RYOBI 18v cordless drills - battery query

[GarraGee]

Probably not used for at least 3 years and kept in the garage.

Went to charge it today and no lights and drill not taking charge. Drill works for a few seconds after a long charge attempt, then gives up.

I know replacement batteries are available - just wondered if anyone had any personal experience in this area??

Thanks

GG

[redsturgeon]

Probably not used for at least 3 years and kept in the garage.

Went to charge it today and no lights and drill not taking charge. Drill works for a few seconds after a long charge attempt, then gives up.

I know replacement batteries are available - just wondered if anyone had any personal experience in this area??

Thanks

GG

Battery will have died being left that long. New battery required. You should have kept it charged.

John

[GarraGee]

Many thanks, John.

So, are you saying the battery should be permanently on charge or is it done on a charge/discharge routine?

Also, any recs for suppliers?

GG

[redsturgeon]

It depends on the battery type, Ni Cad, or NiMh or LiOn but I know of no rechargeable battery type that would take kindly to three years of no usage and no charging.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Rechargeable-Ba ... 809/g.html

John

[redsturgeon]

If you go on youtube and look up Ryobi battery fix there may be a hack that works. But beware that Li-ion batteries can explode if mistreated.

If you recharge every couple of months whether or not you use the drill then you will get a longer life.

John

[bungeejumper]

Haven't checked this lately, so could be out of date, but I believe that lithium ion batteries don't like frost at all. (I've heard stories of satnavs dying in cars left out in sub-zero temperatures.) We have a couple of Li-Ion gizmos (a hedge trimmer and a lawn edger), and we bring them into the house in winter and give them a top-up charge now and then. So far so good.

BJ

[jfgw]

If you use a drill that rarely, I would not recommend a battery one at all. It will cost you the price of a new battery every time you want to use it unless you give it a charge every now and again. Cordless drills are great for tradesmen or regular DIYers but, for the occasional user, they are not very cost-effective. It does depend upon what you want to use it for but, for general and occasional use, even a fairly cheap mains drill is likely to work better and last a lifetime.

Screwfix have a mains drill for about £20 which would be better value than buying a new battery. If you ever want to drill into masonry, spend a bit more for one with hammer action. Better still, buy a better quality one if you can justify it.

Julian F. G. W.

[GarraGee]

Interesting. I must have a rethink.

Many thanks.

GG

[kempiejon]

If you use a drill that rarely, I would not recommend a battery one at all. It will cost you the price of a new battery every time you want to use it unless you give it a charge every now and again. Cordless drills are great for tradesmen or regular DIYers but, for the occasional user, they are not very cost-effective. It does depend upon what you want to use it for but, for general and occasional use, even a fairly cheap mains drill is likely to work better and last a lifetime.

Morning GG, a mains drill is always ready to go, never runs flat half way through a job, they're often a bit smaller and certainly lighter than battery counterparts and when are you going to be DIYing far from mains anyway? I have a rechargeable driver and drill and they are handy but as jfgw suggested in your specific case, intermittent use every few years, mains could be a better alternative.

[NomoneyNohoney]

Haven't checked this lately, so could be out of date, but I believe that lithium ion batteries don't like frost at all. (I've heard stories of satnavs dying in cars left out in sub-zero temperatures.) We have a couple of Li-Ion gizmos (a hedge trimmer and a lawn edger), and we bring them into the house in winter and give them a top-up charge now and then. So far so good.

BJ

I wish I could draw cartoons. I have a vision of BJ sitting up in bed, with a nice warm hedge trimmer and lawn edger poking out from under the duvet, and Mrs BJ saying, "You take more care of those things than you do of me."

[redsturgeon]

If you use a drill that rarely, I would not recommend a battery one at all. It will cost you the price of a new battery every time you want to use it unless you give it a charge every now and again. Cordless drills are great for tradesmen or regular DIYers but, for the occasional user, they are not very cost-effective. It does depend upon what you want to use it for but, for general and occasional use, even a fairly cheap mains drill is likely to work better and last a lifetime.

