Customer Reviews

Porter Cable 8823 19.2-Volt 2.0 Amp Hour NiCd Slide Style Battery

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'm now purchasing the third battery for my Porter Cable 9884. The tool has been fine but the battery life is unacceptable. I just purchased another tool (Makita drill driver and battery life has been much superior).

Will not purchase another Porter Cable cordless tool though I have several other Porter Cable tools.

With a price of $85.00 I expect much higher quality.

I have been loyal to the Delta and Porter Cable brands all my life. My Dad used these tools when he was a young man starting his own business and said they were reliable "good tools"... Good enough for me. I bought the 19.2 volt combo system and have had 2 batteries fail in 2 years or less and I am just a hobbyist. I bought one battery when the first went bad because you really need 2 batteries. I resent having to pay $85 for another battery but have useless tools without them. They really need to do some thing for their loyal users to regain respect. The tools are good the batteries are junk. I had a 12 volt Panasonic unit for over 8 years and used it extensively prior to getting the Porter Cable. I only replaced it because the batteries finally gave out and replacements cost more than what I paid for the whole drill with 2 batteries. I think it's a plot!!!

I am from a family of general contractors and have been using Porter Cable tools through three generations. I am now using the 19.2v combo kit and find it extremely useful. I had one bad experience with the trigger on the hammer drill sticking, and one battery taking too long to charge, and wrote to Porter-Cable. They sent me a brand new drill, with a charger and two batteries, along wth a letter of apology. It is true that the batteries wear down rapidly with the use of the tiger saw, but what can you expect from a cordless tool? If you are going to be doing major cutting all day, it is still better to lug out the old corded tools. But when the whole job will take just a few hours, I find the cordless combo pack to be priceless. The Porter Cable line of tools has always been, and continues to be, professional-preferred.

I see these batteries are now on sale. Porter Cable should be offering them free to those of us stupid enough to buy their tools. I bought both the driver/saw kit and the hammer drill kit. All four batteries are now dead, almost as though they were timed to expire 13 months after purchase. This was with moderate use and careful charging. If, like me, you own the tools and need batteries...don't waste your money. Buy all new tools. I have the Hitachi 18 volt stuff now and it is great. I work with a lot of people who have had good luck with the Dewalt 18 volt too. After this I will never buy another Porter Cable tool...unless they choose to offer some sort of reimbursement for this junk. Another great company gone to the dogs.

I have owned the saw and drill combo for two years. Love the product performance, but I have to replace one battery of the original two and the second looks to go soon. I just came to reality to the replacement cost...Two new batteries for what I can purchase a new Porter Cable 1 3/4 horse router with plunger base.....
Watch out before you buy the 19.2 volt systems.....

My last driver/drill was still running strong on the 2 original batteries supplied with the tool. Not bad for 30 months. But in Feb. of 2005 someone stole this tool from my shop. I hope the thief does NOT have the same good luck that I had. The previous reviews indicated to me that the more you use these tools, the better the performance. All of the contractors (including myself) seem to have much better luck than the weekend warriors and the hobbiest crowd. This also seems to fall in line with the typical way that most rechargeable batteries work. I have a "just for fun" Jeep that sits for long periods of time. I've had it for 5 years and am currently on the third battery. My old Makita and old Porter Cable Magnaquench drills also died as I replaced them and used them less. Overall, I don't see a problem for the professional who is looking for a daily use tool. By the way, to ALL of the tools that were stolen from me ,,, I miss you guys. ALSO,, be careful when buying replacement batteries. Porter Cable offers other batteries in 19.2v configurations. I currently have a set with Porter Cable 8923 2.4 a/h batteries. the higher the a/h(ampre/hour)rating, the better the performance should be.They also offer a 1.3 a/h battery that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

I bought into the new PorterCable 19.2V line of tools because of brand loyalty. I have the hammer/drill/driver-Tiger saw combo kit and two work lights as well, and am just delighted with them (see my reviews). These battery packs provide all the power needed to make the tools perform, and charge up in an hour or less. I like the slide on design feature, too. They are rather heavy though, and this makes the tool heavy. But, you get used to it and a heavier tool is steadier to use than one that is too light. The batteries run down a bit quickly when using the hammer drill feature or the Tiger saw on longer continuous cuts, like door and window openings. But as long as you keep one on the charger at all times, you should have no problems. I am planning to buy a third battery for this purpose. I incorrectly assumed that the battery charger had to be the right temperature to charge properly (see review) but it is the battery that must not be too warm or cold to avoid charging delay. A little planning ahead on where to do the charging helps (above 40 but below 80 degrees works good). Running down the battery fast will make it too warm and it must cool a few minutes before charging. But over all, I am quite pleased with the 19.2V system. Way to go, PorterCable !!

I've had to replace my charger, and purchase two new batteries (8823 Model) (which lasted only 1 year of minor use). I am very disappointed in this product and Porter Cable will no longer receive my business. The batteries should at least be cheaper if they won't last long. Never again...
Porter Cable should be ashamed.

I have owned the porter cable combo pack for a couple of years, using it in my construction business. I have had battery performance problems from the begining, particularly with the saws (replaced one charger too) I always felt I was paying the price for getting a good deal on E-bay, although I purchased it new in the box. I came on this site to purchase two new batteries to see if that would solve my problem, but after reading the reviews I am wondering if I should just put that $180.00 toward a new combo set from a different manufacturer. I have always been a Porter-Cable fan but am disappointed with this product. Because of the performance problems, I almost never use the circular or recip saws. Essentially I have a $500.00 hammer drill and flashlight.

My 8823 batteries started having charging problems and one acted as though the contacts to the charger were bad (intermittent). I unscrewed the battery's cover and discovered the orange wire had broken at the contact. Resoldering this wire (probably part of the battery internal charge/overtemp sensor) repaired the charging problem. This was a problem on BOTH my batteries so it points to a design weakness. Before you drop 100 bucks, check this first.

Oh, yeah... I've owned these batteries for five years of good service, so I think I should rate them a 5. I'm sure they don't give a full "new-life" service any longer, but I recall ni-cad batteries should begin to give up in three years or so (I'm not an expert). I've had good luck with Porter Cable products--both battery and corded (routers, sanders, drills).