Keeping your drill battery warm

[UFCreel]

Hi all, So what do you do to keep your drill battery warm while out on the ice? What i have done is to use a microwave heat pack, wrap battery and heat pack in a towel then place in a cooler. Maybe i have the wrong heat pack. It does not stay warm very long. What you guys using?

[esox_xtm]

I've got a small soft side cooler, just enough room for a six-pack OR a coupla 5Ah batteries. Crack one of those dry chem handwarmers and toss it in. Stays warm a long time. No muss, no fuss. If I throw in a second warmer it warms a sandwich nearly to to the point of melting American cheese.

[Spider1]

I leave my battery on the drill and out in the cold. I try to keep it up out of the snow and wet but other than that I do nothing. Never once had the battery go dead, weak or discharge on me. All batteries lose strength when they are cold for a long time but an hour or 2 or 3 won't hurt a battery much. Plus, using a battery will warm it up internally and after a few seconds it would be fine. Drill a couple holes and it will be warmed up for the next few hours.

[bigstorm]

I have an older Dewalt before most everything went to the Lithium batteries so I need to keep the batteries out of the cold. I just use my soft sided lunch cooler with those cheap hand warmers

[ActiveTrapChecker]

I've got a small soft side cooler, just enough room for a six-pack OR a coupla 5Ah batteries. Crack one of those dry chem handwarmers and toss it in. Stays warm a long time. No muss, no fuss. If I throw in a second warmer it warms a sandwich nearly to to the point of melting American cheese.

x2 on the cooler. Here in upstate my haven’t needed anything more than that to keep the batteries warm in the insulated 3I

[Dakota-Lew]

Yea i use a cooler too, but i also put my spare water emergency water bottle in it (nalgene quart bottle). I do that for several reasons, one its always good to have spare potable water with you, but also it acts as a cold sink in your battery box so there is no need for a hand warmer since the cold that does sneak threw is absorbed into the water. But i will say if we go on multiple day trips in our pops ups and spend the night on the ice, i will but hot water in that water bottle over night. I haven't had good luck with the chemical hand warmers since they require oxygen (oxidization reaction) to work and you can use up that oxygen in the cooler if its sealed well and they stop working till you open the cooler back up. .

[Iceassin]

 I am going to wrap mine in a thin layer of waterproof foam padding and wrapped again with some "industrial strength" clear plastic wrap for protection. I will probably wrap my drill too, cutting a few slits in the wrap over the drill vents to prevent overheating; probably won't be an issue but why take the chance. As for the spare battery, I don't know for sure yet. Maybe get a cheap fanny pack and put on under my suit. After going out a few times I may not even need the spare battery.

[Gills-only]

Get a Milwaukee , throw away the cooler, they have figured out the cold weather battery!!

[RyanW]

I am going to wrap mine in a thin layer of waterproof foam padding and wrapped again with some "industrial strength" clear plastic wrap for protection. I will probably wrap my drill too, cutting a few slits in the wrap over the drill vents to prevent overheating; probably won't be an issue but why take the chance. As for the spare battery, I don't know for sure yet. Maybe get a cheap fanny pack and put on under my suit. After going out a few times I may not even need the spare battery.

I honestly wouldn’t worry about it that much. Yeah, maybe covering the battery just for good measure but I wouldn’t cover the drill with anything especially around the motor. For that matter, just take your fanny pack idea and use that to cover the battery. You could even line it in that foam if you wanted to. You could also just  leave it on the drill. Maybe cut the straps off. That would actually be a nice little compact battery cover if it fits in the fanny pack.

I use a Milwaukee and really haven’t been to concerned with it. I don’t leave in puddles or anything but it’s been covered in falling snow several times. Brush it off and away ya go.

[esox_xtm]

Get a Milwaukee , throw away the cooler, they have figured out the cold weather battery!!

I'll respectfully disagree. I was with a guy last year that had a 9Ah, fully charged battery drill about a dozen holes. We got set up, fished for a coupla hours in -18F and when his buddy came out after work the drill was dead. I figure it had to be the cold. Doug gets new stuff from a MKE rep every year so shoulda been no crap/leftovers/knockoffs... That's why I made a warming option.

[Gills-only]

Prolly didn’t have a full charge. I will not carry a cooler with a warmer in it, I have never had a problem. Maybe just been lucky

[esox_xtm]

Prolly didn’t have a full charge. I will not carry a cooler with a warmer in it, I have never had a problem. Maybe just been lucky

If I lived "down South" I wouldn't either... 

[Iceassin]

Semi-finished product to keep my batteries protected. Just need to finish off with "crash wrap" ( heavy duty plastic wrap). Insulated sleeves are snug but easy enough to slide on and off.

Being recently retired, when I am not golfing or soft-water fishing, I have a lot of time to tinker with things...and it's a nice problem to have. Some things work...some don't but I have nothing but time to go back to the drawing board. While a few may scoff or laugh at some of our ideas...don't care. So chuckle away...on your way to work! 

[Buckshots]

A buddy of mine had a Milwaukee/kdrill combo last year. Drilled a real nice hole and I liked it. But his 5 amp hour batteries only drilled about 20 holes before dying. So I’m still using my 2 stroke lazer. I’m not a convert yet.

[kayl]

Semi-finished product to keep my batteries protected. Just need to finish off with "crash wrap" ( heavy duty plastic wrap). Insulated sleeves are snug but easy enough to slide on and off.

Being recently retired, when I am not golfing or soft-water fishing, I have a lot of time to tinker with things...and it's a nice problem to have. Some things work...some don't but I have nothing but time to go back to the drawing board. While a few may scoff or laugh at some of our ideas...don't care. So chuckle away...on your way to work! 

