Hey Vince, never throw any Lithium Ion battery pack into the trash. We do not need this in a landfill! There are in Lowe’s and Home Depot recycle boxes to put your tool batteries in so they can be properly recycled by the company that each store has agreed to do it’s recycling. Please tell your viewers to use these recycle boxes so we can safely have the batteries recycled by these companies who specialize in this process. They have been doing this at both stores for a long time now so no excuses for those who regularly go to them can participate in this effort. Thanks Vince, I know you will help in this effort. We need 100% participation so we can keep these and other recycled batteries out of landfills! Stay safe mates!😊👍🏻😷

I am a avid rc enthusiast and use lipo batteries frequently. One thing that can prolong batteries life is the rate at which the battery is charged. A lower amperage charger charges the battery slower but also keeps the battery cooler. The rapid charger uses higher amps to charge the battery faster and in turn degrades them faster. As nice as the rapid chargers are, they actually aid in killing the batteries faster. Great video. Good information to get out there.

My dewalts are over 4 years used 5-6 days a week still going strong..... i tuck them into bed at night 😉

I get a lot of sideways looks when I maintain my batteries. I number my batteries next to my initials, so I know which batteries are mine. I try to catch the discharge by 2 bars on the battery, I will take it off the tool and set it next to the charger to cool before charging. I don’t care that the charger has an internal fan cooled function, that’s for cooling the battery when it gets back up to a certain temp when rapid charging. After the battery is charged I’ll set the battery aside to use the next day, while I finish the day out with a different battery. Sounds like a long complicated process but numbering the batteries helps out and I have enough batteries on the job for each tool that I just swap batteries and go back to work while the others are either cooling or charging.

I keep my battery operated tools in a dedicated storage. A Gott 30 qt. ice chest. I was organizing my attic and came across 7 ice chest I don't use. I was ready to throw them out and decided to use a few for storage. It works for me and keeps the tools dry and keeps them from extreme temperature changes.

The Chevy Volt has software that doesn't charge the battery to one hundred percent, nor does it discharge below twenty percent. The batteries on the Volt are also actively temperature controlled. Our Volt is over eight years old and has of yet not shown any signs of degradation. I have a Worx string trimmer that I bought in 09 and am still using the original battery to trim and edge my half acre lawn twice a week, with again no sign of degradation. I bought an electric touring bicycle in 2010 and have put on fifteenth thousand on the original battery packs and have only seen about three percent loss of capacity. I did change the low voltage shut down on the bikes motor control to not discharge the battery all the way and purchased an expensive programmable charger to keep from charging the battery all the way up. When I built the battery packs I included a pocket where I can insert a plastic sandwich bag full of ice to keep the battery pack cool on hot days or when working the bike on very hilly terrain. I only store all my Lithium batteries in a cool place in the winter and with only eighty percent charge. Also the three to five hundred cycle life refers to "full" cycles. If you use only the sweet spot of the batteries, they will last multiples of that.

If possible, avoid using fast chargers. Charging at higher amp rates will also contribute to faster battery degradation.

Thanks my dude, Vince and the team always putting in the work

Go Vince! Great info. I try to sell my older tools with batteries while still in decent working condition to get the newest batteries and tools just to keep up, lol.

Great job explaining battery maintenance. I keep my batteries indoors in a stainless steel pot with metal lid, just in case they ignite for some odd reason. You can never be too careful. I store them at 50 percent until I need to use them then I charge them to 100 percent for full power.

I just bought a phantom electric board and I came to this channel to learn how to take care of my lithium battery being that it does 30 miles an hour and can travel 30 miles, it was quite expensive and I don't want to f it up. The comments and information is channel were extremely helpful! Thanks 🙏

I often gripe about my milwaukee tools but the batteries are another story. The 2 original batteries that came with my first drill impacter set are still going strong after 10 years. I have a 5.0 ah battery thats 7 years still great. And now a beastly new 8.0ah battery. Awsome runtime!

