can power tool batteries freeze brands

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!

#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.

I plan to use a power strip for them, so I can kill the power when I don"t need to charge them. I only have a couple NiCad batteries remaining and those are for my weedeater, and it doesn"t get used a whole lot.

Cordless power tools make life much easier for the DIY-ers and professional tradespeople alike. They carry the same power as their corded counterparts without the hassles of extension cords and generators. Who doesn’t love grabbing their cordless drill and heading to the backyard to finish installing deck boards without having to stretch a long extension cord across the yard?

Cordless power tools come with batteries that are the powerhouse behind getting your jobs done. They may seem a little tricky and bring their own questions. With the right answers, you can not only keep that to-do list short, you will have a piece of equipment ready for any task for years to come. Here are twelve common questions about power tool batteries.

Brand new batteries should be charged overnight to ensure you have a full charge on each individual cell, so that the life of the cell is not compromised. From that point on, future charges on a the proper/adequate charger can take between 30min to 2 hours to achieve a full charge. Never use under-powered chargers for high capacity batteries. Newer chargers are designed so that you cannot overcharge your battery (though don’t store it here, plugged in), and lithium-ion batteries have little to no memory, so you don’t have to worry about emptying it before charging.

When in doubt, check out Ottawa Faster Supply. We have a wide selection of tool batteries and cordless drills, saws, and tools to meet your DIY needs.

When winter rolls around in cold climates, we rarely give much thought to the tools we"ve stored in the garage, barn, shop, or shed. This can be an expensive mistake because many tools can suffer damage of some type if they are kept in the cold all winter long. That"s especially true of power tools that you may use in sub-freezing temperatures.

Generally, most hand tools won"t suffer damage from being stored in a cold garage or shed. Freezing temperatures, however, can make many metal or plastic parts brittle and particularly susceptible to breakage if you use them at very cold temperatures. To avoid this, get into the habit of taking hand tools out of cold storage before use; let them sit inside the house for an hour or more before use.

Also, keep in mind that metal tools can rust. Big swings in temperature and humidity can accelerate that process. If you are worried about rust, try to find a good spot inside the house for tool storage. If you do store them indoors, make sure to clean them carefully before storing them, and perhaps apply a fine oil or rust protector to all metal surfaces.

In regions with very cold winter temperatures, the air is typically fairly dry and not likely to rust tools over the course of the winter. But if you bring them into the house, especially to store them in a basement, rust can then be a problem. And if you live in a coastal area where winter air is damp rather than bitterly cold, rust is more likely. If you are storing your tools in damp conditions, consider using a dehumidifier in the space where you are storing your tools.

Rinse off and dry your garden tools, and if you see spots of rust, remove them with a wire brush or steel wool. Rub a light oil, such as WD-40 over the metal parts. Wooden handles can crack and splinter in the dry conditions of a cold winter; now is the time to check them for splinters, sand handles smooth, and coat the wood with linseed oil. Shovels and other digging tools should be hung up on the wall above the floor. Thoroughly wash out and rinse garden sprayers and hoses.

Lawn mowers should be cleaned of all grass residue clinging to the underside of the deck, and power tillers should have their blades cleaned of dirt and polished clean of rust and corrosion.

Any power machinery will face some stress if it is used in very cold conditions, and your power tools are no different. As the motors heat up, the stress of metal parts going from very cold temperatures to very warm may cause some tools to suffer an early death if this pattern happens frequently. For this reason, it is better to store power tools indoors if they will be used over the winter.

Most tools with electrical motors contain oils and grease which should be allowed to warm up a bit before using the tool. So if you have stored a saw or other piece of power equipment in a cold space, bring it indoors for two hours or so before using it. Lubricants will be more effective if they are allowed to warm up to room temperature before using the tools. This applies even if the tools will be used outdoors—bring them indoors first to warm up before taking them back outdoors to cut or drill.

Try to keep cordless power tools and their chargers inside during cold weather. Freezing temperatures seem to accelerate battery discharge, and many cordless tools come with a warning that the chargers won"t work when cold.

Lawnmowers, chainsaws, and other tools powered by gas engines have their own set of guidelines for storage in the winter. If not properly winterized, gasoline left in an engine can gum up the carburetor or other parts, unlubricated engine parts can corrode, and moisture may affect the ignition systems. A standard winterizing procedure:

If you regularly work in a garage or outdoor workshop, equipping the space with a heater is a good idea. You can either heat up the space to a comfortable temperature just before work sessions, or you can keep the heaters running all winter at a low setting to keep the temperature just above freezing. Tools need not be at full indoor room temperature to operate well—a temperature just above freezing is all you need.

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.

I would say that there are as many different brands of cordless power tools as there are colors in the rainbow, but there are many more than that. At the heart of each brand’s cordless systems are proprietary battery packs that are, with few exceptions, completely incompatible with other brands’ cordless tools and accessories.

