What types of batteries are there?
What types of batteries are used by screwdrivers?
- Nickel cadmium (NiCd). The first type of devices, holds a charge for a long time, is equipped with sufficient capacity. There is a memory effect that prohibits charging when the battery is not fully discharged. Therefore, frequent recharging is unacceptable, this leads to a reduction in the battery capacity. Before using for the first time, first fully charge the unit, then start using the tool. Nickel-cadmium are used with budget-class screwdrivers. They are cheap. Suitable for infrequent use.
- Nickel metal hydride (NiMH). They replaced nickel-cadmium. environmentally friendly and weigh less. Worse keep charging when idle, which can quickly deplete battery capacity. It is advisable to recharge before each use, always take the charger with you.
- Lithium-ion (Li-Ion). They are characterized by sufficient battery capacity. Free from memory effect, designed for intensive and regular use. They are quickly charged, cycles are up to 1000. They are distinguished by a relatively high cost. Discharges faster when operated at low temperatures, giving an unstable flow of energy. Store such batteries half-discharged, periodically replenishing capacity.
Features and rules for charging the battery of screwdrivers
The batteries are made from different materials. This affects the size, weight, the ability to drill at subzero temperatures, voltage, capacity, susceptibility to the memory effect. The latter especially affects the principle of charging an electric screwdriver.
The memory effect is the loss of capacity achieved by incomplete discharge of a battery. If you stop using the tool before it is completely discharged, the device will “remember” this and will not use the resource in full. Failure to properly handle the battery will reduce capacity.
Electric screwdriver battery device
- The case on which the contacts are located (connected to a charger or a power tool).
- “Banks” (as a rule, there are several of them), united by a common chain.
- For safe operation, there is a temperature sensor to prevent overheating.
- Voltage (V) is an indicator that characterizes the capabilities of the tool. It affects how difficult tasks can be accomplished with it. The voltage can be described as the equivalent of the power of network devices. The indicator is not constant: it reaches its peak when the battery is fully charged, gradually decreases during the discharge process. That is why it makes sense to perform work that requires a high impact force, at first.
- Capacity characterizes how much energy the device stores. Affects the duration of work on a single charge. We must remember. one device with one battery will work for different times (depending on the complexity of the tasks).
- Weight and dimensions affect how comfortable they are to use with the tool. It will be inconvenient to hold a device with a heavy battery on the weight for a long time, which will affect productivity and quality of work performed.
- Additional functionality. The indicator reflects how much energy is left before a complete discharge. Useful to plan working hours. Some manufacturers produce batteries that are compatible with a wide variety of tools: trimmers, screwdrivers, power saws, jigsaws.
Storage rules for the battery of an electric screwdriver
Devoid of memory effect: can be recharged at any stage. Do not allow a complete discharge. it turns off the protective controllers that prevent overloads. As a result, the device may not withstand intensive use, fail.
Before storage, the battery is discharged almost completely (to the state of an inoperative tool). To put the device away for long-term storage (more than 6 months), perform 3 to 5 full charge-discharge courses.
than other types are subject to rapid self-discharge. After a long storage period, you need to put the battery on the charger for at least a day in order to replenish the energy reserves. There is a decrease in capacity after 300 charge-discharge cycles.
Charge the battery before storing?
As with the previous point, it depends on the type, whether it makes sense to charge the battery before storage.
For storage, the lithium-ion battery must be removed with a charge of 50%, periodically (1 time / 1-2 months) removed and recharged.
Maintain charge level at all times, periodically replenish.
How to properly charge the battery for an electric screwdriver?
The cordless tool is convenient in nature, in places where there is no stable permanent access to power supply. The absence of a cable allows you to avoid inconvenience with extension cords, fear of overloading the network, entanglement with wires, inability to crawl to hard-to-reach areas.
The operation of the cordless tool has its own characteristics. How to properly charge the battery without damaging it? What are they made of, how do they differ? Answers. in the article.
