18 volt drill battery cold protection ?

[ougot1]

do any of you cover your 18 volt drills or batteries when not in use ? i do not know if my 3 amp hr batteries are on the way out or if the cold is drawing them down ,they still take a full charge , if anyone has some cover ideas  i would like to hear them !   THANKS

[hardwater diehard]

What make/brand are your batteries ? Lithium ?

[cwavs1982]

If I am fishing inside a flipover or hub - I take them off the drill and put them inside a small travel sack with a towel inside.  This helps keep the batteries warm.  Cold will sap the energy out of the batteries.  If I am fishing outside and moving around, I still take the batteries off the drill and put in a bag, wrap and put in a few hand warmers to add heat. 

[RyanW]

I use Milwaukee. I don’t do anything for protection. I guess if it’s raining I’ll bring it in the shanty but I’m rarely out in the rain. I’ll let it get covered in snow and leave it out in single digits though with no worries. Lots of guys use some sort of cover and I’m sure they will chime in.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I use a ridgid with 9ah battery.leave it out in the cold and weather.holds a charge great.figure the drills are abused outside on a jobsite so leaving it out while icefishing doesnt hurt it and if it does i got the lsa.

[kpd145]

milwaukee here too. I dont do anything special, if its sub zero I will bring battery in my pullover but 90% of the time it is outside on the drill.

Havent had any issues up to this point

[alaska mike]

Same here. I use makita equipment and I never cover the cordless. It stays outside attached to the auger. I have a bracket on my smitty that keeps the cordless out of the snow but I don't worry about temperature.

[800stealth]

Agreed with what others have said, my drill sits in a freezing truck all night and sits on the ice all day... Never had troubles. If i thought it was a problem though I'd probably throw a crown royal bag over the drill handle with a hot hands pack inside.

[JH57]

When I first got my Milwaukee I carried a small Igloo lunch box with a hot water bottle in it.

That lasted about 2 trips.  Now I just don't worry about it (I also only drill a few holes and rarely move), but the batteries health seems intact even afters hours of sitting on the ice.

[Nysrx]

I don't worry about my batteries at all. I always just lay my auger and drill right on the ice as long as It is not covered with water.  I have dropped my impact to the bottom of the lake more than once building docks and the batteries are always good. Sometimes I have to let the tool dry out some.  Everything still works fine. I have all dewalt tools 20 volt and they sit my truck all the time since I work with them every day. I know when they are cold from sitting out side they won't take a charge until they warm up. I use my work drill on my auger. Everything I have is going past 5 years old and always stays in my work truck outside. I just always grab my dewalt drill and either a 4 or 5 amp battery out of my work truck before going on the lake. I just jig so some days I drill a lot of holes and other days not so many. Depending on the bite.

[esox_xtm]

Fished last year a number of times in -20+ for days at a time. Running a 12 Ah MKE 18v with no issues. I also keep a couple 5 Ah MKE batteries as backup (I've yet to need them) in a small soft side 6 pack cooler. If I'm uneasy about the cols I just toss in one of those dry chem handwarmers to take the chill off.

[MT204]

Gota remember there are thousands of workers using their cordless tools every day in the cold and I have yet to see a contractor put a battery in his lunch box or otherwise. Not saying it doesn't happen but most contractors beat this s**t out of their tools!

[WesternSlopeFlyNIce]

I have the Milwaukee as well.

i baby all of my electronics, when the drill is not in use, i remove it from the auger chuck and store it in my tent somewhere.

if the sky is blue and the temp is above 30, i'll leave it outside my tent, propped on my sled.

Ive seen the cold drain the battery before, showing 25 pct charge.
i'll bring it in my tent with my warmer and it will go back to 50-75pct charge.

[Pudsky]

I use my Milwaukee FUEL 18V tools pretty much everyday at work.  Only time my batteries get warmed up is when they need charging.  I do framing, so I just put the chargers by a 500w halogen to warm the area just enough so the chargers work. 

[badbrad2186]

do any of you cover your 18 volt drills or batteries when not in use ? i do not know if my 3 amp hr batteries are on the way out or if the cold is drawing them down ,they still take a full charge , if anyone has some cover ideas  i would like to hear them !   THANKS

Make sure you are draining your batteries complete a half charged battery constantly being charged will get a 50% memory and never hold more that a 50% charge

[Gills-only]

Make sure you are draining your batteries complete a half charged battery constantly being charged will get a 50% memory and never hold more that a 50% charge

.          I think the new batteries now that’s a old wife’s tale someone correct me if I’m wrong

[Iceassin]

In my experience...cold doesn't affect them much at all but laying them in a puddle of water...not so good. Like any other "electric" device...common sense.