The graphic above depicts 7 of the most popular cordless power tool brands on the market today – Milwaukee, Ridgid, Dewalt, Ryobi, Metabo HPT, Makita, and Bosch.

Over the years, a lot of readers have expressed their desire for a standardized tool and battery connection that is adopted by all cordless power tool makers. I don’t think this is at all realistically possible, but it’s always an interesting idea to explore.

If a user owns tools from two or more brands, it would be great to use just one brand’s battery and charger for everything. This would save the end user money, and they could skip the hassle of having to deal with multiple chargers.

I shared my thoughts about the matter 6 years ago, in a post much like this one. There has been a lot of advancement in the cordless power tool industry since then, but my opinion has not changed. If you ask me, we are extremely unlikely to see a universally-compatible cordless power tool battery pack.

Let’s say that every cordless power tool brand magically updated all of their tools, batteries, and chargers to be cross-compatible with other brands’ offerings. This would be a disaster.

If Brand A’s tools can only work with Brand A’s batteries, they can design new tools around the maximum power output of their highest capacity batteries, while also ensuring that the tool will still function, although usually not optimally, with their lowest capacity batteries.

Although I don’t know if it’s still true, Milwaukee’s M18 drills were said to receive a roughly 10% power boost when powered with an XC (10-cell) battery. Their drills would operate just fine with a compact battery, such as 1.5Ah, but an XC battery, such as 3.0Ah to 5.0Ah, would deliver greater power and torque. Would similar be possible if a tool couldn’t be designed around known battery characteristics and performance thresholds?

Talking just about 18V/20V Max power tool batteries, here’s a list of battery sizes users can choose from today. Not every brand offers all options, but most tool brands have very broad selections.

If cordless power tools and batteries were suddenly cross-compatible, what else would you need to know aside from its charge capacity? Maximum continuous power output at room temperature? And how would you know how much power you needed?

I suppose that brands could provide power requirement specs for their cordless tools. But how would that be determined? Different applications, work materials, accessories, and grades of accessories can greatly affect a tool’s power consumption. Users can also influence a tool’s power requirements, such as if they apply more or less pressure, or if they wait longer to replace dull bits or blades.

Makita’s XGT tools and chargers treat 3rd party batteries differently than genuine ones. I could envision brands doing the same in the context of hypothetical universally compatible batteries.

Universal compatibility would not mean universal suitability, and so tools might have to be designed to deliver lower performance for lowest-performing batteries users might have sourced from other brands.

While users might save money on less expensive batteries, they wouldn’t get the full performance of the tools they buy unless they stick with that brand’s batteries.

Is it wrong to wish for a universal-style cordless power tool battery? No. It’s a good thing to ask for, and I know I would surely benefit from it. But it’s not going to happen.

Cordless power tool brands do play well together when they want to. The Power Tool Institute (PTI) is a trade organization that includes the following tool brands – Black & Decker, Bosch, Dewalt, Dremel, Festool, Hilti, Metabo, Makita, Milwaukee, Rotozip, Ryobi, Stihl, and others.

A long time ago, someone told me that power tool batteries are pricey because that’s their true cost. The implication was that cordless kits are heavily discounted, and so battery prices are representative of their true retail costs. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it makes sense.

If users are free to shop around for different brands’ batteries, how would that affect the price of tools? If brands start to aggressively discount their batteries to keep users in-system, would that in turn drive up the pricing of kits or bare tools?

The only guarantee, I think, is that some users will seek out less expensive battery packs. If a less expensive battery fits, it might be assumed to be on-par or equivalent to that brand’s batteries, without this necessarily being true, and that could lead to mismatched power-performance issues.

I always try to look at this objectively, and always arrive at the same conclusion, that universal-fit cordless power tools simply aren’t a good idea. It might benefit some users, but not without the potential and even high likelihood to confuse or negatively impact many others.

For heavier duty tools, Dewalt has FlexVolt, Milwaukee has M18 High Output, Makita has 18V X2 and XGT, Bosch has Profactor, and Metabo HPT has MultiVolt. Where’s the common denominator?

How would you satisfy users’ wishes while also ensuring that tools deliver consistent performance and user experiences regardless of battery? Would might you do – if anything – to prevent a user from choosing an underpowered or lower-spec battery with a tool with high power demands?

Let’s examine the inner workings of the cell more closely. A mild short will only cause elevated self-discharge and the heat buildup is minimal because the discharging power is very low. If enough microscopic metallic particles converge on one spot, a sizable current begins to flow between the electrodes of the cell, and the spot heats up and weakens. As a small water leak in a faulty hydro dam can develop into a torrent and take a structure down, so too can heat buildup damage the insulation layer in a cell and cause an electrical short. The temperature can quickly reach 500C (932F), at which point the cell catches fire or it explodes. This thermal runaway that occurs is known as “venting with flame.” “Rapid disassembly” is the preferred term by the battery industry.

