Tapping question

[Talcott Family Maple]

What type of cordless Drill is recommended for tapping? I have 350 taps on pipline and 500 bucketts. Im using an older Dewalt 14.4 and it struggles to complete 75 5/16 holes my batteries were new in 2009.Im looking at a new 18v Dewalt XRP with 3 speed transmision or cani use a cheaper 18v Dewalt with only a 2 speed transmision.Is Higher torque better than higher rpm? Is Nicad better than Lithiom in the cold?

Whate everybody using?

Thanks

[Potters3]

I have the 18 volt XRP, will be out with it today to see. Last weekend we did 46 with a battery that had been in the drill since fall before it died.


I thought is torque is better that speed. And I have had cheaper drills Ryobi's and they where just good money going to waste.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

18v Milwauki I did 50 holes on a 4 yr old battery (NICAD)with new charge:(. I used to be able to do almost all my holes on one battery (120). I dont care for the Lith. batteries think there junk.
I'm going to try the Mig welder trick on my old batteries and see if that really works. $140 for 2 Nicads yesterday getting a little expensive.

[Typical8]

Last year I was getting about 120 out of the Dewalt 14.4. The guy with the Makita 18 V was doing the best. We are going to start tappin today so I will get some better numbers on the different drills. We have Dewalts, Milwaukees and Makitas.

[batsofbedlam]

I use a Bosch 24v cordless drill and get 350 tapholes drilled from one charge. It's a little heavy and your wrist might hurt from the torque by the end of the day, but one battery is all it takes.

[bigstack]

I'm going to try the Mig welder trick on my old batteries and see if that really works. [/QUOTE]

What is the mig welder trick?

[collinsmapleman2012]

ive seen a dewalt 18v do almost 400 on a single battery, they do make nice tapping drills.

[3fires]

I used to fly RC planes and the lithiums held up better in the cold than Nicads or Nimhs, and they didn't lose charge just by sitting.

Having said that I'm using an old 9.6v B&D with nicads. I get about 12 taps between the two batteries.

Nice thing about nicads is they can be cycled and brought back to life somewhat. You can't do that with nimhs or lithiums.

[weekendboiler]

rigid makes the best drills i have found. i used to work construction and they held up the best out of all the drills we used. even better yet they have a 20 min. recharge time and they also have a unconditional lifetime warranty. i am proof that they actually do back up their warranty one time i dropped one off a roof and it fell 18 feet onto a concrete sidewalk picked up the pieces and took it back the guy said go get a new one off the shelf and i was on my way. i am going to use one of mine tomarrow ill let you know if i get all 500 on one battery. by the way the warranty goes for the batteries too.:D

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Been using a Bosch 18V with Ni Cad battery. I am getting between 350 and 400 taps per charge. Recharge batteries over lunch and doing 1000 or more on good days (not much repair work needed).

[Z/MAN]

Get a Canadian tapping bit. They are so sharp your batteries will last a lot longer!

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I'm going to try the Mig welder trick on my old batteries and see if that really works.

What is the mig welder trick?[/QUOTE]

go to you tube and look up recondition drill batteries or some thing close to that. Theres a guy who adapts metal prongs to the charging terminals of the batteries , puts the negative on one side and then triggers the gun to the other. The theory I guess is when you put that DC amps through the battery it gets rid of the build up of corrosion between the terminals of the batteries.
heres one I found but not the one I was talking about

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzIlVLOH9XI
heres another still not the one I'm looking for
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0JbNX4K4fQ

[PerryW]

I probably only get 50-75 7/16" holes out of my Dewalt 18V but I probably get three times as many of the 5/16" holes.

I have been unhappy with the Dewalt batteries as I had have three of them just fail instantly. They were working great one day and the next day they didn't take a charge.

[wnybassman]

I probably only get 50-75 7/16" holes out of my Dewalt 18V but I probably get three times as many of the 5/16" holes.

I have been unhappy with the Dewalt batteries as I had have three of them just fail instantly. They were working great one day and the next day they didn't take a charge.

If they were lithiums and drawn past the point of zero charge, they may be able to be "jump started" from another good working battery. When drawn too much, the charger recognizes them as "defective" and won't charge them. Just a bit of juice in them and the charger will begin to charge them again.

I learned this the hard way as I have thrown out a couple batteries that could have been saved this way.

[maple flats]

I use both DeWalt 18V NiCads and Ryobi Lith Ion 18V. I get more use from the Dewalts. I use the Canadian bits and have never worn one out before I wore out. I recharge at lunch, (me and the batteries) and go again. On sections where I have less steep climbs and when I can tap without snowshoes, I get about 300-350 on a charge and it is still going but starting to lose speed. I only tap at high speed, it is easier to get a perfect hole.

[bigstack]

well I watched the video on how to restore batteries with a mig and I am going to try it tomorrow. Hopefully I dont blow myself up. I will keep everyone posted. May I live to tap another tree

[Maple Hobo]

Been using a Bosch 18V with Ni Cad battery. I am getting between 350 and 400 taps per charge. Recharge batteries over lunch and doing 1000 or more on good days (not much repair work needed).

We picked up one of the Bosch drills last season. It has a super pack that out lasts 3 new bateries on the other drills.

[vtjeeper]

is it common knowledge that lithium ion batteries don't like the cold? I have a 2-3 year old Milwaukee and it just doesn't seem to wanna work when it's cold out. last night I got like 1 or 2 5/16 holes out of one battery and maybe 8 or 9 out of the other. I brought them inside and put them onthe charger and it blinked indicating temperature for a couple seconds then started charging. but was almost fully charged. I have left them on the charger for a day or two by accident before. and I did leave it outside sat night with one of the batteries in it on my porch. don't mean to hijack the thread but I am just not educated on the lith ion batteries and am conused. oh, I got probably 35 or 40 5/16 holes mid day saturday out of one battery, then did another 15 or 20 withthe other and I was out of buckets before the 2nd battery died.

[michiganfarmer2]

28 volt milwuakee lithium-ion, and recently got a good used gas taper for my birthday