How to increase the life of Li-Mn batteries. Don't deep discharge them and keep them cool when charging. Makita is best for this with fan cooling and limiting discharge to 12.5V with the 18V batteries or 2.5 volts per cell. You can also limit their charge on the top end as for some medical and mil-spec batteries don't fully charge them. You can change chemistry to LiFePO4 which will give 1000 to 3000 cycles as DeWalt did back in 2006 with the A123 System M1 cells. I still have one of those packs in use after 15 years and well over 1,000 charge/discharge cycles. The packs I want next are Tesla 4680 NMC 9Ah cells at 3,000 to 5,000 cycles or more. Tesla has far more demand for those cells than they can make but maybe in a few years... 9Ah Tesla packs with only 5 cells in each could last for many, many years. I'm sure someone will want to jump on that if/when the Tesla cells become available. I'm sure Hilti would love to get their mitts on those 9Ah NMC 4680 cells...we shall see.

You are so right thanks for the video!!!!! Keep them coming!!!

Great info Vince, thanks for sharing it 👍🏽

For most lithium ion cells after 300 charging cycles still maintain 70-80% of their capacity with zero noticeable effect on performance and you can run them through several hundred more cycles before the degradation becomes an annoyance .

Great video! Somehow, my M18 2.0 ah batteries that came with my 1/2 inch drill/driver, that I bought 14 years ago are still working. I have no idea how or why they are, but I am certainly impressed with these two batteries. Yes, they don’t last as long, but still work.

Vince: "wouldn't it be great if manufacturers built into the battery software that told it to never discharge below 20%." Manufacturers: but... our profit from battery sales would plummet!!!

All very good advise. Excellent video !!!!! As a side note. German Metabo CAS batteries are a minimum of 900 charges and many of my older batteries I am sure have way more uses than that. Metabo also offers a great warrent with there batteries. I have many years of experience using Metabo.

Best I can probably hope to do is not store my batteries in my hot car this summer. As for not discharging completely or not fully charging I don't have the time and energy to micro manage my batteries like that. I agree that software should be built into these hyper expensive tools

I just had to pull a warranty from Milwaukee for 4 8ah HO and 2 12ah HO that are 3 months old. I’m not using the rapid charger any longer and purchased the 6 bay sequential charger to get more battery life. On the bright side the Milwaukee rep did state the company will gladly warranty all batteries for 5 years as many times as necessary.

Ps great video thanks for keeping us informed. Your all awesome 👊💪💪

Thank you Vince. This was very informative. I really appreciate you and your channel.

Hello again Vcg and Vince Thank you once again for information I did not know. Is there a trickle charger other than the charger? To maintain a charge level? Again thank you

Bought my first Milwaukee drill several years ago - around 2013 I think. Came with two 2.0 amp hour batteries. I only used the one battery and never even messed with the second one. Fast forward a few years later and I learned a lesson that they wouldn't charge. I was able to re-use one of the 2 batteries through jump starting it with a good battery (ended up buying a 3rd battery to be my only working one) but now it won't charge again. Now that I have more batteries that work and more tools, I leave the tools in the garage and the batteries inside the house...

Good video Vin. Thanks.

Great video, Your the king.

Good info! Preciate it!

Fortunately I have a Milwaukee Authorized shop with 30 minutes driving distance, as I have had to exchange several battery packs, including the 12 AH monster (all still under warranty). Thanks for the tips.

Thanks for the information Vince i learned a lot in that video

Yo Vince! Yeah, lithium ion batteries are much like us humans. We struggle more in extreme low and high temperatures. We and they (batteries) like a "Goldilocks" perfect and comfortable environment. Thank you and God bless! 😁👍✌️

VCG CONSTRUCTION VINCE. Awesome hand-eye coordination. Throwing the battery in one hand to the other. But here's the thing, you weren't even looking. 😲 Thanks for the tips & I like your idea's bro ✌🏾🔥🤙🏾🌏💚's

Such a great detailed video. Thank yoy

THANK YOU FOR THE INFO BRO.......👍🏼👌🍻

Hi Vince another great informative video so what company offer this feature that it won't dip below 20% or charge past 80% and which voltage too 12 v 18v 24v 40v 60v etc thanks in advance

I have Milwaukee and DeWalt batteries M18, 20V that I have been using since April 2016 and they are still going strong and are used 6 days a week.. I don’t leave them in the cold or heat and charge only when need be. I store them in a DeWalt 2.0 tote with vent

Hi vince nice information also do you think fast charger like dewalt 12amp and milwaukee supercharger 13.5 amp damaged the batterie thank you !!

Great info, thanks

I'm a milwaukee guy. But we have had a rigid impact, drill and Sawzall for 7 years. We've used them as hammers. Really beat the shit outta them. They still charge and work perfectly. It's crazy.

