Cordless Power Tool Battery Prices

[JPG]

My 15? tr old HP rinter stopped feeding paper 10 years ago. ;>{

[RFGuy]

Well, I guess quality makes a difference. I have been on the M18 and M12 battery platforms with Milwaukee for several years now. I have had NO issues with batteries since getting on this platform. I still have and use all of the original batteries purchased on these platforms. Some of my batteries see hard use and some light use...just depends on the tool used. I haven't had a single battery that I have had to replace yet. Some batteries sit in a tool for months before I use that tool again and the batteries do NOT self discharge. Before this I had the Milwaukee V18 platform and the batteries would self discharge and it was so annoying to go to use one and have to wait for it to charge. Before that I had DeWalt's Ni-Cad platform and other NiCad's before this. Honestly I am shocked to hear that DeWalt's latest platform requires batteries to be replaced every two years?!?! Also, surprised to hear the suggestion that cordless power tools equate to the whole printer<->printer ink business model. Printer ink subsidizes the cost of a printer. You don't honestly think that a printer actually costs $50 or $100 when you go to Staples do you? Actual HW costs for most printers is in the hundreds of dollars, which is why you pay a huge premium for ink on that $50 printer from Staples. I paid a small fortune for all of my Milwaukee cordless tools, i.e. I am fairly certain the tool cost was NOT subsidized. Just saying we are comparing apples and oranges here. Cordless tool batteries are NOT subsidizing the cost of cordless tools.

[john_001]

... Cordless tool batteries are NOT subsidizing the cost of cordless tools.

I agree. Many cordless tools are available as "tool only" - no battery, for people who already have enough batteries and chargers for the system and are willing to swap batteries between tools. Subsidizing the tool to get people to buy batteries would seem to be a dumb strategy.

[JPG]

... Cordless tool batteries are NOT subsidizing the cost of cordless tools.

I agree. Many cordless tools are available as "tool only" - no battery, for people who already have enough batteries and chargers for the system and are willing to swap batteries between tools. Subsidizing the tool to get people to buy batteries would seem to be a dumb strategy.

Worked for Gillette and current printer folks(except Kodak). I agree makes no rational sense, but the market is typically not rational.

[RFGuy]

I agree. Many cordless tools are available as "tool only" - no battery, for people who already have enough batteries and chargers for the system and are willing to swap batteries between tools. Subsidizing the tool to get people to buy batteries would seem to be a dumb strategy.

+1
Yeah, about half of the Milwaukee cordless products that I own, I purchased as a tool only purchase. Milwaukee gives this option on all of their tools that I am aware of. When you compare the bundled price with charger and battery versus tool only, it is significantly more for ones with the battery, which makes sense.

IF anyone really thinks that a particular brand cordless tool and battery are a subsidized business model like printers or razors, I would like to know which products it is so that I can take a look. I am not aware of ANY cordless power tools where this is the case.

[SteveMaryland]

Sell the durable product cheap and the consumable expensive. A proven money-maker, ever since Kodak.

Kodak gave away the camera but made a fortune on the film + development.

I paid $80 retail for my current Canon printer. Even when manufactured overseas (in Vietnam) that is a loss. The money is made on the ink.

A gimmick almost as incredibly profitable as "gift cards".

Wait until electric car owners get the $11,000 bill for replacement of their depleted batteries. It will happen. Can't afford the replacement, and can't sell the car with dead battery. Millions of electric bricks on wheels, coming soon. Hang on to your IC car.

The current electric car model is all wrong, a huge crisis waiting to happen. Too late now. Thanks Elon Musk.

An electric car with a readily demountable battery was the right model. Scotty Kilmer has a good video on this. China has such a car.

Not everybody has a garage and driveway in which to re-charge their electric car. What will happen (soon) when 5 electric-car drivers each need to use one public socket at the same time? Wait in line for 12 hours? Homicides ahead.

Demountable battery would solve the purchase-price problem, the range and charging problems, and the replacement problem.

Demountable means you won't own the battery or charge the battery. Industry-standardized batteries and vehicles. Interchangable batteries owned by an oil-company consortium. Pull into any current service station and get your battery swapped out with one freshly-charged. Like a Jiffy-Lube. Range problem solved. Drive anywhere with no dead-battery worries and no plugging-in somewhere for 4 hours minimum.

"Plugging in somewhere for 4 hours" is the current model and it is insane. Maybe not for a power tool but for a car it is insane.

Oil-company consortium owns the batteries, charges them, mounts and de-mounts them, and RECOVERS and RECYCLES them, ecologically, when worn out.

[john_001]

Demountable battery would solve the purchase-price problem, the range and charging problems, and the replacement problem.

Hydrogen would eliminate the battery entirely and refuel just like a gas engine.

[SteveMaryland]

Look up "hydrogen embrittlement" to discover what hydrogen can do to a pressure tank.

Look up "Hindenberg" to discover what will happen in a hydrogen-car vehicle accident.

[roy_okc]

Steve,

The Hindenberg was a far different situation than a modern hydrogen car. The Hindeberg's skin, with it's flammable paint coating, was highly likely at least partly responsible for the rapid spread of the fire.

Modern hydrogen storage test leaks have shown to be safer than fossil fuels. Nice writeup by Wash State Univ here: https://hydrogen.wsu.edu/2017/03/17/so- ... ogen-fuel/

[RFGuy]

Well, I thought this thread was dead...I have been checking off and on through the holidays and I am still surprised by the elevated pricing for both Milwaukee and DeWalt batteries at the 5.0A-h level. Both are running around the $150/battery mark at big box places like Home Depot and online sellers like Acme Tools. I don't know what it is about this size, because slightly smaller sizes are significantly cheaper than that 5.0A-h size. Something is going on in the cordless power tool market lately IMHO. I still can't explain why this particular size is so elevated in price, except for the fact that lithium as a raw commodity has exploded on the financial markets this year - having doubled in the past year. Coincidentally this particular battery size has also doubled in its retail price in the last year so it matches the commodity price increase. I thought perhaps around Black Friday, etc. that there might have been a drop in pricing for these particular batteries, but I didn't see them budge this year. IF your particular brand of cordless tool battery has a sale this holiday season you may want to stock up on them, because I suspect the rest of the battery market will follow the lead that I see Home Depot setting on Milwaukee and DeWalt batteries. JMO.

Steve,

Don't even get me started on Elon and the ecological catastrophe of EV batteries. Most don't realize how damaging the mining is for these and the recycling methods available today that I have researched are not effective yet. IF EV adoption continues to escalate then pretty soon there will be stacks of old EV batteries laying around somewhere soon. When you factor in that most are charging their EV's from coal or natural gas power plants, the net result is that most EV's are no better, or only marginally better, than their ICE equivalent, for the environment. Don't get me wrong...I am all for new technology and EV's hold promise, but we have a long way to go before they are a sound investment and an ecologically conscious choice. Unfortunately many consumers have been sold on the myth of EV's being a "green" choice. I see EV's as more of an interim solution in the automotive space.