I thought the 'freezer trick' for cordless drill batteries was a myth until my neighbor proved me wrong

For years I heard people say putting a weak lithium-ion battery in the freezer overnight could bring it back to life, and I always dismissed it as nonsense. My neighbor Mark tried it on his old 18V Ryobi battery that wouldn't hold a charge for more than 5 minutes. He left it in a sealed bag for about 12 hours, let it warm up, and charged it fully. The next day, it ran his drill for a solid 25 minutes on a medium load. I was shocked it actually worked, even if it's just a temporary fix. Has anyone else had a battery revival work, or is this just delaying the inevitable replacement?

2 comments

2 Comments

brown.wesley10d ago

My buddy Steve had a Milwaukee battery that was totally dead, wouldn't even light up the charger. He stuck it in a freezer in his garage for a whole weekend as a last ditch thing. After it warmed up, it took a charge and got him through finishing his deck project. It only lasted another month or so before it died for good, but it bought him some time.

kellygarcia10d ago

Guess we're all just putting our electronics on ice now. My old phone battery got the cold treatment and it came back just long enough to let me order a new one. The freezer is basically a hospice for dying batteries.