Yeh, my old 9.6v stick battery drill works like that too, and it has NiCads.
LiIon batteries are a bit different they do not really like to be deep cycled (discharged all the way), however they seem to have no memory effect either, so you can top them off no problem, unlike NiCads. My Thinkpad does not even consider it a charge cycle if I do not let it go down to less than 80%. I also top off my phone at about 80% charge. What 2 years? No problem. If I had one of those modern drills I would probably charge it when I estimated it was at 20%, but as a contractor, new batteries are just a routine expense for you so run them into the ground. Now as to those NiCads in my Makita. The thing is at least 12 years old. I have always run the batteries all the way down, to the point where I can stall it by holding the chuck with my hand, before recharging in the supplied quick charger (about 20 minutes). Well, I guess I would have to get new batteries if I was still in the trades as I am putting up some drywall in the apartment and I could only drive 70-80 1-5/8 inch screws, that does take longer than a charge does, so I did not have to stop. It used to do 100+. Not bad for a couple of 12 year old batteries, and remember this is a 9.6v tool not 18 or 24. Oh, yes, I can still buy batteries for it locally. $35. Makita does make serious cordless tools. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf "Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof" ----------------------------------- William Robb wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joseph Tainter" > Subject: Care and Feeding of Rechargeable Batteries > > >> When our K10Ds arrive, what is the best way to care for the >> rechargeable >> battery: >> >> Wait until empty, then recharge? >> >> Top it up regularly? > > The new camera uses lithium/ion batteries. > These batteries are very high capacity, suffer no memory effect from > recharging off a partial discharge, and > don't seem bothered by high discharge/recharge rates. I have a Makita > impact drill driver that uses an 18 volt lithium/ion battery, and so > far, the battery has been incredibly reliable, I can run the battery > down drilling RockOns into cement board in about a half hour, and by the > time the second batery is done, the first is ready to go again. > > L8R > bill > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
