I've been having terrible luck with my batteries lately. My 6th battery just went out in a bizarre and dangerous way. I charged it, and within 5 minutes, my charger started smoking and fried! The weird part is that the battery seemed to be fully charged and even worked in my tool for a while before everything went haywire. I was able to hang some boards and then borrowed a fellow electrician's charger, but then he rushed in, saying his charger was also smoking. How is it possible that a battery can damage two chargers? It seems like the battery is not communicating properly with the charger. Has anyone experienced something similar?
3 Answers
First off, once a battery causes a problem like that, it should be pulled from use immediately. It's dangerous to keep using a battery that clearly has issues. But I totally get your confusion; if it still worked for a bit in your tool, how could you know it was bad? It's a tough call over when to trash a battery or a charger!
It's strange you've had so many batteries go bad. Are you using Milwaukee batteries or third-party ones? I’ve had mine for years without issues. If you're consistently having problems, there might be something else at play here. Definitely check out the battery types you're using, especially if you work in extreme conditions. Those factors might be wearing them out faster than you think!
Yeah, they're legit Milwaukee batteries, but I work in tough conditions and have noticed that temperature affects them. My DeWalt batteries don't have the same issues, which is odd.
Haha! You could definitely pull a prank with that battery! Just think of the look on your buddy's face when his charger starts to smoke! But seriously, don't mess with safety.
We did joke about it! But I wouldn't want anyone to actually get hurt from it.
Right? It's hard to make the decision when the battery seems fine at first. But smoking chargers definitely point to trouble!