The first rule you need to be familiar with when choosing a cordless drill is this simple fact-the battery you choose to power this tool will ultimately determine the strength and torque you will get. Obviously, the higher the voltage of the battery, the more power you can expect to get from your cordless drill. While this seems to be very exciting option, there are tradeoffs to be made with a higher voltage cordless tool. There is the burden of additional cost and additional weight if you are going for a higher voltage solution for your drilling needs.

If you have your PC case off you will see something on the motherboard that looks like a small thick silver coin. That is the battery. There are other types of battery used on newer machines (Ni-Cad, NVRAM) but these much less frequently found and so I won't discuss them further.

Why is this important? If you have a relatively new PC the only problem you will get are error messages relating to the clock on start up. No big deal. If your PC is older then a low battery could be a nightmare. I had a PC which once lithium stock every few months refused to boot. Rather than take the PC in for repair or start replacing parts myself the first thing I did was look at the BIOS settings. It was soon obvious that the BIOS settings were corrupt (wrong bus speed). I put a volt meter on the battery and sure enough it was reading 2.2 volts.

Let's look at a typical comparison to prove this point. A normal 9.6 volt cordless drill will weigh around 3-1/2 lbs and costs you $35-$150 a piece, depending on the model and brand you choose. If you opt for a higher voltage tool, a 19.2 volt cordless drill would weigh up to ten lbs and costs anywhere from $120-$300 a piece. If you are looking to get more power and torque from a cordless drill, then it may justify the cost of getting a more expensive version. But if you are merely looking to drive screws in your own home, then it would not be a wise move to waste your hard-earned money on a powerful 19.2 volt cordless drilling. It is much harder to use too, because of the additional weight. Under these circumstances, a lighter version would suit you best.

Another thing to remember is not to store those batteries in the charger as well. This will draw energy away too, and cause your battery to die off sooner than you expect. Keep it away from high heat or extreme coldness. Heat tends to cause damage to your Lithium battery stocks while exposing it to low temperatures over a period of time will draw its charging capacity.

ONickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) - Popular battery about 1-2 years ago. They are lighter than Nickel Cadmium batteries, but heavier than Lithium mines Ontario batteries. These should be cycled once in a while for optimum performance.

Most automakers would like to see Lithium-Ion battery packs (you probably have a Li-Ion battery in your cell phone) which can store more energy. But as of right now, they are still too volatile/unreliable when placed in large packs for major carmakers to use. But that should be changing in the next few years. Both GM (with their Plug-In Saturn Vue) and Toyota (next generation Prius/ Hybrid Systems) believe the next generation of hybrids will come with Li-Ion battery packs.

Grooming items are iffy but worth checking out. Shampoo is a decent find as are scrubbies/loofahs. Items like Chapstick and Vaseline can often be found there and my very favorite soap (Yardley oatmeal and almond) is almost always available at the dollar store. Nail files, packages of combs, tooth flossing sticks are of value. Skip the cotton swabs (too flimsy and could be dangerous), make-up (due to lack of regulation), and make-up remover pads (can I just say UGH!?).