Driver recharges in 45 seconds?

[The Medway Handyman]

Fast Charging System Using amazing FLASHCELL Technology, in just 45seconds this cordless driver is fully charged from dead flat and ready to go

500,000 Charge Cycles Provides many years of service compared to Ni-Cads which offer 500-100 cycle/charges

High Torque With 4.5Nm of torque, this tool is ideal for a wide range of applications in and around the workshop and home

No Memory Effect It will accept partial charges between full charges with out detriment to the cell

Charge Indicator Shows at a glance the charge and charging condition of the cells

Too good to be true?

[Mike Clarke]

They don't say how many seconds it takes to run the "battery" flat.

[Tabby]

Technically doable using supercaps. At what price & with what performance is another question. I didnt see the price anywhere. Also the available power will decline steadily during each discharge, and capacity will be very small compared to NiCds.

NT

[robgraham]

Capacitors have a very high leakage in comparison to batteries, so don't expect your drill to be ready the moment you pick it up. Yes you could charge it in 45 seconds, but how long will it take you to find the charger, plug it in, remove the battery from the drill, plug it into the charger.... etc., etc.

OK all that will take less than the current hour, but at least that hour gives you a long spell of use and the tool will work when you come back a week later.

Rob

[Unbeliever]

A bit faster than you can think then.

Not the way you use tools!

Not quite so high a torque as your motor-mouth.

"No memory effect" - rather like you then!

Well you would need that - it would stop you posting to ask how you can tell when the thing is charged up.

Obviously not for you! But I suppose it has proved a reason for you to make yet another inane post - to which I am making a rather frivolous reply *and* I'm getting it in first this time -- FOAD!

[pete]

The "more info" PDF reckons you get 23 "tasks" which I presume to mean "screws" for your 45 seconds. So it sounds to me as if it would spend as much time recharging as screwing - which is a definite no-no. So you'd need 2 of them, but even so you'd be constantly swapping them from in-use to charging. Sounds like a lot of hassle when a normal NiMH or LiIon does a good enough job and last for much longer.

[michael adams]

There's a review here.

The main downside as compared with Li-on, at least then, seemed to be only having half the capacity

may be two pages of ads to skip

that was last October

Usually when looking for info and reviews of any consumer item on Google the first dozen hits will be useless price comparison websites. Not with this. Its almost impossible to find a stockist even Amazon. Although Amazon do feature mainly favourable user reviews, from when it was in stock.

There's one US discounter -

at $30 as against a list price of $80.

Which strongly suggests there's something wrong with the tool which only became apparent after its first few months on the market, which a bit more googling might reveal.

One Amazon reviewer dismantled the tool to fix a faulty switch and found faults which could lead to shorts and possible fires (according to him, anyway). Maybe that was it.

michael adams

...

[Alan]

The charger is only rated at 55W so the best charge will be around

12Amps for 45 seconds - it will be more like a maximum of 9 Amps for 45 seconds.

They way they deliberately don't answer the question "How long will the tool last per charge?" suggests that the operational time is not too long. As they are using capacitors rather than batteries I also suspect that in use the performance will fall off quickly.

It will be one of those tools that would drive any tradesman to despair.

5 minutes use then climb back down the ladder for a 45 second recharge - climb back up the ladder .........

[The Medway Handyman]

And what did your post add to the NG? Fuck all yet again.

If you thought it was funny - you failed yet again.

Well done. You have confirmed your place as a useless f****it - yet again.

Whats up now? Giro late? Chalfonts playing up? Matron late with the medication?

At least Drivel gets a laugh. Get a life.

[Tabby]

The mode of operation will be that every time you put the tool down you rest it in the charger. Fine for use at ground level, but like you say not mch use up a ladder.

10A 45 second charge, but if we can use only half of that due to falling terminal voltage we'd get 0.055 Ah usable capacity, ie 1/24th the capacity of your standard 1.3Ah nicad.

Anyone know the price yet?

NT

[pete]

That's what I thought .... but all you end up with is the limitation of a wired driver, with the added annoyance of having to replace it in exactly the same place each time you put it down.

[John Rumm]

When you measure torque in 0.5s, you have to doubt the qualification of "high" (cf the 7.2 Mak impact driver at 17Nm)

No mention of the self discharge rate or actual capacity either...

Probably not. The truth is probably charges fast, runs flat fast, discharges when left for a day.

[John Rumm]

Dave, Have you spurned his romantic advances or something?

He does seem rather like a love sick obsessive trying to find a way to express his true feelings!

[Tabby]

genews:_bm5o.34664$2%2.24598@hurricane...

nly favourable

Maybe it just doesnt match user expectations. The declining terminal voltage is going to be a real issue in that respect

Thing is, its competing against low end screwdrivers, which cost =A35-10, yet the price tag was equivalent to a full featured cordless drill.

FWIW its quite doable to convert a regular cordless drill into a machine that works like this, using an expired battery pack with contacts on it and making a cradle for the thing.

NT

[Man at B&Q]

But still faster than yourown "dead flat" to "ready to go" time, even with Viagra.

Do you get much use from yours?

Your wrist is even higher torque, honed over many years of use.

CAn you remember the last time?

Doesn't it say on the packet?

That will be a first!

[Part timer]

I've tried to work out where the friction started between TMH and Un********. Probably a lack of WD40 ;-) Seems to know everything about DIY as he never asks any questions!