Checking the battery condition with a multimeter
It will be helpful to determine the reason why the battery is not charging. The procedure will reveal the health of the batteries. Here are some easy-to-implement methods that you can use at home. Prepare the equipment: in addition to the multimeter, you will need tools for disassembling the battery (pliers, soldering iron, screwdriver, knife.
- Check the battery on charging by taking readings at 30 minute intervals. The voltage should rise steadily until fully charged.
- A quick method to check the condition of the battery. We measure U with no load. We compare the result with the real voltage and the number of elements. The indicators differ. the battery has non-working parts that need to be replaced.
Ni-Cd batteries
The most “senior” of the representatives of autonomous power supply elements are nickel-cadmium batteries. Despite the fact that at the European level, representatives of animal protection and the environment are constantly talking about the “toxicity and danger” of their production, they are still actively used in our country. And not a single electric screwdriver owner suffered from them.
Their main advantage is low self-discharge, and the battery can be stored without using it for a long time. Nickel-cadmium batteries are compact in size, their capacity, despite criticism from fans of more expensive counterparts, is pretty decent. And the price is the most affordable.
Of course, such batteries also have self-discharge. But at the same time, they love “pumping” with a standard charger: they are efficiently charged, going through more than 1000 charge-discharge cycles.
Dewalt Battery Charging Fix
In principle, any master may well be satisfied with the use of these “budgetary” elements, if he knows about one significant drawback. such as the “memory effect”. If such batteries are subjected to constant “recharging” without a full cycle, they tend to “accumulate” information about an incomplete charge inside themselves. Then they begin to work insufficiently efficiently, without using their real resources. It is in this case that the impression arises that the battery “sits down”.
How to properly charge Nickel-Cadmium batteries? The answer is simple: if you want to maintain their optimal performance for as long as possible, it is important that from time to time they are completely discharged. and then followed by 2-3 cycles of “pumping” with the help of the charger.
This is done easily and simply and will not give the master any trouble at all. Any rechargeable battery can be completely discharged after several hours of continuous operation. And after that, you can simply put the battery to charge as usual, using a spare battery pack. The “memory effect” can be removed only in this way. of course, temporarily, but effectively.
Ni-Mh batteries
The second group of elements most commonly used for screwdrivers are nickel-metal hydride batteries. They replaced nickel-cadmium as more advanced analogs.
The question of how much they are really more perfect than nickel-cadmium is still controversial. Their production technology is cleaner, so if you follow European standards, the ecosystem will not suffer. Nickel-metal hydride batteries have a memory effect, but it is much less pronounced.
However, the percentage of self-discharge is very high. and they need constant recharging so that their capacity is not lost forever. Nickel-cadmium batteries, on the other hand, tolerate storage well without recharging.
How screwdriver batteries are charged: rules, time, subtleties
Every craftsman who constantly works with electric tools should know how to charge the battery of an electric screwdriver so that the battery lasts longer, and how to properly operate the battery within the allotted period.
If you own a nickel-cadmium battery, be sure to charge and discharge it three times before use. This is necessary to optimize the battery capacity indicators. After that, standard charging will be required. The same manipulation can be done with a nickel-metal hydride battery.
The most “hassle-free” in this case are lithium-ion batteries. Their memory effect is not pronounced, and you can charge them without bringing them to full discharge.
It is recommended that you follow a few general charging rules that apply to all screwdriver batteries:
- The battery should be charged at temperatures not lower than 10 ° С and not higher than 40 ° С.
- Nickel-metal hydride batteries tend to heat up quickly. Therefore, the charging process must always be monitored to avoid overheating.
- Be aware that other batteries get hot as well. especially if the room temperature is very high.
- Take care of the possibility of cooling the elements in order to avoid their failure.
- Do not leave batteries in the charger. if you don’t charge them.
- The best way to store the battery is to remove it from an electric screwdriver. with which it is not planned to work in the near future.
- If the batteries are not being used for a long time, remember to recharge them once a month. This will prevent a deep discharge, which can fatally affect the indicators of their capacity.
- small recharge of the battery can last 30 minutes;
- the battery can be left on charge for up to 7 hours.
