Charging battery powered tools

[LittleSister]

A variation on another, er, current post -

I have a lifelong habit of trying to keep batteries fully charged as far as possible (based largely on familiarity lead acid batteries on boats, cars and motorbikes).

I have two or three battery powered hand tools, generally only very occasionally used. In the past whenever I got them out I would charge up both batteries for the tool (each of my tools has different batteries to one another) before starting the job in hand, and then fully charge them again after use before putting them away.

When doing so today, I recalled reading somewhere that such batteries' lifespan depends on the number of charging cycles. Would I therefore be better off charging only the battery I intend to use, and storing them in a discharged or partially discharged state?

(The tool in use today was a rather nice De Walt drill (my other battery tools are cheaper brands), whose batteries died after a few years even though rarely used. The De Walt replacements are no longer available, and would be outrageously expensive even if they were, so I bought some generic Chinese replacements, which work OK, though some report they are not as good in terms of power and capacity as the originals, but my use has not been demanding enough to confirm that or otherwise. I did find today that the fairly recently bought 'new' one in the drill was challenging to remove because the clips that hold it in place are not of the same quality/dimensions as the originals and quite difficult to release.)

 

[Sea Change]

Generally speaking, a charging cycle is 0-100%, so if you charge up a battery that is only partially discharged, it counts as a partial cycle. So there's no real detriment to charging up a partially discharged battery.
Basically, don't leave batteries empty, and don't leave them in the charger all the time either, and you'll be fine.

 

[Zing]

Lithium batteries have a considerably longer life if you store them between a third and two thirds charged. Lead must be fully charged all the time for maximum life.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

As @Zing implied, it depends entirely on the chemistry of the batteries. There isn't a one-size-fits-all regime. For example, the batteries in my EV (Li-Ion, I think) are recommended to be stored at about two-thirds charge, and only fully charged if it will be used immediately - otherwise, charging to 80% is recommended. I'm sure people will remember that NiCd batteries could get a "memory" effect if not fully charged. Of course, lead-acid batteries will be destroyed if discharged much beyond 50% and should be kept as fully charged as possible! I don't know the characteristics of LiFePO4 batteries, but I suspect they aren't common in cordless tools.

I've had cordless tools with all the above battery technologies. The worst in terms of longevity were probably NiCd.

 

[Boater Sam]

There are firms who will replace the cells in battery packs or you can buy the cells yourself and replace them with a bit of cutting and shutting.
NiCd was replaced by NiMH and now most are lithium based. NiCd needed to be discharged fully and recharged to 100% before storage else they got a low charge state memory habit.
Many cells will benefit from freezing to crack the chemicals inside, but don't blame me if they never work again!

 

[ducked]

A while ago I took some flak for dissing battery power tools in favour of wired. This is the sort of hassle I was talking about.

Now I'm back in Edinburgh I joined the local tool library. They have a lot of donated battery power tools in their inventory, some of them quite good brands, so I thought I might try one or two during my current keel grinding marathon, risk free.

Unfortunately they dont seem to have batteries for most of them. I wonder why?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A while ago I took some flak for dissing battery power tools in favour of wired. This is the sort of hassle I was talking about.

Now I'm back in Edinburgh I joined the local tool library. They have a lot of donated battery power tools in their inventory, some of them quite good brands, so I thought I might try one or two during my current keel grinding marathon, risk free.

Unfortunately they dont seem to have batteries for most of them. I wonder why?

You’re on a one man crusade there, and nobody is likely to join you. Batteries do wear out, though I have some perfectly usable 14 year old Makita lithium batteries. Not as good as new, of course. But for the convenience, replacing batteries every 10-15 years is a price well worth paying. Batteries at a tool library? I expect folks swapped them for their duff ones, and mistreated any good ones. Treat your own with kindness, and they’ll last like mine.

 

[Refueler]

I use battery powered tools a lot ... and the main point for me - as a serious user of Li tech batterys in models and so on ... is to charge full to use ... and then if I have only used the battery for a short job - shelve battery as is. Being only a short job - the battery is likely in the storage range ... some people say that LiFePo4 / LiIon / LiCo ertc do not need storage level - but I disagree ..

If I rtun a battery down so that tool slows or dies on me .... then the battery goes onto charger ... charge full - then a short run on the tool to take the 'top' of the charge level.
Another method - is to charge batterys every few months for s ahort time .. not to full ... but give them a boost ...

As to replacement of batterys when they do fail - care needs to be taken as the cells are often based on similar to 18650 / 21700 .. and may have a BMS / balancer board ... some manufacturers make the board fail if DIY replacement of cells .... you fit the cells and battery just does not work ..
Best is to find a local shop that replaces cells as they often have the info of the contact points on the board to 'short and reset' ....

