cordless drill batteries

[Lee Schierer]

One of the woodworking magazines recently did a review of chargers and charging sytems for cordless tools. Some were smart chargers and would not overcharge or damage a battery left in it for a long time. In fact they said that a battery starts losing charge immediately upon removal from the charger due to internal leakage, so it was best to keep the spare on the charger right up until it gets used.

They also talked about the "memory" phnomenon and apparently it does not exist with the batteries made in the last 8-10 years. NiCads older than that did show some tendancy for a memory, but that was no longer the case.

Not all the chargers they reviewed were smart, it turns out the DeWalt charger I have was. Still I don't like leaving things plugged in all the time due to the local tendancy for thunderstorms and lightning to produce surges in our power, so my charger is unplugged most of the time and the spare batter is stored in the case. It hasn't been a problem so far with the level of use my cordless drills see.

[Randy Meijer]

Two points that have been made previously are excellent and bear repeating.


All batteries are not alike and all chargers are not alike. You need to read your manual and follow those instructions!!! John's advice to run batteries all the way down and then fully recharge them used to be universally correct. However the most recent drill that I perchased, specifically recommended AGAINST this practice!!! My instruction sheet advises to recharge the batteries when they get in the area of being half charged......ie when you notice that the drill is starting to turn a little slower. They say that if you run the batteries all the way down, the cells can reverse polarity and be ruined!!! They also recommend that the batteries not be stored in the charger; but be "topped off" once a month or so if the drill hasn't been used.

As to chargers, the cheaper ones will overcharge batteries if they are left in too long and the better ones have a sensor that will keep the batteries properly charged when left in the charger continuously. Again.....read your instructions.....there is no other way to know for sure.....you can't tell by just looking at the unit. And if you do the wrong thing, you will ruin or seriously reduce the life of your batteries.


On another topic, almost every time I buy a drill, it has been the next larger size!!! I'm up to an 18V drill and find it much more useful than my old 12V job and not significantly heavier or bulkier. I just use it around the house for routine homeowner projects and it works just fine. On the other hand, if I were a professional of some sort or a contractor, I would probably buy the biggest one I could find. However, if you are happy with your 12V volt drill, keep it and get it fixed(may be hard to find a new charger if that is the problem), if you can economically. But you might consider "moving up" which can usually be done for not a great deal of extra cash. 10 years ago, I had one of the better Craftsman drills and used it hard for about 2 years before the batteries finally gave up. It turned out that I could buy a slightlly lesser new drill with 2 battery packs that for what it would have cost me for replacement batteries or rebuilding them. That is probably no longer true for $100 drills and it certainly is not true for $200 drills as it seems that batteries have gotten better and cheaper over the past few years.

Another alternative for lighter duty might be a "grocery store" drill!! My girlfriend saw my cordless one time and wanted one for herself..... she really didn't need a $200 drill. Don't laugh...at least not too hard..... I bought her a $29 18V drill at the grocery store that has worked for her for the past 3 years without a hiccup. In fact, it worked so well that I bought one, myself, as a backup for jobs when I didn't want to use my good one or to use as a loaner for thr kids and the cheap neighbor!!!

[Stefan Antwarg]

Thanks again for all the advice. I ended up buying the Dewalt 14.4 volt 3 speed drill. I used it a little and it is an obvious upgrade from the Ryobi. This time I am going to take better care of the battery. And I will have the batteries fixed instead of buying a new drill next time this happens. This will be the drill I take to the grave.

Stefan

[Bill Lewis]

Stefan,

I have had the same DeWalt 12V Drill for over 10 years now. The 14.4V drills were just coming out when I got this one. In fact it's the only cordless I have. The first set of batteries lasted the longest. Probaby at least 8 years. The second set lasted only a couple of years. The most recent set, are DeWalts latest generation. I get better and longer run times out of these new batteries than any previous set. One of these days I'm going to buy a second drill, and it'll be another DeWalt (maybe a whole kit). I'm sure there are others out there that might be equally as good, but for the amout of use and abuse I have given my little 12V drill, It'll be hard to convince me.

Here are some questions directed to the creekers that have had their drill batteries rebuilt.
Has anyone had Dewalt batteries rebuilt, and if so, were they sealed cases, or the new style that can be opened up (visible screws at least)?
I've still got all 4 of my old batteries. I'd like to get them rebuilt if that is possible, but I can't find a way to open them up. Can a rebuilder do this?