can power tool batteries freeze price

Rechargeable cordless tools are convenient, portable, and ready to work at a moment’s notice. Cordless tool batteries last for several years; and with proper care and storage, you can extend battery life and your investment.

Do Keep Battery Charged: Recharge cordless tool batteries as soon as you notice a decrease in power. Most batteries last longest if recharged when they reach 70% capacity. Even NiCd batteries (the ones with the so-called “memory effect”) only need to be completely discharged every month or so to retain their charge memory.

Do Use Battery Regularly: Battery life decreases with lack of use, so keep those tools in action! If you only very rarely use a tool, you may want to consider a plug-in version, or plan to recharge the cordless tool battery before starting a project.

Thanks for all the info.. I guess I will err on the side of caution and just bring them into the house. My DeWalt tools are all in a soft sided DeWalt contractor"s bag, so I can just grab them and bring them into the house. I have 2 DeWalt drills and flashlight. Rest of my power tools are corded.

No. Each brand of cordless power tools have designated battery platforms specific to their line of tools with different voltages. Now, it may be possible to interchange batteries between the same brand and voltage even with different ampere-hours. Before you run the risk of burning up your favorite cordless drill or screwdriver by swapping batteries across brands, give us a call. We are happy to confirm which battery will work for your tool!

LiIon is a great battery, but a cordless drill isn"t really the place where their strengths are going to shine. The humble old Low tech NiCd is good. NiCd needs some control and protection in use. Sadly every NiCd powered device I ever owned completely lacked any protection for the battery to prevent it from going into cell reversal. No wonder we all killed our NiCd"s, and hence gave NiCd a bad reputation for "memory effect" total bs.

I have a few Milwaukee M12 LiIon tools, which now after one year are still fine, I will see in another five years how they are, my guess is that they are going to be dead.

#5 – Use the right batteries. Yes, there are loads of “knock-off” imitation lithium-ion batteries for each manufacturer. But it’s always a good idea to use original batteries with your cordless tools. And stock up! The more batteries you have, the less the cold weather will be an issue for you, just follow the steps above the make sure all your batteries are ready to use on a cold day.

Join us while we look at how to store and care for your rechargeable batteries to get the best results from your tools and the best value for your money. Even rechargeable batteries die, but if you follow these steps, they will last a long time. Most lithium-ion rechargeable batteries will last 1000 charges or more.

While we are mainly concerned with lithium-ion batteries because they are in most modern drills and other power tools, there are other batteries. You might find nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries that manufacturers used in power tools before lithium-ion. You may also find nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries that come in AA, AAA, 9-volt, etc. These best practices will work for all types unless we point out otherwise.

Lithium-ion batteries are expensive but having a spare will keep you covered if something should happen. Two batteries will also allow you to get more work done as they lose their charge fairly quickly when using them in power tools.

It would be best to stop using your lithium-ion battery when you notice that it is losing power. Completely discharging your battery will shorten its lifespan and could damage the poles. NiCad and NiMH batteries like to lose most of their charge, but you should still stop short of draining them completely.

It’s a very common practice to leave your battery on the charger indefinitely, but this can dramatically reduce its lifespan. Overcharging damage will occur with all types of rechargeable batteries though lithium-ion is the most susceptible. Luckily, many modern battery chargers sold for use with power tools have a built-in automatic shutoff that allows you to keep your battery on the charger, but there are still plenty that don’t. Read your owner’s manual to see if your charger automatically shuts off or when you need to remove the battery.

As you are using your battery in your power tools, you may notice that it can start to get warm to the touch. A little warm is ok, but if you begin to see the battery getting hot, it’s time to take a break to let it cool down. A battery that gets too hot can explode, so never attach a hot battery to a charger or store it in direct sunlight.

When asked which power tool brand someone should go with, most pros and experienced DIYers will drive home the importance of battery power, battery life, and availability before they mention special features, speeds, or durability. That’s because, without reliable batteries, the tool extras don’t matter. But beyond not being able to use a cordless tool without a dependable battery, many batteries are expensive and can cost as much as the tool in many cases.

