DEWALT DW9116 7.2-Volt to 18-Volt Pod Style 1 Hour Battery Charger

Black and Decker PS145 FireStorm 18-Volt NiCad Pod Style Battery.

The Black and Decker charger will overheat a small fusible link inside the battery. Rather than throwing the battery away, I fixed them in 5 minutes.

Step 1. I removed the 5 screws holding the case top and recharging stem. I had to pull a little bit for the clips to release but there's nothing else holding the case lid and recharging stem other than the screws.

*When I have a Type 3 battery see Step A, Type 2 battery see Step B.

Step A: On P145 Type 3 batteries the fuse location is fairly obvious. It's located right next to the 'stem' and I could see a little burn spot where the metal melted. I removed a little of the green plastic and red paper to expose the fuse bases. I placed aluminum foil over the fuse break to reconnect the cells. Then I put a piece of electrical tape over that to hold the fusible link in place, and I could put the battery cover on again.

Step B: On P145 Type 2 batteries the fuse is located in the circular base of the recharging stem holder. If the fuse link is toast, I can pull the metal cylinder that has the recharging prongs from the 'cigarette lighter' looking plastic piece. I constructed a new fusible link from aluminum foil or thin gauge metal and after peeling the tape ribbon open, taped the new fuse in place and threaded it through the slit in the base of the plastic cylinder to contact the metal base of the recharging stem.

Step 3: I put each battery in the Dewalt charger for 10 hours and took thank you's from mother nature and my wallet.

Notes:

When constructing a new fusible link, I use metal that's the same thickness of the metal I am replacing (or thinner). Thin aluminum is best - and aluminum foil will work if I have nothing else.

I don't use the black and decker charger. The Dewalt is far less likely to break the fusible link by overheating the circuit.

The PS145 nickel cadmium chemistry should last 500 charges. That's good for the tool lifetime in most 'honey do' household task scenarios. Of course, Black and Decker want you to buy new batteries right? That's why you throw that B & D charger away now.

This is only a record of my experiences and I don't recommend you try fix batteries yourself (only to fail and sue me or Amazon)

A DeWalt battery charger for $14.95? It's true!I ordered 2 of them! They work perfectly and are new not refurbished. The vendor shipped on time and had a great product, what more could I ask for?

Like the one that broke, charges fast and the price is right, very happy customer, also quick service.

As my research told me, the DeWALT charger I bought for my Black & Decker cordless drill batteries would work and it does perfectly! In fact it is better than the original B&D charger ever was. It's way faster-1 hour instead of 6 hours/it has LED charge indicator/and it also has a battery recondition function to tweak your old batteries. My original B&D charger had none of these features. I'm glad that I went this route. While I could have just picked up a new cordless drill, and that would be fun to have, my old 12V B&D works like new and I'm back in business for much less $$$ than a cool new drill would have cost. Maybe next time I'll get the cool new drill.

This charger is working fine, so far. I did shop around for a while before I purchased this one from bayarea tools through Amazon of course. Other stores would price theirs at around $69.00. I got this one for only $14.99 - brand new. For this low price, you can't go wrong. It is a Dewalt charger, I think it will last for the years to come.