Flexvolt

I have several 6.0 and 2-9.0. all less then 6 months old. Batteries barely Last 1/2 of what they did when new. Brought to DeWalt service center to test. 2 failing and covered under warranty. Rest all checked out with a pass but don’t last a crap. Any thoughts of this. Too much hassle to deal with

Yanni

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

If you weren’t already aware, avoid storing lithium batteries fully charged for any significant length of time

and dont disharge them too much.

They get used daily. Hard

ToolBane wrote:

If you weren’t already aware, avoid storing lithium batteries fully charged for any significant length of time

You mean drain? Recharge 1/2 or 2/3’s of the way? They usually get recharged when they hit 1-2 bars.

Is this with DeWalt or or all? I have set if Hilti and never have any hassle with. Hot / Cold temp’s charge when drained most of the time and there going on 2-3 yrs old.

DeWalt started to bonk just after the extensive heat wave we had this yr. My tools are stored in tstaks and tough box on roof tops all yr around.

framer wrote:

and dont disharge them too much.

Good old Dewalt.  Flexvolt tools are supposed to stop working before battery is too far drained. Let’s see do not charge them up after use if you are not going to use them right away. How long is too long to store a fully charged Dewalt battery, a day, a week, a month, a year. Maybe Dewalt needs a redesign. 

My 95% go to is 6.5″ sirc. 7 1/4 left cordless. Impact driver’s.
Picked up Makita cordless Lefty 7 1/4 and although almost 2lbs heavier it feels smoother band better balanced then DeWalt. Grabbed cpl of Impacts as well. Similar to size and weight of Hilti and a lit lighter. It’s uncomfortable to drop impact in my bags with flexvolt batteries. Too heavy.

Hilti is getting me 36v 7 1/4 Lefty in few weeks to try. They’ll be realeased in jan/ Feb next year. .
If that works I’m leaning on expanding all Hilti for primary. It going all Makita. Maki like Hilti is not effected by heat or Cold like DeWalt. Selloff DeWalt.

glass wrote:

Good old Dewalt.  Flexvolt tools are supposed to stop working before battery is too far drained. Let’s see do not charge them up after use if you are not going to use them right away. How long is too long to store a fully charged Dewalt battery, a day, a week, a month, a year. Maybe Dewalt needs a redesign. 

CityDecks wrote:

11 hours ago, CityDecks said:

DeWalt started to bonk just after the extensive heat wave we had this yr. My tools are stored in tstaks and tough box on roof tops all yr around.

 

I have noticed my toughsystem trap heat inside the box. I open the box on a hot day and feel the inside of the box is noticeably warmer than the outside. I try to keep them out of the sun but sometimes it is either not practical or not possible to keep them out of the sun.

Same here they get like saunas. That might get a part of it. Either way wasting too much time with repairs and it warranty crap. Luckily I have 6 it 7 Impacts due to the fact of having 1-4 out for repairs at anytime. Granite I do a lot 3-6″ of sds several thousands per year.

Jronman wrote:

I have noticed my toughsystem trap heat inside the box. I open the box on a hot day and feel the inside of the box is noticeably warmer than the outside. I try to keep them out of the sun but sometimes it is either not practical or not possible to keep them out of the sun.

It’s the heat.  Heat kills the cells faster than anything.   If you abuse the cells when they are already hot they won’t last long.  Mine get used hard daily and are kept fully charged most of the time.  But I don’t store them in a hot place and let them cool before charging if they do get hot.  Some of my 6.0 flexvolts are over 2 years old and still as strong as ever.  All of my 9’s are over a year old.  I have 2.0 and 4.0 packs from 2013/2014.  Still work great.  But look terrible!

Gotta be the roof top heat….I have dozen of flex 6 and a dozen flex 9 and 4 flex 12…no problems with the batteries at all. Use them 7 days a week framing ,in all weather….since they came out.

