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Cordless Tools and Tips to
Increase Battery Life
The Secrets for Increasing
Cordless Tool Battery Life
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Cordless tools have been a godsend in the home construction industry, and
increased battery life is the secret for an effective and dependable
cordless tool. However contractors and diy homeowners alike have found
themselves at one time or another with two dead batteries for their cordless
tools. In some cases it’s just a situation of overuse and in other cases
they simply forgot to immediately put the spent battery into the battery
recharger. In other cases, however, the recharged battery life has just
become ridiculously shortened.
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This is the most frustrating situation of all, because you’ve made a
conscious effort to recharge the battery and then when you think its fully
charged find yourself with a dead battery only after 15 minutes of use.
There are a number of ways you can increase battery life with your cordless
tools without requiring a lot of extra effort. Summarized below are tips for
increasing the battery life of cordless tools.
First, heat is a killer when it comes to batteries. I remember when I moved
to Arizona during the middle of the summer years ago. Within two months both
my vehicles had dead batteries even though the batteries were only about 3
years old. This said, if you want increased battery life with your power
tools make sure to charge and store the batteries in cool places. Leaving
them on the back of your truck in the middle of the summer is simply a
recipe for being forced to pull out the corded tool or even worse the hand
tool. Also, when charging the battery, use a fan to cool the battery and
battery charger while the battery is charging. The battery can build up
quite a bit of heat as its being charged.
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Second, electricity and water do not mix. Again, leaving a cordless tool,
battery packs and battery chargers on the back of an uncovered pickup truck
is a recipe for frequently buying new cordless tools. If the tool gets wet
at all dry it off immediately. If it begins to rain on the jobsite and there
is no cover protection, then call it a day or wait until the rain stops
before using the cordless tool again.
Third, to increase battery life, take care of the battery packs. Though they
are well constructed and dense they are not indestructible.
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If they are cracked due to an inadvertent drop
they may no longer be chargeable or only partially chargeable. When not using a
battery pack and the pack has been fully charged make sure to store it in the
cordless tool case and make sure to put the plastic cap over the battery
electrodes to prevent accidental discharge.
Fourth, always use the correct charger with your battery packs. Mixing voltage
ratings and different vendors’ battery packs and chargers could lead to damaged
chargers and batteries at worse, and uncharged batteries at best. If in doubt
check the owner’s manual on what replacement batteries should be purchased for
your cordless tool and associated battery charger.
Fifth, to increase battery life, always have two batteries with one in the
charger and one in the tool. When the battery in the tool runs down to the point
the tool is no longer functional, then pop it out and swap it with the battery
in the battery charger.
Sixth, for increased battery life, always fully expend the energy in the battery
prior to recharging it. Some argue that this is not necessary, however my
personal experience has shown that I seem to get a longer charge if I fully
discharge the battery (use the tool until it no longer operates) before putting
it on the charger.
Lastly, once the battery is fully charged take it off of the charger. Though
there are protection circuits in the battery charger so that you don’t
overcharge the battery it is a wise idea to take it off when it fully charged.
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