Cordless tools, the next level

[MontanaLon]

Only yesterday I was looking at the box with collection of now unusable battery powered drills etc. sans batteries. A new drill + Li-ion batteries from B&Q DIY store can be had for less than the cost of replacing NiCad batteries.

I now know about what happens to NiCads, the reverse current through the first to discharge, the capacity memory effect, the crystal growths, the rejuvenation stunts. Battery wise, my Makita has been the most long-lived, and I could get "me too" batteries and chargers for the Li-ion type.

I agree about the new technology batteries. Having had the "Tesla" experience of being taken hundreds of miles to an air show, and brought home again by a thing that seems to mostly drive itself!

NiCads were a poisonous, and blighted technology. They taught us the convenience of cordless tools, but I don't regret their passing. Maybe I should just dump the (quite nice) old hand drills. I can't even recycle the chucks!

Many of the batteries can be refurbed by replacing the batteries inside the battery casing. There are really only a couple of different cell sizes, the hard part is usually getting the case to open without splitting. They can be wired up in several different ways to get the correct voltage if you play with them a bit.

There is a guy down the street who has a John Deere riding mower that is seriously long in the tooth. A couple of years ago I was riding my bike with the kids and he was out mowing and the damn thing was silent. I knew it ran on gas before so I stopped and asked him about it. He had scavenged an old electric forklift for the motor. I think he said it ran on 60 volts. Then he found a deal on lithium rechargeable batteries and made a case that they would all fit into that took up the rest of the space where the gas engine had been. He shoehorned the whole thing into the mower somehow and it runs really well. Lots of power, really I think more power than the gas had. He said it would mow his yard twice between charges. He's got the snow blade for it too and he said it pushes snow better than it used to. Between the electric motor and the batteries I am sure it gained some weight so that probably helps with traction. It is just weird as hell to see a John Deere mower actually mowing and there is just a bit of a whine to it. You can hear the blades swishing over the sound of the motor and grass flying out the side. He said when the motor went out on it he just couldn't see spending what they wanted for a new mower or a new motor when he could get stuff for free and make it fit his needs. I think he bought the mower new when he moved into the house 40 years ago. He is kind of like a lot of you guys, old, retired and can make stuff.

 

[Larry$]

I ran a production shop for many years. When the 9V Makita impact drivers came out, we started using them for the smaller screws. When the 12V Makitas became available they would drive all the sizes we used. They were used at the assembly benches, used all day long for years. Over the years, salesmen would make us a really cheap deal on other brands trying to get us to switch. None of them held up as well. A years use in a production environment is probably a lifetime in a hobby shop or home. Drills weren't used as much and the preferred drill was a Sioux inline air because they were so much faster. Ultimately most case assembly was switched to dowel construction. Faster and more automated.

 

[Tozguy]

I suspect that it has to do with keeping them on charge during the working day

RJ you seem to have had more than your share of battery failures. I thought that it was safe to leave most lithium batteries on the charger. My habit for tools is to top up the battery at the end of the job but remove it from the charger when fully charged (but I sometimes forget to remove it).
The portable LED shop light stays on the charger when not in use as does my iphone.
Does whether we leave the battery on the charger depend on how a particular charger is designed to be used?

 

[Tozguy]

If I lived in the USA I'd be headed to Home Depot right now. ON SALE

DEWALT 20V MAX 12in. Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Chainsaw (Tool Only) DCCS620B - The Home Depot

The DEWALT DCCS620B 20-Volt MAX batteries. Gas-free operation eliminates the cold starts, fumes, carburetor issues and maintenance involved with gas-powered chainsaws. This battery powered chainsaw is

www.homedepot.com

Looks like this one can be used with one hand only. Not something that anybody recommends but when up in a tree hanging on to branch one handed operation is the only way to go. I miss my little old Homelite just for that.

 

[RJSakowski]

RJ you seem to have had more than your share of battery failures. I thought that it was safe to leave most batteries on the charger. My habit for tools is to top up the battery at the end of the job but remove it from the charger when fully charged (but I sometimes forget to remove it).
The portable LED shop light stays on the charger when not in use as does my iphone.
So does whether we leave the battery on the charger depend on how a particular charger is designed to be used?

