Is detaching battery better when stored?

threesixright

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Aug 17, 2017
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Hi,

All new to the Festool equipment.

With my old "DeWalt", I removed the battery when storing. Is this also needed for Festool?

Thanks!
 
I have never removed the batteries from my Festool tools. I have not used some tools for months straight & they still have plenty of charge left when I do use them. Even through winter in an unheated building.

My Bosch & Dewalt batteries will only last a few weeks if the batteries are left in unused tools.   
 
Very interesting question.
I’m presuming that you’re talking about drills.
And... That you’re talking about “short” term vs “long” term storage.

I just looked at my old Dewalt drill operator’s manual.
Nothing is said about removing the battery when not in use.
Same-Same for my Festool drills.
So... I’m wondering why the question.
But... Seeing JD2720’s Reply (#1) -
After all these years - Maybe I better start removing my Dewalt drill’s battery when it’s not in use.
Waiting to see further comment/advice.
 
I always store my batteries out of the tool, especially the little batteries in my electronics.  I've had B&D, Freud, Makita, Fein, Festool, and only because of my Graco Ultra; DeWalt.
 
Usually it's not a problem, but I have encountered two power tools that gave me issues draining the batteries.  One was not a Festool (can't remember which brand or which tool) and it definately drained the battery over 6-12 months.  The danger is once the battery gets too depleted, it won't charge without resorting to Frankenstein tactics.  The other was a TSC55, which had not been used for 8 months.  I know the batteries had a charge when it was put away.  One battery was low, one was depleted and gave me errors when I tried to charge it.  I don't know if it was just a flaky battery, but I just take the batteries out when I put it in the systainer. 

Mostly I remove the batteries from any kind of saw so they don't accidentally turn on if I'm moving them or bump a switch.  They all are stored with a blade.  Drills I don't worry about because I don't leave them with bits in them.  But I haven't seen any other power tools deplete batteries on me. 

I have seen some of the other shop tools deplete the little coin batteries in them.  I have a lot of stuff that gets used once in a blue moon, so I have to pull the batteries from them (depletion or leaks).  The last victim to a leaky battery was a fluke non-contact voltage detector.  That mistake cost me $20.  Oh, and I throw out the cheap chinese batteries that come with tools and install a name brand battery (just in case I should forget to remove it).  90% of the time, the leaky batteries have been the freebies included with the tool.  Of course, 90% of the time I used the cheap chinese battery supplied, so maybe that means nothing?
 
Joe Felchlin said:
Very interesting question.
I’m presuming that you’re talking about drills.
And... That you’re talking about “short” term vs “long” term storage.

I just looked at my old Dewalt drill operator’s manual.
Nothing is said about removing the battery when not in use.
Same-Same for my Festool drills.
So... I’m wondering why the question.
But... Seeing JD2720’s Reply (#1) -
After all these years - Maybe I better start removing my Dewalt drill’s battery when it’s not in use.
Waiting to see further comment/advice.
Well for me its a C18 and a Carvex. But essential is for all tools...

A good suggestion is that for saw, etc. you should always remove the battery.

I was just curious if it would matter and would be "good practice" to remove it. Im not even sure why i did it on my DeWalt, nature of habit i guess.

But with the new electronics I was assuming FT could manage leakage much better, and was curious how other people do it.
 
Leaving the battery in has never been a problem for me, with various brands. Most of my current cordless collection is the DeWalt 20v stuff, the batteries can go for weeks, months for some of them, in the tool or not.
 
I leave batteries in my Milwaukee and Makita stuff all the time without issues. Also have too many spare batteries so it is not an issue either way, but I have not found them to be draining the batteries enough to notice.
 
I leave a battery in my drills till they die then replace with a charged one.

I have 2 FT drills So I always have a charged battery ready.

On the flip side of this question,

Does it hurt a battery to leave it in a  plugged in charger? I dunno I always will charge up a extra battery or 2 and unplug the charger when done.

Leaving the charger plugged in, does it affect the life of the charger/battery?
 
Hi,

I have no idea about the technical/electric side to this, but:

Almost every battery powered tool I have is stored with the battery attached, ready for use. Never had any issues.

Only tool I can think of that has no batteries attached currently is my TSC. Not because of negative experience, but because out of all my tools it's the one I use least often currently, so the batteries are with other tools, but will return eventually.

I should add this: I never let batteries charge when I'm not present, I don't leave chargers plugged in, I never leave a charged battery in the charger ...

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
Technically leaving any electronic device plugged in is considered a fire hazard. Someone I know left his Dewalt charger plugged in and the fire inspector determined it was the cause of the fire, that burned his house, truck and boat, for which turned out to be a routine problem that I am sure Dewalt has fixed by now. Another person burned their motel room up with their battery charger. The list goes on....There is a reason airlines are so cautious with lithium batteries only being allowed in carry on.

My recommendation is to locate your battery chargers somewhere that if they catch fire, they won't burn anything. Lithium is highly flammable.
 
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