Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.

The only lithium tool I have is a Skill driver with a
failed (open) battery. Lithiums are still not quite ready
for prime time in tools.

I'd be willing to pay Ridgid prices for a battery that was
guaranteed for life.
But
What's the probability of actually being able to use it?
I tend to keep tools for half a century.
I've never been able to get warranty replacement on any power tool
I've ever owned (Craftsman hand tools ain't power tools).
The warranty is not for MY lifetime, it's for
the lifetime of the company.

I once had a checking account that paid 7.5% interest on deposits
for life. One Friday, they closed up shop, replaced the sign over
the door and reopened on Monday under a new name. As a courtesy,
they seamlessly transferred all our accounts to the new bank, minus
the interest guarantee. I checked, I was still alive.

In the case of the Skill driver, you can't buy a replacement battery.
Skill doesn't even admit that they ever made that model. And you can't
buy a replacement battery for the current model either.

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid replacement
battery 20 years from now.

Do lithium powered tools make any sense yet?

mike fired this volley in
:

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid
replacement battery 20 years from now.

I have an old cartoon that shows a guy at a camera counter trying to
collect on the "lifetime warrantee", and the guy behind the counter is
pointing a gun at the customer's head.

No lifetime warrantee is worthwhile unless the company will be there
(under the same name) when you need it.

I do have one question, though. You "tend to keep tools 50 years". Does
this mean the next tools you'll purchase will last until you're 100? If
so, I'd suggest finding some old American iron, and refurbishing it.
None of that Hecho in Chine stuff is going to last another 50.

LLoyd

On 11/7/2011 3:45 PM, mike wrote:
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

Nope...

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.
....

Must be sorry-assed charger/battery(-ies), then. My Milwaukees are 10+
and live on the charger when not in use and have never had one either
fail nor have had to replace one yet(+).

(+) Big Red did warranty replacement on the older pair of the two for
some supposed lack of sufficient venting that apparently had caused some
overheating but I'd had that drill for 3-4 yrs by then and never saw any
problems.

As for LiH, while I've not bought anything new enough to have them, see
quite a number w/ trades and DIY'ers of serious use and haven't heard of
such problems in recent years (like at least last 3 or so).

As for an existing older pack, there are any number of places that
can/will rebuild packs w/ new batteries of equivalent or better quality
than the originals at reasonable cost.

--

dpb wrote:
On 11/7/2011 3:45 PM, mike wrote:
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

Nope...

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.
...

Must be sorry-assed charger/battery(-ies), then. My Milwaukees are 10+
and live on the charger when not in use and have never had one either
fail nor have had to replace one yet(+).

There was a guy in home depot wearing a RIDGID tee shirt. Said he was
from the vendor. I suggested that leaving batteries in the charger was
bad. He shook his head and agreed.

Most chargers are sorry-assed. They charge until the battery gets hot
enough to open the thermal cutout. Works ok if you start with a
discharged battery. If you have a charged battery sitting in the charger
and the power glitches restarting the charge, you're gonna seriously
overheat the internals before the thermal cutout cuts out.

While it's quite possible to build a "Proper" charger, the class of tools
I have been buying don't have it.

(+) Big Red did warranty replacement on the older pair of the two for
some supposed lack of sufficient venting that apparently had caused some
overheating but I'd had that drill for 3-4 yrs by then and never saw any
problems.

As for LiH, while I've not bought anything new enough to have them, see
quite a number w/ trades and DIY'ers of serious use and haven't heard of
such problems in recent years (like at least last 3 or so).

As for an existing older pack, there are any number of places that
can/will rebuild packs w/ new batteries of equivalent or better quality
than the originals at reasonable cost.

For grins, I took the Skill to Batteries+. They said I could send it
to the "main office" 50 miles away and their only lithium guy would
decide if he could do it. Would cost $20/cell.
No thank you.

I did replace the cells with 18650s from a laptop. Worked when fully
charged, but the internal resistance caused it to cut out under load.
Bad design that requires extremely low internal resistance to work.

--

On 11/7/2011 6:33 PM, mike wrote:
....

Most chargers are sorry-assed. They charge until the battery gets hot
enough to open the thermal cutout. Works ok if you start with a
discharged battery. If you have a charged battery sitting in the charger
and the power glitches restarting the charge, you're gonna seriously
overheat the internals before the thermal cutout cuts out.

While it's quite possible to build a "Proper" charger, the class of tools
I have been buying don't have it.
....

Buy Red, then...your troubles will go away.

--

On 11/7/2011 2:45 PM, mike wrote:
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.