Very interesting and good to know. Convenience will cost a lot of money in the long run. Just wonder how long battery operated cars will run...before they have to be replaced....

Millwaukee card less drill came with two batteries 12 years ago still going strong, I mix joint compound with it every day,when the batteries are dead I charge them over night, a battery will last 3 / 5 days on a charge running it all day.

This is where manufacturers make money so it’s in their interest to not tell consumers or build safety measures to extend battery life since this is the sale they will keep making once you buy into a battery platform just IMO thanks Vince for the quality content!!🤙🏽🤙🏽

That was so much knowledge!

Rules for any lithium ion batteries: 1. Charge up to 80% and discharge to 20% (most damage comes from this). 90/20 also works 2. Never fast charge, the slower the current the better. Also the less charge cycles the better which is obvious. 3. Store in the basement or cool environment no longer than a year or so before charging back up.

The "CPR" for Li-ion batts he's referring to includes using a 9V battery to put a small charge on your fully dead battery for a few seconds, pulsing it for 10-20x, then throw it back on the charger and see if it will accept it (without error flashing). Worked for me plenty of times on 18650's I had laying around.

Thanks for the good info. You guys are in Philly right? Me and a buddy bought a couple tree service bucket trucks at an auction a few years ago in Philadelphia and drove them back here to Vancouver island in British Columbia,3000 miles,was a fun couple days in Philly. Saw the bell,had a philly steak sandwich and went to the Rocky stairs at the museum. 😎

I have a programmable electronic load. I use that to test the capacity of batteries. Dewalt and Milwaukee have come out to a little more than there rated capacity. What I wish Milwaukee would do is put in the firmware in the battery. Is a way of it automatically taking the battery pack down to half when it’s not used for x amount of days. DJI does it in their drones. And you can set the time limit that it waits for. Before it discharges the pack to half.

I’ve had some Makita lxt 3.0Ah’s for over 10 years and still work well.

I have those dewalts since they came off and im sure that im over 500 cycles,but i always tryng to keep them charged and i use the fast charger and as soon as they fully charged i remove the battery so dont over charge,i dont inow if im right but i think that a battery fails when you pet it all day in the charger,i bpught my first flex volt 60v 2 years ago and still holds the charge very good

@vcg construction Vince great video I work for batteries plus and anyone with bad or died lithium batteries can bring them to a local batteries plus and have them recycled. Also this is true about lithium cells like cell phones have lithium batteries if you have ever had your cell phone in direct heat it will say over heat battery needs to cool down or if you leave your phone in the very cold in your car then you need to bring it in and let it get warm. Lithium cells that are together have that issue while lithium aa/aaa batteries don’t because that is a different chemistry of lithium as tool batteries and cell batteries use lithium ion.

Awesome Video Brosuff. So much I didn’t know about batteries 🔋 wondering how many cycles usually in the smaller 12-14v have 🤔💭

thanks Vince! NOW I KNOW

I like you style man! Respect 🤜🏻 🤛🏻

Interesting did not know that! 🧐 thx!

Very good information that happened to me my out dated 18 volts battery damaged I ask a friend to both battery for me but the shelf life was too long

You guys make awesome videos. Appreciate all the info i’m absorbing. There’s a vid from about a year ago, about the 2997-22. Vince said if someone were starting out, the first choice would be the 2853-20. Is this still the case? I’m no trades person but i want a good set and wondering if the Milwuakee is the way to go. Even if i can’t find a 2-ball bearing 2853. Thanks in advance! -Jeff-

That was like one of the greatest explanations I have ever seen aside from how Fox explanations how suspension works. With just these 2 ways, we can learn everything.

I subscribed so i can watch the flex faceoff. Luv those vids. Aspiring contractor/entrepreneur and i watch ya vids everyday kinfolk.

Ive had milwaukee batts for 6 years straight used about everyday.. no batts gone bad yet

I thought Milwaukee batteries do that that's why they're do expensive, I know they communicate with the device you're using with so the device won't over heat and the battery stops it from burning I know that's a fact, But Milwaukee batteries also take care of them self, first lighted bar is at 15% and the 4th bar is at 85%, I'm going to call Milwaukee to confirm this...

the BMS prevents the battery from charging when below a certain voltage level ,it doesn't nessasarily mean the cells are toast, if you can bring it above the voltage threshold for charging it will begin most likely to take a charge again.

great infos 👍

I was always told when using a battery you're running out of charge try to fully drain the battery because you're draining all the batteries inside. Then when you recharge the battery you're charging every battery inside to give it a better charge for that reason. Sometimes if I'm low on a charge I will hook it up to my leaf blower and drain it completely. Have a good day brother ttyl just been working on the new house getting it ready. 😎👊🇺🇸

Great video. Had no clue batteries can actually die on the shelf if not used.

