Black & Decker FSB14 FireStorm 14.4-Volt NiCad Slide Style Battery

The original ones lasted from 2004 to 2009 with moderate use. Then both died around the same time. I actually ordered the HPB14 packs also by Black and Decker as replacements, it's the same unit, ten dollars cheaper, just doesn't say "firestorm" on the side.

I dug up an old manual and you should charge these batteries for 9 hours on first charge, then 3-6 hours for additional uses. That is assuming you are using the original basic charger.

I bought the Black & Decker Firestorm 14.4-Volt Drill in 2002 and only used it about 20 hours that year and very little in years since. In 2006, I needed it again and the charger was dead. The new charger was able to charge the batteries but they didn't last very long and eventually wouldn't charge. The red light on the charger would not come on and the voltmeter showed zero volts. Then I saw a guy on YOUTUBE use a welder to shock the battery back to life. I didn't have a welder but I thought, why not try a car battery? I had some of these connectors that slide onto a metal tab. I don't know what they are called but I didn't want the arc to damage the battery metal. These stuck out enough that I could touch them with my jumper cables. I saw a small spark, like in the YOUTUBE video and I touched it about 4 or 5 times using only a car battery. I didn't expect it to work because in the video they were using high voltage. But, to my suprise, when testing with a battery tester it showed...Read more

I just bought this battery to replace the two original batteries, so I'm really reviewing the originals. They held up for four years with moderate (read "homeowner") use. I think that's exceptional, since I've read that getting just two years out of these batteries is good. Although I've had some trouble with Black & Decker battery chargers, the batteries themselves have performed better than expected. If the one I just bought does as well I'll be thrilled.