Battery Timer and does it.....

[vettex2]

Does it drain the batteries (ni-cad and/or lithium) if you leave them in the charger even when there is no 110v supplied to the charger?

Does it hurt them batteries if you leave them in the charger charging?

Anyone hook up a timer to their battery pack for their tools ?

 

[PassnThru]

Why can't you keep power on it?

 

[vettex2]

Why can't you keep power on it?

Sure but if it harms the batteries I'd like to use a timer

 

[txvwnut]

Does it drain the batteries (ni-cad and/or lithium) if you leave them in the charger even when there is no 110v supplied to the charger?

Does it hurt them batteries if you leave them in the charger charging?

Anyone hook up a timer to their battery pack for their tools ?

I've asked this same question as you ad could find no definite answer to the question.

So I did a little testing of my own. What I found was if I left the batteries in the charger and the charger unplugged when I needed a battery it was always dead. When I left the charger plugged in and batteries in it I usually had batteries that were charged. Now I can't tell you if leaving them in the charger was killing the longevity of the battery verses just the age of and charge cycles of the battery.

I also found that if I was around when the batteries were fully charged and removed them from the charger I had charged batteries to work with also but still can't attest to the battery life span.

Temperature, charge cycles and normal use affect the life of rechargeable batteries so I couldn't tell you if leaving them in the charger is good or bad for them.

 

[torqueman2002]

I use a 15A timer set to turn OFF after 30 mins. of charging. I use only the OFF pin and set dial 'ahead' 30 mins.

I started doing this years ago when DeWalt had a recall on their charges for unintended 'thermal events'! I also switched to Milwaukee and moved the chargers from the basement to the garage.

I had registered the DeWalt product and was disappointed they did not notify me of the recall. I learned about it through our company.

Edit
The batteries (Bosch PS11-102 and Milwaukee M18) remain fully charged.

 

[vettex2]

I was thinking about using a timer that will charge them for 15 minutes everyday.
I have C3's (lithium and ni-cad0 and Makita batteries for my ratchets.
Just trying to take care of them.

 

[vettex2]

bump

 

[cajunfirehawk]

I have maybe half a dozen 5.0' m18 battery's, and a few 9.0s too, some still in the box, are you guys suggesting charging them all for a short period each day?

 

[vettex2]

I am since I want to leave the batteries in the chargers most of the time.

 

[fasteddie313]

I just got one of these HITACHI gun kits and this is interesting so I'll leave one of my batteries in the charger unplugged and see if it kills it off..

Matter of fact I'll go plug it in now before I forget.. Experiment time..

 

[pepi]

I've asked this same question as you ad could find no definite answer to the question.

Now I can't tell you if leaving them in the charger was killing the longevity of the battery verses just the age of and charge cycles of the battery.

I also found that if I was around when the batteries were fully charged and removed them from the charger I had charged batteries to work with also but still can't attest to the battery life span.

You are correct, speaking of Lithium batteries, if left in the charger all the time kills them.. Learned that the hard way after they first showed on the market. The place I bought the tool asked me after I returned two in a short time after purchased .

Are you leaving these on the charger after they were charged..... YES, cause I used nicads in the past, not good problem solved.

So far and that's a few years of so far, the Lithiums have held up well... Pull them when full, I do not always remember to remove them exactly after charged. Usually catch it within a day if forgot.


@ vettex2
I think but never have tried letting one sit in an unplugged charger, but logic tells me that will drain the batter. Try it, seriously doubt it could in anyway hurt the battery....if you want to answer your own question..


Greg

 

[Voi]

I use a 15A timer set to turn OFF after 30 mins. of charging. I use only the OFF pin and set dial 'ahead' 30 mins.

I've been doing this for years as well. I have a multi strip plugged into a light timer with only the OFF tab. Chargers are plugged into the multi strip.

When I know I'm going to be using my tools I rotate the timer to a few hours before the OFF tab and then turn the timer on manually.

When my boys had one of those Power Wheels vehicles I'd set the timer for 12 hours. Those batteries in particular had a bad rap for fire risk.

I don't know how necessary this is with modern tool chargers and my boys have since outgrown the Power Wheels racer but I'll continue to do it as long as I have an old school light timer that functions. I'm not sure you can even buy a light timer like that anymore.

 

[My Old Tools]

Every Makita battery I have lost (LiON) has been left on the charger (on) after charging. The latest reports bad on the Makita charger but charges just fine on a generic charger. YMMV. Did I mention that I hate the Makita smart charger and chipped batteries?

 

[Infinia]

Does it drain the batteries (ni-cad and/or lithium) if you leave them in the charger even when there is no 110v supplied to the charger?

Yes usually, but not all of them unless specified.

Does it hurt them batteries if you leave them in the charger charging?

Li ion cells yes*. NiCds Not usually, make sure they are NOT getting warm.