    @CityDecks why are you using flexvolt batteries on an impact driver? Way to big and unbalanced…a 5ah or 20v 6ah at most is all you need…we don’t put more then a 5ah on a drill or impact…

    If you like the Makita rear handle ,that’s cool….but we have 3 of them  and noone uses them,way underpowered and awkward balance…. nothing comes close to the POWA of the dewalt  577….best cordless/ corded saw ever made…

      ..The new Milwaukee HD circ is underpowered also,bogs down and is the physically largest 7 1/4 I’ve ever used, it’s ridiculous, huge motor..

And it was ridiculously hot this summer. I’m getting Hilti Lefty 36v in CPL of weeks. If it’s good I’ll go all hilti. Other issue with DeWalt impact is we burn them rather quickly. Warranty or not slot of service. Heat and driving cpl hundred sds gets them really hot to the point of not being able to hold so we grab different gun. Hilt’s just get warm after 100+. Sds but no where near DEWALT temps.

Framer joe wrote:

Gotta be the roof top heat….I have dozen of flex 6 and a dozen flex 9 and 4 flex 12…no problems with the batteries at all. Use them 7 days a week framing ,in all weather….since they came out.
    [mention=56839]CityDecks[/mention] why are you using flexvolt batteries on an impact driver? Way to big and unbalanced…a 5ah or 20v 6ah at most is all you need…we don’t put more then a 5ah on a drill or impact…
    If you like the Makita rear handle ,that’s cool….but we have 3 of them  and noone uses them,way underpowered and awkward balance…. nothing comes close to the POWA of the dewalt  577….best cordless/ corded saw ever made…
      ..The new Milwaukee HD circ is underpowered also,bogs down and is the physically largest 7 1/4 I’ve ever used, it’s ridiculous, huge motor..

@CityDecks…are you talking about the dewalt dcf877 impact driver? Or the 899 impact wrench? 

…..sds tapcons? 

New DeWalt brushless 3 speed and previous brushless. Impact.nit wrench

Framer joe wrote:

[mention=56839]CityDecks[/mention]…are you talking about the dewalt dcf877 impact driver? Or the 899 impact wrench? 
…..sds tapcons? 

@CityDecks…wow if your using the Dewalt dvf899 ,3 speed impact wrench..and it’s getting hot driving tapcons ,never heard of that.

We use the dewalt sds max drill to drill 9″ x 1/2″ holes 90-120..then 

    We drive 1/2″ x 8″ Titan bolts into concrete foundations about 90-120 per house , with the 899 impact wrench…gets warm but never hot, it’s about 2 years old…..we use it for many applications…like driving 8-10″ truss locks ,flat locks, into quad or 6x ply Engineered lumber…no problems so far…

     Maybe where you are ,is extremely hott?  

I think he means they have 887s and 886s joe.

Actually the Makita rear handle has plenty of power. The dewalt has more but it’s not needed. The dewalt is too heavy unbalanced and it’s short battery life is a bummer. It’s a real disappointment. Actually it falls in boat anchor status. 

Impact driver dcf887b. Simpson sds flat heads t40 bit or 3/8 hex head 3-6″. 200-300 day. We do 20,000 ++sf Miles of leadgers and beams and 6*6 blocking for top mount Rails. No Titan or masonry achors but when it’s masonry we use tapcons to tack up then threaded rod rod and epoxy. Most of our jobs we’re attaching to brick.

Babysaw wrote:

I think he means they have 887s and 886s joe.
 
 

Dcs577b sirc is nice but but cutting has gone down from 165+/- 2*10/12 cross cuts to 60+/- before BATTS bonk. Went DeWalt service center to drop off some repairs and gad batts tested. 2- were warranty fried. 2- Water damage. 4- tested ok but still crap out. 2

CityDecks wrote:

Impact driver dcf887b. Simpson sds flat heads t40 bit or 3/8 hex head 3-6″. 200-300 day. We do 20,000 ++sf Miles of leadgers and beams and 6*6 blocking for top mount Rails. No Titan or masonry achors but when it’s masonry we use tapcons to tack up then threaded rod rod and epoxy. Most of our jobs we’re attaching to brick.


