{"id":4142,"date":"2024-06-26T13:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T12:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tooled-up.com\/blog\/?p=4142"},"modified":"2024-06-26T14:01:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:01:17","slug":"sealed-batteries-keeping-out-water-and-dust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tooled-up.com\/blog\/sealed-batteries-keeping-out-water-and-dust\/","title":{"rendered":"Sealed Batteries: Keeping Out Water and Dust"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Power tool battery technology seems to be breaking new boundaries every few months at the moment. With batteries providing ever increasing levels of power and runtime, we’ve now reached the point where just about every type of power tool is available in a cordless option. Battery powered demolition hammers, 1\/2″ plunge routers, table saws, paddle mixers and pressure washers have all become a reality in recent years, and as more and more people opt for the convenience of going cordless, this means that batteries are getting used in some less than favourable conditions. Splashes of water and clouds of dust are going to be a fact of life in many applications, neither of which is going to be be good for sensitive electronic components. But in this blog post we’ll examine some of the ways of keeping the water and dust out, including the new Power X-Change Sealed Batteries<\/a> from Einhell.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It’s no secret that water doesn’t react well with electrical components, but large quantities of dust, debris, or indeed a combination of all three – sludge, if you like, can also have a pretty detrimental effect. And while your old faithful cordless drill is unlikely to suffer any adverse effects in standard working conditions, tools like cordless sanders, mixing drills, water pumps, jet washers and disc cutters are especially prone to potentially harmful dust and liquid ingress.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Machines which are intended to work in wet and dusty environments will hopefully have protective design features which help to shield internal components from the worst of these exterior conditions, but unfortunately that doesn’t guarantee that the batteries themselves will have been built to the same specifications – and when you consider how much of the cost of a cordless tool is tied up in them, you’ll probably be keen to keep them in good condition for as long as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n

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So what should you look out for when using cordless tools in wet and dusty environments? One of the most widely used international standards used to describe resistance to dust and water is the IP rating, which you may find quoted for machines, batteries and various other pieces of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IP Rating <\/h3>\n\n\n
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If a product has been designated with an IP rating, it provides you with information on what kinds of conditions it can withstand. IP stands for Ingress Protection, and the standard is written as the letters IP followed by two numbers, e.g IP56. The first number is the resistance to solid particles, and the second number is the resistance to liquids. In both cases, the scale starts at 0 (no protection) and goes up to 6 or higher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IP Rating (first number)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n