POWER TOOL BATTERIES !!! How long can I / should I expect them to last?

I’ve used them for years in the trade, sometimes on a daily basis for months at a time. They last 2 or 3 years for me. You have just discoverd the great bug-a-boo about battery tools. It usually makes more sense to buy a new set on sale than to replace the batteries:-(( They should be charged at least once a month even when they are not in use.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Thanks Topa…..

I have 2 other Drills ….so I was not forced to go an buy new . it makes me mad cause i dont want to just throw these tools out …......and i love the smaller Circular saw for those tight places … tho the circular saw only had the power to go SLOWLY thru a 1/2 in sheet of ply ….
So let me ask you this Mr Topamax …..what would you recommend i buy to replace the Makita set ??
Thanks ,,,,,,
Mike
gator9t9

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

Join the club. Batteries usually last from 3 to 5 years. They have a finite number of recharges in addition to which not using them regularly also causes them to fail faster. The batteries do best when cycled from charged to discharged on a regular basis. Some companies advertise 1000 charges but there are lots of variables that change that. Also some of the early rechargeable batteries needed to be taken through a full discharge and recharge periodically or they developed a short cycle discharge memory and will not fully charge. New batteries and NiCads do not have that problem.
For tools in the Makita and Craftsman price range it is almost easier to buy new tools that come with new batteries; especially if the tools are used a lot and also show some wear. In your case it might be better to buy the batteries because you tools haven’t had much use. New batteries for my Porter Cable 14v drill are $75.00, for about $160 I can get a new drill with two new batteries…go figure (-;

-- Les B, Oregon

Well if that is true about an average battery life of 3-5 yrs …then I guess i better start saving for all the new tools i am gonna be buying in the next 2 yrs ….lol as I have probably 8-10 other cordless tools that have yet to quit charging ….so i will look on the bright side and think ….yeah …NEW TOOLS >....of course i still have all my corded tools also from yrs ago tooo ,.....and they have more power anyway ….

Mike
gator9t9

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

Since you have already bought one battery, you may as well stick with what you have and buy another if you need it. If you can wait for the recharge, you are set. I went to Rigid because of the sale they had on at the time. I think Rigid will give you a lifetime guarantee on everything including the batteries ;-))

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

OOps, forgot. I have a pile of tools with very short life batteries. They are specialty itmes like my Mikita 90 degree angle drill and the small saws, I just put up with the short charge cycles until they totally quit. I don’t use them very often. I have my Ridgids for production work.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

There are folks that will rebuild your battery packs like these guys and they can up the charge while they are at it too.

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

I have a Batteries Plus store close and they charge me $5.00 to refurbish a battery. If they can’t refurbish it they will put new cells in it for $39.95. So it pays to have them fixed when they quite holding a charge. At least that is the prices here in my area they may be different around the country.

-- Dustmaker, Kansas

The new Rockwell cordless tools have been advertised as having lifetime free battery replacements. All you pay when a battery goes bad is the shipping charge. This sounds like a pretty good deal to me, especially if the new Rockwell cordless tools are of similar quality of their corded tools in the past.

-- Each and Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Greg Little

Gator,
here is the link to the free battery replacement from Rockwell.
http://www.rockwelltoolsdirect.com/free-batteries-for-life.html

-- Each and Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Greg Little

I just can’t buy Rockwell tools as it pains me to see that name used by a company with now connection to the Rockwell of old (old Delta/Porter Cable owner) I feel the same way about Oliver, but all that’s out of my league anyways. From their website “Rockwell tools are a part of the Positec Group of companies which have been designing, engineering and manufacturing tools since 1994.”

So no connection. The old Rockwell corded hand held tools where Porter Cable stuff.

Personally I gave up on cordless tools a long time ago. But I just work around the house, not on a job site. You can buy a lot of good extension cord for what replacing 1 cordless tool costs ;)

thats why I sold all my cordless tools and got corded versions of the circular saw – still have a codrless drill though (which doesnt hold a charge much).

rockwell does offer lifetime bettery replacement, if I’m not mistaken – Ridgid offers the same thing (better check though). otherwise – yeah, getting new batteries gets expensive.

