Thread: After info on Li-ion drill/driver

There's more to it, but a simple answer:

Pros - much lighter & more compact
Cons - the tools cost more

Thanks Ashwood.

What about battery life and general screwing "power"?

The more you screw, the less power you have.

Originally Posted by Knurl

The more you screw, the less power you have.

Very insightful Knurl. But I was more after a comparison of it's battery life in comparison to nimh and nicad powered drills.

The good:
Li-ion have a greater capacity to deliver power; both in terms of voltage and current (so you will get more grunt out of them) for a given weight.

They also have the lowest self discharge of any of the common rechargeable battery technologies.

The bad:
Their discharge curve is quite flat, so you will get little warning that they are about to run out of puff.

They are not as resistant to heat and cold as the other battery technologies - you should be a bit more gentle with them for maximum charge life.

The ugly:
Battery life is measured by the number and quality of charge cycles, as well as by time from manufacture. The self discharge rate is said to not actually be self discharge, but permanent loss of capacity. So buy it and use it; as in three years the battery will be curling up its toes. Don't buy a spare battery now with the intention of swapping it in in a few years time - it'll be in pretty much the same charge holding condition as the one you are replacing.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

Hi All,
I'm after general comments on Li-ion drill/drivers i.e. what are the pro/cons to Li-ion, etc. and how they compare to Nimh and Nicad.

Also does anyone know what the rrp of the GMC 10.8v Li-ion drill/driver (LD108V) is?

Thanks in advance.

Further to other comments.

Lithium also likes to be charged little & often, unlike Nicad in particular.

Check out the Amp hour rating of the battery pack on whatever drill you buy, & compare with others in the mix. Some (eg. the one's that come with Ozito's professional Lithium tools) have a fairly low rating, meaning you'll get less work out of them before recharging, compared to a higher rated battery.

Can't remember the retail of the GMC drill mentioned, but worth mentioning that it has a 3hr (ie. slow) charger.


Cheers...................Sean

Thanks for all the input ... lot's of useful info. Gives me some food for thought.

Still after a RRP for that GMC drill if anyone knows - can't find a price online.