Should I completely discharge my tool battery before charging it? No. Charge the Milwaukee M18 drill battery as soon as you feel the power and speed of the tool considerably reduced. Draining the battery completely can damage it. people sometimes try to do this by lying up the trigger switch in the on position. What is ‘Memory’ and does my wood working tool battery have it? Memory is a condition in which a battery ‘forgets’ its full capacity to charge and deliver. But this happens in low drain devices. For memory effect to set it, the battery must be drained at the same small rate every time and to the same level i.e. partially. This very rarely happens in wood working tools. The rate of discharge is high since these are high load machines. Memory effect happens usually in devices that consume less power like cordless phones and electric shavers. Secondly, tools are rarely discharged to the same level on every usage. And the rate of discharge is not uniform. It varies constantly with user handling, intensity of the job and the material it is being used upon. Therefore, power tool batteries rarely see the occurrence of memory effect. If your tools have Li-ion batteries, memory effect is completely ruled out. Can I leave the batteries plugged in the charger when not in use? Read the manual and instructions that came with your tool. Usually it is advisable to take out the Milwaukee 48-11-1850 battery from the charger after its fully charged. Do not leave it in for more than 12 hours. If you are not going to use the tool for some time, its better to store the battery in a partially discharged state (40%-50%) in a cool place. However, some manufacturers will allow you to keep the battery in the charger. They have designed their chargers specifically for this purpose for maintenance of the battery. My battery run time is low. What can I do to improve it? You can run your battery through a couple of proper charge cycles. If the battery isn’t damaged or beyond its usable life span, this should help increase the run time of your cordless wood working tool. Discharge the battery by using the tool till it begins to slow down substantially. Do not completely drain it. Do not tape the trigger switch in ON position.
Leave the battery out of the tool for a couple of hours till it cools down.
Charge the battery for a full 8-12 hours in a cool place. Repeat this process 2-3 times.
If your battery still doesn’t show any improvement in run-time, consider buying a replacement. Does ambient temperature effect the batteries? Yes it does. Batteries stored in hot places lose their charge quickly as well as their capacity. Using a tool in too hot or too cold (4°C to 30°C is ideal) can reduce its capacity. Similarly, a battery being charged in extremities of temperature many not take the charge fully and also suffer from reduced run-time. The reason is that when a battery is being charged or discharged, there is a chemical process happening inside the battery. Heat and excessive cold interferes with this chemical reaction, sometimes bringing about changes in the battery chemistry that last for good. How do I dispose off dead batteries? Never throw them in the bin. Always recycle them. Check your user manual. Many major tool manufactures support and are a part of a recycling program. You may be able to recycle your Milwaukee 48-11-1828 batteries through them. Check with the store you bought the tool from. Look through the yellow pages or online to find the closest recycle center.
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