I have suspected for some time that it is not good to leave a battery on a charger for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, when I was at work, it was necessary to leave my laptop connected to the charger as otherwise I would only have a few hours of working time at best. After I retired, my dell phone was mostly sitting on my desk and I had it plugged into the charger.

I have always pulled my NiMH batteries off the charger when they were fully charged. I charge my lead acid deep cycle batteries with constant voltage chargers (14 volts) and pull them off charge once current drops to zero. Lately, I have been trying to pull my cell phone off the charger when it hits 100%. I changed batteries out earlier this year and I see if it makes a difference as to battery life.

Leaving a battery on a charger presents the battery with a higher than normal voltage and results in energy being dumped as heat or possibly resulting gassing as is the case with lead acid batteries. I had an interesting experience with a lead acid battery on a fishing trip to Lake of the Woods in Canada. I use my deep cycle battery for both the on board electrical and starting. On the last day of the trip, we made a 25 mile journey out to a fishing spot which was a close to an hour of run time on full throttle. This on a fully charged battery. The older outboard's charging circuit was a simple alternator/rectifier and didn't have volt. The next day , the battery wouldn't hold a charge.

The outboard was a 50 hp motor, 1985 vintage and was commonly found on pleasure boats of the time so operating conditions would have been similar. The difference would be that they wouldn't be using a deep cycle battery. I replaced the bridge rectifier with a rectifier/regulator from a later vintage.

 

[Tozguy]

This quote comes from here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

Chemistry, performance, cost and safety characteristics vary across types of lithium-ion batteries. Handheld electronics mostly use lithium polymer batteries (with a polymer gel as electrolyte) with lithium cobalt oxide(LiCoO2) as cathode material, which offers high energy density, but presents safety risks,[16][17]:20:21–21:35 especially when damaged. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4, Li2MnO3, or LMO), and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide(LiNiMnCoO2 or NMC) offer lower energy density but longer lives and less likelihood of fire or explosion. Such batteries are widely used for electric tools, medical equipment, and other roles. NMC and its derivatives are widely used in electric vehicles.

Most of the technical details in this article are over my head but it explains elsewhere in the article about the possibility of over charging and ruining a lithium battery.

 

[Janderso]

Still have my little 6 volt ni-cad Makita and a couple of the 9 volt ones I bought used later. Done a lot with them.
I do wish I had an electric chainsaw to replace my little Mac- easier to start and quieter
-Mark

You can’t start a Mac

 

[Janderso]

I went fishing with my brother in law very early one morning at a high Sierra lake on a family camping trip.
He had his truck battery running the trolling motor.
The fish weren’t biting so we decided to ahead in. After about half an hour, I noticed we failed to pull the anchor.
Battery technology has come a long way.
Happy Sunday morning everybody!

 

[Janderso]

Anyone catch that video on the subject of electric vehicles and the rare earth metal shortage?
I understand the need to convert to an alternative energy source to reduce CO2.
The open pit mining and the kids in the Congo digging for cobalt opened my eyes to the shortage and high demand for these precious metals.
Tesla is trying to make contractual agreements with some suppliers to only sell to them.
Most of the current production of cobalt goes to industry but automakers are gearing up to rapidly increase the use/need of all the battery components.

 

[tjb]

If I lived in the USA I'd be headed to Home Depot right now. ON SALE

DEWALT 20V MAX 12in. Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Chainsaw (Tool Only) DCCS620B - The Home Depot

The DEWALT DCCS620B 20-Volt MAX batteries. Gas-free operation eliminates the cold starts, fumes, carburetor issues and maintenance involved with gas-powered chainsaws. This battery powered chainsaw is

www.homedepot.com

Looks like this one can be used with one hand only. Not something that anybody recommends but when up in a tree hanging on to branch one handed operation is the only way to go. I miss my little old Homelite just for that.

That's a great price. Probably with $99 just because. Wish they'd run a special on the 60V. They don't even sell those in the store (at least down here). They are only available from HD on line.