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[HA Dave]

I just purchased a replacement drill. One of those with the replaceable battery packs.

I think we all have pretty much the same experience with those. Ether the battery is forgotten and is dead [discharged] when its needed. Or the battery is forgotten on the charger... then the batteries overheat and degrade. Then the battery's end-up charging 24/7 so as to have some available charge when needed... till the charger fails.

Then you (meaning ME) need a new battery AND a new charger. The kicker (if that's the correct word) is it's cheaper to buy a new drill that comes with both the battery and charger. I hate the waste.

So here is my plan (and I welcome any advise): I plan to create a charging macro... that will give the battery pack a light charge [say once a week]. So anytime I need the drill I will have a battery that is ready and willing. But I will also need a recharge now macro... so if I use the drill in the morning... it will also be ready again that evening. Maybe I could activate the "Charge Now Macro" by pushing a KeyChain Remote (KR19A) that I could attach to the charger. This macro would charge the battery pack for the required recharge time... maybe a couple hours... then shut the charger OFF.

My hope is this way... I will always have a ready battery... and with NO overcharging.

[dbemowsk]

Dave_x10_L,  This is a good idea.  One of my cordless drills is a cheaper one and the charger for the battery does not have a way to monitor the batteries charge like the more expensive ones.  Because of this, the charger continuously sends a charge voltage to the battery as long as it is plugged in.  Leaving this on for extended periods of time I'm sure is hurting the batteries due to over charging, so I try to only leave them on the charger for a couple hours at a time but then it gets unplugged and sits.  Then it sits for quite a while and when I want to use it again, BAM, the battery is dead.  Rechargeable batteries naturally lose some charge each day they sit not being used.  By turning them on for a few hours every so many days should maintain the batteries to ensure that they have a charge when they are needed.   

I think your idea of using x10 to maintain the chargers is a good one.  You could do this very simply with a flag and a few macros.  The flag would be the "charge" flag telling weather charging is on or off.  Then have 2 macros that are triggered by the remote on and off buttons.  The off triggered macro would send an off signal to the chargers appliance module, and clear the "charge" flag.  The on triggered macro would then set the "charge" flag and call a charger looped macro.  The charger looped macro would be a conditional macro as follows:

Macro : charger loop
Trigger : Any dummy module e.g. D16
Condition : is the charge flag set?

{If charge flag is not set}
    1 - Exit the macro.

{If charge flag is set}
    1 - Turn on the chargers appliance module
    2 - Delay : 2 hours (this time can be adjusted as needed for optimal battery maintenance)
    3 - Turn off the chargers appliance module
    4 - delay : 2 days (not sure how long you can make delays, so this may require more than one delay.  Adjust as needed for optimal battery maintenance)
    5 - execute the charger loop macro to start the process over again for another charge cycle.

The charger loop macro would be the meat of the process.  When executed, it would run continuously as long as the "charge" flag was set.  As soon as you shut off the chargers appliance module and clear the "charge" flag, the charger loop macro would run until it hits the loop and then it will stop.

Dave_x10_L, once again, thanks for a great idea.  I hope your great idea and my post will help myself and others implement this idea.
   

[HA Dave]

I was thinking a weekly [normal] charge... that is easy to schedule. The charge delay itself [or any delay period] is limited to 4.5 hours [see image]. I will also use a weekday-evening period for the normal charge cycle, so I can pick a period when I would likely be home... so I can originally monitor the process.

I plan on creating a "charging station" of sorts by plugging a power-strip into an appliance module. Or maybe the power-strip would be plugged into a filter, that would in turn plug into the appliance module. This should allow me to add other rechargeables to the station. Even the units that are designed so they can be ON 24/7 (and not overcharge the battery's) act somewhat like electric vampires. They can suck-up a few watts here and there until they can consume as much as a CFL on full time.

I don't want to sound like I plan to use Home Automation as a way to conserve energy. Although I do think some potential conservation is possible via HA... I think the safety and security benefits far outweight ANY minor conservation. Having a dependable tool handy when it's need means far more to me... than the 3 cents annual energy saving. Also the fire damage that could be caused by letting it run/charge 24/7 would cost far more than any power saved by any method. 

[pconroy]

Dave,

As a woodworker, I think I'm up to 6 drills, four of them cordless.   

I feel your pain!  My first cordless drill was a 14.4V Craftsman that I paid $99 for a drill and two batteries, only to find the replacement batteries were $50 each!
 


What I've done is:
- when the battery dies, I send it off to a fellow who runs a small shop (in PA) I think.  He rebuilds them for a very reasonable price. I he uses good cells; I've been very happy with the quality of his work.

Then to prolong the life, I've researched the rules/tips from a variety of mfgs and do the following
- I do NOT run my NiCads down completely anymore.  This was the hardest one to get agreement on. And its may differ for Lithium ones, but in any event, as soon as I hear the drill dragging, I switch to a fresh battery
- I do NOT leave batteries on their charges (even the smart chargers).  I charge them, then pull them off
- When charging I set a simple dial timer to the specific charge time. My Milwaukee's want about 90 mins, my Bosch batteries want longer
- The dial timer cuts AC power have the desired time, then I come back in the morning or whenever and pull the batteries off the charger and store them in a cool spot


I've been able to eek a few months out of a dead battery using the Freezer trick.
I've never tried the high-voltage shock trick.

