[Shop-talk] Did we ever come to a conclusion about lithium-iontools?

[Randall]

> Any thoughts anyone would like to share would be appreciated.

Went through this same question myself just a few days ago.  What I found
were new 'clone' battery packs to fit my old Ryobi drill, even though the
Ryobi no longer offers them.  A pair of higher capacity (than original)
batteries was only about $50 with shipping.  Since a new drill with the same
features and Lion batteries cost 2-3 times that much, I opted to try the
clone batteries; with the thought that by the time they die, the market will
likely have decided on the best battery technology for cordless tools and
costs will come down.  Or not.

Li-ion seems to have come a long way; at least I've been very happy with the
rechargeable AA cells I bought last year for my digital camera.  They last
several times longer on a charge than alkalines, and are still going strong
after about a year.  Whether they would do that well in a cordless tool is a
different question ...

Worth noting perhaps, that some Dell models are known for poor battery
lifetime ... apparently a problem with the charging circuit rather than a
problem with the battery packs themselves.  No way is a 3 week lifetime
normal; perhaps the charger is really to blame.

Randall