Many RC hobby stores sell balancers for batteries. it should not be overcomplicated to figure out how to hook it up and balance the batteries. Then and again, you should be able to check for an out of balance situation with a simple multimeter; just don't short out the connections.

Spot on 👍

Thank you for the kind words!

I don´t find any chargers for car o 12V power source. Seems like they want you to buy lots of batteries to go back home to charge them. But sometimes you will need to charge them from car or solar panel. Is there a way to do so with no risk of burning them?

@@alexecheverria if you can’t find any option for a charger the best option would likely be to use a Buck-Boost unit with a constant current capability and they tend to be rather cheap to get. You can dial in the correct charging voltage and tune in the maximum charging current and you could charge your battery from pretty much any voltage you desire within the converters range. It is still hard to tell if charging your battery with another source can cause problems with it so make sure you take all safety precautions possible if doing so

@@Pulverrostmannen My poor english was not aware of "buck-boost" magic word and found a cheap one on Banggood with V and A display. Although it is not delivering more power output than imput I got a step up board to deliver 24v to it. Great advice, appreciate it!

@@alexecheverria no problem at all. Good luck with your project :)

Can't get the effing chargers mate. That's why KZfaq Duh.

The battery protection circuit arnt all the same...it vary from brand to brand and pack types...but the 20.85 V most likely has a couple of mofet ( switch/Gate)...when it reach that voltage..it'll just trigger the gate..so the pack wont get over charged.... The other pins are for balance..so it'll try to charge each cell indiviually. It's works the same as hobby Lithium balance chargers...its just has different JACKS....You can select balance or not on a hooby charger... different lithuim type...li po, li on. li fe....different cells qty( voltage) It vari...some charger allow you to program....time limits, charging rate. or lowest ...voltage... The FAKE Imax...has pro and cons....it's dosnt have all the cool programing, meters....ect but it'll let me charge a lithium cell ..as long as it has voltage.lmao It's kind of a pain with a smart charger.. The real Imax wont let me charge a cell below 2.8.lmao i have the real Imax and fake Imax That's why i didnt complain.... I recycle 18650 or drill batery , now...I repair a couple packs yesterday...simply by locating a BELOW 2.8V cell... some where at .36V...ect..Use the FAKE charger.lol I simply charge the low cells to around the same voltage as the other cells.. without having to do surgery or weird charging.lmao

@@oneeyemonster3262 mofet Could you mean MOSFET Metal Oxide Semi Conductor Field Effect Transistor?

Can you post link for buck-boost digital charger?

@@joeboxter3635 Here you go: www.banggood.com/custlink/KGGYoZzZ1Y

Be careful when saying "all" of something, check this out: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eKuejLtpkqnKoGQ.html

@@SimpleElectronics fixed it, the really really cheap stuff don't count :P But as I can see even the "High end brands" seem to be cheaping out on there components.

Thanks. I gave up scrolling through this guy's waffle-on about his life history with drills.

Thanks

Thanks.

Well, what wasn't clear to you in the video?

@@SimpleElectronics just go a little slower so that whatever you're saying can be understood. I found this video interesting but hard to follow. That's it.

So will you be redoing this video?

There will be a follow-up eventually but not a total redo, no

@@SimpleElectronics can you not maybe just this once repeat the main part again?

@Uhavenoright toask an official charger is around 45 € in Europe, a 3rd party charger may save you 15 or 20 € at max. 20 € are not much over the lifespan of the device. With Makita you get typically a lot of bang for your bucks, especially compared to European brands or German brands. If your batteries die prematurely because the 3rd party charger stresses them more than the original one you don't save money at all. If you want it cheaper and you don't use the tools often you can still buy corded ones, they need no batteries and no charger and will work for decades

@@simonm1447 you’re missing the point guy. Sure you can use the official charger everyone already knows and understands that. Just because you don’t understand how to balance charge batteries don’t assume and prevent others as well. your “official”charger or nothing attitude adds nothing to this video and it’s obvious you don’t understand the topic at hand enough to make such statements. So shhh 🤫

@@josephbookim8451 Of course I know how to balance a Li-Ion battery pack, however no craftsman would invest hours of time to recharge tool batteries if he can simply put them into a charger which isn't even expensive which does all the work by itself (and charges even faster). My oldest LXT batteries are almost 7 years old now, used commercially the whole time. They still work fine even with much more powerful machinery which wasn't even on market when I bought these battery packs. Using self made chargers is surely a nice experiment and fine for people who want to learn something new, but no serious craftsman would do this at work

@@simonm1447 1. nobody said they were a craftsman 2. Nobody said they were trying to do this at work so what are u going on about. Again the topics on hand seem to just be flying right over you and you’re going on about something nobody brought up lol

@@simonm1447 so battery chargers charge batteries..? Cool.