 

[vyv_cox]

I bought a De Walt right angled drill while living in The Hague, so at latest 2003. It has been on my boat ever since, some seasons heavily used, some seasons not at all. Not subject to any particular charging regime. I brought it home on 2025, charged it and have used it successfully a couple of times since.

 

[Refueler]

I bought a De Walt right angled drill while living in The Hague, so at latest 2003. It has been on my boat ever since, some seasons heavily used, some seasons not at all. Not subject to any particular charging regime. I brought it home on 2025, charged it and have used it successfully a couple of times since.

Most reputable brands have some sort of minimal BMS board in the battery ..... its the cheapo batterys that often don't.

 

[LittleSister]

A while ago I took some flak for dissing battery power tools in favour of wired. . .

I generally prefer mains wired tools, but I don't usually have mains available on the boat, where a significant amount of my tool use takes place (and using mains tools around water can be dangerous).

Even when the boat's ashore in the boatyard, I've often found all the mains sockets are taken, the power supply is off because it's been tripped and not reset, broken or accidentally turned off, or the mains (and/or water) sockets are too far distant from my boat to be reached.

(On the latter point, I was in a well-known East Coast marina boatyard years ago, and had to buy big extra hose and mains electric reels, and have them in series, to reach the mains sockets and water tap on one of the boatshed buildings way over on the other side of the boat storage area. I've had to use those reels in series on several occasions in other yards since, but I was wryly amused that when by chance I happened to have a boat back in same marina yard relatively recently, years later, and in almost exactly the same location within it, that there was now electric and water outlets immediately adjacent, almost under the bow of my boat. (The cost of installing the now numerous water and electric outlets across the yard may go some way to explaining the rather steep storage costs there!)

 

[ducked]

You’re on a one man crusade there, and nobody is likely to join you. Batteries do wear out, though I have some perfectly usable 14 year old Makita lithium batteries. Not as good as new, of course. But for the convenience, replacing batteries every 10-15 years is a price well worth paying. Batteries at a tool library? I expect folks swapped them for their duff ones, and mistreated any good ones. Treat your own with kindness, and they’ll last like mine.

Dont much care if its a minority of one preference, unless the fashion eliminates or restricts mains powered tools as a choice, in which case I'll be a fashion victim again.

My ancient Bosch started making bearing failure screeching noises this afternoon. Hope I can replace it with similar, if replacement is unavoidable

 

[Chiara’s slave]

It’s hard to find wired drills except SDS here these days. You absolutely never see a pro with one. Big saws are wired still, usually. Everything else is battery.

 

[Stemar]

When I was building my power tool kit, battery stuff was of limited power and unlimited cost, so I went with wired. As stuff dies now, I'll replace it with Dewalt, not because it's the best, but because it's OK, and I already have a cordless drill and impact driver, bought as a kit at Screwfix on promotion because it was last year's model. They're now, don't know - at least 15 years old, and still going strong. What that means is I'm locked into Dewalt, or I'm going to be stuck with two sets of batteries and chargers.

It won't happen soon enough to be relevant to me, but I'd like to see legislation that harmonises batteries and chargers, so everything from Parkside to Milwaukee can use the same batteries and chargers.

 

[Refueler]

It won't happen soon enough to be relevant to me, but I'd like to see legislation that harmonises batteries and chargers, so everything from Parkside to Milwaukee can use the same batteries and chargers.

Will never happen ... each manufacturer wants to lock you into their parts and batterys .... they make more money on batterys than the item it plugs into !

 

[The Q]

Many of my tools are battery.
I use them the most, however. For heavy duty I have things like a 1kW electric drill, a bandsaw, angle grinder etc.

 

[ducked]

Will never happen ... each manufacturer wants to lock you into their parts and batterys .... they make more money on batterys than the item it plugs into !

Maybe in Cuba, if they are spared.

 

[ducked]

It’s hard to find wired drills except SDS here these days. You absolutely never see a pro with one. Big saws are wired still, usually. Everything else is battery.

No experience with SDS drills, and probably wouldn't want to buy one, but I can borrow them.

For most of my current keel cleaning I just want a simple rotary action, with wire wheels etc, which an SDS might not do, since I understand they have special bits and chucks. Might also tend to be heavier than necessary.

I wonder if it might be worth using an SDS chisel bit first on the deep rust? Too late for the outside of the bilge keels, but the insides and the central cast iron ballast keel have just had a quick scrape and hand wire brush so far.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’d recommend not using an SDS on a boat. Not for anything. And even if you switch off the hammer action, the rotary speed is too low to be useful with a wire brush.

 

[Sea Change]

I’d recommend not using an SDS on a boat. Not for anything. And even if you switch off the hammer action, the rotary speed is too low to be useful with a wire brush.

And they're so heavy that you'd be regretting your choice after about three minutes.