Charging Dewalt Batteries??

revo33

i own 2 dewalt cordless drills (14.4v xrp and 18v xrp), but dont use them very often. My question is, if i don't use the drill for a couple of months should i charge it up occassionally or just wait until i use it and charge the battery when it gets weak. My old 14.4v dewalt batteries just died after about 4 years, but i hardly used the drill at all. Any ideas

woodworkbykirk

my suggestion is not to use dewalt, ive never been impressed by their gear. but with any cordless tool that isnt lithium ion, i would plug it in every couple weeks. to keep it ready. the service centers recommend this because the battery could go totally dead sitting around, dewalt calls their li-ion, nano technology, it only took them 3 or 4 to come out with what just about what every one else already had

Colorado Fatboy

And just what "should we use"?

woodworkbykirk

makita li-ion, milwaukee li-ion

i have a milwaukee compact li-ion, guy at work has the makita which i like better

KentWhitten

well, that's good for you, but the OP.....

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Mike Finley

Dewalt.com go to their website and look up the info on their batteries. All your answers are there.

4 year old batteries you got your life out of them. Nobody anywhere says they are designed to last forever.

Patrick

we were 100% Dewalt forever, now we are switching everything to Milwaukee

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Originally Posted by Celtic
Like I said...I'm sure you are very good at what you do ~ whatever that is and where ever it happens.

WarnerConstInc.

Its all in the chargers, not the batteries themselves.

PA woodbutcher

I'm 100% Dewalt cordless. 16 tools and 10 Batteries, 8 of which are over 2 years, so Iam expecting to have to start down the battery road or switch brands. Time will tell. So far I've been satisfied with all of them. Of course I keep in mind that they are battery run and don't mind stretching a cord

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woodchuck2

I use all Dewalt cordless too, great tools but the junk batteries cant even hold a charge over night. Every time i plan to use the tools i stuff a battery in the charger so it is ready to go. Nothing worse than swapping batteries and climbing into an attic only to have the battery go dead before you get your 1st hole drilled.

Mike Finley

For all you guys having problems with your batteries, it's time to figure out what you have there and if it's time to replace them instead of bitching about a spent product that you are trying to use after it's life is over.

Grab a volt meter. Fully charge your batteries and then check the charge in them. A very good 18 volt cordless battery should read above 19 volts fresh off the charger.

Anything under 14 I'd replace, 14-16 you should think about replacing it soon and anything between 16 and 19 just realize it's a wounded animal you are trying to use and treat it accordingly.

This ain't rocket science and these batteries were never promised to last forever, if you've got your use out of them it's just time to admit it instead of bitching about it.

Get a volt meter and end the guessing, you can find out what you have pretty quick.

skymaster

Revi; have read this many times, havent tried it, but supposedly it works.Take the batteries and toss em in the freezer overnight, them let em sit and defrost ( several hours probably) then re charge. Worth the shot. If not then there are several chain stores that rebuild batteries way cheaper than new and BETTER. Batteries Plus is one I use. u can find em on web and get closest store to you

WarnerConstInc.

Chargers are key.

Magnettica

DEWALT is garbage now. They used to sell quality stuff but now I'm lucky if a battery and 18v drill lasts longer than a year.

The new line of Makita Lithium-ION technology however have so far been outstanding.

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ryanh

Everytime I see a deal on 18v Batterys I grab em. You can never have enough of these. I still have 2 of the original 18v dewalt batterys geezh you be lucky if you get 20 minutes of them lol

Mike Finley

Wouldn't you expect that since you are comparing nicads (apples) to lithium ions (oranges) right?

415moto

Dang, how do you not use your drills for a couple of months?

RenaissanceR

DEWALT makes a "conditioning" battery charger that supposedly charges batteries a certain way to make them last longer / hold a charge.

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