Morning GG, a mains drill is always ready to go, never runs flat half way through a job, they're often a bit smaller and certainly lighter than battery counterparts and when are you going to be DIYing far from mains anyway? I have a rechargeable driver and drill and they are handy but as jfgw suggested in your specific case, intermittent use every few years, mains could be a better alternative.

I have an old Black and Decker mains drill that I have had for about 20 years, during that time about four cordless drill have come and gone. The B&D still gets the odd outing when I have some really heavy duty stuff to do and it is a useful standby. However the cordless drills are used 99% of the time in preference, just much easier and the B&D is no use for screw driving which is a major usage. I used to have old heavy cordless 18v drills with NiCads and the only reason they failed was due to the batteries. I now have one of these:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb1082 ... bare/6213j

It is brilliant about half the size and weight of my previous drills and the mains B&D and powerful enough for 99% of what I do. The Li-ion battery lasts well and as long as you remember to top it up after you use it and keep in charge every three months then it's fine.

John

[bungeejumper]

I wish I could draw cartoons. I have a vision of BJ sitting up in bed, with a nice warm hedge trimmer and lawn edger poking out from under the duvet, and Mrs BJ saying, "You take more care of those things than you do of me."

Ah, that trimmer's useful for tidying up the hair on the back of my neck, you know. It goes with the angle grinder that I use for my toenails. I'm working on a bikini attachment for the trimmer, too. Greetings from the spare bedroom.

BJ

[GarraGee]

Pity we no longer have the ability to recommend specific posts - the last post from bj certainly merits a rec!!!!

Unless I've missed, of course, - always possible!!!!

Thanks

GG

[sg31]

Haven't checked this lately, so could be out of date, but I believe that lithium ion batteries don't like frost at all. (I've heard stories of satnavs dying in cars left out in sub-zero temperatures.) We have a couple of Li-Ion gizmos (a hedge trimmer and a lawn edger), and we bring them into the house in winter and give them a top-up charge now and then. So far so good.

BJ

I wish I could draw cartoons. I have a vision of BJ sitting up in bed, with a nice warm hedge trimmer and lawn edger poking out from under the duvet, and Mrs BJ saying, "You take more care of those things than you do of me."

She won't be complaining when she finds a bush that needs trimming...

[k333]

I lost a Bosch hedgetrimmer battery a while ago by leaving it plugged into the device. Apparently you're not supposed to do that.

- K

[bungeejumper]

I lost a Bosch hedgetrimmer battery a while ago by leaving it plugged into the device. Apparently you're not supposed to do that.

An li-ion battery? That sounds unfortunate. As above, the battery on our G-Tech trimmer is integral to the handle and doesn't remove, and it's been fine during the three years we've had it. But we don't leave the charger permanently plugged in, and we bring it indoors in winter.

BJ

[k333]

I lost a Bosch hedgetrimmer battery a while ago by leaving it plugged into the device. Apparently you're not supposed to do that.

An li-ion battery? That sounds unfortunate. As above, the battery on our G-Tech trimmer is integral to the handle and doesn't remove, and it's been fine during the three years we've had it. But we don't leave the charger permanently plugged in, and we bring it indoors in winter.

BJ

Yes I would never leave the charger permanently plugged in either. Just asking for trouble! But I did check the replacement trimmer manual and that too says to disconnect the battery if not to be used for a long time (presumably several months I would guess).

- K

[alex812]

I own a few Ryobi tools and they were originally supplied with NiMH batteries. These I found to be less than satisfactory. The batteries tailed off in performance quite quickly and, like others have said, they needed to go through a charging cycle fairly frequently. I got fed up with being caught out by flat batteries and so switched to lithium batteries. There's no comparison but you have to accept that lithium cells are potentially less safe than NiMH. That being said I've had no problems in two years. I bought the batteries from Ryobi rather than a third party source (although they all originate from PRC).

There is an interesting write-up at http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arch ... st_battery

Alex