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

Are we talking about the 7 1/4 Lefty worm drive style? Yes?
The dewalt is off balanced and actually about 2lbs lighter the Maki. But Maki is way more balanced which offsets weight difference. I can hardly notice. Also I not really pleased with batt life in Maki either. I just picked up one with 5 – 5.0 Batts DBL charger, single charger and compact impact for 369.00 at Makita party trailer at home Depot. . Love the ergonamics of saw and Impact. Good speed on impact. Actually faster then my Hilti sid but then again Hilti has 1700+ lbs and just smokes anything I throw at it. Maki and hilt are very nicely sized and lighter then dewalt with flexvolt.

glass wrote:

Actually the Makita rear handle has plenty of power. The dewalt has more but it’s not needed. The dewalt is too heavy unbalanced and it’s short battery life is a bummer. It’s a real disappointment. Actually it falls in boat anchor status. 

CityDecks wrote:

Are we talking about the 7 1/4 Lefty worm drive style? Yes?
The dewalt is off balanced and actually about 2lbs lighter the Maki. But Maki is way more balanced which offsets weight difference. I can hardly notice. Also I not really pleased with batt life in Maki either. I just picked up one with 5 – 5.0 Batts DBL charger, single charger and compact impact for 369.00 at Makita party trailer at home Depot. . Love the ergonamics of saw and Impact. Good speed on impact. Actually faster then my Hilti sid but then again Hilti has 1700+ lbs and just smokes anything I throw at it. Maki and hilt are very nicely sized and lighter then dewalt with flexvolt.


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

Problem solved .

If your running 100+ Structural anchors every single day you need the right tool. 

I was looking at that well just for my production decking.

JakeDewalt wrote:

Problem solved .
If your running 100+ Structural anchors every single day you need the right tool. 
 
[External image (s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com), not copied]

We’ll be getting a DeWalt display in out store In januari/februari. 

I really hope their batteries are not gonna give us much troubles

Good luck

kornomaniac wrote:

We’ll be getting a DeWalt display in out store In januari/februari. 
 
I really hope their batteries are not gonna give us much troubles

Like anything else, take care of your batteries and they will take care of you. I stop at 1 bar and I don’t try to charge warm batteries. Sometimes I’ll set up a fan, hell when using the dcb118 (4 amp charger) I usually point a fan since they get warm. 

Way too much work for me. No hassle ever with Hilti. And there ridiculous warranty and store 5 min from shop. I heard from few in way colder areas then Philly that Maki gas no trouble in heat or Cold.

Babysaw wrote:

Like anything else, take care of your batteries and they will take care of you. I stop at 1 bar and I don’t try to charge warm batteries. Sometimes I’ll set up a fan, hell when using the dcb118 (4 amp charger) I usually point a fan since they get warm. 

Makita rear handled is lighter than the dewalt and narrower and better balanced. Dewalt rear handled saw is 14 lbs with 9 amp battery. Makita is 12.4 with 2 5.0 batteries. Please stick to facts. 

While the dcf899 or any high torque impact wrench is great to have in the arsenal, I think it’s a bit overkill for a 3/8″ anchor.  I personally prefer a compact impact wrench for that size fastner but if you look at dewalts dcf890 3/8″ compact impact wrench it’s literally a dcf886 with a 3/8″ anvil and different model number.  So as long as you’re not breaking bit adapters I can’t hardly see how it would be any harder on the tool.

Also I know the OP asked about battery longevity and I know all these sugestions are the proper ways to take care of tool batteries and I myself try to follow them to get the most out of my batteries.  But the reality is there are a lot of people out there that are clueless about these things or simply dont care about tools the way us tool forum guys do and run the tools down to the last trigger pull every time and just throw them back on the chargers hot.  I would be willing to bet the number of batteries that take the beating and just keep working far outweighs the number that actually crap out.

