Battery charging??

[Nastyzen]

Hello boys n girls!
I have the Colchester Storm a-50 lathe model with Fanuc 21iT.I have not run the machine for a while and I was wondering about my x and z axis batteries going dead.Are these batteries rechargable and get recharged when the machine is running or are they like your regular flashlight bats and just get changed when they run low?They are Panasonic lithium BR-2/3AGCT4A 6V with 4 batteries in the pack.
Thank you

[underthetire]

Lithium, not chargeable. Very expensive. I made a lot of money in the past installing the fanuc D cell battery boxes. Worth while upgrade, once the lithium batteries go, it about 75 bucks for the batteries + overnight shipping- so ~100 bucks every year or two. The battery boxes were 60 bucks, about an hour to cut and mount in the machine, and 10 bucks a year from your local grocery store.

[Nastyzen]

D cells!!?Now why didn't I think of that!That's brilliant indeed.

So if they are not rechargeable then letting the machine run now and again won't do a thing?
underthetire you are awsome!!Thank you so much for the info.

[underthetire]

Not for the batteries, but it's good for the slides to get moved around. It will keep things lubed, loose, and ready to go.

PS, I have seen guys put those 6volt lantern batteries in the machines to. The fanuc box was just a little cleaner.

[MarineMachinist]

Originally Posted by underthetire Lithium, not chargeable. Very expensive. I made a lot of money in the past installing the fanuc D cell battery boxes. Worth while upgrade, once the lithium batteries go, it about 75 bucks for the batteries + overnight shipping- so ~100 bucks every year or two. The battery boxes were 60 bucks, about an hour to cut and mount in the machine, and 10 bucks a year from your local grocery store.

Also, remember that when changing the batteries, make sure the machine is on... otherwise it will dump the axis memories... I learned the hard way. . .

[Nastyzen]

He he!Thank's for the warning but I already knew about that one.Friday I went and picked up the goodies to switch over to D cell alkaline batteries.When I get around to it I will try and post the mod that I came up with.So far about $30.00 bucks spent.

[Nastyzen]

So this is what I came up with for 30 bucks.Thanks a lot again.
Zen