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This is why when last year I needed a new strimmer and a chainsaw, I bought petrol / gas powered ones.
Batteries are a PITA: they lose charge when it's cold (so they are flat when you want to use 'em), they don't last well, and replacements are expensive.
Hmm ... maybe it's not just the lack of a suitable charging infrastructure that keeps me driving a diesel car ... 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I've got a cordless strimmer and a cordless screwdriver - I have found that as long as I keep the batteries topped up and don't allow them to go completely flat they seem to last well.
My cordless screwdriver is 13 years old.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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As I understand your issue, it's not that rechargeable batteries eventually die, it's that you can't find replacements, correct?
I've got several 18v DeWalt drills that are 15+ years old, and another 14v drill that is even older. I can still buy batteries for them online and through Batteries Plus.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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You are correct. It looks like I might be able to get a new battery from OrderTree, but its 64 USD, or about 75 CAD. I can get a brand new, corded, trimmer for CAD 100, so it doesn't seem worth the cost. If I poke around on the original vendor's web site, I can find the battery, marked as "no longer available", with a list price of 40 CAD. So that's quite the markup that OrderTree is asking for.
Keep Calm and Carry On
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I have a bunch of Ryobi cordless tools and several batteries. One battery, about 8 years old, finally quit with another about 9 years old following suit shortly afterwards. The more modern batteries seem to be lasting much better, hold more power and work well. I probably have a dozen tools which all take the same batteries and there is a healthy 3rd-party supply of replacements so I am not too worried. I used one or other tool for something fairly often so I suppose refreshing/topping-up like this keeps them going.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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That's why we need battery standards, like the current small batteries (like AA, D ... ).
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
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The problem with battery standards is that battery technology is always improving. Today's best in class is tomorrow's noncompetitive entry, and the pro users who drive the market are not going to go for a weak, short-lived battery. Someday, the improvement curve will flatten and standards will be possible.
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That may be, but does the battery format need to be different between vendors, and across technogies? A 20v battery shouldn't matter if is LiIon, NiCad or MrFusion. As long as it can supply 20v at the needed amps, the physical format shouldn't be an issue. Think of all the possible "D" cell battery options. They all supply 1.5v, and can be interchanged one for the other. New technologies don't always require new physical formats.
Keep Calm and Carry On
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Yes, but "D" cells are used for everything whereas a DeWalt battery is used only for DeWalt tools. Until there is an outside force to drive the need for interchangeability, no manufacturer has a reason to look at anyone else's format. Standards groups will not get involved because they have no need to drive a commonality.
In auto manufacturing, the lithium cells used for cars are standardized due to the financial need for lowering the cost. Even the lead batteries used for powering gas-powered cars have no standards as the size of the draw dictates what capacity battery will be needed. At least they have standardized on 12v as a common voltage. But in tools, not enough consumers even care for anyone to take notice.
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease".
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After much, much consideration I recently bought cordless lawn gear. A mower with battery and charger and a line-trimmer skin. I could have bought petrol stuff for considerably less than half as much.
Thing is with this stuff, it comes with a 3 year commercial-use warranty on the battery and 5 years on the gear. The battery I got is about 350 bucks but it's just made with 'std' 20A discharge 18650s and a potted management circuit, as long as you don't bust the sleeves of phase-change material that helps manages temps it's a fairly straight-forward operation. The battery has it's own fan too and even discharges itself to storage voltage if not used for about a month.. 
Perhaps one of the more important aspects of success is as you mention, adequate connectivity between cells. Guess what? You can buy spot-welders intended for doing battery terminals for surprisingly little money. The price of reasonable cells in most any replacement job will in fact, be larger!
30 or 40 aussie bucks will buy something
DIY Portable 12V Battery Storage Spot Welding Machine PCB Circuit BoardB;S* | eBay
Mini Welder Pen Display Spot Welder Machine Equipment 18650 Battery Powered AU | eBay
But that only matters if you can't find cells that already have solder-tags welded to them. You should be able to solder them without being worried about overheating the cells. I soldered directly to the outside of some 18650s last week with a 75w PWM controlled iron - tags on some NiCads should be a doddle with the help of a soldering third-hand.
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NiCad batteries are notorious for failing very early if you don't deplete them almost completely before recharging them. (This does not apply to other technologies, like lead acid or lithium.) Try to run NiCad batteries down to close to zero before recharging them. If, for example, you start recharging them when they still have 80% charge left, they soon lose the 80% capacity that you never use. For this reason I avoid NiCad at all cost.
