Cordless Tool Batteries

I just bought a High Output 8 AH and High Output 3 AH M18 batteries for $199. Seemed like a good deal.
typically a good sale price is 10-12bucks per AH but the "high output" are worth abit more.

Current deal is 2x 5ah batteries + charger + free tool for $199

IIRC the HO have the 21700 cells vs 18650
 
I think it might be good to have some small batteries in addition to the large ones. Would not want a large heavy battery for the impact driver but a large one would work well in the leaf blower.
 
No way in heck are you getting 1000 charge cycles with any cordless battery. I kinda hate my Makita charger since it fast charges the batteries from flat to full in like 35 minutes and i have two batteries so i never needed to fast charge yet it has no slow charge option. The batteries get pretty hot to the touch so i make it a habit to only charge to 3 or the 4 lights and unplug it.
 
with the OUTRAGEOUS prices of replacement OE LI batteries its no wonder many try generics!! got a generic 18V generic for my makita blower + chain saw at 1/3 the cost, so far so good!! the leaf blower uses almost as much as the chain saw + forgetting the trimmer that just lasts + lasts!!!
 
Most aftermarket batteries seem to be made with horrible cells. The cells themselves, commonly 18650 can be in the $7 range for Samsung, Panasonic, etc and they will outperform the brand name cells. You just have to be willing to break the pack open, desolder and solder. I know this isn't for everyone, I'm just saying that a superior battery pack can be had for a fraction of the cost of a crappy generic pack.
So why do OEM's charge so much? (no pun intended)
 
Original M12 batts working great for just over a couple years now, have 2x 2A and 1x 4A.
Went with M12 due to price point and wanted tools to last long time. Didn't need M18. I looked at M12 as an 'ecosystem' that I got myself into.
M12 can be surprisingly good. The M12 shop vac impresses me (not the "dustbuster" which was horrible).

I'm a tool junkie so I'm heavily into M12 and M18
 
So why do OEM's charge so much? (no pun intended)
It's largely smoke and mirrors but gray market/secondary market OR promotions make it affordable. Considering what I get from OEM batts vs what I pay, it's a bargain honestly
 
No way in heck are you getting 1000 charge cycles with any cordless battery. I kinda hate my Makita charger since it fast charges the batteries from flat to full in like 35 minutes and i have two batteries so i never needed to fast charge yet it has no slow charge option. The batteries get pretty hot to the touch so i make it a habit to only charge to 3 or the 4 lights and unplug it.
That is what they figure for LiIon batteries in cell phones. Obviously not all uses of LiIon batteries are the same.
 
This all sounds like a market opening for a top notch AM battery

There is an opening, but it hasn't happened. Admittedly, I haven't thought much about why.

I haven't torn into any tool battery packs, or gotten familiar with their configurations, but do know a high quality, high capacity 18650 like most of them use goes for between $5-10 retail. A basic 2.0Ah ~18V pack needs five cells.

But the batteries aren't necessarily complex, and to my knowledge, there haven't been any DRM shenanigans attempted by the tool makers, like the printer makers have done to discourage aftermarket ink/toners.

People may just be wlling to only buy the brand names, have no hassles, and when they go on sale, like around now, they're can be a decent, if not pretty good, value.

For a third party to try to break that market, especially one dominated by a few large players controlling most of the tool brands, might be too difficult to consider.
 
When I first ventured into Li cordless tools I went with Rigid tools because of the LSA covering the batteries. Over 5 years on I have increased my cordless tools but never had to pay for a replacement tool or battery.
 
No way in heck are you getting 1000 charge cycles with any cordless battery. I kinda hate my Makita charger since it fast charges the batteries from flat to full in like 35 minutes and i have two batteries so i never needed to fast charge yet it has no slow charge option. The batteries get pretty hot to the touch so i make it a habit to only charge to 3 or the 4 lights and unplug it.

I think that's overly optimistic as well. I'm betting less than half of that. Even then the last 50 or so cycles are not going to take the tool very far. Especially if used daily by tradesmen on the job. And I also agree that fast charging is the best way to ruin the service life of ANY battery.
 
I think that's overly optimistic as well. I'm betting less than half of that. Even then the last 50 or so cycles are not going to take the tool very far. Especially if used daily by tradesmen on the job. And I also agree that fast charging is the best way to ruin the service life of ANY battery.
And yet in this thread we've got Trav stating he's got a set of 14 year old Makita batteries that still work. If they're in regular use he could easily have 1000 cycles.

jeff
 
I still have my very first DeWalt 20VMax battery from 2011 (wrote the date on it) - it still works. Sure does not hold a charge like a fresh battery, but just saying I never had one of their batteries die. (Killed a couple Chineseum knock offs)

Too soon to tell on the 12V Milwaukee although - most all those tools bought the last 3-4 years - although the two batteries that came with my 12V copper tube cutter are still fine.
 
I'm starting to wonder if 10 to 14 year old batteries were of better quality than the crap that's being sold today. A few years ago I discovered that I had left several Duracell AA Alkaline batteries in an old 35 MM Cannon Power Winder.

The batteries were dead, and had been in the unit since the mid 80's. They had swelled slightly. But they did not leak. Last year I purchased a 72 Pack of Ray-O-Vac AA Alkaline batteries, only to have well over half of them start leaking in the package in less than 6 months.
 
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