makita BL1860B 6.0ah lion battery

[postie jon]

just purchased a makita 18v DTW285Z impact wrench, with 2 6.0 ah batterys, now after reading various you tube comments i want to know the best way to keep the batteries in tip top condition ,the tool itself will lie on the shelf for long periods of time without use, am not sure wether i should charge both batteries or just charge 1 and keep 1 as a replacement when the 1st one dies. apparently they dont like lying fully charged idle for long periods. john.

 

[MattF]

I usually keep mine full, when sitting for long periods.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Bosch reccomend storing with 80% charge in them and that is how they come new.
I don't know how you are supposed to do that though.

For what it's worth, I have some that I fully charge and then may only use once or twice a year. I might only drain them down 10% (guess) then they get charged fully again then sit about for another 6mths. A few of them must be coming up 5yrs old now and they still seem fine.

For what you use them it might make more sense for you to sell the 6ah ones now while they are worth something and get a few smaller ones?

 

[Nomad]

Maybe use it to see how long 1 charge lasts, then decide if you want to sell the spare battery or keep it?
I use a Makita drill, 5ah batteries last a while on a single charge even when working hard (drilling 3/4" holes in timber etc). You might find you don't need the 2nd battery.

 

[J1nx]

2x 6Ah on the impact is going to take some using! I’d flog them and get the 5Ah, you won’t notice any difference unless you run it constantly all day (at which point your hands and hearing will have failed). The 6Ah are great but silly money, the 5's are often best Ah/£ and about twice the value of the 6's.
Long term storage as above, discharge them to around 75%, three bars showing on the ‘fuel’ gauge. In my experience they store really well, best kept at stable lower temps if possible, like a basement.

 

[hotponyshoes]

You might even find the really small ones suit you better and are cheap as chips because everybody thinks bigger is better.

I have got a big bosch impact and with a 6ah on it is heavy. I only use it now and again so that's one of the tools I have a 2.0ah on as that's more than enough to take a set of wheels off and put them back on again.
Obviously depends what you are doing when you do use it but the only tool I use anything at 6ah or above is the angle grinder.

I also think there is more torque from the 2ah which I originally put down to the 2ah being newer but I have read that some cells have higher discharge capacity than others so it's not just the AH rating that decides everything!

Having said that bosch have got a 12ah out now and I am tempted....

 

[Nomad]

^ I have a mix of 2ah, 4ah, 5ah Makita batteries. On longer jobs you really notice the weight difference between 2ah & 5ah (2ah is fine for the drill/driver, the *big* drill uses 5ah for heavy duty work but I often use 2ah for lighter work)

 

[Turbo]

just purchased a makita 18v DTW285Z impact wrench, with 2 6.0 ah batterys, now after reading various you tube comments i want to know the best way to keep the batteries in tip top condition ,the tool itself will lie on the shelf for long periods of time without use, am not sure wether i should charge both batteries or just charge 1 and keep 1 as a replacement when the 1st one dies. apparently they dont like lying fully charged idle for long periods. john.

You haven't said what the battery chemistry is, nicad, nimh, li-ion or something else. Different battery chemistrys require different treatment when storing.

 

[chris pruteanu]

You haven't said what the battery chemistry is, nicad, nimh, li-ion or something else. Different battery chemistrys require different treatment when storing.

As with everything brand new nowadays the new 6.0 Ah batteries li ion chemestry ! Not bashing makitas efforts as they are a good brand of tools but milwaukee have 12Ah batteries available comercially and 9Ah for a few years now...i think i charge mine twice a month now, 9Ah jobbies...

 

[Munkul]

only "rules" I follow is to not completely drain them between charges. They like "little and often" AFAIK.

My cousin uses Milwaukee 18v everything, has a mix of 4 and 6ah batteries, and he's ruined 4 or 5 over two years, we put it down to repeatedly charging then draining right down.

 

[chris pruteanu]

only "rules" I follow is to not completely drain them between charges. They like "little and often" AFAIK.

My cousin uses Milwaukee 18v everything, has a mix of 4 and 6ah batteries, and he's ruined 4 or 5 over two years, we put it down to repeatedly charging then draining right down.

I got all my 18v batteries damaged by undervoltage after storing them for a long while, neither worked after circuitry drained the battery down and then the charger deemed them faulty which means they wont take charge anymore ! I also got a 4Ah makita battery faulty and a 9Ah one not to take charge as well, it was after using them in the rain on a cold, late autumn day. I would say buy new batteries and be done with it...

