De Walt rechargable Batteries

[don reilly]

I have a question about rechargable batteries for De-Walt tools, I do not have the new Ni cads just the early rechargable ones. I do not get the life span out of any De Walt battery that I have for my three types of drills and one power screwdriver, I have old Makita 9 volt and 7.5 volt rechargable batteries that are over 15 years old and hold a charg longer than my De Walts which are only 4 or 5 years old at that most. the power screwdriver is maybe 4 at the most. a factory rep at a show said I didnt leave them in the charger long enugh and was advised to just leave them in the charger untill you needed them, I think he gave me bad information because the charger does not seem to stop charging the batteries evan at a trickle charge it seems to charde them to death. has anybody else out ther had this problem as I do and is there a way to solve this befor I go out and buy new batteries and have the chargers kill them.

Thanks LACO DON

[PaulMarcel]

I notice that my DeWalt batteries keep pretty warm while on the charger. That's also why I put the battery in then unplug the charger when the charge seems done. Since that time, I put my battery chargers on a power strip that is connected to a "bathroom fan timer" so I put a battery in and give it a spin to allow the charger to run for an hour.

I haven't had these DeWalt batteries for 4-5 years, though.

[TomP]

I was told that once the battery has charged you should take them out of the charger. If not your battery life will be shortened. My 19.2 batteries I use for my day job I left in until I needed them and they lasted about 5yrs. My Ryobie ones I take out when charged. If not they do not hold a charge that long. I now unplug my 19.2 and my batteries at home when charged because as Paul said, the charger does get hot and the life of the battery last longer I found.

[don reilly]

Paul, I like the idea of the timer, I just happen to have a christmas light timer that can be set up to 4 hours and then turns off, I always seem to forget that I put the batteries in the chargers and you have read my results.

I think that the money we are paying for the batteries from the tool manufactures could put a little more thought into there charger units and put a automatic turn off in the charger so this wont happen , but I guess thats how they can get a person to buy new batteries. I wonder if users of Hatachi cordless products have the same problem. I dont seem to have that problem with my Makatia.

Tom, you probably hit the nail on the head as far as charging time goes and pulling the battery out of the charger. Im going to wait for a few more replies and watch the replies and see if I get any hits from some Hatachi.

[daninhim]

laco Don, just to be clear, I think you meant to say you do not have the new Nickel Metal Hydride ones (NIMH), rather you have the older niCad ones. The NiCads definitely burn out faster on a charger, but the timer idea should help. About two years ago I bought a Ryobi kit that came with two NiCads and one NiMH. After a year the Nicads were useless but the NiMH was still going strong. I started using the timer idea, leaving all three batteries in their chargers all the time but setting the timer for one hour a day, and I've had much better performance from the NiCads.

If you do end up replacing the batteries, check to see if you can get a NiMH equivalent. They are worth it. At this point buying a replacement NiCad is a waste given the upgrade in performance (and decrease in weight) you get with a NimH.

[BobSin CA]

I've tried attaching the DeWalt Battery Fact Sheet, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, but it is too big. I found it in the dewalt.com/faqs.aspx section of DeWalt's website, so take a look there.

There is a lot of voodoo and bad information out there. By voodoo, I mean something someone did completely unrelated to the life of the battery but that they think had an effect on the battery life.

[don reilly]

Thanks Mike yes they are the old type batteries, the new Nickel Metal Hydride are very $$$$$$ ive. and I have been debating on going to a differant type drill motor, I havd heard tha Hatachi have a much better battery life and will go longer between charges, if they do I'll give the old De walts to mt friend thats a contractor for his workers to use.

Bob to bad you could not get that posted what you had but how about the wen address as a tag.

Thanks to all.

Laco Don

[petersb]

I've tried attaching the DeWalt Battery Fact Sheet, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, but it is too big. I found it in the dewalt.com/faqs.aspx section of DeWalt's website, so take a look there.

There is a lot of voodoo and bad information out there. By voodoo, I mean something someone did completely unrelated to the life of the battery but that they think had an effect on the battery life.

here is the link for DeWalt battery Q and A sheet

http://support.dewalt.com/ci/fattach/get/7174/

Brett

[don reilly]

Thanks Bret, for the link, I have read all the information you provided, and this is the way I have been using my batteries, there are a few times that I havn't used the tool in a while, and the battery will be totally discharged, but not from over use, just sitting, this might be some of my problem.

I have chargers DW9109, DW9116, and DW9117.

I guess I'm going to see what happens on this post, wait and see what some Hatachi owners have to say about there batteries and how they hold up.

[PaulMarcel]

Don, you might want to start a thread asking about Hitachi batteries. Someone with a Hitachi drill won't necessarily read this thread with DeWalt in the title. It should help flush them out of hiding!

[don reilly]

Don, you might want to start a thread asking about Hitachi batteries. Someone with a Hitachi drill won't necessarily read this thread with DeWalt in the title. It should help flush them out of hiding!

Good idea thanks Paul