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safely building a charging station for battery powered tools
Posted on 6/17/25 at 3:05 pm
Posted on 6/17/25 at 3:05 pm
What would be the safest way to make sure I can house all of my batteries for my tools? We have 3 EGO 56V chargers and at least 3 Craftsman 20V chargers. I'd like to keep them all stored someplace and with the ability to charge as many as I can without doing anything that will overload the circuit it's on. If you guys have any setups to share I wouldn't mind seeing those as a guide.
4
Posted on 6/17/25 at 3:42 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
the chargers will tell you what the amp draw is. The ego and dewalt chargers i use barely draw anything…I just run them all on a power strip off a single 20A
Posted on 6/17/25 at 8:39 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
I just have mine wall mounted and plugged into a good power strip. My Dewalt 6-amp and 12-amp fast chargers, at full boogie, don't even draw 400W together. I also have an Echo 58V charger, a Milwaukee M12/M18 fast charger, and work light plugged into the same strip. Most chargers now work in stages so as long as you aren't plugging in a bunch of depleted high-capacity batteries all at once then you should be fine on regular power strip.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 12:10 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
If you have the ability...build your charging station in an out building (workshop or barn) and store in a vented metal box.
I know 2 people who had fires start in their garage due to plugged in tool batteries. One had camera footage of the the thing just sparking and starting to burning out of the blue in the middle of the day.
Do the research...there are TONS of people who keep them on the charger in the garage without incident, but there is also a large number of reported fires that have started as a result.
I know 2 people who had fires start in their garage due to plugged in tool batteries. One had camera footage of the the thing just sparking and starting to burning out of the blue in the middle of the day.
Do the research...there are TONS of people who keep them on the charger in the garage without incident, but there is also a large number of reported fires that have started as a result.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 3:01 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
I’m a big fan of lithium batteries in general, just built a pack last night from 33140s.
Power tool batteries are generally awful because they use the charger and tools themselves for protection. They often don’t have the ability to keep the individual cells balanced or shutdown for anything on their own.
Safest things you can do:
Always buy from reputable supplier to avoid counterfeit packs. Amazon is only a reputable supplier of item is actually “Sold by Amazon.”
Rebuilds are ok but same rule applies. Lots of counterfeit cells out there.
Never store lithium ion cells at full charge. Recommend level is 20-80% meaning close to nominal voltage or 3.6-3.7v per cell.
Keep an eye on them. If they are hot coming off the tool or charger, check up on them to make sure they cool down.
Power tool batteries are generally awful because they use the charger and tools themselves for protection. They often don’t have the ability to keep the individual cells balanced or shutdown for anything on their own.
Safest things you can do:
Always buy from reputable supplier to avoid counterfeit packs. Amazon is only a reputable supplier of item is actually “Sold by Amazon.”
Rebuilds are ok but same rule applies. Lots of counterfeit cells out there.
Never store lithium ion cells at full charge. Recommend level is 20-80% meaning close to nominal voltage or 3.6-3.7v per cell.
Keep an eye on them. If they are hot coming off the tool or charger, check up on them to make sure they cool down.
This post was edited on 6/18/25 at 3:04 pm
Posted on 6/18/25 at 5:26 pm to Dallaswho
quote:
Amazon is only a reputable supplier of item is actually “Sold by Amazon.”
I have received several counterfeit items from Amazon that were "Sold by Amazon"
Posted on 6/20/25 at 9:57 pm to Dallaswho
Great info and I can confirm that complacency is a hazard.
Last month I had about six lithium batteries on charge (like always without a problem) and went on vacation. One fried out or exploded and set the entire batch afire. Gutted my 12x16 workshop filled with tools and accumulated stuff.
At $30K in damage and contents loss so far. Hard, expensive lesson.
Fire department said they see this a lot in the summer. And that lithium batteries cause a really intense heat that just cooks everything in an enclosed workshop. Plus all the plastics these days give off an oily soot that corrodes iron and fricks up the innards of many electric tools.
This time I’m sticking with bonafide DeWalt and Ego batteries, taking them off chargers when done and spacing them out and running the two brands on separate circuits.
Any other advice? Except not to go on vacation.
Last month I had about six lithium batteries on charge (like always without a problem) and went on vacation. One fried out or exploded and set the entire batch afire. Gutted my 12x16 workshop filled with tools and accumulated stuff.
At $30K in damage and contents loss so far. Hard, expensive lesson.
Fire department said they see this a lot in the summer. And that lithium batteries cause a really intense heat that just cooks everything in an enclosed workshop. Plus all the plastics these days give off an oily soot that corrodes iron and fricks up the innards of many electric tools.
This time I’m sticking with bonafide DeWalt and Ego batteries, taking them off chargers when done and spacing them out and running the two brands on separate circuits.
Any other advice? Except not to go on vacation.
Posted on 6/20/25 at 10:22 pm to MDB
quote:
. One fried out or exploded
I think the OP question was more centered around adequate power supply to charge large batts at once. But your unfortunate situation is what I've been trying to figure out to avoid. Lithium battery fires have become pretty common I understand.
I'm sure off-brand batts are the largest culprit but it could probably happen to any of them.
I thought about getting some sheet metal and making a fire-proof box to charge them in. Problem with that is now you have a box loaded with "ammo" and I'm not even sure sheet metal would contain it. Then the problem of if it happens in a garage or home, even without fire, the smoke is terrible.
Considering building a very small charging station shed away from any structure I care about. That sounds like a pita and may be taking things too far though
I know it happened on your vacation but I bet fires overwhelmingly happens to people when they are sleeping or at work. So just taking precautions when going out of town probably isn't the solution.
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