Do DeWalt chargers have a fan that cools down batteries on the charger before starting to charge em ?

The fast chargers do but they like to put cheapo chargers with a lot of their kits.  If I remember right a youtube video compared chargers from different brands and the dewalt battery on the fast charger stayed the coolest in that paticular test.

kornomaniac wrote:

7 hours ago, kornomaniac said:

Do DeWalt chargers have a fan that cools down batteries on the charger before starting to charge em ?

I only use the new flexvolt included fast chargers because of this. Makita spoiled me with their chargers. I never have had any issues with the older ones but the fan is a big deal to me.

You think Maki spoiled you at 45min. Hilti standard / slow charger is 30min +/-. There fast charger is 15-20min.

ChrisK wrote:

I only use the new flexvolt included fast chargers because of this. Makita spoiled me with their chargers. I never have had any issues with the older ones but the fan is a big deal to me.

CityDecks wrote:

2 hours ago, CityDecks said:

You think Maki spoiled you at 45min. Hilti standard / slow charger is 30min +/-. There fast charger is 15-20min.

 

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 

 

According to hilti ( Belgium at the least ) their fast charger is 50 mins ?

I’m in USA

kornomaniac wrote:

According to hilti ( Belgium at the least ) their fast charger is 50 mins ?

I’d like to see side by side comparison of these majestic Hilti tools. I think they are overrated.

Id bet the Dewalt worm style would outperform hilti pictured

CityDecks wrote:

On 10/26/2018 at 12:17 PM, CityDecks said:

Look at this beast
 

Looks like a fuck ass heavy lump of a saw…. 😛

kornomaniac wrote:

Looks like a fuck ass heavy lump of a saw…. [emoji14]

There are a few comparison vids on YouTube where Hilti is in the mix. They never crack top three. 

If Hilti works for you, and their service center is five minutes away, perfect. Enjoy your tools. I will say that complaining about batteries, being taught correct battery procedure, then stating it’s too much work to take care of your tools, doesn’t make much sense. But hey it’s Hilti’s problem now. 

ChrisK wrote:

8 hours ago, ChrisK said:

I only use the new flexvolt included fast chargers because of this. Makita spoiled me with their chargers. I never have had any issues with the older ones but the fan is a big deal to me.

In the field I use fast chargers to maintain productivity, and over the weekend I typically use the slower 2 amp chargers that come with drills etc to do maintenance cycles. Every Dewalt 20v charger will perform an 8hour maintenance cycle if the pack is left on charger, and I’ve found (just a personal observation not tested) that batteries perform better after letting them cycle. The Dewalt battery literature states to maintenance cycle once ever four charges for maximum health if memory serves.

Babysaw wrote:

1 minute ago, Babysaw said:

In the field I use fast chargers to maintain productivity, and over the weekend I typically use the slower 2 amp chargers that come with drills etc to do maintenance cycles. Every Dewalt 20v charger will perform an 8hour maintenance cycle if the pack is left on charger, and I’ve found (just a personal observation not tested) that batteries perform better after letting them cycle. The Dewalt battery literature states to maintenance cycle once ever four charges for maximum health if memory serves.

Thanks for that, I did I not know they did a recycle. I keep the batteries off of the charger

Yeah I believe it’s in the battery FAQ under ‘can I leave the pack on charger?’

they say yes do it then go into detail.

What model Hilti charger charges a battery in 15 min? Also what size batt are we talking? The fastest chargers I have are the metabo ASC Ultra which does 7.0ah LiHDs in about 45 min and the QC330 which does my 338wh battery in 55 minutes. The QC500 does it in 35 min but charges all smaller batteries in the same amount of time as the QC330. I put hot batteries on the charger all the time (chargers with built in fans) and if they are too hot the chargers cool them before charging and some of the metabo batteries are 8 years old now and still going well. I notice when I put a milwaukee 9.0 on my old milwaukee charger it got hot and cut the charging process (no fan). Dewalt flexvolt rarely get warm when I use them and I’ll use them non stop at times until the battery is fully discharged.

