Spare Dremel Battery Needed?

[cefinkjr]

My wife got me a beautiful Dremel Model 800 10.8v Cordless Rotary Tool for Christmas...with only a little hinting from me. (Hinting: leading wife by the hand and pointing to the desired item[;)]) This replaced a heavily used 35 year old Dremel that lost an argument with a concrete floor.[xx(]

This Dremel has a lithium ion battery that is supposed to last longer than previous models but my technical knowledge of the subject is totally exhausted by simply remembering the name of the battery type.[D)]

Anyone have any experience with this particular model? I'm trying to decide whether I need to invest another $35 or so for a spare battery. My infrequent (weekly) use would probably amount to an hour of medium speed use in a four hour period but would be away from convenient use of the charger.

[mikebonellisr]

For the amount of usage on the dremel you SHUOLD be able to get away with one battery.I get maybe a little more use out of mine and I have yet to use my second battery.But why take the chance? You know it will run out when you're in the middle of a important project-Murphy's law.

[cacole]

Lithium Ion batteries are the newest in battery technology. They provide more power for a longer period of time, and don't suffer from the problems that NiCad batteries do. With the amount of use you anticipate, one battery should be all you will ever need.

One word of caution: NEVER use a charger that is not made specifically for that tool and that battery. Lithium Ion batteries have special circuitry associated with them that prevents them from being fully discharged and overcharged. When the battery voltage drops to a certain level, the tool will not run at all, and if it is overcharged by using a different type of charger than the one provided with it, it can explode.

[IRONROOSTER]

I haven't needed an extra battery for mine, either. But I love using it.
Enjoy
Paul

[cefinkjr]

Thanks for the advice, folks. While I am a firm believer in Murphy's Law (see my profile), I think I'll try to live with one battery. A second is almost 50% of the price of the tool with all attachments. I can put that money to better use.

The money I don't spend on a spare battery will more than pay for a right angle drive from Dremel. I used one on a friend's railroad last week and immediately fell in love with it. The job was to grind a blob of solder off the pit rail in a turntable 2' from the front edge of the layout and just about at chest level. It took me about 10 minutes -- including finding the right grinder and putting it in the Dremel -- instead of the 45 minutes or an hour that I anticipated when I noticed the bump in the turntable's rotation.

Thanks again,
[bow]
Chuck