Rechargeable battery comparison.

Norman_Castle

I've got an older cordless drill/driver. Its like a drill but only has a hex socket rather than a chuck. It was really handy until the batteries failed. I considered making my own battery pack using rechargeable batteries but this seems to involve mini spot welding as soldering can damage the batteries. Originally it had six AA size 800ah nicads built into a 7.2v battery. I've realised a battery holder should work but the space is possibly too tight for the batteries in the holder. If I use six AAA size batteries of 1000ah in a smaller holder will they match the original power and capacity?

I'm not sure if I'm missing something. They're both 1.2v and the replacements have possibly higher storage capacity than the original batteries.

k_man

AAA batteries normally are unable to supply the same high current levels as AAs.
So while the nominal capacity may appear higher (4 x 1000 rather than 4 x 800), they are very unlikely to perform as well.

Also, are the AAAs also NiCd?
Other chemistries often are not as robust/forgiving as NiCd, and require more intelligent charging and care.

Neil_Jones

The batteries are more likely to be C's (or possibly D's) rather than AA.

A drill will be a very power hungry device, and a lot of the smaller C batteries look the same as AA's at first glance, but C's are better for power hungry devices.

forgotmyname

Change it to LiPo batteries.  You can get a 2S pack which is 7.4v nominal 8.4v fully charged and the extra
power output from them will supercharge your drill/driver.

Just need a charger for the 2S pack which can be bought fairly cheaply.