An Impact Driver

Although this is best practice, it's not the end all be all. Many brands do not do any balancing at all, simply disallowing the charge entirely if one cell gets out of charge

How much does an RC battery charger costs?

@@impactajuvenile The B6 chinese knockoffs start at $25 usd... Might be ok for power tools. I got a name brand one because I use it more and to be safe with "dangerous" RC lipos.

Thank you for the kind words!

Well, I do own a 3d printer...

see how he does with it lol

i just use the cheap chargers gut the circuit and straight lead mine to a hobby charger

Wrong. The knock off batteries such as this one have no balancing.

You can find out in approx. 14 hours! I have a video coming out about that!

@@SimpleElectronics Kewl narnies :) . I have LOTSA batteries here, and I always watch them closely during charging, as the blast radius can be quite flammable!

fair point, but I have a tear down of this battery coming, it isn't as dangerous as you think, (but still should never be unattended)

💅 🤡

Hahahaha ON POINT THO! 👉🏻☠️☠️☠️

My window as well.

Are the laptop batteries the same?

@@E-hab Those are a good example of low power storage cells. The ones in power tools are much more robust

Sometimes, but not always! Gotta be careful because sometimes they just parallel up the lower current cells to provide more current!

I think this was true for Ni-Cd and NiMH cells, but aren't Most Li-ion cells ok for high discharge? There's a trade-off between cell capacity and internal resistance for sure, but cells sold for vaping are probably running harder than any power tool. You would probably be fine with those in your drill battery.

This is true, huge difference in maximum discharge current between standard 18650 and high drain 18650

I have a video going live on Tuesday about that very subject!

Well even on an OEM charger, it isn't a good idea to leave lithium-ion batteries to charge unattended. Yes, millions of people across the globe do it, but it is a risk nonetheless. Most of these packs are not balance charged so if one cell refuses to hold a charge, the other cells are overcharged by 15-20% and could catch fire. In short, it is never a good idea, oem charger or not, but mainly, you kind-of have to expect the worse when you make videos for general consumption.

@@SimpleElectronics . It just depends what brand and model...the more expensive packs has a built in balancing PCB inside the pack. Some brand's balancing PCB are in the charger... The cheaper 12v( 3s) or 5s 1500mah...dont have any balancing. It just depends. ..Most people dont use cordless drills often. A contractor...might need 8-10 packs...just to get through the day.lol The all dont have the same C ratings or 18650 brands, either.... Even if the outside marking has the same name brand. You'll have to open the packs... I try not to leave un attended...( it's not always possible.) Ive had Lipo blew up....just walking less than 5 mins away.. When 18650 leaks..the chemicals will leak from a bad cell.. then short out the wiring...melts the plastic or wires..ect I Charge OUT SIDE...I dont always put in a fire box like Im suppose too....even thou i have firebox for lithuim batteries. I have plenty of lituim catch on fire or starts smoking...while in use. Im into R/C...run over power brushless ....high AMP/drain esc...ect Contrary to what's on Paper...the MOTOR sometimes PULLS or sucks the juice out of the batteries,,Yes..the esc is suppose to limit it... but when electronic component gets hot...they dont always operate as they should.lol...Im more aware of these things..from using them.. and I also worked in electronics manufacturing...Most people dont.

@@SimpleElectronics It's obvious from your video that you have a good understanding of the subject, much more than I do. I'll keep your advice tucked somewhere in my head, but all of my battery operated devices have lithium ion batteries. I charge them unattended, and in all the years I have never had one start a fire. I have had chargers that refuse to charge a battery due to the temperature of the battery being too high or a bad cell, but no more than that. Thanks for your advice.

Just set it up outside, then go take a nap.

Yes it is possible!

My own ridgid batteries overdischarged themselves so the factory charger thinks its defective, using the method from this vid I was able to get them up the few volts for the factory charger to work again

I don't have the same rotary tool, but I you should first determine if either the power supply or the tool is the issue. Both this and the fix will require you to open the tool, so go to someone with experience if you're not confident. Personally, since I don't know how to troubleshoot a power supply, I would've opened up the tool and used a multimeter to check if the cells are between 3.2 and 4.2 volts. If you have a low voltage cell, you can try to revive with a short boost from a charged lithium cell and a couple of wires(KZfaq vids are available). If that doesn't work, you have to buy new lithium cells of the same size(2 of them, assuming the voltage) and learn to spot weld or solder them in. If I found the tool seemed fine, I'd try to replace the power supply with and equivalent one on eBay/Amazon.