Great video Vince! I dedicated a couple of canvas tool bags for bringing my batteries in and out of my truck/trailer. It might sound like a pain to remove the batteries off the tools but it’s not bad. I got used to it. Great tips. Well done, hope you had an awesome weekend! 👍🏻

1:04 hahaha best adv ever! really great things, thanks! Greeting from Poland!

So now the obvious question...which battery lines incorporate the built-in charge/discharge limits?

Cool Video Vince 😎

Idk man my old job I worked for 2 years (construction) it was a 6 man crew with a utility truck and we kept all our tools/power tools in the utility boxes on the side of the truck YEAR ROUND! The Milwaukee drills would be stored in the boxes every night summer winter spring fall and this was in Houston Tx!! 110 degree summers in a Steel lock box! Or 35 degree winters, and not to go against the grain, but man we used them things almost every single day, not saying this isn’t true and I will try to upkeep my own out of pocket tools better but just speaking from my experience, I was never under the impression temperature had an affect on a drill battery, so I guess this video is basically a shocker and eye opener

Also, as far as quick charging goes, the higher the capacity and amp discharge rate of the individual cells, the faster you can you can charge the battery. That is if you have a higher amp charger to charge at a higher rate.

So let's say I work in Arizona where outside temperatures are 100 plus degrees and my truck gets even hotter . But I do use my batteries every day . Would it be good to store in cooler with ice pack every day ?

Woah, wait a minute! 300-500!? Today's li-ion batteries far exceed the cycles you mentioned. Those numbers are either from really old polymer, LCO batteries or lab test of full discharge. "Cycle life" is used to indicate the number of charge-discharge cycles a battery can withstand until it reaches 70-80% remaining capacity. It still delivers all the power but for 20-30% less time. Most commonly used tools and vehicles batteries: NCA battery is usually have 800-1000 FULL (0% to 100% to 0%) discharge cycles. NMC - 1000-2000 FULL discharge cycles. LFP - 3000-7000 FULL discharge cycles. The battery management system (BMS) almost always limits the batteries voltage to nominal 3.6-3.7V but it's "100% charge" is 4.0-4.2V. Also puts a bottom (cut-off) buffer as it's never remanded to over-discharge the battery. The absolute bottom is 2.5V (2.0V for LFP) but the cut-off is 3.0V (2.5V for LFP). So you are never using 1 complete discharge cycle under normal operation of a battery pack. You're most likely to double the rated discharge cycles and still have a 70-80% capacity left in the battery. - Heat and over-discharging is the main enemy of battery life. It's never recommended to use a li-ion battery over 80 degrees C. And never charge a cold battery under 0 degrees C (the charger wont let you either way). - Leaving the battery on a charger (after it reaches 100%) for long periods of time (overnight or for a few day) as it can lead to higher temperature or even thermal runaway. - When in storage for a long time, store batteries in a relatively cold place and with 60-90% charge. - Dropping the battery can brake a solder, fuse, connection or puncture the battery. Power tool batteries are usually pretty robust. - Fast charging over 1C will slightly shorten the battery life. (1C is a charge rate that represents the power needed to do a full charge in 1 hour.) Most batteries can safely withstand 1.5 to 3C. - Thermal runaway can happen at temperatures above 200 degrees C (210-250 degrees C). - A quality battery pack can outlive the tool (or vehicle) of you take into consideration the above-mentioned safety advises.

Got some 6.0ah metabo HPT batteries with 2016 dates on them. They charged just fine. Those batteries dont have fuel gages and the metabo tools didnt show fuel meter for them so they must of been dead. They took 3 hours to charge but have been working great

Was waiting for dis OG to start spitting a rhyme at 2:42. Dudes hype af tho 🤣. Helpful and hype 😎

I like free lithium ion batteries! Thanks Boss! You da Man!