The time during which you need to charge a particular tool is always indicated in the instructions for its use. And this is always recommended to be carefully observed.
It is important to remember that chargers are different. There is a charger with a charge level indicator, which allows you to control the process and understand when it ends. At the end of charging, stop it immediately so as not to harm the battery.
For screwdrivers of different types, chargers are also different:
Charging A Drill Battery Without An “Official” Charger
- standard, ordinary “charger”. suitable for amateur-type tools;
- impulse. more powerful, included in the package of professional tools, can charge an electric screwdriver for an hour.
Why does the battery of an electric screwdriver not charge well or does not charge at all??
The use of an electric screwdriver is often necessary for various household needs. As you know, many household electrical tools can operate both from the mains and from batteries. This is very convenient, because the power cord has a “habit” of getting tangled under your feet, ending up in the wrong place at the most inopportune moment. Of course, using a battery is always preferable and much more convenient. But, unfortunately, there are times when, when you try to charge them, the batteries “do not take” the current, and the work can stop for a long time. If the battery of the electric screwdriver does not charge, or for some reason it quickly discharges, you do not need to panic right away. It is better to approach the reasons as calmly as possible and, having identified them, try to eliminate them yourself, if possible.
What batteries are used in screwdrivers
In order to understand why the battery is quickly discharged, or does not take charge at all, you need to know about what types of batteries exist in general and what features each of them has. This will help you understand the specifics of the operation of a particular battery of an electric screwdriver and learn how to properly use the resource of a particular type of battery.
Three main types of batteries are usually used in screwdrivers:
Battery of screwdriver Bosch GSR 9.6 VES-2 does not charging. How fix battery of screwdriver Bosch.
- nickel-cadmium;
- nickel metal hydride;
- lithium ion.
Each of these battery packs has its own specific purpose. It depends, first of all, on the planned load on the power tool, because different work requires different indicators of its power and battery capacity.
Those who are well versed in screwdrivers and constantly deal with them know that two batteries are included in the standard package of any of them. If one of them is discharged, the other can always be used. However, even this can not always save the situation. Self-discharge can occur at the most inopportune time. Especially if the battery has not been used for a long time.
Li-Ion batteries
And finally, the most modern and “powerful” ones are lithium-ion batteries. They can be found not only in more expensive screwdrivers, but also in all household appliances, in all gadgets: mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
The first lithium-ion batteries were very dangerous and often exploded. But at the present stage, the technology of their production has reached a certain perfection. All are equipped with safety and charge level controllers.
Lithium-ion batteries have a very high capacity. Neither nickel-cadmium nor nickel-metal hydride elements have such indicators. They practically have no memory effect. and they serve for a long time and are used, as a rule, in tools of increased power.
The disadvantage of these batteries is their high cost and the fact that they may perform worse at low temperatures. Otherwise, lithium-ion cells are very good.
Recently, among electronics enthusiasts, it has become popular to replace the battery of an electric screwdriver from nickel-cadmium to lithium cells. If you need to constantly carry out intensive work, this becomes an excellent way out of the situation. You do not have to buy an expensive tool with a ready-made lithium battery, but change some batteries to others.
If the electric screwdriver does not charge. what to do?
In the previous sections, we examined the specifics of the operation of certain batteries for screwdrivers. This information is important to understand how the tool can be restored to optimum performance if the battery runs out.
As it is already clear, most often the reason lies in the wrong approach to the process of charging a particular battery and the peculiarities of its storage. But what can be done if the battery of the electric screwdriver does not charge, and the operating conditions of the elements themselves were met correctly?
First of all, check the contacts between the battery terminals of your tool and the charger: often the charge current goes badly, or it does not go at all precisely because of the weak contact. If so, the way out is quite simple: carefully disassemble the charger and bend its terminals.
