Battery Powered Tools

[technostingray]

I know we have had this "message" about Battery Powered Tools. I have several Ryobi Tools and they seem to give adequate service. The main problem is that one charger and one battery have already given way. The Rigids which I am so high on, have a better charging system but I would like to save or recover the use of the Ryobi I own. Anyone have any experience with exchanging batteries, charager repair, etc.<br />All comments welcome. TIA

 

[sloopy]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Yes I DO! Go to any Electric RC website, follow the links that talk about batteries, buy new batteries. When they arrive solder (sp) the new ones in. THey usually sell them as a kit for electric drills.

 

[technostingray]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by SLOOPY:<br /> F ___'in Old Repainted Chrysler Engine

Thank you. It is easy to see how you have risen to the rank of Dock Boy in such a short period of time.

 

[tommays]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

one of the big advantages Ryobi has is that there batterys are cheep compared to most of the other brands like dewalt,ect<br /><br />I have a bunch of "better battery" tools at work and the best drill i have is still a 99 dollar Hitachi/ Lowes special<br /><br />Much better clutch ect than my highend dewalt <br /><br />tommays

 

[DJ]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

I've fixed more than one charger. Usually, it is just a broken solder joint. Easy.<br /><br />The secret to battery life is too not "top charge" them and keep them in a cool place.<br /><br />Cycle your batteries by completely draining them and recharging after a thorough cool down. Repeat, repeat, repeat.<br /><br />DO NOT leave a battery in the charger, once charged.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by SLOOPY:<br /> Yes I DO! Go to any Electric RC website, follow the links that talk about batteries, buy new batteries. When they arrive solder (sp) the new ones in. THey usually sell them as a kit for electric drills.

Anyone with specific links to some of the better sites for buying supplies to make your own replacement rechargable battery packs? I know there's several variables, like tabs already soldered on individual batteries, different sizes, etc. If someone has already done the homework and can recommend the best sites for supplies, please pass them on.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by DJ:<br />The secret to battery life is too not "top charge" them and keep them in a cool place.<br /><br />Cycle your batteries by completely draining them and recharging after a thorough cool down. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

You've got that backwards. All batteries are damaged by discharging them. The more you discharge the more damage you do. A NiCd pack rated at 500 cycles @ 100% discharge might last 1,500 cycles @ 50% discharge. <br /><br />Unfortuneately with the outdated NiCd batteries most tools still come with, you do need to completely cycle them about once a month so as to not cause any memory problems...but any more than that is completely unnecessary.<br /><br />As for dead battery packs, they are usually very easy to rebuild yourself for much less than buying a new pack. You can buy the cells on ebay very cheaply, and they'll probably be higher capacity than the tool was to begin with. I've rebuilt two drill battery packs with lithium ion batteries, I LOVE them! They last longer and weigh less.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br />...<br />As for dead battery packs, they are usually very easy to rebuild yourself for much less than buying a new pack. You can buy the cells on ebay very cheaply, and they'll probably be higher capacity than the tool was to begin with. I've rebuilt two drill battery packs with lithium ion batteries , I LOVE them! They last longer and weigh less.

But most cordless tools come with their own charger; isn't it specific to the type of battery that originally came with the tool? i.e., you can't safely charge a homebuilt Li replacement battery pack in a charger designed for NiCad or Nimh battries, can you?

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by LakeLivin:<br />you can't safely charge a homebuilt Li replacement battery pack in a charger designed for NiCad or Nimh battries, can you?

No, you have to use a special charger, (universal RC type are cheap and plentiful) but even if I keep the NiCd batteries the first thing I do is throw away the stock charger. All they do is cook your batteries so you have to buy a new pack every 2 years at $69.95 each.<br /><br />Lithium ion batteries are kind of dangerous for a novice to play with, but I would recommend rebuilding your packs with NiMh batteries and getting an intelligent NiMh charger to everyone. You can easily double your run time.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br />

Originally posted by LakeLivin:<br />you can't safely charge a homebuilt Li replacement battery pack in a charger designed for NiCad or Nimh battries, can you?

