Charging a Lithium Battery with an 18V Charger

Lithium battery technology is the newest and most sophisticated battery technology commonly available today.

Why use Lithium Batteries?

Lithium ion batteries are lighter than NiCd and NiMh batteries. They also self discharge slower and they maintain stable electrical properties more accurately through their discharge cycle. Lithium ion batteries contain the least toxic materials, compared to nickel metal hydride and nickel cadmium batteries, making them the least harmful to the environment when it comes time to throw them away.

Charging Lithium Batteries

Lithium ion battery packs incorporate advanced circuitry, enabling the battery and charger to communicate with each other. The charger assesses the battery’s state of charge and then selects the most ideal charge profile for that charging cycle. Then the charger executes the charge cycle. Some lithium ion battery chargers incorporate a back-up timer circuit to prevent overcharging.

Using the Wrong Charger

Attempting to charge a lithium ion battery with a NiCd or NiMh battery charger would likely result in an uncharged battery. The lithium ion battery has protective circuitry built in which require the battery to communicate with the charger before the battery can receive a charge. Without this communication, the lithium ion battery will not connect to the charger.