It’s not as hard as you’d think. With some AA batteries, electrical tape, and conductive wire, you can power your drill without a charger.
Have you ever gone to pull out your trusty cordless drill for an important project, and it was DOA? Typically, this isn’t a huge problem. You can simply charge your power tool up and be back on schedule in no time.
But, a scenario like this can cause significant problems both short-term and long-term if you don’t have a charger handy.
If you’re looking for a cordless drill for your needs, check out our Best Cordless Drill for more selections.
So today, we’re going to break down how to avoid this issue. With a few items that you likely have on hand, you can power up your cordless drill battery without a charger. Keep reading to learn the three easy steps to get you there!
1. Gather What You’ll Need and Check Your Voltage
First off, you need to know upfront what you’ll be using to recharge your drill battery. Make sure you have a handful of AA batteries (12 at most), electrical tape, and electrical wire. With these items, you’ll assemble your very own DIY charger.
Standard AA batteries will serve your purposes. While the batteries and wire (like this copper kind) are necessary, electrical tape isn’t. But it will make the process easier. You can find it in small or large quantities at nearly any hardware or home improvement store.
After gathering your components, the next step is to check the voltage of your power drill. Each AA battery has a voltage of 1.5V. You will need to count out the AA batteries to match the voltage of your drill.
For example, if your drill is 12V, you will need 8 AA batteries at 1.5V each to charge your drill. If you’re unsure what the voltage of your drill is, the user manual will likely say. If not, then you can always research the make and model online to find out.
Most power drills will feature between 12 and 18V, depending on the type of project they’re rated for. If you have a standard power drill, it’s safe to assume that it’s most likely 12V.
2. Assemble Your Battery
So now you know the voltage of your drill and have gathered all the components you’ll need to build your DIY charger. It’s time to assemble your makeshift battery.
To conduct the charge, you’ll need to form one battery series using the individual AA batteries. You’ll use the electrical wire to connect the negative end of one battery to the positive end of the next in a series.
Using electrical tape to secure the connections from battery to battery enables the battery series to conduct a charge.
Repeat this process with one negative end to another positive end. Keep going until you have completed a chain of the correct number of batteries to match your drill’s voltage.
3. Connect and Charge
The final step is the easiest, and it’s where you’ll see the payoff! Now that you’ve got your battery chain, all that’s left is to connect it to your power drill’s lithium-ion battery.
Take note, though, that this part of the process will be a little different. You connect negative ends to positive ends for your battery chain. But, you must match positive to positive and negative to negative when you connect the lithium drill battery.
If you take a look at your drill’s battery, you’ll see that it still has similar positive and negative ends, although it’s larger than your AA batteries. And on one end of your battery chain, you’ll find a positive end, while on the other side is a negative end.
You’ll need to attach the positive end of your battery chain to the positive end of the lithium battery. The negative end of the battery chain should connect to the negative end of the lithium battery. For a secure connection, use electrical tape to do this.
This makes sure that the conducted charge doesn’t simply flow through your drill battery as another part of the chain. This way, it’s charged up from the current you’ve created.
Things to Remember
Although the process of charging your cordless drill battery without a charger is pretty simple, it’s always a good idea to be alert around electricity! Make sure that you supervise the process and don’t leave the room while your drill is charging.
Another critical thing to remember is that you cannot use batteries of different voltages for this process. Because the added voltage amount of the batteries needs to perfectly equal that of your drill, AA batteries are best. Trying to use any other kind won’t end so well!
While it could take a while to completely charge your drill using this charger-free process, it’s certainly better than the alternative you’d face without a charger.
Using only AA batteries, electrical wire, and electrical tape, you can save the day in a pinch. Next time you find yourself without your drill charger, try out this simple DIY alternative!
Have questions? Leave us a comment below, or let us know about your DIY drill charging experience!