I actually stopped at battery plus store for something else, and got to talk to the guy there about their powertool battery services, and he told me they do offer that, but I’m better off buying a new battery from the big box store…

I used to be a contractor so I was on construction sites all day long where cordless was the only way to go, but now that I’m woodworking in my garage – I like using corded tools more, and not have to worry about when I last charged my battery, or if I’m on vacation, or not in the garage… will they lose the charge and all… food for thought.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I would say 1 – 3 years of daily use.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Batteries are tricky, I’ve found that some are better then others, and in my experience it’s not always brand specific. I’ve had Porter-Cables that lasted very well, and some that didn’t and so on. The type of battery can also determine the life of the battery. Lithium Ion batteries are some of the best, hold a charge well and tend to not wear out. The down side, they are kinda pricy. One thing you might try with your old batteries, since they are already dead and you’ve got nothing to loose, is what’s refered to as a deep discharge. Hook it up to a small light buld and just let it run till it goes completely dead and then recharge it from that state. That can sometimes “reset” the battery “memory” and allow it to hold a charge better. The other thing I do to prolong the life of my batteries is to remove them from the charger as soon as they are fully charged. That goes for anything with a rechargeable battery (cell phone, laptop, etc.), if the charger keeps pumping juice into the battery it can damage them and shorten their life.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

Another thing to look into is to see if Makita or some other company produces a Li-Ion battery replacement for your tools. I know Ryobi makes a Li-Ion battery for most of their older model battery tools. Maybe someone makes one that’s compatible with your Makita.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

just looked at the rockwell site, their drills look a lot like Panasonic, some of the panasonic drills are rated very good, I don’t remember the model #s though.
Smitty

-- Smitty!!!

March, you hit the nail on the head. For jobsite use it is the only way to go, especially with labor costs in the .75 a minute range these days. For homeowner use, a corded tool is what I use and advise my kids to buy.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Try woodworking.com and search for reviving batteries. There’s a couple articles on it. You can always try instructables.com and upgrade the battery or try various ways of reviving.

-- Elaine, Conover, NC

Thanks all for a great exchange here ….I got some good ideas …..

mike ]
gator9t9

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

I didn’t mention Lithium batteries but they are great if you want to pay the extra bucks. Even these have some maintenance suggestions to prolong the life. One being that if you intend to leave them unused for any length of time (30 days or so) they should be at a 1/2 charge state, not fully charged or discharged. I don’t know the reason for that. Finally Remember to recycle your batteries. Most of them are toxic to the environment.

-- Les B, Oregon

Does anyone have any actual experience reviving batteries?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

I got ahold of Batteries Plus near me here in Washington State …..to replace my batteries the cost is 64.99 ea …I did not ask about reviving of this particular battery ….and they warrant the replacement batteries they sell for 1.5 yrs also their estimate of the lifetime of batteries for power tools is 1-2 yrs …..

So with that in mind ….my 5-6 yrs i got out of these batteries ....I was very lucky …..hmmmmmmm
I am out 2 very expensive batteries …and do not consider myself lucky …. Lucky is getting hit by lightning and then knowing how to get home ….......

thanks all for your comments and thoughts … we all love those cordless tools tho dont we….lol

mike in Bonney Lake
gator9t9

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

Google up “Battery University”. That site has tons and tons of information on batteries, kind of like the Bill Pentz of battery. Also shows you how to properly maintain your batteries, and how to recondition them after a long time in storage.

As for a deep discharge, it works well for Ni-CAD but please nobody tries it on their Lithium tool batteries. Same thing goes with taping the trigger on a lithium cordless to “run down the battery”. Li-ion batteries will die after a deep discharge. Years ago before I knew better I killed a laptop battery that way.

-- Ed

Here are some informational and interesting articles about power tool batteries.
Clarifying Battery Myths and Misconceptions
Lithium Ion Batteries: What You Need to Know About Li-ion Technology
Power Tool Battery Guide: Nicad, Nimh, And Li-ion

-- Don, Utah, www.toolsandmachinery.com

Yeah this definately an old set of tools. Unfortunately, i don’t think there is anything you can do. You can either 1) buy a new battery for your old series or 2) buy-into an LXT.

Makita’s new LXT series is way better than any previous series.

AAND on top of that i think they are doing some kind of promotion where you buy a tool and you get one for free or something. I tried it and im still waiting on my free tool. This might be a good time for you to buy!

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Promotions/Default.aspx

Hey Jeny …thanks for the note and the info on the Makita promotion….Those promotions are nice if they have a tool a person wants ….lol …but good info anyway ….I remember a few years ago i got a Dewalt Chop saw …..and got a free powered corded 3/8 in drill …and that took about 3 mo to get it also ….promotions yeah …
And Please don’t take this the wrong way …but I don’t consider my 5 yr old tools an “OLD SET”...yes it is a few yrs older than the Lithium Ion technology …but still none of my other Ni CD or Ni MH cordless batteries have failed on me …how come BOTH of my Makita batteries fail ? at the same time ????...
I did get a replacement battery (1 battery ) for my Drill and I will be good …..got it saturday as a matter of fact ….
As you can prob tell i have a bad attitude right now about Makita and Cordless tools in general ….
But i will prob keep on buying them …
thanks again all for your comments ..

Mike in Bonney Lake

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."