Anyone hook up a timer to their battery pack for their tools ?

Li ion would not be to any advantage that I know about. NiCds this a technique that is maybe usefull. Mainly used to offset NiCds lousy self discharge perhaps on for few hours per week and much less per day.

*Lithium ( Li ion) batteries lives are shortened by being stored at >90% charge levels. (>~3.9V/cell) It's recommended to store them for longish periods off the charger at their nominal voltage which is found when the cells are around half capacity.( ~3.7V /cell). So keep them off the charger unless youre going to be using them soon.
Unlike oldschool NiCds which are fine being kept at their full charge levels, with a small current to offset the cells from self discharging/
NiCd also suffer badly from 'memory effects' which Li ion cells do not. further info at batteryuniversity.com

 

[guy48065]

I guess I'm lucky since my experience with Li-Ion is totally different. At work I have 2 chargers--one for a Ridgid 12V mini-drill, the other for a Fluke battery pack to a $3000 portable calibrator. I don't know how smart or dumb these chargers are but the packs sit in them "charging" 24/7 until I need to swap out a dead pack...sometimes months later. I've been "abusing" these batteries this way for years.

At home my Dewalt 20V Max and my Bosch 12V minis sit ignored in their chargers until I swap in a dead pack.

Several cheapie appliances (Dust Buster, toothbrush, shaver, emergency flashlight, etc) remain plugged in to their ****** $5 wall-wart chargers 24/7 for years on end.


Is everyone's experience really that different?

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I have year old li-on packs that still are nearly full-charged just sitting in the bottom of the toolbox. I wouldn't leave them on the charger, just charge them and set aside.

 

[6PTsocket]

Yes usually, but not all of them unless specified.


Li ion cells yes*. NiCds Not usually, make sure they are NOT getting warm.


Li ion would not be to any advantage that I know about. NiCds this a technique that is maybe usefull. Mainly used to offset NiCds lousy self discharge perhaps on for few hours per week and much less per day.

*Lithium ( Li ion) batteries lives are shortened by being stored at >90% charge levels. (>~3.9V/cell) It's recommended to store them for longish periods off the charger at their nominal voltage which is found when the cells are around half capacity.( ~3.7V /cell). So keep them off the charger unless youre going to be using them soon.
Unlike oldschool NiCds which are fine being kept at their full charge levels, with a small current to offset the cells from self discharging/
NiCd also suffer badly from 'memory effects' which Li ion cells do not. further info at batteryuniversity.com

NiCd memory is a story that has been going around for years. It was a problem with early production that was fixed years ago.There are some great technical resources like Battery University for the last word on battery chemistry. Actually leaving a NiCd on a "dumb" charger that charges at a low rate with no monitoring or shut off or switch to trickle is what keeps reducing capacity. That is not the charger that you typically find on better power tools but the wall wort chargers that suggest 13 hrs. for a full charge.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[6PTsocket]

I guess I'm lucky since my experience with Li-Ion is totally different. At work I have 2 chargers--one for a Ridgid 12V mini-drill, the other for a Fluke battery pack to a $3000 portable calibrator. I don't know how smart or dumb these chargers are but the packs sit in them "charging" 24/7 until I need to swap out a dead pack...sometimes months later. I've been "abusing" these batteries this way for years.

At home my Dewalt 20V Max and my Bosch 12V minis sit ignored in their chargers until I swap in a dead pack.

Several cheapie appliances (Dust Buster, toothbrush, shaver, emergency flashlight, etc) remain plugged in to their ****** $5 wall-wart chargers 24/7 for years on end.


Is everyone's experience really that different?

On the better chargers there is overcharge protection for any type cell. Lithium cells must have it, either built into the cells or built into the pack. If they are discharged too low they are damaged so the circuitry cuts them off. If they overcharge there is a fire hazard so the protective circuitry cuts in again. As for the dumb wall wort chargers, the current is set low enough to prevent overheating but the constant low level charging keeps reducing battery life. I will bet that dust buster does not run nearly as long as it used to. I hate "dumb" chargers. Besides being slow, you don't know when the charge is complete because you don't know how discharged you were to start with. The reccomended 13 hrs is for a fully discharged battery. I like my old dust buster and got some larger capacity generic Versapak batteries. I gutted the charger stand so it is just a battery holder and connrcted it to a Tenergy smart chatger that brings them back in an hour or so, tells me when the are charged and switches to trickle. A well spent 20 bucks. I use it to charge other home devices that have upgraded NiCds and formerly charged on wall worts.

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[fasteddie313]

I put my HITACHI battery on the charger unplugged last night and this morning I plugged the charger in..
It charged for about 15 soconds and was full so I assume their was no drain because that's what they do if you just put a fully charged battery on the charger, like after it's charged take it off and put it right back on it does the same thing.