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The technology behind Rechargeable batteries has rapidly grown
in the past few decades. As more and more cordless devices saturate
our lives, new batteries have been developed to provide the power
these devices need combined with small size and long life. A major
type within the current generation of rechargeable battery
technology is "lithium ion". LI batteries have been used for a few
years in the portable computer world-most modern laptop computers
use LI batteries, as do some current iPods and other portable
electronic devices.
The advantages to LI batteries are numerous:
- Lithium Ion batteries are lighter and smaller than other types
of rechargeable batteries
- Lithium Ion batteries posses twice as much power storage
potential as older NiCad batteries.
>
- Lithium Ion batteries do not suffer from the "Memory effect"
that decreases the capacity of other types of rechargeable
batteries when they are charged before being fully drained.
- Lithium Ion batteries discharge very slowly when in storage.
Other types of rechargeable batteries can lose their entire charge
in a matter of days.
- Lithium Ion batteries have a longer lifetime than other types
of rechargeable batteries.
 >
Gradually, we are starting to see more and more cordless tools
powered by lithium ion battery technology. These new tools are more
compact then their predecessors, yet still as powerful, if not more
so.
Currently, Lithium Ion powerd tools are produced by the
following cordless tool manufacturers:
- Makita
LXT series
> Makita currently has one of the largest lines of Lithium
Ion powered cordless tools, encompassing over 40 different
products, all of which happen to look very cool. Makita's Lithium
Ion batteries have a three-year limited warranty
>
-
Bosch Litheon Series
> The large 36v Bosch Litheon batteries are so powerful, they
are fan cooled! Bosch also produces a lin of "pocket" 10.8v Lithium
Ion powered tools, such as the PS20-2 pictured above, the PS 40-2
pocket impact driver, and the I-Driver cordless screwdriver.
-
Milwaukee V28 & V18 Series
 >
> Milwaukee V28 and V18 batteries are compatible with older 18v
& 28v NiCad powered tools, but you will need to purchase a new
charger to charge the new Lithium Ion batteries. They have produced
an "upgrade kit" (pictured at right) for Milwaukee tool owners to
upgrade to Lithium Ion technology without purchasing new tools.
This new charger will also charge most older Milwaukee NiCad
batteries. Milwaukee offers a 5 Year/2000 Charge warranty on all
new Lithium Ion batteries, which is actually monitored by an
integrated computer in each battery that keeps track of both it's
age and charge count.
All of the new Lithium Ion batteries from every manufacturer also
have a neat push-button LED power gauge that indicates the
batteries charge Level accuractely. This is a handy way to quickly
check to see which of your batteries needs to be charged.
>
DeWalt is rumored to have a Lithium Ion battery system in the
works for release sometime late this summer. If this is the case,
the technology will almost certainly be implemented in the other
lines produced by Black & Decker. With every battery technology
advance, DeWalt has managed to keep a degree of backwards
compatibility with their previous tools. Our sources indicate that
the new DeWalt lithium ion batteries will in fact be backwards
compatible with older tools, but will require a new charger.
While you probably don't need to rush out and replace your
cordless tool collection with their new lithium ion counterparts,
it's good to be aware of this new technology coming to the tool
store near you. As always, ToolKing.com
will stock all of the new Lithium Ion products at the lowest price
possible, so check with them first!
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