is the cold bad for 18v dewalt cordless batteries

[motorcityxj]

I was just asked by my brother (who was told by his girlfriends father who is a finish carpenter) that leaving your dewalt 18v batteries in your garage or work truck over night is bad in this terrible michigan cold we suffer through.

I had not heard this before, but since i never even met this guy (my bros girlfriends father) i cant say i put much faith in his "expertise" in this matter.

So, can anyone shed any light on this? I leave mine in my van or jeep all the time.

Ohh and incase you know the science of this matter but dont know dewalt batteries are nickle cadmium.

Thanks guys.

 

[RichP]

I never leave my laptop, cell or anyother battery powered stuff out overnite.

 

[bjoehandley]

Never met a battery that like cold weather, so I'd imagine they'd be a bit unhappy in the morning

 

[Prepmech]

I keep mine in my truck, and haven't had any problems. Batteries are the originals, two years old.

 

[89Daytona]

http://support.dewalt.com/cgi-bin/dewalt.cfg/php/enduser/fattach_get.php?p_sid=eeRmX8ui&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_tbl=9&p_id=980&p_created=1097262496&p_olh=0



"Does the outside temperature affect batteries? How?

Yes. If the batteries are too hot (105°For higher) or too cold (below 40°F), the batteries will not take a full charge. Attempting to charge batteries outside the 40°F-105°F range can result in a permanent loss of runtime. When batteries are being charged and discharged a, chemical reaction is taking place, and if it is too hot or cold the chemical reaction is disturbed causing a loss of runtime."​

 

[bjoehandley]

http://support.dewalt.com/cgi-bin/dewalt.cfg/php/enduser/fattach_get.php?p_sid=eeRmX8ui&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_tbl=9&p_id=980&p_created=1097262496&p_olh=0



"Does the outside temperature affect batteries? How?

Yes. If the batteries are too hot (105°For higher) or too cold (below 40°F), the batteries will not take a full charge. Attempting to charge batteries outside the 40°F-105°F range can result in a permanent loss of runtime. When batteries are being charged and discharged a, chemical reaction is taking place, and if it is too hot or cold the chemical reaction is disturbed causing a loss of runtime."​

Not to mention the disavantages of running Ni-Cad's in the first place.......

 

[motorcityxj]

http://support.dewalt.com/cgi-bin/dewalt.cfg/php/enduser/fattach_get.php?p_sid=eeRmX8ui&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_tbl=9&p_id=980&p_created=1097262496&p_olh=0



"Does the outside temperature affect batteries? How?

Yes. If the batteries are too hot (105°For higher) or too cold (below 40°F), the batteries will not take a full charge. Attempting to charge batteries outside the 40°F-105°F range can result in a permanent loss of runtime. When batteries are being charged and discharged a, chemical reaction is taking place, and if it is too hot or cold the chemical reaction is disturbed causing a loss of runtime."​

ahh so its the charging them cold that screws them up. Ok my charger is inside. I dont charge them outside. So would you agree i havent done anything to reduce their longevity or performace then ?

Or even if i bring in a cold battery, let it sit for say even a entire 12 hours and warm up to inside 70 degree temperature, THEN charge it. Thats fine, but then taking it outside and working in the cold with it will in run time that charge, or the long term chargabliity and the run time of the battery for the future.

Not to nerd out on this, i dont want to learn EVERYTHING about batterys, but i do have 4 battery packs and they arent cheap, and would like this drill and the batterys to last me as long as possible.

 

[motorcityxj]

Not to mention the disavantages of running Ni-Cad's in the first place.......

excuse my ignorance, what are the disadvantages of Ni-cads? Most of my experience is from portable audio and flashlights, things like that with regards to ni cads and other rechargables. Around 2001 and since i have only been using ni-mh (nickle metal hydride) batteries in 9v, AA, AAA, and d cell. They seem nice.

What is the best performing rechargable battery system bjoehandley ?

 

[89Daytona]

http://www.powerstream.com/Compare.htm Ni-Cads have lower amp-hour capacity and watt-hour capacity... lower energy density.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery

 

[bjoehandley]

http://www.powerstream.com/Compare.htm Ni-Cads have lower amp-hour capacity and watt-hour capacity... lower energy density.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery

They're also supposedly more toxic than Ni-MH and have issues with charge memory if you don't discharge them all the way before recharging them.

