Cordless power tool Batteries

[BubbaJr]

<font color="blue"> Batteries left to sit on the shelf with little to no charge in them can reverse polarity. [For occasional use batteries] reverse polarity is the primary cause of dead cordless batteries. Once one cell in a chain reverses polarity and goes bad, it effectively makes the whole battery bad. </font>

I had a friend in the radio repair business, that was an electronics genius. He found that if you apply about 15-50V DC (depending on the battery) at around 2 amps to the dead battery (applied with the proper polarity) that most times you can bring a "dead" battery back to life. I've been doing this for years with over a 50% save ratio. I have an adjustable power supply that I use to apply the juice for around 2-3 seconds, then put it on the charger. There is nothing critical about this procedure other than holding the power to the battery too long. You can feel it get warm, then it's time to remove the power. I'm not suggesting that anyone try this, but I know it works for me, but your mileage may vary. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SPIKER]

GSXR:

sounds like you have some NICE RC stuff! I have an OLD setup myself that I have done nothing with for 10+ years. I'm sure the batteries are gone, I pulled them a few years back to get them out of the plane & controllers. (I have trainer setup and was learning to fly then well I got out of the airforce and never flew again!> /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ) I DID get it out and taxi it around 3 or 4 time back in the day when I was newly home and tried to get some short flights but never got up enough courage to get it more than a few inches off the ground befor cutting the throttle and dropping it back on the road. turn & re-run the thing the other way.
I got an old crapsman 7.2 volt drill/driver for years, then it and the charger were sepperated and I lost track of the two parts and the battery died and won't take a charge now. It worked well for 5 years though too. I always stored with FULL charge and in the drill so nothing could short the battery terminals. I had one fry a long time ago thie way when some allen wrenches and it came into contact in the box of tools I was using. It was very hot /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif and well dead. same 7.2 volt they are selling for like 19.99 last x-mas. I thought about buying one but I now have a 18 volt combo kit. it is a harbor freight kit and extra batterys are only 9.99 so I can get some extras for that price. 18 volt seem spretty popular too...

Mark M

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[gsxr1100]

Thanks. Wife went NUTS when see added up all the "extra funds" I put into it. The li-poly are great and VERY light but they push a lot of amps and can cause fires when crashing! So I only use those when I am not messing around. It is very hard to learn but once you crash a few times, you learn quick. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The worst was when I hit the house at about 1,900 rpm. I took out the gutter, some shingles and some siding! Have over a 5-foot dia main rotor tends to hit things.

But anyways, it seems like the extra batteries for the drill cost more then the drill! Weird.

I know Lowes has the following drills on sale on Black Friday:
Dewalt 14.4V cordless drill was $149 now $99
Black and Decker 18 Volt Cordless Drill was $64.97 now $30
Black and Decker 4 piece 14.4V combo kit $69.97

 

[sendero]

I'm not positive, but I think this trick only applies to NiCd batteries. Basically, they sometimes develop a "whisker" short internally. The voltage trick simply burns the whisker like a fuse.

 

[Junkman]

I don't know this for a fact, but someone on TBN told me that the Rigid brand of tools sold by Home Depot come with a lifetime battery guarantee.

 

[goodoleboy]

Junkman
Home Depot has had it share of living up to end of their end of the bargain on warranties on supposed in store excahnges.
Ive seen a few people at different forums who said HD will not exchange the tools in the store. Some were able to exchange toolsi n store and some where not.

I had a husky tool set with a lifetime warranty. I had a few allen wrenchses and screwdrivers that broke took them in for exchange and they would not exhcange I just have to walk in and exchange it in the store. But when it came time to exchange the tools they were clueless. I asked HD on their lifetime warranty when I bought the tools, they said they would exchange in store. Employee Said i had to pay fedex to ship the item to stanley..
This has been a few years, now they have a 800 number by the tools for exchange.
Only sears tools for me from now on.

 

[v8dave]

I finally got around to looking up a manufacturer's statement on NiMH batteries.

The NiMH I use in my radio equipment is a Maha battery. Here is Maha's site comment on NiMH battery memory:
"Q: What do you mean by "no memory effect" on PowerEx NiMH batteries?
Memory is a type of problem that traditional NiCD batteries would develop. You probably have heard that in order to maintain the life and performance of rechargeable batteries, you have to fully drain the batteries before recharging them. Thanks to "memory free" technology featured on PowerEx NiMH batteries, you can charge them anytime you wish, regardless if the batteries are fully drained or not."

Here is another site with good general information on the differences between battery types. Power Stream Their site is frame based, click on "Technical Resources" to get to the battery information.

 

[gsxr1100]

Looks good but more of a commercial on PowerEx.

As I have seen the same "no memory effect" on many NIMH cells but I have "had" it happen on another 32-cell pack for my heli. In theory it might not, but in practical applications it does or can.

Also my GP3300 cells you can not charge unless discharged. If you charge them without doing this, you WILL have a melt down. Just saying this from past experiences. Also they get charges at 3.5 amps for 44 minutes to be 100%...and DO get hot.