I was going to start carying in my work van a cordless 18 volt drill. I don't use it very often and was wondering how often I should charge it? I would only be using it for about ten minutes at a time when needed. The drill uses Dewalt XRP Nicad batts and they are in pretty good shape...
My Dewalt 18v cordless gets occasional use, usually very quick jobs. What I do is charge the batteries once a month then discharge them to about 1v per cell with a CBA II. Then charge the batteries for 10 minutes in the 1 hour charger and I'm good for another month...
...If I am planning a project where I will be using the cordless off and on all day, I drop one of the batteries in the charger the night before so it has a full charge...
...Nicad batteries seem to perform well if they are used a lot. In my experience, lack of use along with poor storage methods are a common cause of degraded nicad batteries.
Before I became a '
DAILY Reader' of the CPF 'Batteries Included' Forum (~Thanksgiving week 2008; I was an '
occasional' reader for a few years before that...), although I viewed myself as *VERY* '
Technically Capable', I was, in fact,
*COMPLETELY* 'Rechargeable NiCD/NiMH Cell' ILLITERATE! 
I was regularly abusing / DESTROYING cells and/or packs!
(even though I UPGRADED myself from the Rayovac PS1 & PS3 to a La Crosse BC-900
SMART Charger/Analyzer in 2006 :huh
NOTE: *BUYING* a SMART Charger doesn't make the user SMART! :ironic:
What
Russel posted above, as we BOTH have learned
, is one of the BETTER ways to maintain a pack:
- Storing an INFREQUENTLY used pack FULLY CHARGED is NG.
.
- Storing an INFREQUENTLY used pack FULLY DISCHARGED is NG.
.
- Storing an INFREQUENTLY used pack PARTIALLY CHARGED is GOOD, *BUT*, IMO, from reading the CPF 'Batteries Included' Archives, you need to CYCLE (FULLY CHARGE and DEEP DISCHARGE) it 'periodically' to 'exercise' all of the chemicals.
(Man, do I *HATE* packs!)
While I've been *VERY* (or at least MOSTLY
) diligent over the past year(s) in maintaining my inventory of NiCD/NiMH AA/AAA/C/D cells, I have, for the most part, ignored / neglected my packs:
- 9V NiCD/NiMH Batteries (~8-10)
.
- 9.6V NiCD Makita Pack (1)
.
- 14.4V NiMH Roomba Packs (3)
I posted a query for other Roomba owners (
Are There Other 'Concerned / Curious / KNOWLEDGEABLE' Roomba Owners Here?) back on 03/26/09 but received no replies.
Recently I began keeping a log of my 9V Batteries (which I eventually plan to post, based on the 'ON-Again / OFF-Again' interest in 9V Rechargeable Batteries). I also (*FINALLY*) CYCLEd my (2nd) Makita 9.6V NiCD Pack 3 times on my RadioShack 23-250 Universal Battery Pack Conditioner/Charger (Maha MH-C777 clone). SEALED packs (without balancing taps for EACH cell) are, IMHO, one ROYAL PITA to keep healthy. :sweat:
sweetlight,
For more, IMHO, useful information on Rechargeable NiCD/NiMH cells, please CLICK on my Green Sig LINK.
