In order to find the right cordless drill battery and to choose the right drill, it’s important to understand the technology behind cordless drill batteries. It is especially important for cordless drills, since these tools consume high amounts of power. You wouldn’t want your battery giving up in the middle of a job would you?
Criteria For Choosing Cordless Drill Batteries
The most important features you want in a cordless drill battery are long run time/Amp-Hour Rating, long life cycle, good power (volts). This is usually information available on a store/manufacturer’s website, though it’s always good to read reviews before hand as the official specs don’t always line up with what you will experience in real world situations.
Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) vs. Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) vs. Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) Cordless Drill Batteries
There are 3 main types of batteries used in cordless drills. These are Nickle Cadmium (NiCd), Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH), as well as Lithium Ion (Li-Ion batteries).
Nickle Cadmium batteries was the standard battery of choice in Cordless drills before Lithium-Ion batteries became mainstream. Compared to the newer (though sometimes more expensive) Lithium-Ion, NiCd batteries are heavier, last fewer cycles, and have shorter run times.
Nickle Metal Hydride batteries are similar to nickel cadmium batteries in build, except they have a hydrogen absorbing alloy as an anode instead of the Cadmium found in NiCd batteries. They hold some advantages compared to NiCd, in that they are lighter and have a better weight-power ratio, but they also have a shorter life cycle than NiCd batteries, shorter run times, and perform worst in cold temperatures.
Lithium Ion Cordless Drill Batteries: While the Li-Ion batteries were initially quite expensive when they hit the cordless drill market, they’ve since become quite commonplace and have generally replaced the Nickle Cadmium batteries as the standard battery of choice. Li-Ion batteries are superior to NiCd and NiMH batteries in mayn ways, but generally the most important advantages they offer are faster charge times and run times as well as longer life cycles, meaning you can charge the faster, they last longer before replacement, and your drill will run longer without a charge. Without a doubt, you should generally be leaning towards drills with Li-Ion batteries in this day and age.
Some companies, like Dewalt have cordless drill batteries that are both backwards and forwards compatible. That means that you can use the old Nickel Cadmium batteries on newer drills that come standard with Lithium Ion batteries, and you can also use their newer Lithium Ion batteries on older models. This can come in really handy, as you can save money by simply upgrading your older NiCd drill with a new Li-Ion battery and charger.
However, it should be noted that most manufacturers do not offer backwards and forwards compatibility, so be sure to check your individual make/model before running off to purchase a new Li-Ion battery for your NiCd drill.
Find Cheap Cordless Drill Batteries – Cordless Drill Replacement Batteries:
With this information in hand, we hope you’re in a better position to make informed choices when it comes to selecting cordless drill batteries. Below you’ll find a list of cordless drill replacement batteries for sale for a variety of manufacturers. Hopefully you’ll find this information useful.