Testing of Skil 18v lithium ion and NiCad battery packs

I know a guy who works at the local hardware and tool shop and he agreed to give me some cordless power tools to test out. I will be getting a different model to check out every week so I can report on it here at my blog. What I’m really curious about is how Skil 18v lithium ion battery packs compare to the regular NiCad ones. I’ll keep the same batteries throughout my testing along with the new ones that come with each tool. This way I can see how well the Skil cordless power tool operates with a brand new battery, and how the battery will degrade with use. I’m especially curious to see this with the NiCad ones, since they seem to be notorious for loosing their performance very rapidly. However, I also want to be able to see what kind of upgrade the Skil 18v lithium ion battery packs have compared to the NiCad. Everyone that I know claims a huge performance increase, but I want to know exactly how much. I also want to see how the new 18v lithium ion battery packs work on older cordless power tool models that originally came with NiCad. I think that once I’m through with my tests, you will get a very clear picture of every type of power tool and battery that Skil has to offer.

Do not buy NiCad Skil 18v batteries

I hope I will spare some people the grief that I went though with my Skil 18v nickel cadmium batteries. I bought the Skil 2887 18v cordless drill that runs on SB18A batteries a few years ago. If I would have known better at the time, I would have gotten a drill that runs on lithium ion.

The pricing on these things is a little bit strange. The Drill, which costs around 100 bucks on Amazon.com comes with two of the Skil SB18A 18v batteries which cost about 90 dollars if you buy replacements. So essentially, you might as well buy a whole new drill when the batteries are done because, for about the same price, you get a drill and battery charger. I still can’t figure out why on earth they sell these things for such a ridiculous price. I think that instead of wasting your money on this Skil 18v drill set, you should just save up a little bit more money and get yourself a model that runs on Skil 18v lithium ions batteries.

The thing that makes these batteries such a bad deal is the fact that they are nickel cadmium technology. This technology had been around for a long time and has big flaws, such as the memory effect. What this means is that if you do not follow the operating instructions and don’t totally discharge the battery after each use, it will reduce its capacity very rapidly until the point where they become unusable. And don’t even think about leaving them hooked on the charger after they have completely charged. If you do this on a constant basis, the battery wont be able to hold its charge, and you will have no choice but to charge it right before use. The problem with these Skil 18v batteries is that they already have shelf life problems when they are brand new, so misuse with render them useless. Considering that they can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to fully charge, this is highly inconvenient.

I have had this cordless drill for over two years, and one of the Skil 18v batteries is garbage. The other can only be used as soon as it’s done charging, which is unfortunately not when I actually need it. And as I already mentioned, I might as well just buy a new set if I’m going to replace them.

I could go on and on about the flaws of these batteries; from the badly designed clamps that attach the battery to the Skil 18v drill, to the terribly basic and generic charger that has no settings that will condition or maintain the batteries.

Think about this: Is it worth it to buy one 45 dollar battery every year, which you will have to do with these NiCad Skil 18v batteries, or you could buy a battery that is twice the price but will last you at least 5 times longer. I think its pretty much a no-brainer. Basically, the Skil 18v lithium ion batteries do not suffer from the issues that nickel cadmium does. No battery lasts forever, but at least you will get your money’s worth. Think long term and you will make the right decision.