My mom is wanting a couple extra batteries for her black and decker stuff.

Batteries direct from black and decker are $73 each for the small ones and $100 each for the bigger Ah ones.

Browsing amazon and prices for aftermarket are of course much better and reviews for most of them seem to be mostly good but with the amount of options and the odd way amazon does there reviews sometimes, it's kinda hard to tell which are actually good.

So I figured I would check here to see if anyone has had any experience with any of the aftermarket brands?

I have never purchased an aftermarket battery that was any good. My experience was the batteries overheated & were dangerous. I am sure some of them are OK, but I will only stick with OEM. I have a 35 year old AEG & a Milwaukee AEG relabeled screwdriver. I did find some batteries that did not heat up & were programmed to stop charging when full at BatteryMart.com 800-405-2121

I always bought my batteries from Home Depot for my Milwaukee cordless tools. I read that Amazon sold alot of counterfeit stuff so I stayed away.

I have several 20V Dewalt knock off batteries and never had an issue. They are all Chinese mostly all manufactured in a handful of places. Lithium batteries in general have really come down in price except the OEM ones they still want premium money for their branding.

Well, I tried the Amazon route for some batteries for my old DeWalt drill and drill driver, well, one would not take a charge and the other one took a charge that lasted about half as long the OEM battery. Definitely a pay your money and take your chances.

I bought some 18v Dewalt knock-off batteries from Amazon for about $30 a few months ago. One of them failed almost immediately. The other lasted about 6 months and worked great until it also unexpectedly failed. Got them replaced at no charge and so far the new ones are working OK. It was a bit inconvenient, but frankly, compared to the cost of OEM batteries or replacing the tools with ones that take newer batteries, I can put up with the inconvenience. When the batteries are working, they work exceptionally well. They hold a good charge and have plenty of power.

I've tried them and have gotten some that did not work after a couple charge cycles. Vanon has been a good source for aftermarket batteries that continue to work. All the batteries I've gotten from Vannon have been gtg and inexpensive. Ridgid and DeWalt.

My uncle’s friend tried saving a few bucks buying a Chinese knockoff battery. It burned his garage down.

I bought two for a 3/8 drill I have 2 years ago. They both hold a charge as long as the OEM ones. No problems.

B&D discontinued a lot of batteries. I retired from there and own many tools and flashlights. No longer can the OEM batteries be found. I have had mixed results with 3rd party batteries. I'm thinking about trying to have to OEM batteries rebult. I also know to B&D batteries are chipped, so the 3rd party batteries will not give the performance of OEM.

I just use OEM batteries.

Some interesting related Project Farm videos:

CheapKnockOffs

HowDangerousAreKnockOffs

Counterfits-HaveYouBeenScammed

The Vanon batteries are total crap. Stay away. Out of the four they sent, only one works. The remaining three will not tqke a charge.

I bought a pair of Chicom knock off Dewalt batteries a couple of years ago. Run time after a full charge was laughable. They both ended up in the rechargeable battery recycle bin at Home Depot as I walked in to buy a couple of genuine Dewalt batteries to replace them.

Unless you have really good insurance and don't mind starting over... just don't.

You’re gambling that cheap knockoffs will be good enough. Best of luck with that.

No Way, saving $20 or so on something capable of burning my house down is a no go for me. I stick to name brand lithium batteries.

I try to answer questions that I pose to myself as if I were a courtroom witness. The below scenario assumes the OEM battery is still available…

So, Mr 4MUL8R, you are testifying that you chose a battery powered tool based on it’s brand reputation and performance?

Yes.

And you even bought a total of six other tools of that brand?

Yes.

And that you bought all these, over the years, at sale prices such as Black Friday?

Except for the circular saw, yes.

And after enjoying the utility of these brand name tools, you experienced the well known decline in battery life?

Yes.

So knowing how well the OEM batteries worked, you decided to replace them with batteries from Amazon?

Yes.

Did you research the quality and design of these batteries?

I read the reviews.

Were these made by faceless uninformed people with no skill or training in battery technology?

Yes.

Do these batteries meet OEM requirements?

No.

So, Mr 4MUL8R, when your smoke alarm sounded on the night of November 17, what sensor sensed smoke?

The garage, where my 1947 Chevrolet is stored.

And, what did the Fire Marshal determine to be the origin?

The replacement battery I left on the charger since I had finished blowing leaves that day.

So your choice to use a battery of unknown quality made by unknown source sold by unknown retailer not meeting the specifications of the OEM led to your garage burning down and the loss of your antique car.

(Head nodding)

And you could have purchased an approved OEM battery?

(Shaking head, tears rolling down my cheeks)

No further questions.

But in my case no OEM batteries exist. I’m forced to go aftermarket or purchase new tools. The fact that B&D left the owners high and dry doesn’t sit well with me.