might suit your grandson.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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7th August 2012, 09:33 PM #3
A guy at work some years ago had 14V at home and new 18 V kit at work. Managed to swap the chargers around at some stage and cooked the 18V charger on the 14 V batteries, the batteries could handle the extra current when flat, but the non replaceable thermal fuse in the charger blew about 15 minutes into the charge, killing the charger.
14.4V suggests nicad/NIMH batteries, pack would be 12 x 1.2V cells. For 18V could be lithium (5 x 3.6V) or nicad/NIMH (15x1.2V).There are two forms of safe and reliable charger for Nicad/NIMH packs, slow chargers are current limited and not overly voltage dependant, and fast chargers are voltage dependant and check for a slight drop in cell voltage at the peak power point of the charge curve to stop fast charging. Most of the GMC chargers were fairly simple and rely on a thermal sensor in the pack to prevent overcharging.
If the unit has been on the shelf long enough to loose the charger, the battery packs would be shot, and it would be quicker and cheaper to get him a cheapy replacement unit than it would be to repack the batteries and find a suitable charger.
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7th August 2012, 11:46 PM #4the tool specialists
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
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- Smithfield,NSW
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- 274
I agree with the guys, you would be better off with a new cheapy, gmc tools were built to get past the warranty period, yours is way over so if your luck is like everyone else, you will get a charger & then the switch or batteries will go costing you the price of a new one & an upset grandson, maybe combine it for a early Christmas present that he will cherish
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8th August 2012, 08:09 AM #5
Go to the BIG GREEN shed and buy him a not too expensive Ozito drill ,
it will last him for a couple of years and have a 2/3 year warranty to boot.
Jeff
vk4
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8th August 2012, 11:02 AM #6Deceased
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Location
- Bundaberg Queensland.
- Age
- 76
- Posts
- 267
Thanks for the advice guys will get a cheapy for him .
Lloyd.
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29th August 2012, 12:21 PM #7
I have 3 ozito drills and use them every day. One is a driver and I drive screws into logs to hold a ladder to logs. they seem to last a while.
I am learning, slowley.