[badbrad2186]

.          I think the new batteries now that’s a old wife’s tale someone correct me if I’m wrong

 


A rechargeable battery is a rechargeable battery. No matter what power nicad or lithium will still form a memory if it isn't completely discharged. I use to build batteries at ultra life

[kpd145]

 


A rechargeable battery is a rechargeable battery. No matter what power nicad or lithium will still form a memory if it isn't completely discharged. I use to build batteries at ultra life

I was always told and I have read lithiums do not hold a memory....interesting.

Im more inclined to believe a guy who used to make them though

[badger132]

I also started having issues with my 3AH batteries in the cold. I believe it is the combination of aging and cold that reduce the performance until the cells no longer produce the current the drill it asking for. I got a 9AH battery this year, and there is a large difference. No stalls, runs all day, and I can go multiple days between recharge.
Another user sent me this page on battery science, and it gives a few more tricks to maximize life and performance:

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

1. Buy the biggest cell you can get. This maximizes capacity, current margin, and allows you to use the battery at less of its maximum.

2. Store at 50% charge, not full

3. Don't store in a hot place

4. Don't charge all the way to 100%- the last bit of charge increases cycling wear.

5. Don't top off- if you can charge less, that is less cycles.

With my new 9AH, I charge every other trip, and then only to the start of 4 bars, not until the charger quits. I charge again if I have less than 3 bars. I am hoping it last a long time. It was about -15F when we set out yesterday, and I had no issues with my drill all day.

[Drifter_016]

Little cooler with chemical hand warmers in it.
That's how I keep my camera batteries warm when out shooting the Northern lights.
You can also use an elastic band to hold a couple on the battery right on the drill when in use.

[chaumontriverguy]

many threads about lithium batteries there's some smart guys on here as i remember lithium is less affected by cold and no they donot  have a memory unlike nicad and yes they like to be stored for more than a week of down time at 2/3 charge,  search equipment thread / augers like i said some very good info

[Seamonkey84]

many threads about lithium batteries there's some smart guys on here as i remember lithium is less affected by cold and no they donot  have a memory unlike nicad and yes they like to be stored for more than a week of down time at 2/3 charge,  search equipment thread / augers like i said some very good info

+1
lithium are not effected by the cold as much as other batteries, but they still don’t perform as well as when warm. In freezing temps, I’ve ran my 4ah m18 battery down till it stopped drilling. When I warmed it back up before charging, it showed one bar lit instead of blinking. Not sure how many more inches of ice that makes, but prob not much.

[Sylvanboat]

Gord Pyzer, former Ontario DNR official and long time In-Fisherman writer, did a review of the Ion augur a couple of years ago in (he claims) 50 below air temps.  He fished all day and left the augur on the ice all day when not drilling and he said no problem with the battery losing power.     

[ActiveTrapChecker]

I leave my 9ah Milwaukee battery right on the drill, uncovered. If I bring a spare I carry it is a soft 6 pack cooler

[Luckydog]

I just leave my 5 amp Milwaukee battery on the drill.  Haven't had any problems.  I do keep it dry and out of the snow/slush.

[smitty]

I use to 18v rigid octane drill with the 9Ah battery never had a problem with the cold. When it's snowing or raining
I'lll tie a plastic bag around the drill and battery to keep it somewhat protect from the elements.

smitty

[bm11]

I haven't had an issue with the cold but I have been using my higher amp hour batteries after learning that they make more torque. The higher reserve capacity may be making the difference.

I even left it in the shack overnight one 10 below night. I'm not sure how cold the battery got (we hung out in shack with the heat on until (9:30 or so the night before, and it does have 1.5 inch insulation) but I didn't have any issues drilling holes the next morning at dawn when it was still 10 below.

[buz23]

I suspect that the batteries heat up by themselves when you use them. 

[hardwater diehard]

I notice this thread has a lot of views ..so may be someone needs an upgrade or knows a friend in the market for a deal .

MILWAUKEE 2803-22..may work on the 2804-22 also

CPO Outlet ..must put both items in cart and then use code LEAP15 ..total $212.71

2803-22/48-89-2801

https://www.cpooutlets.com/milwaukee-2803-22-m18-fuel-lithium-ion-1-2-in.-cordless-drill-driver-kit--5-ah-/miln2803-22.html

https://www.cpooutlets.com/milwaukee-48-89-2801-21-pc-thunderbolt-black-oxide-drill-bit-set/miln48-89-2801.html