On 5/15/2014 10:36 PM, woodchucker wrote:
On 5/15/2014 10:30 PM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:

The smaller batteries are likely just about the same as the old NiCads
from the blue series.

No matter, they will prove sufficient for accessories like the drill,
vacuum, light, etc. And I did buy the big brutes. I needed the charger
to go with them which is why I wound up spending another $70 to pick up
the charger and the reciprocating saw and two batteries.

Not quite. They are certainly less amps then the big battery, but they
don't require charging like the nicads. They can sit for months and
still hold their charge. Which is why I spent the $69.. seemed like a no
loss situation.


Actually, from what I can find in limited research (Home Depot/Ryobi
make capacity a secret for the most part), their "big" old 18v Ni-Cad
(P109) packs were either 1.5AH or 1.7AH.

The "skimpy" Li-Ion packs coming with the combo (P102) are 1.2AH or only
~71% of the capacity of the larger Ni-Cad. However, and anyone who's
made the switch to Li-Ion knows... capacity is only part of the story.

I've been using Bosch Li-Ion tools for a couple of years now and the
smallest Li-Ion battery they make is better (quicker charging, better
power, lighter weight, long term storage) that the heftiest Ni-Cad pack
from ANY manufacturer that I've found.

My little Hitachi impact driver is so cool, light and powerful, I would
use it for driving. For heavy drilling the Ryobi, but for everyday
drilling the small hitachi. After 3 or 4 years.. can't remember, would
have to look, my Hitachi batteries are still good, but I know the day is
coming that they will need replacement.

I watched the sales at Menard's and CPO for some of their great deals on
Bosch. On two occasions I bought their combos more for the batteries
than the tool itself. Menard's was blowing stuff out with two
batteries, charger and tool for about the price of a replacement battery
alone. Those were true "You suck!" moments when I scored those.
(Actually, SWMBO spotted them in the ad and brought it to my attentiong)