Charging Chordless Drills & Power Tools

[Ian R]

I sometimes partially charge my 18 volt battery directly from a 12 volt solar panel ,it's not enough voltage [21 ocv ] to fully charge but it doesn't overcharge either .No regulator is used.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Ryobi charger, 12V car lighter plug to charge the Ryobi 18V power tool batteries.

18-Volt One+ In-Vehicle Charger-P131 at The Home Depot

Or pick one up at your local Home Depot.

I have to add another vote for the Ryobis. I have seen some "pros" put them down but I built a whole damn pole barn with a set, several remodeling jobs and a three year boat refit, all with the same kit. So maybe they wouldn't stand up to all day, every day use but do just fine for serious DIY'ers.

ALSO, found the lithium batteries on eBay for $20 less than they sell them at Home Depot. Ordered several and had them about a year so far. Come in factory packaging and appear to be the exact same battery you get at the store.

I am a boatbuilder by trade and have been using battery drills every working day since they first came on the market nearly 30 years ago, i have owned drills from Skil, Makita, Hitatchi, Panasonic, and now Ryobi since 2005. I was on the verge of giving up on battery tools altogether until Home Depot introduced the One Plus range of Ryobi "bare"tools which to my mind revolutionized how we buy battery tools, all of the big name tool manufacturers have had to follow and and we have Ryobi to thank for that. Up until then you would buy a tool and it would come with batteries and a charger and cost a fortune and they would usually try to upsell you into a kit with maybe a useless circular saw as well and then the next year they would come out with a new model and the batteries would be incompattable and when your batteries died you would be faced with a $90 replacement, Ryobi changed all that and my original drill from 05 can use the new litium ion batteries from the newest model. The funny thing is that my batteries that came with the $29.95 black friday special starter kit from 05 are still working,albiet a little weak but will still power the nice, small shop radio for a couple of days. I now have a stunning array of battery tools made possible by being able to buy bare tools, i love these things. Btw, one of those kits i got a good deal on years ago was an 18v Makita drill,2 batteries,charger and get this, an 8" sliding compound miter saw, perfect to take into the boat to do trim work, the trouble is the batteries only lasted about a year and were too expensive to replace, i threw away the drill and did a batteryectomy on the saw and now run it on the Ryobi batteries.

Steve.

[onestepcsy37]

have to admit there is one big advantage of battery tools over 110v.

if you somehow get an electric shock (not unknown when working around water), i think i'd rather be shocked by an 18v battery than a 110v inverter....

[noelex 77]

The 12v hobby chargers will charge just about every rechargeable battery available.
They are more efficient than using the supplied charger with 110/240v, but its only worth setting this up if if something that use frequently and makes a significant contribution to your energy budget.

Be careful charging lithium this way. You need to know what you are doing or burring the boat down is a risk.

[Caribsailors]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Being different, I dumped my few cordless tools in favor of corded tools. The cordless tools were never charged when I needed them. So I just use a corded drill and jigsaw on inverter, which works fine. If I need more power I'll run the little generator, but that's a rare thing. So much easier that way,leastwise for me.

Agreed!! For the amount of time the inverter is on while I drill a hole as compared to charging another battery just makes sense.

Cheers

[cadmus]

Originally Posted by cadmus

Thanks roverhi.
I am unable to find any. Where have you seen them?

Stand down on that request sir,
I found um.
(I wish we could edit posts on this forum, it would make it cleaner and prevent rovehi from looking when he doesn't need to)

[cadmus]

Thanks, Caribsailors, noelex 77, onestepcsy37, clockwork orange, Ian R, Dustymc, rebel heart, skipmac, Viking Sailor, Guy, sailorchic34, roverhi and everyone else,
This is helpful information.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

I switched to the Ryobi 18v one plus tool from home depot because i got tired of all the other brands i had been using coming out with new tools and making the old ones obsolete. The Ryobi have cheaper batteries that have outlasted all my previous brands ,im still using the originals from 2005 along with the newer lithium ion ones that still fit the old tools, i like that. Another thing i like is that they have a 12v dc to 18v dc charger available for cheap that i can use on the boat, also a great wet and dry vac and a good hand held spotlight, lots of good tools that can be bought bare as well as some silly ones.

Steve.

I am with you on these Ryobi 18 volt tools. Have been using them for 5 years now
These pictures are the ones I use on the boat. I do have the 12 to 18 volt charger, but have used my little plug in inverter with the same good results. My boat has solar, so no problem charging.

Had the Craftsman for years but became tied of the model and voltage changes they seem to do, which was expensive for me to keep up with.

[cadmus]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

The 12v hobby chargers will charge just about every rechargeable battery available.
They are more efficient than using the supplied charger with 110/240v, but its only worth setting this up if if something that use frequently and makes a significant contribution to your energy budget.

Be careful charging lithium this way. You need to know what you are doing or burring the boat down is a risk.

I would like to read up on this, what should i read. What products do you use or recommend? It runs on 12v DC? i didn't know that existed.
What must one do different with Lithium?

[Adelie]

Another option is the Milwaukee M12 system.

12v Li-on batteries
Car charger: M12

The only drawback I see is no vacuum yet.

Cordless Power Tools | Milwaukee Tool

[carstenb]

I have a whole set of dewalt. They also make a 12 vdccharger that goes into a cigarette light socket. Makes it all very easy. Dewalt is heavy duty, lasts forever

[Dustymc]

Ya'll do whatever you want, but me, personally, I'd probably just buy a $40 charger to maintain my $80 battery, rather than poking some convenient-looking wires in there to see what happens....

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

useless circular saw

Hey now!!! I actually use that thing quite a bit, often in conjunction with a couple clamps as a tablesaw. Still got all my fingers and everything.....

Originally Posted by carstenb

I have a whole set of dewalt. They also make a 12 vdccharger that goes into a cigarette light socket. Makes it all very easy. Dewalt is heavy duty, lasts forever

Wow, turns out I've lived through two forevers!

DeWalt is good (if big/heavy/clunky) tools, but the Ryobi batteries are way better.

[Cotemar]

The 1st mate brings me up the mast in the Bosun's chair with a Milwaukee right angle drill with a winch bit in it. She does it all by herself. I have the 24 volt one, but now even they have changed to 28 volt. Just can not keep up

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by cadmus

I would like to read up on this, what should i read. What products do you use or recommend? It runs on 12v DC? i didn't know that existed.
What must one do different with Lithium?

This is a typical hobby charger (at the cheap end of the market). If you want to use it often its worth getting a better quality charger. You need to set up your own battery holder/leads.

IMAX B6 Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells (GENUINE)

The will charge almost any rechargeable battery and run from 12v. I use mine most days there is almost always a battery to charge from the HH GPS, head torch, torch, electric tooth brush, etc etc.
Some Litium batteries can explode or burn with an intense fire so you need to set the charger to the correct setting. They will charge these batteries safely, but there is you need to know the difference between Li-FeP04, Li-io, Li-PO etc to set them up correctly.
Ni-Cd, Pb, and Ni-MH cells can be charged safely (you may damage the battery with the wrong settings, but are unlikely to damage anything else)

[cadmus]

Do any of these brands/systems have good international distribution/availability?