1. Home
  2. Home Repair
  3. Battery memory on NiCad cordless drill
  4. Page 2

Battery memory on NiCad cordless drill

"ToMh" wrote in news:s3fBg.1871$Lh4.723@trnddc02:

The new standard is lithium batteries.

Reply to
Jim Yanik
Loading thread data ...

Yes, and that includes the opinions that ppl are posting here - who knows which way to lean. Thats why I say calll Panasonic.

Reply to
Joe Bemier

Maybe my 10-year-old nicads never read the book :-)

Reply to
nicksanspam

A nicad is charged at 1.35v, its dead at 1.2v, listening to the idiot that says run them dead will kill them or reverse their polarity and ruin them. Nicads are meant to be stored at 1.2v or discharged, they are not Lead Acid type , do not sulfate. Leaving them on the charger is bad. But your drill company does not tell you this since their real profit is giving you a drill, and seling you replacemeny packs.

Reply to
m Ransley

Andrew williams, a Nicad Drill is dead, needing recharge, just when it slows down. You recommend to do, what you do, with no knowledge why you do it.

Reply to
m Ransley

I have nicads just starting to crap out, they are Makita-Panasonic, made in 84- 22 yrs old, Learn your cells characteristics, don`t believe the drill manufacturer, they make to much money selling replacements.

Reply to
m Ransley

Next time you're in Home Despot or the like check out the 36v lithium-ion deWalts.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Usually nicads are rated in how many charge cycles they can take. Around

300 to 600 cycles. I think that a partical charge is also a partical cycle but not sure. Some rechargables are just rated in number of years even if they are not used very often.
Reply to
Ralph Mowery

True, LiOn Cells will only have a useful life of about two years, after that they should be replaced, the same is true for LiPo batteries.

Reply to
John McFerren

I keep hearing this. My real world experience is otherwise.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I'm currently tracking an exception to the rule right now. A friend of mine was given a laptop that was "broken" for three years. I tightened a screw on the video card and it works fine. The battery of course was not replaced within those three years and the battery life is longer than the 30 minutes that I expected (more like 2 hrs but never fully tested).

Reply to
John McFerren

Reply to
JimR

:Regardless, I will make sure my next drill uses Nimh :batteries.

I got the NiCads because the drill came cheaper that way. It's true that NiMH will have greater capacity. They say that the modern NiCads don't have the memory effect, but I don't know if that's categorically true. However, something to consider is the fact that NiMH will self-discharge at a significantly higher rate than NiCads. For me, that's a very important factor because most of the energy drain on my cordless drill batteries is from sitting around, not from use. I think I'll stick with NiCads for that reason.

Reply to
Dan_Musicant

:I have nicads just starting to crap out, they are Makita-Panasonic, made :in 84- 22 yrs old, Learn your cells characteristics, don`t believe the :drill manufacturer, they make to much money selling replacements.

I think NiCads nowadays last longer than they did many years ago. They used to be said to last 5 years, and that's pretty much what I found. I've had some that seem to last longer nowadays. I think it depends on the quality of the batteries and their history of use.

I've heard stories of cell restoration - techniques for getting rid of dentrites that short circuit cells internally. Also, there are techniques for otherwise restoring cell capacity, I believe. The deep cycling technique may work if used in such a manner as to NOT cause the reverse polarity of any of the battery's cells.

Reply to
Dan_Musicant

If you are letting the thing sit around a lot, get lithium batteries. The self-discharge of NiMH is overstated by many - they do discharge faster than NiCd, but not outrageously so. Li Ion, OTOH, will stay charged for long periods. However, the life of a Li battery is more closely tied to state of charge than to number of charge/discharge cycles. If it sits around fully charged a lot, it will not last as long as if it's allowed to sit around partially charged.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

Dan_Musicant wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Do NiMH short out or fail if self-discharged,like NiCds? If not,then they can be stored,then simply charged up before use,-without needing to buy new packs.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

:Dan_Musicant wrote in :news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com: : :> On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 05:25:44 GMT, "ToMh" wrote: :> :>:Regardless, I will make sure my next drill uses Nimh :>:batteries. :> :> I got the NiCads because the drill came cheaper that way. It's true that :> NiMH will have greater capacity. They say that the modern NiCads don't :> have the memory effect, but I don't know if that's categorically true. :> However, something to consider is the fact that NiMH will self-discharge :> at a significantly higher rate than NiCads. For me, that's a very :> important factor because most of the energy drain on my cordless drill :> batteries is from sitting around, not from use. I think I'll stick with :> NiCads for that reason. :> : :Do NiMH short out or fail if self-discharged,like NiCds? :If not,then they can be stored,then simply charged up before use,-without :needing to buy new packs.

