Eye-Opening Intro to Lithium-Ion Batteries

[cpw]

I got a Ryobi One+ NiCd set for Christmas, and lately I've been looking to replace my old, now almost useless, battery operated Ryobi string trimmer, and I now see that Ryobi has introduced a string trimmer that uses the One+ battery packs - not included.

This struck me as a great opportunity to upgrade to Li-Ion batteries - after all, lighter weight, longer run time, hold a charge longer - sounds ideal for a yard tool. So I thought I'd do a little research, and I discovered some interesting things, such as 1) Li-Ion batteries only last 2-3 years regardless of whether you use them or not, 2) the begin to degrade immediately, so you want to make sure they haven't been sitting around on the store shelves for several months when you buy them, 3) they can, in rare cases, overheat and burst into flames!

Check it out:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery.htm
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-5.htm

 

[cskipper]

Thanks for sharing that info. Who knew?

 

[Don Sorensen]

I've always preferred corded tools...or gas-powered for the yard.

Thanks for the info.

 

[russellellis]

i actually went through formal training on battery and battery operated tools today at sears. i always knew batteries have a shelf life but you dont want to know how short the new c3 diehard/craftsman ones are if left uncharged.

 

[b4man]

Charles,
That's interesting and good info. I recently had a situation with a battery charger for a Firestorm drill. It seems the charger just stopped working. I happen to have had another charger at the lake so I took the battery there and it stopped too. I tried charging all 4 of the batteries of that type I had and not one charged. I'm now looking at throwing them to the recycle bin because that charger isn't available at Lowes and I'm not spending the money to order one and take the chance on it being caused by the batteries themselves.

This thread is making buying cheap cordless tools more appealing. I ran into this with my Bosch drill years ago therefor went to B&D Firestorm.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[NCPete]

Charles,
That's interesting and good info. I recently had a situation with a battery charger for a Firestorm drill. It seems the charger just stopped working. I happen to have had another charger at the lake so I took the battery there and it stopped too. I tried charging all 4 of the batteries of that type I had and not one charged. I'm now looking at throwing them to the recycle bin because that charger isn't available at Lowes and I'm not spending the money to order one and take the chance on it being caused by the batteries themselves.

This thread is making buying cheap cordless tools more appealing. I ran into this with my Bosch drill years ago therefor went to B&D Firestorm.

Thanks for the insight.

Barbara, your Firestorm batteries may fit the DeWalt charger.... take a look at them. I have a Firestorm 9.6v drill/screw driver that has nearly the same battery as my 9.6v DW, both fit the same charger, though the FS can also plug into an adapter for charging.

 

[b4man]

Thanks Pete!
I was at Lowes yesterday getting deck stain and ck'd the battery chargers. I saw the DeWalt and it looked so similar and wondered if it would work!
My hesitation is what I said before about the batteries causing some sort of fault in the chargers.


Charles, I don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm thinking one thing leads to another:confused_

 

[NCPete]

Thanks Pete!
I was at Lowes yesterday getting deck stain and ck'd the battery chargers. I saw the DeWalt and it looked so similar and wondered if it would work!
My hesitation is what I said before about the batteries causing some sort of fault in the chargers.


Charles, I don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm thinking one thing leads to another:confused_

The only problem I have had is that when I run a battery down, with either drill, I may grab the other type of battery, and they don't quite fit the machine properly, they will drive it, but the latch isn't quite the same so I have to hold them in the tool - they charge just fine, though!

 

[JimD]

I bought a B&D drill with two batteries just for the batteries for my 9.6V DeWalt several years ago (before they started calling the B&D "firestorm"). The DeWalt charger works well but you have to shave off a little plastic from the B&D battery so it will go in the charger. Putting the batteries into the DeWalt drill was OK either way. I don't know that the B&D batteries last quite as long but I think I only paid $25 for the drill with two batteries. If you look closely at both batteries, you should see where a little trimming is in order (assuming the design is still the same).

Jim