None of those options will work unfortunately

I will have a video soon on adapting batteries to different brands!

The video is now live! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eKuejLtpkqnKoGQ.html

If your house burns down using a Makita charger on a Dewalt battery who you going to sue ?

Because it was a demonstration, that's all!

Any multimeter will do but these are a house brand from a store in Canada, called Canadian Tire

I would if I had any laying around - those suckers aren't cheap!

yup should theoretically work

I wouldn't go too high but if you monitor it, it should be fine

Sorry, but for those of us with an interest in this stuff, the details do matter. That’s the most frustrating thing about most YT “tutorials “. The creators either don’t know what they’re talking about, giving often dangerous advice, or they do, but they keep it to themselves. If I’m copying someone I saw on YT, I want to know why I put that wire there and what it does, in figures that I can verify. This is a breath of fresh air, for me.

I don’t even mind a fire for real

Details matter and background about where stuff come from.

With a bit of tinkering you could - you would have to rectify the AC into DC using at least a half-wave rectifier and a capacitor

Then the battery could overheat, if you just let it go unregulated, it could pull a LOT of current

Precisely! 😊

You would let the battery decide as long as the charger's output amps are lower than the battery itself. For best deal on a charger, search ebay for XL6009 DC Booster for $3 and set the voltage 2 or 3 volts above the battery's designated voltage. So, for a Makita 18v battery, set the booster to 20v and let it charge for at least 4 hours. For a totally depleted battery, 8 hours or more. Touch the battery to make sure it isn't hot and check the battery for functionality. Otherwise, a good battery should just take as much amps as it needs and then slowly takes less charge as it gets full without overheating. Revive dead batteries this way, , Don't worry, it won't overcharge it. You can use the same module to maintain your car battery of you are letting the car sit for months. (set it to 15v for car battery for days. Set it to much higher voltage for an almost dead car battey until you can feel it starts to hold charge again. The booster just produces square wave pulses which batteries love to shake off that sulfation. But it also works well as an adapter for electronics such as a DC clock radio and as a charger for any lithium battery like cellphone if it has a removable battery

@@SimpleElectronics if i understood this correctly, as long as the charger puts out less amps, it can't hurt the battery which has a lot more amps. The force of the battery sucking in the amps is as much as the module is willing to give. Abd after it has received enough amps, its appetite slows down until saturated. The PWM system keeps the battery from over consumption also, like little nibbles instead of a downpour.

@@stanleymeyer9936 I typically set the amp on the charger, say at 500mA and the Volt at say 4.2, and let it go. As the battery charges and as it reaches the voltage threshold the current also goes down and after that, the current will gradually drop to 0 and it is done. The battery won't draw a thing if its tummy is full. Perhaps the concern is one does not want the battery to draw more than it can handle or needs. It won't if you limit the volts and the amps of course. Plus I think if you just supply the right voltage, you are good to go. If you have a shorted battery, that is a different ball game. In that case, it is a good idea to limit the amp just to be on the safe side. That sounds right to me. I took apart the battery pack of a laptop, Toshiba. There were 6 of them red batteries. Each of them was full of around 4.2 volts. I tell these critters are some serious batteries. One fine day one of them read 2 volts. I put it on that adjustable DC supply. 30V 10 A. I put the charger at 4.2 V and the current at 450mA. In no time that battery was charged, maybe an hour at most. That flashlight was bright and good and everything as winter cool to the touch.

Does it charge in a original Makita charger? They have up to 9 Amps charging current, 3rd party chargers often only 3 Amps.

The older tech ones were (are) 4.1v - it depends on the chemistry

Usually NCM is always made for end of charge voltage of 4,1 to 4,4 Volts. But there are also LFP cells, they have a different voltage characteristic and a end of charge voltage between 3,7 and 3,8 Volt. Cordless tools usually use NCM.

Check the voltage with a multimeter and you should be good to follow these instructions after that

Look for "XL6009" on ebay about $5 will charge any battery, just adjust the output to 2 or 3 volts above the battery voltage when fully charged. So to charge a 20 volt battery, set the module to 23 or 24 volts and it will be a safe and cheap way to charge any battery or power supply for any low amp device such as small radio or DVD player or LED lamp or LED light bulb etc.

@@stanleymeyer9936 great way to start a fire, here is why, the bms in these packs have a balance circuit with less than 500mA, your suggested dc-dc module has 3A output current = OVERCHARGE when the cells are out of balance, its not rocket science.