Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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103 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, unless you have 18v batteries too.., January 4, 2005
If you have come to this page, you probably already know that the charger that comes with the black and decker batteries is useless. This charger goes a long way to regain some confidence in the Black and Decker battery tools. The light on the front of the unit will inform you of the following.. charging, charged, problem powerline or replace battery. Recharge time is 1 hour instead of the unusual 3 hours.
The only down side to the unit is that it does not charge the 18v batteries. If you have none of these, then I would rate this 5 stars and recommend. If you have some 18v tools, then I recommend: DEWALT DW9116 1-Hour NiCad Charger with Tune-up Mode (7.2-Volt - 18-Volt). Not only will this unit charge 18v batteries, but it will also `tune-up' some poorly performing batteries.
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, could be better though., January 8, 2006
I've owned this charger for a while now, and it does a pretty good job of charging up my 14.4v Dewalt and Firestorm batteries quickly. I don't care for B&D's method of indicating the charge status on batteries. The flashing light is ok, but having some sort of series of lights or varying colors would have been a better choice. As mentioned earlier, this unit is not rated to charge 18v packs and does not "condition" the batteries as does the Dewalt unit.
The charger is leaps and bounds above the standard cheap charger that comes with most of the B&D tools, and for the money, its not a bad investment. If you are looking for conditioning capability or the ability to eventually move up to 18v products, buy the Dewalt.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It'll Get You There, But..., December 28, 2007
If a rating system has five stars, three means an item is average-- not terrific, but not terrible. This product qualifies.
I bought it a year ago, for the same reason everyone does: the cheap charger Black and Decker includes with its tools died on me. I needed a replacement, wasn't sure if a charger made by anyone else would work with B&D batteries and didn't want to buy something and maybe have to return it.
This charger does its job in a capable, unspectacular way. It finishes about twice as fast as the factory charger. But it's never lived up to its "1-Hour" name. If my battery is totally spent, I find it takes at least an hour and often close to 90 minutes.
In fairness, this charger is for batteries with voltages between 8.4 to 14.4. I was charging 14.4; maybe smaller models get done in an hour.
It also might not be a problem if you don't use your tool a lot. But when I used my drill to install shelves or fix my deck, I drained my battery before this product had my spare fully charged. I ended up buying a third battery to avoid taking a break. And if I'd been using this in a cordless saw, I'm sure things would have been even worse.
Also, this product won't charge two common battery types (18-volt and 7.2). Black & Decker doesn't make tools that use those batteries; if you're only using this on your B&D drill, you won't care.
But if you're a novice trying to assemble a home workshop, you'll probably wind up getting a tool that uses one of those batteries, and you'll end up needing a second charger.
If I had this all to do over again, knowing what I know now, I'd get the DeWalt DW9116 7.2-Volt to 18-Volt Pod Style 1 Hour Battery Charger. It can charge any battery that this unit can (I've verified that), plus some that it can't. It charges my batteries in 30-45 minutes, it has a slightly better status light and Amazon sells it for about the same price.
That's a five-star product. This one-- which does a decent job, but no more-- is a three. You won't go wrong with it... but you can do better.
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