I own the Hitachi DS18DVF3 drill driver which has the " NiCd" batteries and I love this drill but the NiCd batteries tend to not last that long and my question is can I use the 18v " Lithium Ion " batteries in this drill instead of the NiCd batteries and if so will my battery charger that came with this drill and flash light charge the Lithium Ion batteries as well? I want to buy a set of the lithium ion batteries for use in both tools as soon as I confirm if they will work and I know most people will say to just buy the lithium ion drill but I actually own 2 of these same model drills and a flash light of which they still work perfect so I have no want to get rid of them I simply would like a little longer battery life is all. Hope to get some info on thos as soon as possible and thanks to all that reply. TMplayers.
Hitachi DS18DVF3
- Thread starter TMplayers
- Start date
Voi
Well-known member
I researched this some years ago when I was considering adding some of the Hitachi tools that take post style batteries like yours (I have Hitachi 18V tools that take the slide-in battery type).
As I recall all of the post style batteries were interchangeable with any 18V charger for that battery type. I decided to not order those tools so I never found out for myself first hand.
Here is a link that shows a 18V post style lithium-ion battery and what chargers and tools it is compatible with. According to this it is compatible with your drill. Now you'll just have to check and see if your charger is on their list.
In case you have trouble with the link, it says an 18V post style Hitachi lithium-ion battery for your drill is compatible with the following chargers:
UC18YGL2, UC18YKL, UC18YRL, and UC18YMRL.
http://www.powertoolexpress.com/pro...m=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=9795143749
Def worth buying one at a place with a good return policy. I loved my 18v Hitachi Li-ion set.
Also, if it does end up working these guys have lots of Hitachi both new and refurb'd. Might be worth checking out for expanding your line up?
www.bigskytool.com
Also, if it does end up working these guys have lots of Hitachi both new and refurb'd. Might be worth checking out for expanding your line up?
www.bigskytool.com
Thank you for feedback and it looks like you are correct that the lithium ion should work in my drill and after looking at the sorces you gave me it seems I will need the newer model charger in order to charge the lithium ion batteries which will also charge my NiCd batteries but for some reason my charger is on good for nicd. The chargers are cheap anyways so no biggy my main concern was if the batteries would work and looks like they will so the old DS18DVF3 does not get to retire just yet! 
lol, thanks again for the info and really dig this site putting everyone together so we can all share are knowledge and experiences with tools, " mans second best friend " lol lol
lol, thanks again for the info and really dig this site putting everyone together so we can all share are knowledge and experiences with tools, " mans second best friend " lol lolVoi
Well-known member
If you need a new charger as well I'd encourage you to look for a tool or set of tools that comes with lithium ion batteries and a charger. If you subtract what the charger and batteries would cost you anyways you might find you're getting an extra tool for very cheap if not free.
The Big Sky Tool site previously linked seems to do a good job of saying which tools use the post batteries and which use the slide type.
Provincial
Well-known member
I have several drills, a hex impact driver, and a reciprocating saw that use the post-style batteries. I have been using NiCad batteries in them, but recently bought a NiMh battery, which seems to work well and is 3.0ah, compared to 2.2ah for the NiCads. I understand that the Lithium batteries work very well.
My original chargers are NiCad only, and over the years I have picked up one charger for Lithium only and another that charges all three styles of battery. Next on my list is to try a Lithium battery.
When will they make a Lithium Crystal battery so my drills will work a Warp Speed?
My original chargers are NiCad only, and over the years I have picked up one charger for Lithium only and another that charges all three styles of battery. Next on my list is to try a Lithium battery.
When will they make a Lithium Crystal battery so my drills will work a Warp Speed?
beamrider
Well-known member
Think you mean dilithium crystal. They were tried and abandoned, as people were burning up drill bits left and right.
Yeah my only reason that im wanting to move up to lithium ion batteries is for longer use time between charges because as far as power is concerned this particular drill and NiCd battery combo have all the power I need thats for sure its simply a run time thing is my only concern and alot of people say lithium ion batteries not only last longer but tend to charge faster as well??? Im not certain on this cause tho I own a few other tools that are lithium ion powered I dont have NiCd batteries for those same tools to compare the two with. Once I buy the new lithiums for my drill I do plan on doing a little testing on run time and charge time between the two in similar work conditions to get a ruff idea of the pros and cons between the two with taking into consideration all the different factors of new vs old, temperature and work conditions ect.... But hopefully the gain is worth the extra money put out and regardless of the outcome im still keeping the NiCd batteries and will use them alongside of the lithium ion batteries.
Provincial
Well-known member
My UC18YGL2 charger manual says it takes about 60 minutes to charge a 2 ah Nicad (EB1820) and about 70 minutes to charge a 3 ah Lithium (EBM1830), so the NiCads charge a little quicker, but don't last as long.
Another way to say it would be that the Lithiums get more run time per charging minute, by almost half again.
If you used your tools hard or in a high-draw tool, Lithiums are the clear winner. If you just do hobby tasks, the NiCads will last long enough for the spare battery to charge while you run the other one. This applies only to the higher-capacity batteries. The 1.4 ah batteries that came with my drills run out of juice faster than they can be charged if you are doing much work at all.
Another way to say it would be that the Lithiums get more run time per charging minute, by almost half again.
If you used your tools hard or in a high-draw tool, Lithiums are the clear winner. If you just do hobby tasks, the NiCads will last long enough for the spare battery to charge while you run the other one. This applies only to the higher-capacity batteries. The 1.4 ah batteries that came with my drills run out of juice faster than they can be charged if you are doing much work at all.
rice rocket
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2011
- Messages
- 3,175
It's actually the other way around (kinda).
Lithiums work best is low draw, low duty cycle situations because they have very low self discharge. However, if you overheat them by pushing them real hard, you'll destroy the cell.
Nicads are much less temperamental and you can beat the snot out of them and they'll keep ticking. That is, unless you let it sit unused for a while, and they self discharge and eventually grow crystal dendrites that penetrate the cell walls and cause shorts.
Energy density of lithiums is higher though, which is why you get longer runtimes and makes them much preferred nowadays, and motors have gotten more efficient. You don't get really high amp output lithium cells except from Metabo, who partnered with Sanyo to bring out very low internal impedance cells that have slightly lower density than the current mainstream cells, but have 2-3x the output amperage.
Lucky for you (maybe), Hitachi just bought Metabo a few months ago.
Provincial
Well-known member
rice rocket, how do NiMh batteries compare to NiCad and Lithium? Do they resist self-discharge better than NiCads? Do they have any bad traits for brush-type power tools?
