RIP Sears Battery Charger

My faithful Sears battery charger has given up the ghost. It has started charging intermittently and wouldn’t charge a battery that drained when I left a few things on while working on the car.

I’ve had this battery charger for somewhere close to 40 years, and continued to store it in its original box. I have used that charger more times than I can count. It’s a tool that’s always been there. There might be some sockets and some screwdrivers I’ve owned longer, but otherwise it’s been the original Mr. Dependable for nearly every car I owned.

I bought it from Sears. While Sears tools were perhaps not the Gold Standard, I think that distinction belonged to Snap-On, they were definitely the Silver Standard. You knew if you bought tools from Sears they were rock-solid dependable. Alas, Sears is no more and Craftsman tools are sold through Lowe’s and Ace Hardware. My online research says they source the manufacture of their Craftsman tools from different vendors. Sacrilege!

For a mechanic, whether professional or home, Sears tools were the tools of choice. All of my sockets are Sears Craftsman, My original set of screwdrivers was Craftsman. I still have them today. Sure, they’re dinged and the clear plastic has discolored and I’ve sharpened the tips on a couple of the flat heads, but I still use them actively. My primary set of combination wrenches are Craftsman. My two roller cabinets and tool chests are Craftsman. My circular saw is Craftsman. Detect a theme here?

In recent years I’ve gone to other manufacturers. I had a Craftsman 3/8″ corded drill for years, until it finally gave up the ghost. I now have a cordless 3/8″ drill and a corded 3/8″ drill by Ryobi. I have a 1/2″ corded drill by Chicago Electric. My router is…I can’t remember, but it’s not Craftsman.

Behind it all, the longest lasting tool was my Sears battery charger. I put it back in the box after every use, taped the box corners with packing tape as it aged.

And now, it’s gone. I hear Taps playing quietly in the background. A friend on Facebook suggested how I might rebuild it. Hey, for $40 I got a replacement at Harbor Freight with 3 charging modes instead of only 2. I’d spend more time trying to resurrect the original than it’s worth. Chances are the Harbor Freight replacement might last 5-10 years. No way am I counting on it for 40.

The average person won’t understand replacing an old, dependable tool. Gearheads get it. They nod their head in empathy and think of favorite tools they owned or still own.

Here’s to our tools. They’re inanimate objects, but to someone who enjoys turning a wrench, they’re extensions of our hands and arms. They’re how we build and fix cool stuff. They’re extensions of us. When one of them dies, they get a moment of silence. Perhaps a fond farewell is bid as they are tossed into the trash. In this case, Mr. Dependable gets a blog post.

Here’s to tools and the mechanics that use them.