Charging Battery Tools

BBShark

Garage Monkey
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So, I have the usual variety of tools that are powered by rechargeable batteries. The older stuff is NiCad powered and the newer stuff is lithium ion.

I'm trying the maximize the life of these batteries. Looking on the net, I see tons of info on NiCad like completely discharging once a month, put it in the freezer, tap it with a screwdriver to break up crystals, never let them sit too long fully discharged, do not discharge them completely etc. For li-ion, I have seen store the batteries in the freezer, leave them on the charger when not in use, never completly discharge, etc.

So, what's the real deal for maximizing life of these?
 
Lead acid....the rest suck.....

sorry man, just could NOT resist....

:crutches:
 
NiCads have memory.
You should fully charge a new one, and fully discharge it first use.
If you prematurely charge it the first time, it will die early, and require recharging.
NiCads live about 1,000 cycles, then they are done.

Lithium, dunno.
 
I tend to just charge, let them run down in use, then fully recharge. Usually have pretty good luck with them. My 9.6V Makita drill is 15 years old, and I've had to replace one of the two batteries it came with - this year. The second one doesn't hold a charge as long as it used to, but it still works well enough.
 
Tell you what though, I have a Harbor Freight battery drill, that I paid 40 bux for several months ago, today it's only 20 bux, which figgers....

but the damn thing came with one battery and charger.....not worth buying anything else, the stupid thing has lasted me a LOT of use...only recharged the battery maybe 3x over the months, and yes, I run it flat....

Now a question....is there any difference in the chargers?? I have a Sears general battery charger, with spring clips to take any battery size from AAA to D cells, even 9 volt.....it's been a few years now, so I assume it's from the NICad daze,....question is.....IS it good for the new LiIon cells?? I figger it charges till the batteries draw no more current, hell with it....

rong?
 
NiCads do best when cycled from full charge to near empty. When you can tell the battery is running out of juice, it's time to put it on the charger and leave it until it is fully charged. They will also lose their charge just sitting around and so I've learned to recharge them the day before I really need them. I also check the charge on them periodically when they go for long periods with no use and charge as needed.

Whereas NiCads slowly run out of juice, the Lithiums tend to just quit all at once as they become discharged. Best to never let them get to that state. Some batteries and tools have indicator lights to tell you when to charge. Pay attention to those lights so you never let the battery get into a deep discharged state. You can "top off" Lithiums anytime. Some chargers are designed to be able to leave Lithiums on the charger all the time but unless I'm absolutely sure, I just pull them off once they are fully charged. If I'm using a tool with a Lithium battery and I take a break, it goes right on the charger regardless of the charge it had at the time. That way I start again with a full charge.

DC
 
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