Craftsman  C3 19.2-Volt XCP High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

I have many of the C-3 line of tools, and the XCP really compliments this line, especially the tools that use a lot of power. i.e. circ saw, hedge trimmer, vac, impact drill. (The nicads IMHO are junk) The XCP considerably increases the time I can use my tools. I compared the XCP vs Ridgid's 18 volt Hyper battery to see which would last longer. Granted the XCP is 19.2 volts vs the 18 volt Ridgid Hyperperformance, but the Ridgid drill I was using had a higher torque and drill speed rating vs my C-3 drill. The test: Drill as many 3/4" holes in a 2x4 using a separate spade bits for each drill. The results: Ridgid, drilled 41 1/2 holes XCP drilled 86 holes. I could have drilled a few more, but I ran out of lumber. Very impressive. So what does this mean? I have way too much time on my hands, and the XCP is a darn good battery, and it is around $20 cheaper than the Ridgid18v Hyperformance.

This battery lasts 4 times than a standard lithium-ion battery and has a built-in battery tester.

Two weeks after first charging this HC XCP battery, I used it to add 20 psi to two trailer tires that were really low using my C3 tire inflator. It was cold and the battery sat in snow during the whole ordeal and it didn't flinch. Indicator showed green when done. Then, without charging it, I used it to vacuum out a crew cab pick-up truck using the C3 hand held vacuum. Suction power was great the whole time. Now, a week and a half later, I have the battery in my C3 radio and it's been chugging along for a few hours playing tunes without a single charge since I first charged it. It's showing a yellow charge status now. For light duty jobs, like mine above, it will last quite a while. I can't wait to try out my new C3 7 1/4" circular saw and angle grinder. The rubberized corners are also convenient in holding the tool still on tilted surfaces. Overall, this High Capacity XCP is a great deal compared to competition and it's a solid foundation to any C3 tool collection.

I bought this battery to use in an impact driver. It hits for about five seconds, then shuts off. That makes the impact driver useless, it needs to hit for more time. I took the first battery back thinking it was defective, and it was replaced. The second was just as worthless.

I decided to buy batteries by the amp hour - Ah - Divide the price by Amp hours to get an idea of the battery's utility, assuming more is better. For some, more batteries is better. You decide. I put a lot of work into collecting this data. Sears does not make it easy. Nicad - 16 cells all in parallel = 0.9 Ah Compact Lion - five 1.3Ah cells =1.3 Ah Hi-cap - (double stack ten 1.5 Ah cells) Lion = 3.0 Ah Compact XCP - five 1.5 Ah cells = 1.5 Ah High Cap XCP - (double stack ten 2.0 Ah cells) = 4.0 Ah On a raw power basis, the High cap XCP is the best value, and the compact XCP is the worst (using sale prices). Since LiOn is newer technology I recommend the extended 3 year warranty. "Warranty" requires you mail in the bad battery and if you pester them enough they will eventually send you a gift card for the purchase price plus the warranty price.

The normal NI-CD batteries will only last a year. I Just upgraded to these so I don't know how long they will last. But man-alive these batteries charge fast & last way longer before needing charged. They even give your tools more power.

The size of a ni-cad and the benifits of lithium. I love the indicator that alone is worth the extra money when buying a lithium battery. I used this in my blower and I had full power for so long it was crazy. Love this battery.

The first time I used this battery I was using my craftsman drill driver #11910 to tighten a nut and forgot to set the ratchet setting on the drill and it almost broke my wrist. I am not exaggerating, it really hurt for quite awhile that day. It does seem to add more torque to the tools you plug it into. Needless to say, now when I use my drill to drive things I make sure the ratchet setting is not set on the drilling mode.