I'd be interested in hearing from others on tips and techniques they do to prolong the life.

[HA Dave]

I feel your pain!  My first cordless drill was a 14.4V Craftsman that I paid $99 for a drill and two batteries, only to find the replacement batteries were $50 each!

I've been able to eek a few months out of a dead battery using the Freezer trick.
I've never tried the high-voltage shock trick.
I'd be interested in hearing from others on tips and techniques they do to prolong the life.

I've never heard of ether a freezer or high voltage trick.
I did check a local place to have the batteries "rebuilt"... but the $50 per unit was about the same as the $49.99 for a new drill with a battery and charger. I have considered... rebuilding (soldering in new batteries) myself but.... decided to try an el-cheap-o brand replacement drill first.

If a charging macro/station works.... I may reinvest in higher quality units (again). 

I'd be interested in hearing from others on tips and techniques they do to prolong the life.

Me TOO!!!

[nybuck]

I've never heard of ether a freezer or high voltage trick.

I'd be interested in hearing from others on tips and techniques they do to prolong the life.

Me TOO!!!

The high voltage trick is one we used to call "power charging" or "jump starting" a dead battery.  That's when your 14.4 volt battery pack is showing like 8 volts, and the charger doesn't even recognize it, let alone charge it...  You zap it with 24 volts intermittently - like spark the contacts on/off rapidly.  You end up with like 13 volts, and then you put it in the charger.  After a good overnight charge, you end up with a usable battery, where you had a completely useless one.  Not a good battery, but a usable one.

I, too have seen that a new drill is cheaper than a new battery...  I usually buy a new drill from Harbor Freight Tools for like $19 with a light included...  I think they get $40 for a new battery...  I have also tried replacing the cells.  It's a trick, as they are usually nicely packaged in there with very little extra space.  My re-pack solution isn't pretty but it works!   

Another concern would be reverse-current flow, or draw on the battery by sitting in the charger all week.  I imagine the better chargers would have blocking circuitry, but Harbor Freight isn't known for "better" battery technology!   

[pconroy]

The freezer trick is to put your dead batteries in the freezer for a day or three then let them thaw out completely and put 'em on the charger. I read that "crystal formation" inside the battery is one cause of death. The high-voltage and freezer trix are attempts to shatter the crystals.  Nota Bene: I'm paraphrasing from memory so I prolly butchered that explanation. 

My battery dude told me that since Bosch bought Skil - the Skil branded batteries were actually quality stuff inside.
I have a couple of cheap Skil 14.4V cordless drills that I use for light duty tasks and so far, they've been fine.
I've found 'em on clearance at Lowes for $20 or so.

Chuck is so-so, but a $20 Jacob's replacement took care of that.

[HA Dave]

Thank-you's [and Helpfuls] to nybuck and pconroy for that information.

[nybuck]

Thanks, Dave.  I haven't gotten a Helpful since I stopped posting pictures of my mods...

I gotta take some pictures of my IR X-10 cam...  It's working great on this bird's nest I have under my deck...

So back to batteries - You can buy instructions for these "tricks" on Ebay for $10 if you need 'em...  But I have a problem other than crystals.  My cells end up leaking - I guess from overnight charging in a 1-hour charger (AKA Battery Burner)

I may end up using your 'timed charge' idea as well!   

[JMac]

Maybe this misses the point, but what about setting up an appliance module timer for a two-hour period on a particular day of your choosing, and (assuming that module is on the "monitored" house code) the macro could conditionally check to see if the module is ON ?  If it is not then a two-hour macro could be triggered by the keychain command.  Just a thought............but if your "monitored" modules are already taken then the flag method is the way to go. 

[HA Dave]

... what about setting up an appliance module timer for a two-hour period on a particular day of your choosing, ........ if your "monitored" modules are already taken then the flag method is the way to go. 

That is more-or-less what I have in mind.

However... monitored [modules/codes] are merely the one letter code that the CM15A remembers the status of... it doesn't actually check on it. There are ways [however] to confirm the operation of a macro. Although... I have a lot of faith... that if I setup a proper macro it will run (and charge the battery's) as designed.

I am a huge fan... and user of BVC. So many on my Home Automation actions are [voice] announced. That (and a couple filters) has helped to build a lot of confidence in my setup. I could add another announcement and have the macro run on Wednesday night (very likely we'll be home). But I just don't think I need to worry about it.

For safety's sake... I may add a red (Christmas bulb) night light on the powerstrip controlled by the appliance module. I would surely notice the red light if the charger somehow got stuck on. Otherwise... a failure would only mean a discharged battery... when I needed a drill.

[HA Dave]

OK... I setup my Module, timer, macro, and even added an Icon... on my Icon Remote.

The timer turns ON an appliance module (C2) every Wednesday morning at 5:02 AM, then turns it OFF at 7:05. [The odd times are so it doesn't interfere with any other even-time events.]

Then I created a macro that when it hears the C2 ON... delays two hours.. then turns the module OFF. This allows me to be able to recharge... say if I use the drill on Saturday... and will (I think) provide a safety 2nd change for an OFF.

I added the battery pack to my RC toy, and the (rechargeable) family radios. I added a (C7) nightlight to the setup... to help prevent any power leakage to the wallwart powerpacks. This should keep them charged... yet never overcharged. Time will tell.