{"id":1337,"date":"2017-05-08T11:29:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T11:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2017-05-08T11:29:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-08T11:29:47","slug":"best-battery-charger-power-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/best-battery-charger-power-tools.htm","title":{"rendered":"The Best Battery Charger for Power Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We made a lot of tools and batteries. My example is the DEWALT flexvolt technology and Milwaukee 9 Ah batteries. But what is a battery charger that complements the energy of the battery? It turns out that there may be more differences between battery chargers than the package itself. Although we do not think someone will jump from one platform to another just because the charger technology, well know who stands out. For this article, we require the best battery charger from the major tool manufacturers. Most responses and participation. Then we took a closer look at how they did it. The following is our evaluation of the best battery charger for electric tools.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What Makes\u00a0the Best Battery Charger?<\/h2>\n

Notice we said WHAT makes the best battery charger, not WHO. Answering the first question really depends on your needs and how you use your power tools. As you go through this article, realize that we don\u2019t expect anyone will shift their tool platform of choice based on a charger. What we do want\u00a0to communicate are any standout features for each platform. Some manufacturers have really done something special with their tool battery charger technology. That deserves some recognition. By the end, you should know which charger offers the best benefits\u00a0for your tool platform.<\/p>\n

Also, there are chargers that exceed the capabilities of the basic models included with tool kits. Knowing that can\u00a0decrease your charging time should you choose to purchase a more advanced model. For any Pros and power users wanting to increase productivity, this could rock your world.<\/p>\n

Air Cooling = Speed<\/h2>\n

No lithium-ion battery pack can be recharged until the temperature is down to a safe level. This is an issue as many packs hit the charger immediately after use. If you just completed\u00a0a high torque\/high speed application, that battery pack may not truly start charging for as much as 10-30 minutes. Yes, even though that light is on, your battery is just sitting there. Some manufacturers employ heat sinks and other physical technologies to help dissipate heat in packs.<\/p>\n

Some of the fastest chargers on the market, however, use fans to pull air through<\/em> the battery packs. Obviously, the packs need to be designed with venting to facilitate this. Running air over a sealed battery pack doesn\u2019t do much. Consequently, chargers with fans that don\u2019t actually circulate air through<\/em> a pack aren\u2019t really doing much to speed the charging process. Packs and chargers that use air cooling efficiently\u00a0include Makita, Metabo, Hitachi, Husqvarna, EGO, and the pending Bosch Eneracer battery<\/a> packs.<\/p>\n

Wall-Mounting the Chargers<\/h2>\n

Since we do literally hundreds of hands-on power tool reviews each year, having access to every charger was critical. When we\u00a0started collecting them all, we decided the best way to serve our particular needs was mounting them to a piece of 3\/4-inch plywood. On the back of the plywood we mounted\u00a0two industrial power strips which we\u00a0connected to\u00a0two separate\u00a020-amp circuits. This gave us plenty of current for simultaneously recharging multiple packs from different manufacturers. We can\u2019t run them all<\/em> at once\u2014but we\u2019ve never needed to.<\/p>\n

It also revealed some serious flaws. As it turns out, many of these battery chargers don\u2019t include keyhole mounts for wall-mounting. It\u2019s an almost unconscionable oversight. Here are the notable offenders (That\u2019s right, we\u2019re calling you out!):<\/p>\n