Also: Cadmium is an extremely toxic carcinogen and I believe these batteries should be banned.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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It is a waste... but maybe you can turn it into a corded one if you can find a power adapter with the correct power output.
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Try a three-day regime of charge overnight, disconnect in the morning. Run the device for a couple of minutes straight after disconnecting.
Has worked for me on several occasions. It also helps if you never let the battery go much below 40% of its capacity, as this shortens its life.
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Something that I don't think has been mentioned yet. There is a big difference depending on battery chemistry.
Older cordless tools used NiCd or NiMH chemistry, almost always made up of "sub-C" cells. One clue is that the nameplate voltages are multiples of 1.2V.
They like being stored fully charged or nearly so. As someone else mentioned, they can sometimes be refreshed by a few deep cycles, although they don't like deep cycling as routine. Those battery packs often fail with a single cell in the series string going low or even reverse voltage (and unable to pass useful current).
The good news with these is that, if you can open up the pack, they are quite easy to rebuild with sub-C cells (get the ones with solder tags welded on).
Newer cordless tools, particularly the "impossibly powerful" ones, use some sort of Lithium battery chemistry. Unless you really know what you are doing, or have a friend who does, I'd keep my fingers out of the pack. They are lovely batteries when well kept (balanced, etc) but also fire-prone if abused (or sometimes even just looked at the wrong way). I'm sure some of our RC modeler friends can chime in on this one. Lithiums are generally happiest if stored part-charged.
Not a battery expert by any means, but I've been around the traps.
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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I bought a cordless strimmer (OK, before anyone says it, it has a nylon cord to actually cut the grass so not completely cordless). The battery (according to the charging unit and its on-battery tester) is fully charger but the unit does nothing. I've pulled the strimmer to pieces and all of the wires look OK.
I also have a cordless lawn mower. The batteries take a couple of hours to recharge and have a run time of ~30 mins. So, with two batteries, it is 1 hour mowing, 1 1/2 hours watching TV, 1 hour mowing. A spare battery is £70 and I do not know how much a 2nd charger would be. I saw a strimmer with the same battery pack for £90 - I thought that would be a good investment just for the battery, but the small print says it doesn't come with the battery or charger.
So. it's back to long cables and extension leads for me.
Having said it, I have two cordless drills and they are good! More powerful than my corded one.
How long before people with electric cars realise that they have fallen into the same trap?
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jsc42 wrote: How long before people with electric cars realise that they have fallen into the same trap?
After about eight years and a bit.
Which is after the first owner.
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jsc42 wrote:
How long before people with electric cars realise that they have fallen into the same trap?
The sad part about that sentiment is that car manufacturers are vowing to become all electric within the next few decades.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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If they can sell more cars.
I don't think they care what cars they are as long as they sell.
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5 years ago I bought a cordless drill.
1 year ago, I could not even drill a hole in a package of butter.
I looked around for a replacement battery and found one.
The downside was that while the drill was £41, the battery was £35.
And a brand new model of the drill was just £33.
So while you might get replacement batteries, it is not always smart to buy them.
First, look around if there isn't a better value for money replacement.
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JohaViss61 wrote: brand new model of the drill was just £33.
33 for a drill ? That maybe explains it.
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And it was a Black and Decker.
The DIY stores are always promoting stuff. It is like a battle between them
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JohaViss61 wrote: The downside was that while the drill was £41, the battery was £35.
And a brand new model of the drill was just £33.
This is why I buy around November/December when I can get a drill motor, two batteries, charger, and case for $100. A lone battery is around $55.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Too bad they never break down in October/November/December, but in February/March/April
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Sorry but Ryobi would like to have a conversation with you. Same battery interface with full backwards compatibility going back to 1996.
Furthermore, most of the rest of the companies had to standardize as well because of their (Ryobi) stalwart dedication to the same battery voltage and interface.
Now if you want to cheap right out on something from Princess Auto, Harbor Freight, Canadian Tire or some other truly house brand tool from your local hardware/department store, then yes. You will likely find disappointment.
As to any of the complaints about power or runtime, it is clear that any of you making such a comment have never used Lithium Ion tools. I will use my 18v LiIon tools far faster than any of my corded equivalents for both the cordless AND power convenience. Add in the fact that newer brushless motor tools have been added to the Ryobi lineup and now you have even more power and longer runtime. And again... All on the same battery standards since 1996.
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