Customer Reviews

Skil 92942 FlexCharge 3.6-Volt Stick Style 3 Hour Battery Charger

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

In April I bought two replacement 92942 SKIL chargers for my cordless drill and screwdriver from Amazon and had not used them until yesterday. Last night I put two batteries in each of the 2 new chargers (plus 1 existing 92942 charger) and plugged them all in. About two hours later I smelled electrical burning and found that all the wall transformers for the chargers had melted. ALL THREE OF THEM! I received a nasty burn trying to remove the wall transformers from the AC outlet and had to resort to using oven mitts. I had had this happen last summer to two other identical chargers that I had had for five or six years. Same thing....melted transformer. I found posts on the internet that this was a common problem with this charger. But, I figured in several years of knowing this issue, Skill would have fixed the problem. Wrong!

Today I emailed both Amazon.com (who I purchased the chargers from last month) and Skil. Skil said the chargers melted due to bad batteries being placed into them. I asked how I would know if the batteries were bad before placing them in the charger. "Just take them to our service center and have them checked" was the answer. OK, before I use my cordless screwdriver to hang a picture tonight, I need to take the batteries to their service center to make sure that they won't burn up the charger or the house?

So, I have to assume that the first hint that I'd have of a battery being defective would be the fact that my house would burn down! Fair assumption, right?

So the Skil Customer Service rep tells me that I should not leave the battery in the charger longer than the three hours it takes to fully charge them. I told her that the instructions state, in three seperate sentences on the same page, not to worry about overcharging the batteries and that it was OK to leave them charging unattended indefinately. Oh, and by the way, last nights melt-down of the two, identical new chargers occurred a full hour short of the recommended 3 hour charge.

I purchased this Skil 3.6 volt battery charger in late June 2004 and received it in early July 2004 and put two batteries into it immediately. I had three old batteries and two new ones, and none ever became charged. When I checked a day later, the charger was burned out--the transformer/power adaptor was swollen and the unit was dead. I was too unhappy to do anything about it at the time--but I still need a charger and I have not seen one anywhere except on Amazon. So I guess I will have to order another one. The original one I got with the screwdrivers lasted for over 10 years so I was shocked and surprised to have the new one go out immediately.

John Kelly

The first charger stayed plugged in and worked for years and years before the transformer overheated and deformed indicating failure. I bought another one in January 2004 and kept it mostly unplugged throughout the year for the exact reason of preserving the life of the transformer. I left it plugged in the last few weeks while I was using my drill for a project and I recently found the transformer deformed from heat and the charger not working. So much for that one. It couldn't have been plugged in for an entire month since I bought it. Must be a newer and cheaper contractor making these transformers for skil now. What a shame. The drill has been a champ through hard use for almost a decade. Guess I'll either roll the dice and buy another charger or go out and buy all new equipment. The drill and batteries are useless without a good charger. I have had a myriad of other transformers plugged in around the house to run a wide variety of electric items. Some transformers have run for twenty years. I don't recall any other transformer going out like this in my home...ever. A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. A shame.

the auto-LOC Skil Super TWIST Cordless Screwdriver is ONE SUPERB
little jewell. I can't believe the torque and power of this lil baby. IT says on the side, it was Made IN Mexico, as is the so called FlexCharge Battery Charger. However, the Recharger has stopped working. Try to find someone, anyone who will replace or fix it. IMPOSSIBLE! They hide behind useless answering machines that don't give any possible responses that mean a face to face (human to human) contact. So if you've got the money to throw away, for a few months good use, this is the product to $quander
the money on. Sorry to complain, but that's been my experience.
HWCates@aol.com

Update: 4 AUG 2011. Did not follow my own advice. Bought a used driver and battery at a Charity resell type store. Put the battery in my newly wired / repaired charger (With out a fuse, as I intended to do) and promply blew out my charger again.



Your problems like mine,(re: Comments: "that on first use the charger failed") was that you were trying to charge defective , old, or shorted out batteries.

The unit does not have a fuse and the shorted batteries cause excessive current flow that blows out (melts) the primary side of the power transformer. I blew up two units this way. I do fault Skil for not putting a fuse in the unit to stop it from overheating and destroying the power supply. I am going to fix mine by buying a new transformer, that puts out 5 volts AC like the old one on this unit that burned up, by cuting out the old one, and splicing in the new one. But the new one I buy will be of higher capacity (Current rating) and I will put a fuse on it somewhere.

So my advice to all is: if you blew out one of these chargers already, (and that's probably why you are looking to buy one now as a replaecement)and are looking for a new charger, then throw out the old batteries that probably caused the problem in the first place and buy new ones, or take the chance of overheating and destroying this charger in less than hour.

Test your battries somehow, before you use this charger. If they are currently holding any charge they are probably ok. If you put a volt meter to them and they show absolutly no DC voltage reading, then do not put them in this charger. Or try charging them for a few minites and test again, if they show no signs of charging, then do not leave them in the charger for more than a few minutes or you will blow out (even melt) the small AC power transformer in an hour or so. Also do not leave the batteries in your new charger longer than needed to charge them. (3 hours or so).

Perry King. Arvada Colorado.

I just bought a new charger to replace the one that burned up.
The previous one was for a single battery. It appears I
had a bad battery which I suspect may be shorted. Anyhow, the
new two battery unit shorted out the primary coil the first
day and is no longer usable so I'm having to purchase another
unit. This will be the third charger unit. It would have
been nice if the unit had some sort of fuse or overload protection but it doesn't.

I own (2) skil 2207 cordless screwdrivers - (2)battery & chargers for 10 years and it is the most used tool in my house.
--so when my chargers burnt out -each one in the last 2 days
It was like losing a trusted friend. After reading other reviews
about burnt out chargers I guess I was lucky to get 10 years out of my chargers--the screwdrivers have always worked great.
I guess I'll be buying a new charger now.....

In general I was happy with my purchase until I used it for the first time and the power adapter burned out. With me paying over $20 for it, I just didn't want to take the time, hassle, and shipping cost to send it back. Online purchases are great, but if you have a problem they are the pits! It's a real gamble...I would not, and have not purchased another one.

Ordered two battery chargers, out of the box one worked, one did not. Returned defective for an exchange, the exchange did not work either. The first one is still working. Items appear to be factory new but of poor quality.

I tried not to believe other reviews but ended up wasting my money. If I could give a negative number of stars I would. I went through two of these chargers before I learned my lesson. Bite the bullet, throw out the tools that use this battery and update your workshop. Trying to continue using this battery system is useless and dangerous.