Ryobi Drill Charger

For $37 Should I get a new battery for my old power drill, or a new but cheaper quality power drill?

I have an old Ryobi HP1201 12V that I bought a new charger for for $19, only to find out the battery on my power drill is completely dead!

So now I can either get a new battery for $37, or a Black and Decker BD12PSK 12-Volt Smart Select Drill for $37.

I have lots of bits and stuff for my old drill, but they are old and some are a little bit rusty. The charger I bought can't be used with the new drill, but it comes with one anyway. Both are cordless drills, and 12V.

If I get the new drill, the $19 I spent on a charger is wasted, and I'll give my old drill to charity but since it won't have a battery it will probably just be trashed. Maybe I can Ebay the charger? Argh, what a pain though!

I haven't used the old drill in about 3 months, but I do need to have a power drill on hand for some projects.

A couple things: most DIY'ers don't need a 19 volt drill, which doesn't exist, anyway, though Porter-Cable makes a professional model that is 19.2. Harbor Freight tools are disposable and not worth the cost of shipping. Lowe's does not now nor has it ever sold Ryobi products, though Home Depot does. And the idea of hooking up an old drill to a car battery is ridiculous and possibly dangerous.

Even if you don't use a cordless tool much, the batteries will eventually fail to take a charge. When I worked in the hardware section of Home Depot I was often giving customers the bad news that they probably didn't need a new charger, but batteries instead, and that they could usually get a whole new kit for less than the cost of two batteries. It's the same for professional quality tools, no matter the battery type. Speaking of which, your 12v drill has Nickel Cadmium batteries which contain the heavy metal Cadmium, and should be properly disposed of not just thrown in a landfill.

So what should you do? There are millions of chargers out there for NiCad Ryobi tools (I have several myself) so the value is minimal at best. If the Black & Decker has two batteries and the price is good, then get that, but I'd look around a little or wait for Christmas sales which should be starting any day now. Ryobi makes a decent product and has a couple of battery options, including Lithium Ion (the same kind that are in everything from cell phones to electric cars). Li-Ion batteries are much lighter and hold a charge longer than the old NiCads without releasing any heavy metals into the groundwater supply, though they are usually more expensive.

Another option is to consider reconditioned tools. I've bought dozens for myself and employer and have never had a bad experience. You get professional quality tools with the same guarantee as new, but at a cost comparable to homeowner models. I've got a couple of Hitachi drills and a miter saw that I bought from http://reconditionedsales.com that I really like and use at work daily. For other manufacturers, http://cpotools.com has a bunch of options for you, including Ryobi so it may be a good place to start so you have something to compare others with. A little research and you should be able to find what's right for you at a price you can live with. Can you return your new charger to Home Depot? Even if you don't have the packaging, if you have the receipt they should give you your money back or store credit without it, unless they finally stopped doing that.