Industrial batteries, such as those used for power tools, are generally more rugged than those in consumer products. Besides solid construction, power tool batteries are maximized for power delivery and less on energy for long runtimes. Power Cells have a lower Ah rating than Energy Cells and are in general more tolerant and safer if abused.

There are also safety concerns with the electric vehicle. However, statistics show that EVs produce fewer fires compared to vehicles with the internal combustion engine (ICE) per billion kilometers driven. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), over 400,000 ICE-powered cars burned down in the 1980s. Today, 90 fires per one billion with ICE vehicles are considered normal; reports say that Tesla had only two fires per one billion driven kilometers.

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.

Having already covered battery charging tips, we also wanted to cover lithium-ion battery maintenance tips. Lithium-ion batteries are expensive. You want to do all you can to extend the life of the fuel that powers your cordless tools. Of the top 5 killers, we have the most control over heat, but having good charging habits also helps considerably. Combined, all these tips should help add life to your battery packs.

I know you’re running the heat in your truck on the way to the job site. Bring the batteries you’ll be using inside and point a vent near them. Allowing them to warm up on the way will help them deliver additional power and run time.

You also want to beware fo continuously running tools once they indicate the battery needs charging. Most drills will sit for a spell and then give you one more go. Resist the urge to use them in this way. Most modern battery packs have built-in protection against over-discharging. Still, you don’t want to push things by continuously pulling that trigger when the pack has told you to put it on the charger.

A lithium ion battery can fight off freezing temperatures when it’s fully charged. What is a trickle charger? It’s a power device that maintains a full charge on a battery. Put the two together, and a battery won’t freeze.

A clever way to improve the odds of a battery lasting through cold weather is by cleaning the contacts first. Battery charging and longevity depend on direct conductivity between a power source and the electrolyte. Any corrosion on the contacts will negatively impact the charging efficacy along with reducing the battery’s lifespan.

What is a trickle charger? This tool provides constant power to the battery so that freezing is a rarity. Clean those contacts with a mixture of baking powder and water. Attach the charger afterward. Neither extreme heat or cold will affect the battery with diligent care.

Discuss your questions with the experts at Northeast Battery today! Understanding the relationship between cold weather and battery health is important when you work with these power sources. Avoid being stranded this winter with charged batteries that last well into spring.

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

As battery-powered yard and garden tools become more common, questions always come up about the batteries. So we’ve provided answers to the most frequently asked questions from our readers. Let us know if there’s anything else you’d like us to cover in these FAQs.

Volts are a measure of voltage and refer to the size of the force that sends electrons through the battery’s circuits. It’s sort of like horsepower, except for cordless tools. More volts equal more power available for the tool to use.

Cordless tools that use a higher voltage battery will have more power than those with lower voltage batteries. The question to ask yourself is whether or not you need that amount of power for what you’ll be doing with the tool. For example, if you’ll only be using your cordless string trimmer to trim grass around flower beds, you don’t need 120V (you can practically cut down a tree with some of the new 120V trimmers!).

Higher voltage batteries are ideal for users who use the tool often, for longer periods of time and under tougher conditions. They’re also often needed in tools that require more torque or power, such as cordless chainsaws and self-propelled lawnmowers.

Ah is an abbreviation for ampere-hour, or amp-hour. This is the total amount of charge a battery can deliver in one hour. A power tool that continuously draws 1.0A of current will completely drain a 1.0 Ah battery pack in one hour (under ideal conditions).

This means that a 2.0Ah battery pack can power the same tool longer than a 1.0Ah battery pack can, assuming the current flow remains at 1.0A and there are no other differences. Many people simplify this to say that a “higher Ah means longer run time”, although that’s not the whole story.

So a 4.0Ah battery pack will run your outdoor power equipment twice as long as a 2.0Ah battery pack, right? Sometimes, yes. Other times, no. And sometimes it can deliver more than double the runtime. It depends on how the batteries are designed (e.g., running battery cells in parallel vs in series, built-in safety features, venting), as well as tool design (e.g., a trimmer with high and low settings will draw more or fewer amps depending on which setting is used) and environmental factors (e.g., using the battery in high heat will reduce efficiency and run time).

Without more information about the battery, all you can say for certain is that a battery with a higher Ah rating will produce power for longer than a lower Ah battery of the same voltage when used in the same tool and under the same conditions.

If you’re considering a battery for a tool that requires a lot of power or torque to be effective, then a higher Ah battery would be a plus as you’ll get more run time from the battery. If it’s a light-duty tool, then a lower Ah battery will be just fine as it won’t need to draw as many amps to work well (with the added plus of being considerably less expensive).

No. Tool companies like to create addicts. The good news is that it pays to become an addict. Manufacturers inspire brand loyalty by selling tools, both with batteries or without. That way, once you’ve bought your first tool – and its included batteries – you can use them on all the other tools from that manufacturer. But only on tools from that manufacturer.