Battery pack failure (was Quirky and amusing things...) [RE-wrenches]

[Phil Undercuffler, Positive Energy]

----- Original Message -----
From: "William Miller" <wrmiller at slonet.org>

> I have several 14.4 volt NiMh Makita batteries<snip>I
> held the chuck and after a moment, the drill was stronger.  After doing
> this several times it got progressively stronger.  So I got comfortable
> sitting on my tailgate while discharging the drill.  After about a minute,
> the battery exploded like an M80 in my lap.

I have an 18 volt NiMh Bosch had a similar failure, although fortunately not
quite so catastrophic nor so near my gonads.  I was fastening rake flashing
on my metal roof, screwing through three layers of tin.  The drill was
bogging down in the last few threads, finally stalling out.  I gave the
drill a twist to seat the panel, and suddenly everything went zap. I pulled
the battery out of the drill, and watched a 3/4" blister form on the head of
the battery pack.  Needless to say, it became an $80 doorstop.

I've never been quite so impressed with the NiMh's capacity/longevity, but
that was the last straw.

Considering what we all invest in tools to do this work (not to mention risk
to body parts/workman's comp rates) I think this is an appropriate thread
for our venue.

Phil Undercuffler
Positive Energy
phil at positiveenergysolar.com

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