NEW Metabo LiHD batteries

[neeleman]

On the 20th of May Metabo announced that they will bring out some new revolutionary batteries called: LiHD.
They come in 18V-3.1, 5.5 and 6.2 Ah. The runtime and capacity is supposed to be much higher.
There's even a 180/230 mm battery powered angle grinder with 2x18V or 1x36V battery on it's way which uses of course the new batteries.  And that's the FIRST on the market!
More info at: Metabo LiHD

Metabo LiHD

 

[DB10]

Thanks for posting, I've been very impressed with the older 5.2ah batteries by Metabo, I just need to check out how much more money the new ones will cost over the 5.2's.

 

[sae]

So Toolstop has these available for shipping now...

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/batteries-b34?brand=207

I wish they would have a variety pack w/ the 3.1 and the 5.5/6.2Ah. And the ASC Ultra charger, that seems impossible to find.

Here's a wrapup of all the back to back testing they did, with dramatic background music:

 

[Kev]

Boy is my bank account going to be in trouble ... [embarassed] [crying]

 

[DB10]

I take it that the Metabo standard 18v battery charger,  won't work with the new Li HD batteries Anyone know?
Lets hope that Metabo Aus doesn't do a Festool Aus and Deny us the latest in battery technology as my little mitre saw would run all day on one of those new batteries.

 

[sae]

[member=42735]DB10[/member] No, it does. They're only selling it with the standard charger it seems.

The ASC Ultra charger should knock 10 minutes of each charge time, but no one seems to sell it here despite it being on the market for 3 years or something. Maybe the 110v ones were canned?

Also, Toolstop ships worldwide.

 

[GhostFist]

Ya the 5.2amp batteries are already amazing. My hope is some 36v LiHD's come out for a new kss, as Mafell is already rebranding metabo drills

 

[DB10]

[member=42735]DB10[/member] No, it does. They're only selling it with the standard charger it seems.

The ASC Ultra charger should knock 10 minutes of each charge time, but no one seems to sell it here despite it being on the market for 3 years or something. Maybe the 110v ones were canned?

Also, Toolstop ships worldwide.

Thanks [member=38144]sae[/member]  it's just getting better. I'm also impressed with the standard 5.2 Metabo batteries, so much so that I will invest in a Metabo Cordless angle grinder and sell my old Makita one.

 

[GhostFist]

Ya one of the grinders is next on my list.

 

[sae]

Ya one of the grinders is next on my list.

[member=9290]GhostFist[/member] Brushless should be on the way soon. Toolstop says less than a month, and they're selling it w/ the LiHD batteries.  [scared]

I just bought the brushed one on sale for $239 w/ 2 5.2Ah batteries, I should've known the discount was for a reason... I'll probably keep both though, switching discs is a pain.

 

[GhostFist]

Alright I can hold out a bit, thanks for the heads up

 

[Cheese]

I'll probably keep both though, switching discs is a pain.

Just curious, I assume you have a cut-off disc mounted on one of them, what's mounted on the other?

 

[sae]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Flap disc or grinding wheel.

I have a few segmented grinding cups too for concrete resurfacing, but I might actually pickup their (or Bosch's) dedicated resurfacing grinder since the dust collection is much improved versus attaching a shrouded guard.

 

[Cheese]

[member=38144]sae[/member]
Interesting...same here, except I have them on 2 Milwaukee Fuel grinders. Who'd ever think that loosening/tightening a single nut would become such a PITA. [eek]

 

[GhostFist]

Isn't there a quick change function on metabo grinders?

 

[Kev]

I get it on the quick change though ... Even if it's less than a minute, you often want to take a stroke at something with a cordless angle grinder that only takes seconds.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

There's a great article in the latest issue of The Journal of Light Construction (August 2015) about the next generation of batteries coming out soon, and these new Metabo batteries figured prominently in the article. Other technologies discussed include:

Milwaukee released 18V batteries with 9.0 amp-hour ratings

Bosch releasing 6.0 amp-hour batteries and inductive charging stations

DeWalt releasing battery packs with BlueTooth technology so you can monitor them from your smart phone

and finally Makita continues to develop their super-fast chargers.

In general, I don't quite understand the draw of these super high amp-hour batteries. As a residential remodeler, I am almost always near an outlet, and most chargers can charge a battery fast than I can discharge it, so I don't necessarily need a battery with really deep reserves (most of the time my Hilti slim line battery packs are plenty for what I need). That being said, I'm sure it's a great for sales, and I totally understand that there are many industries where workers are further from a power source, and going cordless can be the different between stringing hundreds of feet of extension cord, or lugging a generator around.

 

[Kev]

Massive power reserve batteries will become more of a "one up" feature on some tools v's a real need. High drain tools obviously benefit.

Electric cars, bikes, etc are the obvious winners in the new battery tech landscape.

Along the lines of not needing to change a part (bit, blade, disc, etc), inductive "on bench" charging would entice me!

 

[GhostFist]

It's a combination of voltage and amperage that denotes power, restricted of course by ohms.  Higher voltage and higher amperage means more power going to the tool.

 

[sae]

There's a great article in the latest issue of The Journal of Light Construction (August 2015) about the next generation of batteries coming out soon, and these new Metabo batteries figured prominently in the article. Other technologies discussed include:

Milwaukee released 18V batteries with 9.0 amp-hour ratings

Bosch releasing 6.0 amp-hour batteries and inductive charging stations

DeWalt releasing battery packs with BlueTooth technology so you can monitor them from your smart phone

and finally Makita continues to develop their super-fast chargers.

In general, I don't quite understand the draw of these super high amp-hour batteries. As a residential remodeler, I am almost always near an outlet, and most chargers can charge a battery fast than I can discharge it, so I don't necessarily need a battery with really deep reserves (most of the time my Hilti slim line battery packs are plenty for what I need). That being said, I'm sure it's a great for sales, and I totally understand that there are many industries where workers are further from a power source, and going cordless can be the different between stringing hundreds of feet of extension cord, or lugging a generator around.

[member=2726]Tom Gensmer[/member]: is it this article? http://www.jlconline.com/article/the-year-in-power-tool-batteries_s

I use slim packs mostly too, but some high demand tools "very highly recommend" the larger battery.

In the case of the Metabo, they're supposedly getting more than just longer runtime out of the tool, the new packs are said to have lower internal resistance, and are delivering more amperage without the voltage sag of the standard INR chemistry batteries that are used ubiquitously in power tools today. The fact that this provides a benefit not only to their new tools, but also their older ones, is very nice to see.

It would be neat to see if the LiHD slim 3.1Ah 1x5 packs can outperform the standard 5.2Ah 2x5 packs, but there would be some stuff (probably grinders, impact wrenches, miter saws, to name a few) that I'd still use the LiHD 5.5Ah packs on.