Oxidation and dirt and dust getting inside the charger can also cause the battery to not charge. The main signs of this, as a rule, are a reduction in the time of the charging process and the operation of the electric screwdriver itself. All you need to do to prevent this from happening is to monitor the cleanliness of the contacts and wipe them.
it should be mentioned once again about such a possibility as the bulkhead of the battery pack. the result of which can be either its complete replacement, or a partial replacement of failed batteries with working ones. With a complete replacement of the unit, you can fully charge the battery, and then use it until it is discharged. And if a partial replacement of the elements is carried out, it is imperative to “equalize” the charge level by “pumping” the assembled battery pack 2-3 times in a full cycle.
If a master, who regularly uses an electric screwdriver, carefully handles the tool itself and knows the features of different batteries, he can easily find the reason why the batteries “run out” or the charge current does not flow. Therefore, it is so important to have basic knowledge of both the power tool itself and the batteries that are installed in it.
Why the battery of an electric screwdriver does not charge. causes and elimination
The reasons for the absence or low level of charge, as well as ways to eliminate the malfunction, are different:
- There is no contact between the terminals of the charger and the battery. This is a consequence of the fact that the memory plates are bent. Gently fold back the plates, returning them to working condition.
- Oxidation of terminals or dirt adhering to them. Contacts are cleaned and wiped with alcohol.
- Failure of one of the “cans”. Disassemble the battery pack housing by removing the cover (unscrew the screws or remove the latches). Call each jar with a tester for voltage or discharge current. With tension it is easier. it is either there or not, but this method does not always work. The discharge current is measured on a load resistor. in a faulty can, it is an order of magnitude lower than in a working one. After diagnostics, the faulty jar is separated from the serviceable ones, and a new one is installed in its place, of exactly the same type, and with the same polarity orientation relative to the rest of the elements.
Important! The most difficult moment of replacing a can is soldering the cans into a battery. At the plant, spot welding is used, and for DIY repairs, a soldering iron is often used. During operation, it is important not to overheat the battery, you need to work quickly.
There is another reason for the lack of charge, but it is characteristic only for nickel-cadmium batteries. the memory effect has worked, and the battery does not charge, although its resource has not yet been exhausted. In order not to bring it to this, it is important to carry out the charging correctly.
What to do if the battery of an electric screwdriver does not charge
Cordless screwdrivers are more convenient to use than cordless ones. They are distinguished by their mobility, independence from the presence of an outlet “at hand”, the length of the cord. The only drawback is that you need to monitor the charge level for timely recharging. But not all types of batteries allow you to do this, and at the most inopportune moment the electric screwdriver stops working. And unfortunately, there comes a time when the battery stops charging.
Battery types
There are three types of tool batteries:
- Nickel Cadmium (NI-Cd). The older generation, which is still equipped with household screwdrivers. Affordable price, good ratio of size and capacity (rather compact), keep a charge in an inoperative state for a long time. The disadvantage is the memory effect. If recharged without a full discharge, then “information” about an incomplete volume is accumulated, it interferes with giving a charge until the real resource is exhausted.
- Nickel metal hydride (Ni-Mh). Improved analogue of nickel-cadmium batteries with cleaner production technology. Although the memory effect is present, it is weaker. The main disadvantage is that they are quickly discharged during storage.
- Li-ion. The most advanced type, which is gradually replacing other types in the segment of professional / semi-professional electric hand tools. High capacity, almost complete absence of “memory”, durability, low self-discharge in storage mode. The only drawback is the high cost compared to other analogues.
Important! The price of a 2 Ah nickel-cadmium can is approximately twice the price of a lithium-ion can.
How to charge the battery correctly
When buying a new tool with a nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride battery, the battery is fully discharged and charged (pumped over) three times before use. When using an electric screwdriver, the battery is not charged until it is completely discharged. Then the pumping is repeated periodically as a preventive measure.
Important! To avoid downtime, you need to have a spare battery.
When the full charge is reached, the Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd batteries are disconnected from the network (for lithium-ion batteries, this is done by the controller). In the event of a long break in operation, the battery is removed and stored separately from the electric screwdriver.
With careful handling, following the manufacturer’s instructions, the battery will work for a long time and will not require early replacement. And minor repairs can be done by hand.