printer friendly page Ni-Cad power tool battery care tips
To ensure the maximum life out of a battery pack here are some guidelines for Nickel Cadmium Batteries. - The battery will perform best if it is charged at room temperature. Do not charge in temperatures below 50C or above 400C. Under these conditions, the battery will not take a full charge, and may be permanently damaged.
- Do not charge a hot battery. If the battery is hot, wait until it is cool before charging.
- Do not run the battery down past the point where it does not have enough power to do normal work, because it may cause permanent damage, which will prevent the battery from taking a full charge.
- Never hold the trigger on to totally discharge the battery.
- Store the battery in a cool, dry place. If temperatures exceed 480C, it may reduce the battery life.
- When doing heavy work use a lower gear and don't stall the drill as this will reduce the life of your battery.
Memory is created from repetitive light use in the exact same application (i.e. Cordless Phones, Video Cameras, Electric Shavers, etc.) Power tools rarely see light use or the exact same loads, due to variability from the user, the bit size, as well as the material. The same variability which causes different runtimes, prevents the battery developing memory. Power tools are considered high-drain applications. Memory typically develops in lower-drain rate applications, such as cordless phones, laptops, etc…, because the rate in which the battery is draining is continuously the same. Power tools draw higher currents and have sporadic drain rates minimizing the opportunity for the battery to develop a memory. My battery does not hold a charge anymore, Why?
The potential reasons for this condition are as follows: - A connection between the individual cells has broken.
- A single cell or multiple cells have been overheated and have failed.
- The battery has reached the limit of its useable life.
- Poor charging practices.
(including
not fully charging the battery, recharging it while it is hot and
recharging it before a loss of power is noticed)
- Defective charger.
Keep the batteries contacts clean - It's a good idea to clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This helps maintain a good connection between the battery and the portable device. What should be done with batteries once they have failed? Send your failed battery to RECELL and have it repacked and we have the used cells recycled properly. |