No, you have to use a special charger, (universal RC type are cheap and plentiful) but even if I keep the NiCd batteries the first thing I do is throw away the stock charger. All they do is cook your batteries so you have to buy a new pack every 2 years at $69.95 each.<br /><br />Lithium ion batteries are kind of dangerous for a novice to play with, but I would recommend rebuilding your packs with NiMh batteries and getting an intelligent NiMh charger to everyone. You can easily double your run time.

How might you do that with proprietary battery enclosures (swap for NiMh batts). Assuming you could change the cells inside, how could you get a charger that would accept your enclosure ie, Makita for example.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by Boomyal:<br /> How might you do that with proprietary battery enclosures (swap for NiMh batts). Assuming you could change the cells inside, how could you get a charger that would accept your enclosure ie, Makita for example.

You'll probably have to jerry rig something. One of my drills I just installed a power jack right on the drill, so I just plug the charger into the drill. On the other one I gutted the stock charger just to use it as a battery holder, running the wires to the lithium ion charger. Might be able to just use aligator clips depending on the pack.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by Boomyal:<br />

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br />

Originally posted by LakeLivin:<br />you can't safely charge a homebuilt Li replacement battery pack in a charger designed for NiCad or Nimh battries, can you?

No, you have to use a special charger, (universal RC type are cheap and plentiful) but even if I keep the NiCd batteries the first thing I do is throw away the stock charger. All they do is cook your batteries so you have to buy a new pack every 2 years at $69.95 each.<br /><br />Lithium ion batteries are kind of dangerous for a novice to play with, but I would recommend rebuilding your packs with NiMh batteries and getting an intelligent NiMh charger to everyone. You can easily double your run time.

How might you do that with proprietary battery enclosures (swap for NiMh batts). Assuming you could change the cells inside, how could you get a charger that would accept your enclosure ie, Makita for example.

I've read some on batteries & rechargers for 'regular' rechargable batteries (AA's & AAA's), so am a bit familiar with some of the issues (heat/ speed/ accuracy)with different rechargers (I've been using a Maha C204F for years, understand that there are even better ones available now). I'd love to:<br /><br />a) be able to replace the cells in proprietary battery packs for power tools when they die since the replacement packs are so expensive. <br /><br />b) use a more "intelligent" charger to optimize the charge and prolong battery life.<br /><br />Looking at a couple packs, seems like replacing the cells inside might not be too difficult (many packs seem like they can be fairly easily disassembled to access the cells).<br /><br />I can also visualize how I might rig something to connect a proprietary battery pack to a different charger. But what about the different voltages for different battery packs? Even if the packs are comprised of individual lower voltage cells soldered together, they're soldered in parallel to produce higher voltages, no? <br /><br />How does a "universal RC type charger" deal with different voltages? Does it have variable settings for voltage, or is that not an issue in recharging? And how "intelligent" and expensive is a decent universal RC type charger? Any specific brands/ models that are recognized by the RC afficianados as being particularly good values? <br /><br />Pardon my ignorance, but this seems like it could be a big money saver if I could get it worked out.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Battery Powered Tools

Originally posted by LakeLivin:<br />How does a "universal RC type charger" deal with different voltages? Does it have variable settings for voltage, or is that not an issue in recharging? And how "intelligent" and expensive is a decent universal RC type charger? Any specific brands/ models that are recognized by the RC afficianados as being particularly good values?

Most chargers will either have a switch for voltage or simply automatically detect it. This is the charger I use for various NiMh battery packs:<br /> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6061860571 <br />I have been importing them from China and selling them elsewhere, the quality is surprisingly good considering they are almost free before shipping from Taiwan. They also have another version that will charge up to 24v packs. If you search for "RC charger" on ebay you should find about a million different brands.