Lithium, it's not just for mental patients

The latest trend in rechargeable, portable power tools is Lithium Ion technology. Originally it was just the latest hi-tech tweak for the high end tool makers (read: Hilti, Dewalt, Makita). The extended run times, increased peak power output, lighter weight, and longer storage life were touted as time, and therefore money, savers on the job site. Chargers for the batteries also cut the recharge time down to 1/2 or even 1/4 the time it takes to recharge other cells. That's right, those wonderful psychos at Makita actually cut the recharge time for one line of their lithium cell tools form a full hour down to just 15 MINUTES!

Recently things have changed even more for the little Li spot on the periodic chart of the elements from high school Chem class. It started with Bosch introducing a 10v palm sized screwdriver that ran on lithium cells. Even at over $50, the little buggers flew off the shelves as contractors and DIYers found out that with the new tech batteries, it had the power to drive everything that the big 18v units could, and it didn't require breaking that big monster out of its cage. Just reach into your pocket and presto! That last niggling little detail was done, the customer (or wife) was happy, and you got paid (you pick the rhyming word for the DIYer)!

Not too long after, the guys from Black and Decker snuck next door to Dewalt and "liberated" some lithium cells for their own twisted ends. They did it quietly, and with little fanfare, but suddenly DIYers with a budget found that they too could partake of a little lithium therapy. This Christmas B&D had taken it a step further and introduced a full line of lithium power tools designated VPX. The whole line runs off of the same interchangeable cell packs. It appears that these tolls are definitely for LIGHT duty DIY use, but they did do something that will catch everyone's attention. They have made a device that allows you to slam your VPX cell packs into it, and then use them to power your dead cell phone, PDA, notebook etc. Suddenly your tool cells are finding their way out of the garage and into the rest of the house without causing dust, destruction, and saw dust!

Ryobi has also decided that their customers could use a healthy prescription of lithium this year. They have introduced a horrifically green colored line of lithium powered tools (think leg warmers circa '87 for an idea of how bright of a lime green they chose) to their One+ line of 18v rechargeable tools. If you can get over the color, these are the lithium tools for the budget minded. They are priced low enough for you to acquire with out worrying about getting divorce papers from your spouse for purchasing them, and they are tough enough for moderately heavy use. The 2 year warranty doesn't hurt either. The BIG seller for Ryobi will be that these battery packs are BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE to all previous One+ tools. That's right, you can upgrade with out having to flush all your old Ryobi tools and battery packs down the drain! Ryobi even went one step further by making the new charger for the lithium packs backwards compatible also. You can keep you old packs as spares, but go ahead and ditch the old charger if you need to free up some space on the workbench.

As far as lithium in the DIY market goes, I think Ryobi has figured out the correct dosage to keep us all happy and stable.