Cordless power tools

[skunked again]

I have a ryobi combo set, 4 yrs old. Drill, sawzall, light, 5 1/4" saw. 2 years ago bought a drill/saw combo to get 2 more batteries. (1st two went bad) was same price as batteries alone. Nicad batteries.
Last year purchased a rigid drill and impact driver kit. I was in the market for an impact driver. I like this drill better, has a better chuck, love the impact driver. "Once you go impact for driving screw's, you never go back"
The rigid are lith-ion batteries. Much lighter.
All of above are 18volt.
Now, one of the ryobi batteries is not holding charge. I hate to scrap the whole set. The sawzall and circular saw are handy.
Advice? Part of me wants to go with rigid, seems to be better quality. Made by same company though.
Do nicads only last two years? With the first set, I took off charger when charged. 2cnd set, left on charger after charged. Same results.
Do lith-ions last longer? What has your experience been? Do you leave them on the charger, like troll motor battery?

[Cray]

It should not make any difference. When battery is charged the charger cuts off until you remove and reinsert battery so either way is basically the same. I have Hitachie now, had Dewalt andBlack and Decker. Gave them away. Hitachie are ok but if I was going to buy anything new it would be Rigid. Some guys I know that make their living with those tools swear by them especially for the money. The battery issue seems to be the big drawback to owning any of those power tools. I am like you, bought another Hitache drill kit to get batteries because it was cheaper than buying one battery.

[Bassing_53]

i have all milwaukee, used the others and these last longer. Check Interstate Batteries or ebay

[DockShootinJack]

Batteries plus also rebuilds cordless tool batteries. May be worth a phone call to see how much.

[Ranger Bob]

Check out Batteries for Watches, Hearing Aids, Cordless Phones, Camcorders, Digital Cameras, Notebooks, PDA & more..

[DRPEPPER]

I used to buy the same stuff from Home Depot. had annual problems with all brands. Now I buy all of my stuff from Harbor Freight. Still throw them away once a year. But, at 1/3 of the price. DP

["G"]

I have a Dewalt......batterys are nine years old now....Keep one battery in drill and one in the charger all the time.....each time I use the drill when I get through I swap the batterys.

[Cane Pole]

You can get replacement inserts on ebay for 18v dewalt 2.2amp hour for 30 bux. I ordered one the other day. Ohio seller.

[midcarolina]

There are a couple different ways to restore nicad batteries , first the one I know works has fixed 4 or 5 18 volt dewalt batteries.....

If you have a mig welder you can turn power all the way down turn wire speed down and zap the battery 4 or 5 times then put it on the charger.....

Or you can insert battery into the charger then plug/unplug the charger several times until the trouble lights go out and the charge light comes on

There are video's on these and more ways to repair old nicad batteries.... Like I said I have done the welder trick with success I would imagine if you have a 36 volt charger it would probably do the same thing as the welder.

[Cane Pole]

I read up on this zapping. This would not work with my bench power supply. I believe my bench supply is current limiting during zapping, or I have bad cells.

I will try this with 36v configured SLA batteries (if the will charge).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e8hHLyXAyQ