Yes, I can remember back in the day. Makita 9.6V drills, they weren't the best but we put up with the shortcomings and we loved them for it (first drill I ever used with a keyless chuck was a version of that drill) The batteries were crap for the most part and spent more time in the charger than on the drill, but MAYBE we should have decided that it was a price worth paying...
First, a little background, not only have I been using battery powered tools for quite some time, but also the industry I pay the bills with (television) heavily relies on battery technology to run many of our products. Now on to some battery know how
Years ago we had NICAD batteries, they were heavy, had memory issues, and we complained about them all the time. Then along came NIMH batteries, they could do about 1.5X the capacity in the same size and weight and we thought the world was a wonderful place. We paid more for these, but we thought it was worth it. Then came along Lithium batteries and the world jumped on that band wagon. Double the capacity in the same size and weight. Everyone thought they were the answer to the the worlds battery issues. IMHO, they aren't. Lets break down some technology
NICAD batteries are great because you can put a huge current draw on them and they will hold and stay with it. They have a low self discharge rate so if you leave them on the shelf for a few weeks you can pick them up and they still work. Problem they had was memory. Lets say you used a battery to half its capacity and then put it back on charge, no big deal. Lets say you did that 10 or 20 times in a row, you have now made that battery's full capacity be that mark. This was a tough thing to deal with back in the day, but then we got "smart" chargers that would continue to discharge a battery before it charged it and again the world was a wonderful place. (There was also a way to "rejuve" a battery that had memory issues and get it back right again, it would just take time)
NIMH batteries were a lot like NICAD. They could take a huge current load and still go strong, they did not have memory problems, and you saved weight on your batteries (I was part of a company many moons ago that tested some of the first commercially available NIMH batteries, we spent a lot of time working with the vendor on software changes for the batteries and working with different cells until they got it right). I still recommend NIMH batteries today because they are strong batteries, but they still have one problem, which I will get to in a minute.
Next came Lithium batteries (lithium Ion mostly, but some are other mixes) These batteries are what almost everyone has in their smartphone, PDA, Tablet, Laptop, GPS, etc. These are the batteries that allowed everyone to make electronics small and compact. Everyone loved these so much they wanted everything to run off them. Now everyone makes lithium batteries that run everything from Video Cameras to Sewing machines to Power Tools. I can just hear them doing the infomercial now "They are small and lightweight and that makes them the answer to all of your problems! It slices, it dices..... Cal now for only 19 9 99 99 plus a small shipping and handling fee we will be glad to sell you a product that will die in a year or so"
Of course all that makes them the best battery for everything right? WRONG. They are great for small current loads, but most lithium batteries are terrible when you try to pull heavy currents off them. (Like driving lag bolts into PT lumber) They die off quickly because they just cant handle the current draw. They also tend to explode from time to time and because of that the FAA has all sorts of rules and regulations when you fly with Lithium batteries. You have to designate them in shipments that go via air (like in your checked luggage on a airplane) and if you dont it can be a 50K fine for each battery. (or the plane could explode and crash and you all could die....)
so what do you do if you have a cool Makita tool kit (drill, impact, hammer drill, recip, saw, jigsaw, grinder, light, etc) that all run off lithium batteries and part of your job is you travel via air to jobsites? You leave that kit in the office and buy a NICAD kit is what you do.
So then what happens? The lithium kit doesnt get used as much and the batteries self discharge (go dead sitting there doing nothing, all batteries do this) and if they go past EOD (end of discharge) then they are junk and you cannot bring them back
Lets go back to NICADs for a minute. I have NICAD tool batteries and NICAD batteries through work that last 7-10 years and still are good and useable. Is this the case with NIMH and Lithium? Nope, your lucky to get 3-4 years out of those batteries.
WAIT - HOLD UP HERE!!!
you are telling me that I am paying a premium for a battery that cant handle a load as good as my old battery and wont last as long as my old battery? Really? Is that true?
YEP
We are paying a huge price as consumers just to get lighter tools and where does this get us? I read a review on a tool blog (which I wont mention the name because I am about to slam them) where they compared one of Dewalts new compact lithium drills to a older 18V NICAD hammer drill. The whole review talked about how much lighter the compact drill was. Never compared driving 6" Lag screws into PT wood or anything like that, just size, weight and feel. Leave it to todays consumers to totally confuse all the issues. Guess what, in the garage I have a corded SDS Rotary Hammer, Battery Powered Hammer Dril, Battery Drill, Battery Impact Driver, another battery Drill, and a compact Lithium Impact driver. I would never compare the compact one to the SDS rotary hammer. They are for two totally separate jobs!. I will tell you though that my compact impact driver will drive a screw just as far in as my 18V impact driver, but the 18V does it in about half the time.......
Now dont get me wrong, I am not trying to say that the compact tools are all crap, because as I mentioned, I own some. BUT, you have to ask yourself, what am I going to do with this tool and what is the right one for me. Dont just buy one because Billy Mays said it was great......
of course, I am sure this begs the question, What am I doing about it?
I am buying a NICAD powered Drill to replace my old NICAD drill (because buying new batteries for it was just ridiculous and I am trying to get out of the 14V Dewalt business) AND I am buying more NICAD batteries for my other battery powered tools (18V Dewalt). I just cant justify replacing my batteries every few years or having the battery shut down on me in the middle of using it when it over currents (like my Makita lithium powered grinder does)
End of Rant
DD
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