With tightening budgets and needed repairs it is time to consider doing it yourself. However, having the right type of tools to complete the job is essential, whether you are fixing the door hinges or putting up crown molding to give some character to your living room.

The basic rule of getting a replacement battery is that it should have the same voltage as the original. An 18V drill cannot run on a 12V battery. It can only run on a 18V battery. The other thing is that the physical packaging of a battery can be different from company to company. A 12V Ryobi battery may not fit into a 12V Makita cordless drill unless the battery has the right physical dimensions. So make sure the replacement battery looks the same as the old one before you order it. Also, if you are looking for a replacement battery of the same voltage rating and by the same company, know that battery technology is changing rapidly. An 18V lithium-ion battery has a different physical packaging than a NiCad 18V battery.

Using your mobile phone eddy stock in G or Dual Mode drains the battery much quicker than just GSM mode. Somewhere in the manual for your phone will be listed the battery times separately for GSM and 3G. On modern mobile phones, the GSM only life-cycle can be up to 50% more efficient.

I spent a few days looking over the internet for a decent camera that would fit an amateur photographer like myself. I decided to go with the Canon EOS 1000D.

Avoid buying spares: Unlike wine and cheese, Li batteries do not improve with age. Avoid the temptation to buy spares, unless you use them frequently. Check the manufacture date, and never buy an old Lithium battery stocks, even if on sale.

External effects can be a radiator in your room or direct sunlight, or just simply a mind boggling ambient temperature. A Lithium mines Ontario-ion cell loses 20% of its maximum capacity in one year when it's stored on 40 degrees Celsius and full charge. Not too many people have 40 C in their room all year long, but what about internal heat sources? If you use your notebook from AC power, you're keeping it fully charged, which it doesn't fancy, and on about 40C.

Some experts talk about running water being safer than still water, but studies have found lake water to be among the cleanest because the ultraviolet rays of the sun kill bacteria near the surface. When taking water from a lake or pond, take water under the surface, but near the surface. Check the rate of water that is flowing into and out of the lake. Are there any stock animals or other animals that could make the water impure?

For jobs where the batteries are required to be light weight as well as being reusable, then lithium batteries are ideal. But if a battery is needed to be very reliable or to remain unused for a long time then they might not be the right batteries for it.