With the battery being so crucial, did you know that you might be prematurely killing your power tool batteries? This guide will show you how it may happen, and point out some ways to help make your batteries last as long as possible.

If they’re not paying attention, it’s very easy for a DIYer to run a battery down until it’s completely dead, but deep drains aren’t good for modern battery chemistry. Also, with older nickel-cadmium batteries, it was recommended to drain them completely before storage. That’s not the case anymore. The best way to avoid deep draining is by keeping an eye on a battery’s power indicator, or cycling to a new battery whenever you think of it.

Moisture can quickly degrade the lifespan of a power tool’s battery because it can wreak havoc on the electronics and circuitry inside. What’s more, moisture can also cause contacts and terminals to corrode, which in turn causes resistance and throttles back battery output. While some jobs do require working with power tools in the elements, keeping batteries in their storage case when they’re not in use can help protect them from rain, snow, puddles, and mud.

It’s already established that heat is bad for batteries, but being warm is also a fact of life for power tools and their batteries. During use and charging, heat builds up inside the battery pack and damages the pack cells. One way to avoid this heat buildup is to allow the battery to cool during use. Allow it to cool after charging before using it, or vice versa.

If your original battery charger kicked the bucket and you replaced it with a universal charger, you might be damaging your power tool batteries. The charger that your battery came with has the circuitry and sensors to know when the battery is too hot or overcharged. An off-brand universal charger might save you some money initially, but it could kill your batteries sooner. Instead, contact your tool brand’s manufacturer, explain which batteries you own, and allow them to point you in the right direction.

All rechargeable tool batteries have between 300 and 500 recharges before they’re pretty much useless, so you have to be smart about how you use them. For instance, using a 2.0- or 3.0-amp-hour battery in a power-hungry tool like a circular saw or angle grinder will drain it quickly, requiring more frequent recharges. Instead, save the smaller amp-hour batteries for drills and impact drivers, and use the larger batteries in heavy-duty tools.

With the promise of more power, extended run times and longer overall battery life, the advances in power tool batteries have increased significantly in the last few years. Just as the technology changes so have the rules regarding battery usage and maintenance. To ensure you’re continually getting the best from your battery this guide aims to provide greater clarity on choosing and maintaining batteries for optimum performance.

Battery terminology can make things confusing and advances in Lithium-Ion technology mean that what was once applicable to older power tool batteries is now not the case. Memory Effect or battery memory is a term that applies with older NiCd and NiMh batteries. Here the battery remembers the last capacity point. In essence if a battery is continually recharged after a short discharge, the maximum capacity is lost. What happens is the battery memorises the level of the last charge and starts from that point.

As soon as the performance of the battery decreases and you feel a loss of power, get the battery on charge. It doesn’t matter if the battery isn’t at 100% before using it again. As long as some extra charge is put in, it’s ok to part charge these. Bosch’s wireless batteries work on this principle so you can simply top up as you work without straining the battery.

Makita’s unique position with its 18V battery is that it has the world’s largest range of compatible cordless tools. Over 100 of Makita’s tools can be powered by their 18V Lithium-Ion battery. This gives you a huge selection to work with. They also have some of the fastest charging times. Charging a 3Ah battery takes 22 minutes, 4Ah ready in 36 minutes and the 5Ah complete in just 45 minutes.

Axminster’s battery for the Makita 18V Li-Ion cordless tools, however, uses Samsung SDI cells. Analysing the battery cell market, Samsung SDI is the market leader in small size rechargeable batteries producing 315 million cells a year. As a result they know what they’re talking about when it comes to batteries. There are many cheaper replica batteries out there using inferior quality cells and that’s when you have problems with the batteries failing after a few cycles.

One of the most recent developments to the market is DeWALT’s new FLEXVOLT battery. The batteries are fully compatible with existing DeWALT 18V XR tools and when fitted to the new DeWALT XR FLEXVOLT tools the voltage then surges to an unparalleled 54V. FLEXVOLT is a world first with this new 18/54V battery platform and the aim as DeWALT state is to give you: “the power of corded, freedom of cordless.”

