Storing cordless drills when not in use

[paultre]

Hi all

First post here and I would be grateful for any advice.

Sorry if this question comes up all the time - I did a forum search but could not find the answer.

Do people keep the batteries in their cordless drills if they are used only very occasionally ?

It occurred to me that as the drill is ready to go at the press of the trigger the battery must be in circuit.

Have three drills, two with ni-cd and one with Lithium ion. From my experience with model aircraft I know the l-ions should be stored at 40% or so of charge (never full) but is it best to keep the ni-cd's topped up occasionally ?

Finally, is it wise to oil the chuck ?

Many thanks for any replies

 

[gregers]

in reality the lithium shouldnt be a problem as they do not have a memory.
as with the others (going by mine)even if they have a full charge in them and then taken out weeks later they have gone virtually flat.which i believe doesnt help with longevity of the batteries.

 

[big-all]

i tend to keep my li-ions 80%+ charged
nicads fully discharge then charge every say 6-14 weeks if not in general use

 

[Trazor]

It occurred to me that as the drill is ready to go at the press of the trigger the battery must be in circuit.

No, there is no drain on the battery, it will be fine.

 

[mattylad]

IF you chuck it in a box with other things its very easy for the trigger to get pressed in as things get moved around and then it may be going off slowly for ages - flattening the battery.

So if storing - remove the battery.

 

[catlad]

On the bosch power tools if you put the foward/reverse switch in the middle then it stops the trigger being pressed.

 

[catlad]

Why are you not supposed to keep your lion batteries fully charged?

 

[Monkeh]

Why are you not supposed to keep your lion batteries fully charged?

The self-discharge rate increases with charge state.

 

[catlad]

Thanks Monkeh mine don't get much chance of a rest.