 

[Ashley Burton]

I charge mine up & leave them on the shelf. Not had any issues personally

 

[J1nx]

You haven't said what the battery chemistry is, nicad, nimh, li-ion or something else. Different battery chemistrys require different treatment when storing.

Indirectly he did. The DTW285 is LXT platform, 18650 based Li-Ion.

You might even find the really small ones suit you better and are cheap as chips because everybody thinks bigger is better.

I have got a big bosch impact and with a 6ah on it is heavy. I only use it now and again so that's one of the tools I have a 2.0ah on as that's more than enough to take a set of wheels off and put them back on again.
Obviously depends what you are doing when you do use it but the only tool I use anything at 6ah or above is the angle grinder.

I also think there is more torque from the 2ah which I originally put down to the 2ah being newer but I have read that some cells have higher discharge capacity than others so it's not just the AH rating that decides everything!

Having said that bosch have got a 12ah out now and I am tempted....

The 2Ah on the LXT range is lighter and smaller (single series string of 5 cells) but the 3,4,5,6 are all the same (2p5s). I think the 5Ah usually still work out best £/Ah but some deals might be about.

More power can be produced by different batteries. Generally with a like for like cell the higher capacity will also produce the highest current, subtle chemistry changes can improve impedance at cost of capacity however. The internal impedance of the cells determines the output current so obviously the 2Ah in the Makita range at least should be far inferior due to it being a single string of cells. Parallel strings will reduce impedance of the pack.

 

[chris pruteanu]

I also got a 4Ah makita battery faulty and a 9Ah one not to take charge as well, it was after using them in the rain on a cold, late autumn day. I would say buy new batteries and be done with it...

Sorry, meant to say Milwaukee 9Ah...

 

[Pete.]

I got all my 18v batteries damaged by undervoltage after storing them for a long while, neither worked after circuitry drained the battery down and then the charger deemed them faulty which means they wont take charge anymore ! I also got a 4Ah makita battery faulty and a 9Ah one not to take charge as well, it was after using them in the rain on a cold, late autumn day. I would say buy new batteries and be done with it...

I had a dewalt screw gun that would not take charge from a new charger because the battery had no voltage at all. I took the battery out and gave it a quick zap off a (rather tired) 12v motorbike battery and it charged up just fine.

 

[chris pruteanu]

I had a dewalt screw gun that would not take charge from a new charger because the battery had no voltage at all. I took the battery out and gave it a quick zap off a (rather tired) 12v motorbike battery and it charged up just fine.

Makita batteries are doomed if the electronics inside the charger decide its too hot or under voltage to charge...

 

[Pete.]

Fair enough but you won't hurt anything by trying. TBH all our battery tools at work are Makita and I have yet to see a dead battery. They hold up really well.

 

[Farside]

just purchased a makita 18v DTW285Z impact wrench, with 2 6.0 ah batterys, now after reading various you tube comments i want to know the best way to keep the batteries in tip top condition ,the tool itself will lie on the shelf for long periods of time without use, am not sure wether i should charge both batteries or just charge 1 and keep 1 as a replacement when the 1st one dies. apparently they dont like lying fully charged idle for long periods. john.

Lithium batteries appreciate being kept in the fridge, seriously. If you've shelled out a fair bit for them, and you want them to last as long as possible, keep them stored in the cool place. Modern batteries with decent charge management / monitoring built in shouldn't allow you to discharge them to the point of damage so you'd be ok that way, but don't store them discharged. Charge up, let them cool off and pop them in the Kelvinator, alongside the lettuce.

 

[J1nx]

I’d avoid the fridge, likely to suffer more damage due to high humidity than offset by slowing self discharge. Also you would need to wait for them to warm up, I believe the Makita star protection will not allow cells too cold to charge just as it does with high temperature.

 

[Farside]

I’d avoid the fridge, likely to suffer more damage due to high humidity than offset by slowing self discharge. Also you would need to wait for them to warm up, I believe the Makita star protection will not allow cells too cold to charge just as it does with high temperature.

Pointless objections.
If the OP only uses the things once in a blue moon how hard is it to put them in a plastic bag before storage, and take them out of the fridge the day before use?