With all these advances to battery power, there is now some interesting technology that can utilise this power, not only for your tools but also your mobile device.

Over time the power of batteries is surely set to increase with higher ampere-hour (Ah) and longer run times. If you look after your power tool batteries, this will help to prolong their life to give you even greater value for money. Here are the optimum conditions for maintaining batteries and some further specifications to help you differentiate between manufacturers.

Make sure batteries aren’t subjected to extremes of heat. Ideally you should keep them at room temperature as heat is one of the main reasons Li-Ion battery life depletes. So avoid leaving power tools in the car or van if they’re going to be out in the sun for a long time. Equally freezing conditions can reduce the lifespan of the battery – something to remember on those long winter nights.

Discharge rates have also improved with Lithium-Ion technology. This means that when batteries are not in use, the charge is held within the battery for longer. If you’re not using your power tool for an extended period however, ensure there is some charge left in the battery. Leaving a battery to fully discharge for a long time is one of the quickest ways to cause it to fail.

As power tool batteries evolve, using the wrong type of battery can cause problems if placed in the wrong tool. You want to make sure you’re using the right battery and each manufacturer has its own way of identifying the correct compatibility.

One exception is Bosch’s 4Ah wireless battery. These are compatible with all Bosch 18V Professional Li-ion tools except the GKS 18V-LI Circular Saw. You can however recharge the batteries on any Bosch 18V Li-ion charger. So you get the time saving benefits of wireless and the compatibility of connecting them straight to a standard charger.

Festool’s new AIRSTREAM batteries are compatible with each of the following tools: C 18, T 18+3, DRC 18/4, PDC 18/4, BHC 18, DWC 18 and PS(B)C 420, HKC 55, TSC 55, SYSLITE KAL II, SYSLITE UNI and the SYSROCK

To get technical for just one moment, batteries release energy because of a chemical reaction between two or more compounds stored inside. Electrons flow out of the one terminal, through whatever device they"re powering, and back into the other terminal.

#5 – Use the right batteries. Yes, there are loads of “knock-off” imitation lithium-ion batteries for each manufacturer. But it’s always a good idea to use original batteries with your cordless tools. And stock up! The more batteries you have, the less the cold weather will be an issue for you, just follow the steps above the make sure all your batteries are ready to use on a cold day.

Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) – Newer technology (used in cell phones, cameras, and other small electronics) cost more, but offers longer run time, lighter weight and are not temperature sensitive.  All power tool manufacturers have moved to this technology.  Milwaukee was the first company to produce Lithium-Ion batteries in their V28 battery platform.  The key advantage to Lithium is they produce the same power through the whole discharge of the battery.  While older technology batteries will lose power gradually, the Lithium-Ion batteries will not.

The one problem with Lithium batteries is they are extremely volatile and need to be controlled with a reliable circuit board.  There is a circuit that balances the cells when in use and charging.  This balance makes sure all the cells are working as a team, and one not harder than another.  This will help even the wear and provide longer use.  However, the circuit actually presents one downside.  NiCad and NiMH can cool their tools through the design of the tool, while Li-Ion is dependent on the circuit.

False, actually the motor, transmission and other components that produce the power also have a great effect on the tool’s performance, along with the quality of the magnets in the motor, metal gears, and the chuck that transfers to the bit.  Basically, it is everything from the battery to the blade or bit, to how efficient it can transfer the power.  While battery voltage and amps does tell a lot about the tool, it’s not everything.

Draining a battery all the way will actually cause more harm to the battery than good.  When you drain a battery all the way, you can actually damage cells and they will no longer hold a charge. Consequently, you might only be using 11 cells instead of all 12 cells. This lowers your power and battery life.  Because Lithium batteries use circuit boards to monitor the discharge, the technology will not allow the battery to fully discharge and ruin the battery.