I bought a bunch of cordless power tools last year, ended up getting makita 18v lithium ion tools.
Their charger will fully charge a 18v, 3amphour battery in 30 minutes. And I can testify it delivers on that spec. http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Accessories/AccessoryDetails.aspx?ID=34111 Not sure how li-ion compares to nimh, but makita is considered a pretty good toolmaker, and li-ion is the technology they're using now, so... I have beat the crap out of their tools and they keep kicking ass. I keep wondering if I could just plug two batteries in series and use them to power their 36volt circular saw. The 18v saw will cut 2x4, but the 36v uses a bigger blade and has more bite. What little I've read says the tool somehow communicates with the battery, or the battery communicates with the tool. So, I wasn't sure about putting them in series. I also keep wondering about some sort of converter because makita doesn't have certain cordless tools, like an oscillating multitool for doing plunge cuts. http://www.tylertool.com/bosch-ps50-2b-12v-max-cordless-lithium-ion-multi-x-carpenter-kit/bshnps50-2b,default,pd.html?ref=pricegrabberPS50-2B&zmam=31282435&zmas=41&zmac=479&zmap=PS50-2B Greg > Ever been annoyed that every cordless power tool you own requires a > different, incompatible battery? What's worse is that for each tool you > really need multiple batteries, and you have to replace them every few > years. This can be a big problem if the manufacturer discontinues the > product line and makes no more batteries, or decides not to update the > product line to use newer battery technologies. > > Manufacturers apparently think this approach will maximize profits by > locking customers into their product line, but what actually happens is > that you "buy-in" to one or two tool families, and then ignore the > others, even if they happen to offer a unique tool. If a suitable choice > isn't available in one of the families I already own batteries for, I > just buy a corded tool, or nothing. The battery overhead cost is too > high, and too inconvenient if you need to pack and take your tools > somewhere (batteries and chargers take up a lot of space). > > Several years back there was some company with a promotional video on > YouTube that had cobbled together a "universal" power tool battery. They > standardized on the Ryobi ONE 18 V battery. They then built adapters for > various other product families by taking a battery pack from the other > vendor, removing the cells, and fitting a socket for the Ryobi ONE to > the bottom of the hollow pack. > > The end result looked ungainly, ugly, and by moving the real battery a > few more inches away from the tool body, probably threw off the balance > on many tools. I'm sure on some tools it wouldn't even have the space to > fit. > > I was hoping they'd replace the makeshift adapters with some custom > built adapters that could be substantially smaller. Also, switching to a > "flat" rectangular pack instead of the Ryobi ONE, which has a stem, > would result in an adapter that would only need to separate the tool > from the battery by a fraction of an inch. > > But they apparently couldn't commercialize the technology, as I never > saw it again. > > I've rebuilt NiCd packs (usually replacing the cells with higher > capacity NiMh cells), but a while back I decided not to spend any more > money on NiCd/NiMh technology. I've pondered rebuilding the NiCd packs I > have with LiOn, but aside from mechanical differences in the cell size - > getting fewer, but bigger 3V cells to fit into a box made for a pile of > 1.2V NiCds - you also need to find room for a protection circuit (under > and over voltage and current limiter), and add a multi conductor > connector so each LiOn cell can be individually charged and balanced. > > I've since upgraded to vendor supplied LiOn batteries for the tool > families where they are available, but for some they aren't. I've > considered the adapter approach...for a while I even looked for a busted > as-is cordless drill on eBay with the thought of chopping off the > battery socket to make an adapter. > > In the end I took the quick hack approach. I took one of my end-if-life > NiCd packs, hollowed it out, drilled a hole in the back and threaded > through some 16 AWG zip cord wired up to the battery pack contacts. On > the other end I put on alligator clips, which mate nicely with the not > quite 1/4" tabs on my 24V Ryobi LiOn pack. > > This brought new life to a line of Tack Force (Lowes house brand) yard > tools that were abandoned by the vendor, and a Black & Decker chain saw > (which uses a 99% identical battery to Tack Force (clearly produced in > the same Chinese factory), with just enough difference to make them > mechanically incompatible; a prior hack to the saw's battery socket > allowed the Tack Force batteries to fit). > > So the end result is a battery on a short cord. Makes the tool lighter, > but the battery needs a belt clip or something to get it out of the way. > > Today I ran across a commercial version of this: > > 18V Nicad Battery Belt with Adapter and Charger > http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/22-14562&cid=prodCrossSell > > See the cheesy video for a demo. > > Their solution to the dangling battery was to stick it in a "fanny > pack." (A backpack version is also available.) Nice that it comes with a > 5 Ah battery (compared to the 1 to 2 Ah typical of most tools), but I > don't get why they'd use old NiCd technology, particularly seeing as > they are asking $200 for this battery plus adapter kit. (This kit > happens to come with a Ryobi ONE adapter, but Dewalt and Craftsman > adapters are also available.) > > I think in the end my components are better. Aside from the electrical > performance advantages of LiOn, it is lighter, and even in a belt I'd > rather carry a smaller, lighter battery, and have a couple of them that > can be cycled through the charger. What my solution needs is a belt > holster of some sort, and a proper socket for the Ryobi pack. > > -Tom > > _______________________________________________ > Hardwarehacking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking > -- _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