I think you'd be far better off with a small cooler and a heat pack.  Your design will retain heat initially, but doesn't have another source of heat throughout the day unless I missed something.

[RyanW]

A buddy of mine had a Milwaukee/kdrill combo last year. Drilled a real nice hole and I liked it. But his 5 amp hour batteries only drilled about 20 holes before dying. So I’m still using my 2 stroke lazer. I’m not a convert yet.

The most holes I’ve drilled on one charge (Milwaukee 5ah) is roughly 60 through about 18” of ice. Still had half a charge left. Outside temps were in the single digits. A lot of factors can determine battery life. I wouldn’t write off drill setups based on that experience. I’m also not a huge fan of k-drills. In my opinion, a StrikeMaster or an Eskimo hand auger beats a k-drill any day of the week. I use an 8” Lazer and an 8” Mora style Eskimo. Both cut like butter on my Milwaukee.

[Light liner]

If its real cold a crown royal bag with a hand warmer.
Normal conditions just tuck in your pocket or bibs when not in use.

[Iceassin]

I think you'd be far better off with a small cooler and a heat pack.  Your design will retain heat initially, but doesn't have another source of heat throughout the day unless I missed something.

I guess I'm not actually trying to keep it "toasty warm", just a little protection from the elements. As I've said before, a guy I fish with has an older drill set up on his auger and he just puts a zip lock bag around his battery when using it. And he typically drilled 20-30 holes each time we went out and never seen him change his battery or the one in use go dead. Mine is new and never been used except for a little light work around the house. I may put the extra battery in a fanny pack under my suit.

[M43]

Put a brick in your oven or on top of your wood stove over night then in the morning wrap it in a dish towel put it in a small cooler with your battery should stay warm 10-12 hours without a problem.
This works well if you want to keep food warm as well on the ice.

[Mancaveburnett]

Milwaukee has figured it out and cold weather doesn't effect the batteries. That's why most contractors will use Milwaukee over ridged. Buy a Milwaukee and don't worry about making up something or carrying something extra to keep a battery warm. I leave the battery exposed outside the shanty the entire time on on the ice and never once had a problem and yes I stay mobile and drill a lot of holes.

[Light liner]

Put a brick in your oven or on top of your wood stove over night then in the morning wrap it in a dish towel put it in a small cooler with your battery should stay warm 10-12 hours without a problem.
This works well if you want to keep food warm as well on the ice.

Thats a good one.

[filetandrelease]

In upstate NY we have tropical ice so it,s not a problem 😉 but I keep the battery up off the ice , we rarely get below -20 anymore , spare battery is wrapped in a small towel and kept in a small insulated soft sided lunch cooler in my shack , I have yet to use the spare ,

[markinohio]

Not sure how much it helps, but I use a neoprene spinning reel cover on my battery when connected to the drill. If it is really cold, and my drill starts to slow down, I will keep the battery in my pocket. Keeping it warm prior to use normally seems to bring the battery back to life. I do carry a 2nd back-up battery in my insulated battery box, and I have had to use it on some of the longer fishing sessions (in excess of 12hrs with lots of holes). Using a 6” Nills with Makita 4Ah batteries.

[Gills-only]

Mine don’t slow down, they just quit.

[UFCreel]

A hot brick? Really? LMFAO!!!!!!!!As for the hand warmers. Do they not need oxygen to work? Got to be a solution out there. The issue is i fish all day from early early morning till after dark most times. A few a hours i am fine. Battery stays warm. But as the day progresses. They get cold. I am running a Milwaukee 2703-22. The bar lights i have noticed will show one or two bars. If i take them and warm them up in someones shelter i will get four bars. Trying not to add anymore weight than what is necessary. Thanks guys keep em coming.

[kayl]

A hot brick? Really? LMFAO!!!!!!!!As for the hand warmers. Do they not need oxygen to work? Got to be a solution out there. The issue is i fish all day from early early morning till after dark most times. A few a hours i am fine. Battery stays warm. But as the day progresses. They get cold. I am running a Milwaukee 2703-22. The bar lights i have noticed will show one or two bars. If i take them and warm them up in someones shelter i will get four bars. Trying not to add anymore weight than what is necessary. Thanks guys keep em coming.

The handwarmers do need o2 to work, but they will be fine in most small lunch bags/coolers. Another (less comfortable!) option is to tuck your battery inside your coat for a while.

[esox_xtm]

Do they not need oxygen to work? Got to be a solution out there.

Yep, but it takes a while to burn up what's in the cooler. If you think they're starving, open the zipper enough to slip your hand in and give 'em a shake. Fresh O2 plus fluffs the stuff for optimum performance. Even in a parka pocket or muff they need a fluff once in a while to stay warm.

Hot brick... I think I'd just carry another battery instead. 

[matzilla]

wow we need some ice huh

If I bring a spare battery it always goes in my soft side lunch cooler with a hand warmer so my sammich doesn't freeze - does the battery need it? idk but my sammich doesn't freeze and thats what I need. The cooler just happens to hold the battery nicely. My drill with battery installed in it, gets laid on the ice 99% of the time - I try to keep it out of snow/slush but I honestly don't care.

[marmooskapaul]

Oh for crying out loud...just shove the battery down your pants ....like everybody else. It'll stay warm enough. I keep my snacks there too!!

[Iceassin]

Oh for crying out loud...just shove the battery down your pants ....like everybody else. It'll stay warm enough. I keep my snacks there too!!

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