On board drill

andy_wilson

andy_wilson

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My old Bosch battery drill has failed in both the battery and charger department. Shame, It's bloody good drill.

So, it's going aboard now.

I have bought a set of cells to refill the battery pack, it's 9.6V - 8 X 1.2V NmH.

I plan to wire a 12V lead into the battery pack so I can charge, or use and charge as required. If I am unlikely to want to charge it for more than 1 hour, and am unlikely to be using it plugged in for more than that sort of time, should I just wire it direct and enjoy the extra oomph of 13v direct, or should I put a small resistor in the circuit to slow things down a bit?

If so, how big?
 
I would suggest it's not possible to work out the resistor value needed without knowing the current consumption. However, even this is an over-simplification. Current consumption will vary with load. "No-load" speed of the electric motor will vary with the applied voltage. There are too many variables to recommend just putting a resistor in series.

All is not lost, though. Most re-chargable drills include an electronic speed control - the further you press the trigger, the faster it goes. There is a fair chance that the electronics will survive 13V, so the main difference you will notice is a higher top speed (even this may not happen - it depends on the control circuit). The worst that may happen is that the stall current is only limited by the battery - which will be more in your 12V system, although I would expect the control electronics to look after the maximum current.

Seen as the alternative is to chuck it away, I suggest you give it a try.
 
I bought a cheap 12 volt drill from a DIY shed, and wired a 3.5mm power plug to it, so it can either be used on board as a 12 volt drill or with battery, which does not last very long.. but for £9.99 who cares?
 
You won't get 13v - at rest your domestic 12v battery will give 12.5v at the terminals, but you'll get a fair bit of voltage drop through the cables to the drill. I do the same with a 12v drill and have 11.5v at the drill because the cables to it are long enough to use it anywhere on board. So I should imagine you'll be fine.
 
I have a black & decker 7.2V drill whose batteries failed 3 years ago.I found an old hoover flex and connected it into the drill and a suitable 12V plug on the other end and its worked fine even on heavy work powering a drill/pump emptying gallons of bilge water.It doesn't appear to run any quicker than before.
 
I also converted an old B&Q 12v drill with a knackered battery with a long lead to use onboard. Works a treat, no problem with power loss over the long lead length.
 
Why not try one of these...

drill.jpg


No charging problems /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I agree, I keep a hand drill on the boat, and no power drill at all.
However, I cant recommend the quality of the Stanley or the Draper tools, sucha s the one shown. These are now made in China to a very poor standard, and may not even be concentric. Also the action in meshing the gears increases effort, and this means you will not get a smooth operating in drilling large sizes.
Go to a reputable Engineering Tool Store and get a geared, reversible drill with an elbow rest.
Mine is a Zenken (spelling?), made in Germany which is 2 speed, and does not have the large exposed rotary wheel like the Draper etc. It is in a contained gearbox, with proper bearings. The chuck is a full 13mm.
The secret to success is to buy really decent quality drill bits, not just the old tosh again made in China fourpence a dozen.

There is no job on Full Circle that I havent done using the hand drill, and that includes drilling stainless.

I paid about 20 quid for it 3 years ago after my 1960s Stanley fell apart finally. I actually bought a Bosch 14.4v, but the batteries did not last long with infrequent charging, and they cost an arm and a leg to replace.

So there you have it - a vote for Luddites.
 
Hang on a second....I recently bought replacement batteries for my Bosch - not originals but they were quite cheap, and seem fine - £19 + VAT + delivery from www.batterytrader.com Could be that your charger is fine but appears not to be working because of the faulty battery? Seems a shame not to get a decent expensive drill working again for the want of a battery, or even a new charger. I would be inclined to get a new battery first (as an extra battery is always useful) then if that doesn't work, get a replacement charger - though make sure you have a source for a charger first in case that is the problem!
 
It's a bloody fantastic drill, and has been given death over and over again, renovated 2 complete houses - drilling, hammering and screwing, screwing miles of fencing and loads of decking - driving coach bolt type fixings as well as thousands of screws. Been through loads of batteries.

The charger got wet!

I have bought 2 cheapie battery drill kits (c/w charger and 2 batteries, and a shed load of monkey metal bits) in the interim - cheaper than buying new batteries for Billie Bosch, except that they have since failed, and a new Bosch battery pack proved a better investment, as the drill is still working fine.
 
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