Replies

1. 
   RedRobertson | Feb 12, 2006 07:02am | #1

   Heat kills batteries, I was under the impression the cold was good for them.

   Condensation inside the tool could be an issue.

2. 
   woodman54 | Feb 12, 2006 07:46am | #2

   I learned the hard way, I lost about 12 batteries because I left them in my shop overnight unheated for two years. Where I live it went down to 10 below many times last winter. Now I ALWAYS bring the new drills and batteries in every night. These were the normal Nicad batteries, I don't know how the newer types of batteries handle the cold.

3. 
   DanH | Feb 12, 2006 09:18am | #3

   I have read that the new NiMH batteries should not be recharged when extremely cold (which I would take to be below maybe 10F). Cold didn't seem to hurt NiCads at all.

   Of course, lead-acid batteries should be kept charged when cold to prevent damage from freezing of the electrolyte. The electrolyte has a lower freezing point when the battery is fully charged.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

4. 
   Piffin | Feb 12, 2006 04:35pm | #4

   Here's the scoop -

   Cold can pull energy from a battery, but not damage it simply sitting overnite in storage.

   Heat will damage a battery

   Anything can happen to one stored indefinitely.

   But the worst culprit is trying to charge or use a cold battery!
   it is the diff between the cold stored temp and the useage demand or the charge push creating heat that is vastly different relative to the baseline.

   My guys and I all use the same battery tools for the most part - by desogn for swa[p and sharing OTJ. One winter we lost half a dozen batteries when we were in the cold all day, storing in cold trucks all night and charging on cold chargers whernever. the only other time I can recal losing a battery was when I had the charger up on a hot black roof and charging the batteries in that same location. As the job went forward, they kept taking less of a charge and doing less work.

   That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   RedRobertson | Feb 12, 2006 05:40pm | #6

   Losing half a dozen batteries is a fair slice of profit, a weeks pay for some workers. I fear we are being sold, no matter which brand, a collection of disposable toys.

   My corded drills are seeing more and more use. The continuous power level of corded tools justifies the nuisance factor many times over. I've spent a considerable sum on glorified screwdriver batteries over the years and now you tell me they are seasonal?

    

   I see the light...it has a cord attached to it.

   Red

2. 
   DanH | Feb 12, 2006 06:01pm | #7

   Only time I've ever lost a battery flat out was when I put a hot (had been in the sun on a 95-degree day) NiCad on charge. It wouldn't even take a charge.I've stored NiCads in an unheated garage in MN with no trouble. I rarely work in the bitter cold with them, though. (Note that, unlike lead-acids, it's generally better to store NiCads discharged, though I don't know if this is true in cold weather.)Don't have enough experience with NiMH to offer personal observations.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

3. 
   DanH | Feb 12, 2006 06:05pm | #8

   (I'll agree with Piffin that using or charging a cold battery would be stressful -- creating thermal stresses that could crack insulators, damage electrodes, etc. Also, since the cold greatly reduces chemical activity, there's a tendency for all the current to be drawn from a small area that becomes increasingly hot, running the risk of essentially burning a hole in the battery internally.If you have to run a battery in the cold, run short (say 1-second) bursts for the first little while, before putting it under long-term load. This will help even the temperature inside.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

5. 
   tab1 | Feb 12, 2006 05:27pm | #5

   This applies to golf cart and other deep cycle rechargeable batteries, and I SUSPECT Nicads and NiMHs: One key to longevity, in the cold, is to be sure they are stored fully charged.