What type of cordless...

[Michael Gibbons]

..batteries tend to hold a charge the longest when not in use? I received a free 14volt delta drill when I bought my Unisaw a few years back(some type of promotion,I guess). If I charge it to full and not use it for a couple days; 3-4, it's dead. Is this normal? I believe it's a Ni-Cad. Do lithium-ion or some other batteries hold 'em longer? I'm looking to upgrade. Thanks Mike

[Jay Brewer]

Hi Michael. the best batteries I have used are the lithion ion type. They seem to last forever and hold there charge for weeks. I have the Makita LXT compact drill and impact driver. Since I bought them, the heavy Dewalts I have just gather dust.

[Michael Schwartz]

Nicad batteries are obsolete, don't buy them unless you are buying something cheap like Ryobi.

Lithium Ion batteries make a huge difference. For one, they weight less, have at least double the run time, long shelf life (they will hold a charge for months) no battery memory effect (charge them whenever you wan't, and take them out of the charger whenever) and they can be charged many more times than Nicad before you have to replace them.

I am currently using the Milwaukee V28 line, and I am planning on buying the bosch 10.8 volt Lithium Ion impact driver.

[Greg Cole]

I have the 28V Milwaukee cordless sutff too. I can't say enough good about them. All the power of corded versions without the cord....
No memory to the batteries, they will STAY charged for months and they dont fall off when running out of juice.... they go 100% until they just stop. The Milwaukee stuff has an LED on the battery indicationg charge level too....
NiCad is going the way of the 8 track.

Greg

[Michael Schwartz]

The actual Lithium Ion tools are no more expensive.

You do pay more for the batteries, but in the long run they will last alot longer than a nicad, so in a sense they cost about the same or less in the long term.

Too bad Dewalt has been slow on releasing backwards compatible Lithium Ion batteries for its 12, 14.4, 18, and 24 volt lines. I am refusing to buy any Dewalt cordless tool for this reason. They have introducted a monster 36 volt line which is expensive and the tools are too heavy. 36 Volts is great for a Rotary Hammer, but I feel it is excessive for even a circular saw. If I am setting up a cut station I will get out one of my Hilti 167, Unless I am cutting up a whole stack of lumber, I use my cordless V28 saw, which is very lightweight for a skillsaw, and will cut anything I throw at it.

[Larry Nall]

I have both 14v Nicad and 18v Lithium
Lithium is better but the old Nicad worked great, could drill all day and held a charge fine.

I slipped up and let the 14v get flooded. It still works but will drain the battery in a couple of days. Has a short, I guess.

Perhaps your issue is with the drill and not the battery.

[Harry Goodwin]

I may have the answer. I had a great drill produced by an un named USA tool company and they gave me two 18volt batteries and two new chargers and my drill still drained the charge quickly while in storage for a day. I finally figured out it had a mini short in the drill and if I took the battery out of the tool when stored they kept a charge. I didn't use the tool name since they really tried and as long as I simply insert the battery the time of use all is well. Harry

[Jon Dieterlen]

Panasonic Lithium-ion is the way to go. Does't lose it's charge while idle. Fully charges in 20 Min. The panasonic guys are years ahead in the engineering of cordless tools. I have a drill and impact driver. The best cordless tools I've ever had. Batteries are supposed to outlast nickel metal hydride by 4 or 5x. Can't find em with the cheap junk at the blue or orange stores though.

Jon

[Curt Harms]

I have a mid '90 P-C cordless drill that the batteries wouldn't hold a charge; just sitting a couple weeks would drain them. I sent them to batteryrebuilders in PA. Got them back in about a week and the new cells hold a charge WAY longer than the old ones even though both old and new cells were/are nicad. Just my experience.

HTH

Curt

[Jason Abel]

Did you know that the Milwaukee V28 really aren't 28V batteries. They are actually 25.2V. What a marketing scheme.... 3.6V per cell times seven cells.

Dewalt hasn't gone backwards compatible for a very good reason. You can't charge a lithium battery in a NiCad or NiMH charger. They would explode and/or cause violent fire. If they would produce it would certainly be the end of their company. You cannot possibly blaim them for wanting to protect their customers and their business. If they would produce the battery people will put it in the old charger and will not understand why they lost their house. Look at the old Milwaukee chargers and you will see they had LiIon listed which gave them an upper hand at doing this. But it isn't just Dewalt that hasn't gone backward compatible. Most haven't and probably won't because of liability. Hope this helps you understand that Dewalt and other MFG aren't just dragging their feet there is some bigger issues at hand with lithium.

[Greg Johnson]

My DeWalt 1/2" 18volt Drill/Driver/Hammer died yesterday (after only 4 years). I found this post and decided to step up to Lithium-ion. I was driving down to Lowes and stopped at a Home Depot on the way. I was going to get the Hitachi 18volt. At the Home Depot they had the Milwaukee 28volt Lithium-ion Drill/Driver/Hammer for $227.... Marked down from $419. I obviously picked this one up. I don't know if it was just this HD, but that's a great price. Thought I'd pass the info on....

Greg