Customer Reviews

Black & Decker PS140 Fire Storm 14.4 Volt 1-2/5-Amp NiCad Pod Style Battery

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The PS140 is a perfectly good battery - you can get those at auction sites for about $30. I just got 3 brand new in the package for $100 and that included shipping!

My tools get tons of usage daily. They are the Black and Decker 14.4v "Firestorm" drill; circular saw and reciprocating saw.

To reviewer J. Jackson, you get what you pay for. The PS180 charger, that came with the above mentioned tools, is the lowest quality, piece of #@&* charger you can get for the B&D PS140 (post style) 14.4v battery. I wouldn't give $5 for one of them. And yes, I too burned them out in no time at all.

The PS180 does not turn off after the battery is charged which is why the battery is always hot when you pull it out and that's just not good for the battery or the charger.

(By the way, shouldn't use the battery `til it cools down & always unplug the charger when you're done with it and bad batteries will kill the charger).

I bought a couple of PS1514BU B&D chargers a couple of years ago but can't find them anymore. They have a red indicator while charging, green when charged and stop operating when the battery is charged. You can leave it in there all night and the battery is cool when removed. Chargers and batteries are still in great shape and get charged about every three days!

I am VERY interested in B&D's PS1MVC. It is a multi-voltage unit that charges 8.4v, 9.6v, 12.0v and 14.4v B&D batteries. Among other things, it indicates when the battery is charged and if the battery has gone bad and needs to be replaced.

Check out the reviews on Amazon but go elsewhere to buy it. Some auction sites have them brand new for about $30.

Buy a Dewalt charger like the DW9116. You can find them for $21 on Amazon.com, and they charge the B&D 12v and 14.4 v batteries just fine!

You can purchase the inexpensive B&D 1 hour charger online ( I have two, one for each style battery) from www.reliablepowertools.com. Or you can also use the Dewalt 1 hour chargers, the batteries fit with no modifications. These chargers have charge indicator lights that tell you when the pack is fully charged so there's no guessing. This is a simple problem to cure, I hope this helps everyone....

I won't go into great detail since others have already stated my problem, but the point is well taken that a cordless tool is only as good as the charger. My charger died and finding a replacement seems impossible. I'll stay away from Black and Decker tools in the future for this reason.

UPDATE -- I took the advice of one of the other reviewers, bought a new B&D charger at a reasonable price, and had that charger go bad within weeks of my purchase. Never again!

I've been using the Dewalt DW9116 recharger since I burned out two Firestorm rechargers. It works great-recharges in an hour or less and has a "tuneup mode" that helps battery life. It also takes stem type batteries from 7.2-18volt. Also the Dewalt DC9091 battery is a identical to the B&D PS140

Remember you get what you pay for. I have been told that a battery which goes bad can destroy a charger. Some of the previous comments indicate this may have taken place when they switched a non-charging battery to a new charger and burned out both chargers.

The 14.4 post charger can be found on ebay, and reliabletools.com where I bought mine.
Dewalt 14.4 batteries will work in OLD STYLE - post type (not the new slide type) tools.
Batteries must be fully drained each time to avoid imprinting.
Charge for full time requirement, usually 3 hrs., for the old style firestorm charger.
Unplug charging unit when not in use to extend life of charger.
I have seen Dewalt batteries, Firstorm batteries (post style) and dewalt chargers at Lowes hardware.
I have aquired these rules from destroying my own tools and searching for replacement tools. Hope this helps.

I have to agree with the other reviewers. The Fire Storm battery charger is certainly a problem with this product. I have two Fire Storm products, a cordless drill and a hedge trimmer. I like both of them but the chargers quit working within a month of purchase. A replacement from Black and Decker does not seem to be available however I did find a charger from DeWalt that seems to be working just find. The product number is DW9116. I hope this helps some of you frustrated Fire Storm owners.

I have 14.4v Makita, Ryobi, and Black and Decker tools. As far as the actual tools go, the B&D always seem unfinished and kind of crude. (My drill has always sounded like it was full of sand; I also have one of the first rushed-to-market models w/ the bad chuck (a problem they have since fixed)) In spite of these problems, I have more hours on the B&D than on the Makita and Ryobi combined. Some really rough use, too. I have already had to buy replacement batteries for the Makita (expensive!) and Ryobi (very hard to find) and the B&D batteries still work as well as the day I got them. I did have to replace the charger almost immediately after the warranty expired but found one at Wally quite reasonably priced. In my opinion, the batteries are the best part of the Firestorm line.

I have the Drill And the saw and was pleased with them both until my charger went bad. I cannot find another charger and do not feel I should have to buy another kit to obtain a charger. From the other reviews I see that I am not the only one with this problem. I have worked construction for 25 years and I would still rate the old 12 volt Dewalt slightly above this because battery life seemed longer.

I work construction, and got the 14.4 v drill/saw combo for Christmas. I thought I was missing something because it wasn't 18 v. But this puppy does EVERYTHING. I am amazed this is as powerful as it is. I suggest buying this voltage simply because it's powerful but not pricey like the 18 v models.