Storing/charging cordless tools in a cold garage

[Roger Feeley]

We are planning a move and will be living with our daughter for about a year while our house is being constructed. My shop will go into storage and I will have to 'live' out of their garage without impacting parking.

I wouldn't be using the batteries outdoors. I would just like to store them there. The cellar really isn't a very good solution and the inside of their house doesn't have any good places.

My solution is to buy a Milwaukee rolling tool cabinet from HD. The top compartment is ideally sized for chargers but the garage will get cold from time to time. I wonder if a dog bed warmer would take the edge off of the cold garage keep the batteries warm.


So, would 22 watts of heat warm those batteries enough? The literature on the K&H says that it has dual thermostats. Normally, the bed stays about 15 degrees warmer than ambient. When the dog lays down, the bed goes to 102 (don't think I want that).

Thoughts? I toyed with just putting in a thermostat connected to a string of christmas lights to produce heat. That would turn the top compartment into a sort of easy-bake oven.

[Charles Lent]

The batteries themselves and then just the charger won't take much space. Keep them in a box under the bed and take them out to the garage when you need them. The warm batteries in the cold drills should do fine. Take the batteries back inside when your work is done for the day. Put the charger next to your alarm clock so you don't leave a battery on charge too long. This worked for me.

Charley