CityDecks wrote:

12.5 lbs just like the rest.

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

22v or 18+5.2v biggest under 36v

method wrote:

What model Hilti charger charges a battery in 15 min? Also what size batt are we talking? The fastest chargers I have are the metabo ASC Ultra which does 7.0ah LiHDs in about 45 min and the QC330 which does my 338wh battery in 55 minutes. The QC500 does it in 35 min but charges all smaller batteries in the same amount of time as the QC330. I put hot batteries on the charger all the time (chargers with built in fans) and if they are too hot the chargers cool them before charging and some of the metabo batteries are 8 years old now and still going well. I notice when I put a milwaukee 9.0 on my old milwaukee charger it got hot and cut the charging process (no fan). Dewalt flexvolt rarely get warm when I use them and I’ll use them non stop at times until the battery is fully discharged.

When you’re banging out 1000sf +/- about every 4 days who the fk gives crap about monitoring batteries. They drive till they slow down start to big you can hear/ feel it that’s when it gets swapped. It’s about precision speed and convenience not babysitting batteries.

Babysaw wrote:

There are a few comparison vids on YouTube where Hilti is in the mix. They never crack top three. 
 
If Hilti works for you, and their service center is five minutes away, perfect. Enjoy your tools. I will say that complaining about batteries, being taught correct battery procedure, then stating it’s too much work to take care of your tools, doesn’t make much sense. But hey it’s Hilti’s problem now. 
 

tools perform to my standard or there outtahere.

CityDecks wrote:

When you’re banging out 1000sf +/- about every 4 days who the fk gives crap about monitoring batteries. They drive till they slow down start to big you can hear/ feel it that’s when it gets swapped. It’s about precision speed and convenience not babysitting batteries.


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

Time is worth a hell of a then 25 or 100bucks for 1 x upgrade then residual headaches. I’m not saying hilti or Maki don’t fail but it’s a hell of lot less the DeWalt. Garuntee that. They all have there lil perks over the other one way or another. The great thing is that we options.

Whoever asked about HILTI charge # I’ll get back to you or go to hilti usa there on site.

CityDecks wrote:

When you’re banging out 1000sf +/- about every 4 days who the fk gives crap about monitoring batteries. They drive till they slow down start to big you can hear/ feel it that’s when it gets swapped. It’s about precision speed and convenience not babysitting batteries.


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

I dunno why you’re still in the Dewalt forum if this is how you feel? Enjoy the Hilti forum. Enjoy your tools that cost twice as much for half the productivity. Whatever dude you complained about your batteries, people come on here and give good faith examples of how you can stop damaging your tools like a maroon and your response essentially is ‘my mind is already made up and y’all are wasting your time talking to me.’

I set my chargers on break, switch batts at lunch. I’ve got plenty of batteries to never slow production, and if you want to compare productivity with somebody Framer Joe may have something to say. 

The most powerful Hilti charger available here is 350w. I doubt that would charge any high capacity battery in 15 min unless there is a much larger version available where you are? Hilti make quality tools but you do pay a lot more for them because of their service options. There is no single tool company who own the rest.  I have cordless dewalt, husqvarna, paslode, metabo, hilti, milwaukee and AEG as well as corded milwaukee, Bosch, protool, hitachi and makita and im sure ibe forgotten a few. Each tool I buy is best suited at the application I’m using it for regardless of brand. Being on multiple platforms doesn’t bother me. We use tools harder than most other contractors. I’ve burned out 3 hitachi jackhammers in one night on a job once. When I say non stop I mean finger on the trigger under fulll load cutting without stopping until the battery is flat etc.

If you have so many issues with batteries and tools then go for Hilti, they will deliver replacement tools and batteries to your site and service for free for two years here. All of that is built into the price of the tools and if it saves you on down time it’s paid for itself within the first two call outs. I’ve had problems with all of my tools including Hilti (except for my corded makita, protool and cordless husqvarna tools so far).