I think Lion rechargables isn't practical for me. To answer Jim's question, I think that Lion's will fail, charged or discharged. The life expectancy isn't really (AFAIK) more than 2 years. So, in that category, NiCads and NiMHs have Lion truly beat. Lion's life expectancy can be significantly increased by storing them refrigerated, preferrably around

40% charged. Not terribly practical for a cordless drill, but that's what I do with my digicam batteries. Even so, I don't expect them to last more than 3 years in my refrigerator... will see.

If the Lion's lasted more than a couple of years they would be a possible option. Add to that the fact that they are pretty expensive (I haven't priced them against the others but I imagine they are significantly more expensive) and they are 3rd on the list of rechargable drill batteries for me.

Dan

Reply to
Dan_Musicant

:JimL wrote: : :> Four years is past the maximum life of a nicad even you you have :>only used them lightly. : :Maybe my 10-year-old nicads never read the book :-)

Indeed, I have NiCads that must be 8+ years old, are in many seasons very very seldom used and they seem to be reasonably adequate. I suspect I can revive my drill NiCads. I'm not shopping just yet.

Dan

Reply to
Dan_Musicant
1) Pulse charge and it will return to full energy if it is still in infancy .

Never deep cycle any battery . Batterys die for being NOT fully charged . Leave them discharged is to shorten life . ---------------- 2) NimH and Nicad lose 10% in 1 day , Li-Ion lose 1% . I gambled on 100 NimH "LenMars" 2.5 aH AA's from Buy.com .. 25% loss in 1 day , load tested OK , i tossed them , not worth my time .

----------------------------------------------------------------------- more ........................ Pulse charge a nicad and it "loses" its memory , return full energy . ........ a 4 amp pow supply with a simple Resistor works great . C cell ( NiCad ,NimH) , as in drills , can take 2-3 amps til about 1pt36 vdc (((Linux crap apps ! Konquerer ..Cant see the text , too small , no way to change it so i use pt for decimal point ))))))))

1 ) so pulse with a very low Z pow supply at 1pt48 to 1pt5 vdc per cell and a Resistor of 0pt25 ohms . Theorectically , you must select R ( 0pt25) carefully , use scope to see the lighter amps , for it will heat up if too much amps above 1pt38 vdc . 2) but since current is so hi and pow supply is likely to help the current limit anyway , just measure the current above 1pt36 to 1pt37 vdc and adj the supply Voltage instead of doin the Resistor . Now the resistor limiter is inside your pow supply and you can simply vary period of pulse to "tame" the circuit and keep batteries cool . Never charge a hot battery ( > 110F ) , they dry up , short life . Velleman has o'scope ( HPS-40 for $250 ) .

BTW Clever battery chargers use a 2 step current limit , but more clever is to make the heavy current , resistor controlled . BTW Li-Ion need a charge rate of less than "c" til 3.6 to 3.65 VDC at 25 Deg C . ( I.E. Sony 920 Notebook has 2.2 aH cells in parallel so 4.4 times 3 sets in series +12v in > | | | | Ground < | |

-means less than about 4 amps til 3.6 vdc ...Thus the pow supply will show 4.9 amps to pow notebook and charge both ( batts/Notebook) same time .

These Li-Ions are worth your while even if you are poor . They will Kill Nicad/Nimh for they have 1) more energy per cubic inch ... 2) same VERY hi discharge rates . 3) but retain energy beyond a week . dont fear paralleling , Li-Ions have much less cross talk ( discharge of lower volt cell by the higher volt cell ) than anything ....

Off Topic Your Z-6 Minolta DigiCam will NOT like alkalines You must use NimH for the hi power needed . And it dont like heat , remove batteries to allow heat to escape for 15 minutes and you can shoot again ... I guess refurbished can mean a tax dodge , the Camera IS new ! The price drop is combo of Loss Leader and a pass thru of tax .

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Dan_Musicant wrote:

Reply to
werty

Months ? Nicads ? Wet Cell , in a plane ... OK . Dry types? from da store , for your drill ? naaaaaah . 50% in a 20 days !!

Li-Ion is high rate power , loss can be 1% /month . priced out of reach , ..... I tossed all my Nimh ! Just too good to be intimadated by price ! But they die if too much amps charge above the 3.65 vdc level .

All batteries will float if the amps are very low .

( BTW Harbor Fright tiny driver $20 , w/ Li-Ion has no greater than a 1 aH single cell ) .

George E. Cawth> > Dan_Musicant wrote in

Reply to
werty

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.