Black & Decker SC1400: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
An early 14.4V lithium drill kit. Better than the NiCd tools it replaced, and still long retired.
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The SC1400 was one of Black & Decker’s early lithium-ion cordless drill kits, at 14.4V. At the time that was the interesting part: lithium packs held their charge between jobs, did not fade gradually as they discharged, and weighed noticeably less than the NiCd packs they replaced.
It is discontinued. The 14.4V class itself has largely disappeared from consumer ranges, squeezed out from below by 12V compact tools and from above by 18V and 20V MAX.
If you still have one
Early lithium packs were not as durable as current ones. Cell chemistry and the protection electronics have both improved, and packs from that generation are now well past their design life — typically showing as a drill that runs strongly and then cuts out abruptly rather than fading.
That abrupt cut-out is the pack’s protection circuit doing its job, not a fault in the drill. There is no useful repair; the cells are worn.
What replaces it
The honest answer is that battery platform choice matters far more than the individual drill. Whatever you buy, you are committing to a battery mount you will keep adding tools to.
The Ryobi ONE+ HP brushless drill kit, linked below, sits in the same DIY market position, on a platform with an unusually long compatibility record and a very large tool range.
Black & Decker’s own 20V MAX line is the direct continuation if you prefer to stay with the brand, and DEWALT’s 20V MAX — the same parent company — is the step up in build quality.
One feature worth paying for now that did not exist then: a brushless motor. It runs cooler, lasts longer and gets noticeably more work from a charge.