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. Black & Decker PS140 Fire Storm 14-2/5-Volt 1-2/5-Amp NiCad Pod Style Battery
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!
The PS130's are an inferior battery. Mine died a sudden death after three years of casual service. Not impressive. Another review suggested the DeWalt DC9071. It has the same contact as the PS130. It charges fine with a B&D charger and works with the 12volt drill/driver. In fact, it puts the drill on steroids. The only problem is that the Dewalt has a ridge around the battery case that prevents the clip holders from grabbing. I just use a big, strong rubber band to hold the thing in place. A little flakey, but it's worth the extra kick and power of the Dewalt battery. Buying a replacement PS130 is throwing good money after bad.
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.
My first ever cordless drill, was one of the green 18V PS series drills made my Black and Decker.
Over time, I went through 3 different chargers, until I got one of the bigger black ones that look like a big platform shoe sole.
The batteries gave their spirit and eventually so did the drill motor.
As it was going out, I bought an orange Firestorm drill to find to my pleasant surprise that there was now a gearbox and to my dismay that Black & Decker had decided to change the battery style from the pod style batteries to the slide in batteries.
After having gone through a couple of battery packs for the old style B&D I understand why they changed their style, since their old pod style batteries would fall apart physically.
The Orange FS with the slide in battery, gearbox and the push button changeable chuck was an improvement over the old style drills, and it will hold out decently (not great) under heavy use, though the motor is still holding up without smelling funny like in the old single speed PS series drill.
The one MAJOR disappointing point with the FS drill is the charger. It is beyond me, why B&D refuses to build and include a half way decent charger with their tool sets.
It is my opinion and in contrast with one of the reviewers, that the B&D chargers go bad, take the battery with them, and then eventually lead to the demise of the drill (low voltage batteries leading to drill stalling).
A year ago, I bought, a closeout homelite set at Home Depot (made by Ryobi) that was for gardening, (2 betteries, charger, pruner, branch cutter and electric saw) for $70.
Well, after examining the Ryobi charger I was amazed. They are sturdier, and better build, and their power consumption is much higher than that even of the DeWalt chargers, which to me translates to better regulation and higher current capacity, something a battery would appreciate.
At the time I was ready to buy the new 7-set B&D FS set that B&D pulled out of the market quickly, and at the end I ended up switching to Ryobi.
I recommend to those who do not have a substantial investment in B&D tools and are not hard core professionals, to give Ryobi another look, they are no longer the bottom of the line manufacturer I remember them to be, especially in cordless tools.
Though they might not be Milwaukee, or Dewalt, they represent an excellent value, and where else can you get a 480 in/lbs 3 speed 18V drill body on sale for $50? - Rechargeable Batteries - Black Decker Battery - 2009 Amazon Frustration-fre - Cordless Tool'
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