B&D Battery Charging Time

[misterhelpful]

Hi All,

I've was given my Uncle's old B&D Firestorm drill a few years back after he passed away. Nobody could find had the charger so it just went into my shed. I looked at the drill last month and the battery still held some charge so I took a chance and got a replacement charger on ebay.

My problem is that, even though I have charged the battery and it works, I don't know how long it actually takes to fully charge it. Some sites say 1 hour, others say 3 hours and one even said 18 hours.
What I don't want to do is continually overcharge it as there is no auto off function on the charger.

I was wondering if anyone here has the same drill/battery/charger and could tell me how long it should be charged for?

The drill model is a Firestorm KC1482F and the battery is 14.4v (A9276)

Charger and battery links:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360779982740?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Decker-A9276-Firestorm-Battery/dp/B0001GS0E6

Any help appreciated, as always.

Cheers
mrH

 

[big-all]

the place you bought it from will probably know
the charging time with wall warts tends to be 3-5 hours or longer

if you know someone with a dewalt charger use that [same company] it will condition the battery then when its fully charges you can try drilling holes in a bit off wood
you can try say 5 hrs and compare how many holes it will drill then increase/decrease the charge time till you get the same results from a charge

 

[misterhelpful]

Cheers, big-all.

I've asked the supplier and am still waiting to hear back so, in the meantime, thought I'd ask here as there is always an abundance of info on drills offered.

I've been charging it for 3 hours and it was pretty good but did run down quite quickly. After a few charges, the running time has got longer but I'm just trying to find it's optimum charge time.

I'll try what you suggest but was worried about leaving it too long as it does seem a nice little 'odd job' drill.

 

[pinenot]

Doesn't your charger have any charging lights?. Some times these flash red or green when charging and stop flashing when fully charged. Other chargers the light simply goes out once the charge cycle is complete. Neither of these type of chargers are the best as they don't show the true condition of charge, but that's a different subject, not for this discussion.
As far as I remember these batteries were/are Ni cd and the chargers, sold with this model, were of a set time (3 hrs) rather than triggered by voltage slope off and the battery packs did not have temperature protection, keeping the price down, good for costs but not good for the battery...pinenot

 

[misterhelpful]

Thanks, pinenot.

There are no lights or setting buttons on the charger like there are for all my other drills, so I'll have to go by 'Old Father Time'! Most places do seem to suggest 3 hours, so I imagine that is right, and it is a NiCd battery.

Cheers
mrH

Edit: Just found this link which confirms it's 3 hours.

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=410&CategoryID=188&strParent=108,93,109&L=1

Thanks, both!

 

[pinenot]

Just as a footnote to this, if you have a multimeter, test the voltage of the battery when fully charged i.e. after the three hours +-, for a 14.4 v battery this should read 15v +- if this is not the case, pop it back on the charger for 1/2 hr test it now. If the voltage has increased you may want to time the charge cycle next time (some sort of alarm perhaps) if this gives the full charge then it could be worth all the bother...pinenot

 

[Deluks]

Use a plug-in timer switch

 

[misterhelpful]

Good idea about the timer - I've probably got half a dozen of those lying around that I never think of using for anything!

 

[misterhelpful]

Hmmm, I've just received an email from the supplier saying:

Hi, 12 hour charge time.

That's a time that I haven't spotted anywhere else. I'll just have to try the methods suggested and maybe that'll work me up to 12hrs.


Cheers, everyone.
mrH

 

[big-all]

thats a trickle charge rate
think off as bath
fast charge 30 mins both taps on full

1hr one tap on full

3-5 hrs half turned on

12-15 hrs dripping tap

 

[combetop]

My comment to this thread may be well out of date by now.
I have a B&D Firestorm drill,probably 10 years old by now. The charger packed up several years ago but charge time was 5 hours. No indication of charge state, just a light on to show that it was charging. I used a timer with it. 7 hours would be ok but I'd question 12. The multimeter suggesrtion is a good idea except that nicad batteries should be charged in one go I believe.

There are one or two basics that I'd add. Look at the amperage stated on the charger. 300Ma is typically a trickle charge which takes around 5 hours or so. 1.5A is faster at about 1 hour. Watch out here as you can fry a battery if you get compatible timing wrong. (If left unattended it will smoke,smell and spit, and the casing will melt; and it could be worse)

Finally, nicad batteries usually last 5-8 years. They may still have life in them but are past their best. There are ways to revive them (Internet search) but replacement is probably the surest way.

 

[Dave54]

Obviously an old thread, but B & D still have a manual listed.
http://service.blackanddecker.co.uk/PDMSDocuments/EU/Docs//docpdf/kc1482f_uk.pdf
The last time the drill was made by them was in 2007. . .

 

[pinenot]

Ni-cd battery cells were/are something of an anigma in the cell world of tool batteries. They provide the highest discharge rate (amps) of all the cells used to date (the good ones that is) they fall mid way of all the cell type, for charge cycling and can be the slowest too charge. That said you can do things to ni-cd that you can't most others.

First we need to understand battery make up/nonemclature, battery = cells × no., heat sensor (if applicable) tabs, connectors and plastic case.
Each cell is rated 1.2v and how many cells used gives the overall voltage rating of the battery i. e. 12v = 10 - 18v = 12 cells and so on. Charged fully the amperage rating of the battery will determine the output i.e. working duration, this of course depends on the effort/power used, to put it in simple terms.
As I've already stated, you can do more to Ni-cd's than most other cells, or I could put it an other way - Ni-cd's can be manipulated more than most when things ain't right. For instance, ni-cd (especially the older ones) suffered from so called memory shortages, actually it is voltage depresion, which is too say the preset voltage maxim was arrived at, whilst charging before the battery was indeed properly charged and the cut off activated. This could happen because the grain size of the charge side of the cells was too large generally, negating the the charge dispersal across the sintered plate as designed. Big mouthful for those not conversant with rechargeable cell chemistry.
OK, what can be done, well allowing the battery to fully discharge before recharging it it one thing and done regularerly to a good battery will enhance its life, this is called conditioning in its simplest form. But when the battery has developed symptoms as already described something else is required. What I'm about to describe, I've tried out myself during a battery repair service I used to provide for the construction sector, but may not be suitable for the nervous etc. The second procedure I would conduct is flashing the battery, this involves touching both the terminals simultaneously with a pos & neg wire with suitable voltage supply determined by the batteries stated voltage, for instance connected to a car battery or two in series (charged obviously) this is sometimes referred too as zapping for bye flashing. I've seen videos of welders being used too provide the surge of flashing power needed, never tried it myself but due to the amount of videos on you tube it must surely be OK, but as I've already said not for the squeamish or ultra conservative amongst us, you have been warned😨
Tapping the terminals a couple of times (you'll see small sparks emitting) is all that's required, oh and you should test the voltage with a meter and fully charged battery before doing this, test before and then after, if there's improvement you have a worthwhile battery... More later...pinenot