Sup man I watched most of your vids you got anything on a mobile printer to keep in work truck? Thanks

I fix batteries locally, yes heat in the truck melt those cells and caused them to leak i revived most of them and balance them is the key, internal resistance gives you an idea if the batteries done or any life left Milwaukee has a protection to prevent cells being charged if one of bank cells dropped below certain point, some of the earlier model has bad bms board, especially those 5Ah. The newer 21700 has a stronger protection. Some spot welder end points became loose also cause bms to disconnect batteries from charging.

The cheapest way to prolong the life of a any Li-ion battery is two things. 1) avoid "super/hyper fast" charging, unless 'necessary'. On phones things are a bit different as there's an exchange between the battery/voltage controller & thus regulate the charge to prolong its life. On these however, it's just pumping higher current to charge faster. It's a brute force method to get to 100 faster*. 2) on the topic of faster, is heat. Heat kills all electronics but most especially accelerates the deterioration of the cells themselves. This is part of why it's common to see a Makita drill just stop- because rather than continuous pump out power at risk of degrading the cells, it will outright cut off power. Sure, inconvenient on the job, no doubt, however this adds up very very quickly. Keeping them cool & charging them at whatever average/standard rate is what in the long run make it last longer & even perform more reliably. Each one of those battery cells have variances, none is 1:1 identical in all characteristics. So when you amplify the amount of stress/wear, they will exhibit a disproportionate variation.

I have boxes with tools in them that stay in my car, and I have a box full of batteries that stays in the closet next to the front door. I grab what I might need for the day plus one or two extra and I'm good to go. In the north east summers are hot and very humid, and winters are below freezing consistently.

Way too much talk , just get to it & no bull

I had a Milwaukee V28 system of tools and the batteries would die on me when I left them in the truck over night. The dealer would replace the battery without question. I went through several batties before I got sick of returning them. They would not believe me when I told them about the cold, they would just replace, dumb.

If you have older packs that you've run often for several years and have a few hundred cycles on them, you can prolong them by not draining them until cutoff. Instead, swap them out when they get to 1 bar and you can keep pushing away that green/blue/orange/yellow/red blink of death.

Great explanation!

5:00 Don't fully discharge 7:40 Temperature 9:00 Starage 10:21 Never fully charge

My uncle left a Milwaukee battery in my gutter. I found it over a year and a half later. It had been thru cold, hot, humid, snow, rain and it still worked lol

Thanks Vince. Great vid. Great info. wish manufacturers told us this when you buy a power tool. But yet again, they wouldn't make any money on batteries.

Outstanding

How long is ok to leave batteries for, week or 2?

Vince - I have a portable Noco GB70 battery jump starter. As you know, it was brutally cold here in Philly. It says this can be stored in temp of -4F? Wouldn't that be too cold since they are lithium batteries? Go Eagles! Thanks!

Great guy. Greetings from Bangkok.

Is Vince hinting at the flex line employing these "Auto" features that is built in to the battery to protect the cells?

So, is the charger I got with my Milwaukee 1/2" hammer drill kit about 5 years ago a standard charger or a rapid charger? That is the question. And the flip side of using a slower standard charger: you need more batteries to keep working while the "dead" battery takes twice as long to charge.

Don't get me wrong there's nothing like the convenience of a battery powered device especially the screw gun but for the most part I do not mind picking up a three-prong Court walking up to an orifice and sticking that into that spot it does not take me all that long it is not that much of an inconvenience to have a wire attached to it and the fact that I have peak power and performance at the flick of a switch I think is worth all the inconvenience of sticking that power cord into a hole and having to wind up a power line I know it really makes life difficult for some but I guess I'm used to it

Interior of vehicles can reach over 150°F (65°C+) in the summer heat. Definitely not wise to leave these packs above 60°c, ever. 45-50°c is a more general limit.

Does the rapid or fast charger shorten the life of the battery?

Thanks.

Good video buddy

Okay, I get the part from 9:22 - 10:22 in the video about not running and discharging the battery below the 20% level, but why the prohibition about charging it to 100%?

This is good to know. 👍

The individual batteries inside your tools battery are probably “protected batteries” with a circuit in them. When they get to low, the protection circuit locks it out and won’t allow it to recharge. They have trickle type chargers that will ping the battery repeatedly with a charge until it can slowly overcome the protection circuits cutoff level. I had a pair of dead rechargeable CR123 batteries that I brought back to life.