 

[Fred]

I left my cheap ass 24V and 18V Ni-Cad batteries for impact wrenches out in the Jeep when it dropped below zero. Actually froze my Optima when I let it discharge completely accidently overnight. The impact wrenches still worked, and the batteries are fine. Had to trickle charge the Optima for days to get it back to life. I think I left my 14V Dewalt out in the Jeep also with no ill effects.

I do charge at room temp.

Fred

 

[rcnerd]

Cold tempuratures are fine
trickle charge or low current draw when cold are ok
fast charge or high current draw when cold are bad

since most drill chargers are fast chargers, it's true that charging them cold may affect capacity or longevity ie wreck it

All rechargeable batts perform poorly in the cold

Don't listen to the battery eliteists claiming that only the newest technology or chemistry is the only type even worth using, it's just not true. All battery types have advantages and disadvantages, and cost is important too. Energy Density is really more of a concern in an R/C airplane than in a drill. For R/C airplanes Lithium Polymer ("li-po or lipoly") is a great choice for high performance, although cost is very high and cycle life (# of charges before it's toast) is quite low, sometimes less than 100 cycles! Nii-Cad, should provide 1000 cycles, and is much cheaper to begin with. Ni-MH is good too and has about twice the energy density of Ni-cad but does not tolerate abuse like the nicads do and also sometimes has short life, ie 500 cycles or less.

I buy cheap drills. If you ask me the two most important features in a cordless are: two batteries and an automatic charger (ie that shuts down when battery is full). All those drills with the 5 hour non automatic chargers are dangerous and ruin batteries...oh and they suck too.

It can't possibly be healthy to think about batteries this much!

 

[moparmatt]

I too am a Finish Carpenter!!!

Right now it sucks because I have not worked in 2 weeks because of the snow and cold. Yeah our our Bosch 18v / 24v Ni-Cad batteries hate the cold so does the Air compressor and the cords (Air hose and elec. they get very stiff when the cold gets to them). We also use Paslode cordless nailers (very fun to work with) the batterys again don't last long in the cold.

It seems that Ni-Cad only suffer because our stud finders use regular "copper top" alkaline batteries. I heard of a myth that alkaline batteries last longer in the fridge. So go figure.

Its funny that before I started in Construction I loved the winter get a job where you work outside in the winter; then winter is your worst enemy! The house market just plain old sucks in the winter. We are getting ready to do another house hopefully sometime this week. Doors, Cabinets, Vaniteys, Case, Base, maybe some Crown.

 

[dj's 2000 xj]

I used to a be tinner and ran ductwork in new homes without windows all year long -summer and winter We never took our batteries inside and they wroked fine. We had Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Bosch. We didnt treat them well at all. They charged when it was 10 dgrees and also charged whenit was 100 degrees. and they were used in teh same temps.

 

[nickangus]

i havent heard much of people complaining about temp issues killing there batterys just rain
guys that leave there stuff in the truck and the batterys get wet and then there useless and for the 18v dewalt batterys at 89 bucks each thats harsh

 

[flexjay87]

my new Bosch drill/ driver does not like the cold. i don't think it's the batteries though, just won't work right at all until it warms up, then it's fine, full power. maybe moisture is screwing up the trigger switch?

 

[motorcityxj]

I used to a be tinner and ran ductwork in new homes without windows all year long -summer and winter We never took our batteries inside and they wroked fine. We had Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Bosch. We didnt treat them well at all. They charged when it was 10 dgrees and also charged whenit was 100 degrees. and they were used in teh same temps.

i kinda suspected that, ya think maybe the only real difference is in a lab environment it can be measured, but that the real world difference is so little its not noticeable especially if you take several days or projects etc to drain the drill battery.

 

[87manche]

the biggest issue with nicads in the cold is if you let them sit for long periods of time. They self dischrage, and if they discharge too low you'll never put a charge into that cell again.

As for all the nicad haters, nicad is still the most tolerant battery chemisty, Li Ion is great, except you'll replace battery packs every two years. Nicads will take abuse, and still hold a charge, but they don't have the hi capacity of nimh or lipo. Nicads also have a very high discharge rate, because of a low internal resistance, and that helps in the cold weather.