The only lithium tool I have is a Skill driver with a
failed (open) battery. Lithiums are still not quite ready
for prime time in tools.

I'd be willing to pay Ridgid prices for a battery that was
guaranteed for life.
But
What's the probability of actually being able to use it?
I tend to keep tools for half a century.
I've never been able to get warranty replacement on any power tool
I've ever owned (Craftsman hand tools ain't power tools).
The warranty is not for MY lifetime, it's for
the lifetime of the company.

I once had a checking account that paid 7.5% interest on deposits
for life. One Friday, they closed up shop, replaced the sign over
the door and reopened on Monday under a new name. As a courtesy,
they seamlessly transferred all our accounts to the new bank, minus
the interest guarantee. I checked, I was still alive.

In the case of the Skill driver, you can't buy a replacement battery.
Skill doesn't even admit that they ever made that model. And you can't
buy a replacement battery for the current model either.

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid replacement
battery 20 years from now.

Do lithium powered tools make any sense yet?

i have a pair of Li rigid drills. purchased about 4 years ago. i've
replaced both batteries under their warrantee already. the charger one
day decides they're bad and refuses to do anything. i don't leave them
in the charger; removing them when done. they do charge pretty quickly
and hold the charge for a decent amount of time.

the first one that went bad, i gave him the serial # (you do have to
register them on the rigid site shortly after purchase), the guy just
took the old one and handed me a new one. the 2nd time, he was out and
had to order them. that took about a month, and they fedexed it to me
for free (the shop was about 40 miles from my house).

"mike" wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.

The only lithium tool I have is a Skill driver with a
failed (open) battery. Lithiums are still not quite ready
for prime time in tools.

I'd be willing to pay Ridgid prices for a battery that was
guaranteed for life.
But
What's the probability of actually being able to use it?
I tend to keep tools for half a century.
I've never been able to get warranty replacement on any power tool
I've ever owned (Craftsman hand tools ain't power tools).
The warranty is not for MY lifetime, it's for
the lifetime of the company.

I once had a checking account that paid 7.5% interest on deposits
for life. One Friday, they closed up shop, replaced the sign over
the door and reopened on Monday under a new name. As a courtesy,
they seamlessly transferred all our accounts to the new bank, minus
the interest guarantee. I checked, I was still alive.

In the case of the Skill driver, you can't buy a replacement battery.
Skill doesn't even admit that they ever made that model. And you can't
buy a replacement battery for the current model either.

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid
replacement
battery 20 years from now.

Do lithium powered tools make any sense yet?

That's why I'm a big fan of corded tools! Get a small generator if need be.

In article ,
says...

"mike" wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.

The only lithium tool I have is a Skill driver with a
failed (open) battery. Lithiums are still not quite ready
for prime time in tools.

I'd be willing to pay Ridgid prices for a battery that was
guaranteed for life.
But
What's the probability of actually being able to use it?
I tend to keep tools for half a century.
I've never been able to get warranty replacement on any power tool
I've ever owned (Craftsman hand tools ain't power tools).
The warranty is not for MY lifetime, it's for
the lifetime of the company.

I once had a checking account that paid 7.5% interest on deposits
for life. One Friday, they closed up shop, replaced the sign over
the door and reopened on Monday under a new name. As a courtesy,
they seamlessly transferred all our accounts to the new bank, minus
the interest guarantee. I checked, I was still alive.

In the case of the Skill driver, you can't buy a replacement battery.
Skill doesn't even admit that they ever made that model. And you can't
buy a replacement battery for the current model either.

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid
replacement
battery 20 years from now.

Do lithium powered tools make any sense yet?

That's why I'm a big fan of corded tools! Get a small generator if need be.

18v deWalt has so far been a safe bet. The new lithium ion batteries
fit the old tools, the old niCd batteries fit the new tools, the current
models of charger will charge both and niMH (which deWalt never offered
but which can be had as rebuilds) besides.

On Wed, 9 Nov 2011 10:03:52 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

In article ,
says...

"mike" wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the Ridgid lifetime warranty on their lithium tool
batteries?

I like the idea of lithium battery powered tools because
every time I try to use a NiCd tool, the battery is dead.
And if I leave it on the charger, that cooks it. Only takes
a power glitch to cause it to charge a fully charged battery
and overheat it.

The only lithium tool I have is a Skill driver with a
failed (open) battery. Lithiums are still not quite ready
for prime time in tools.

I'd be willing to pay Ridgid prices for a battery that was
guaranteed for life.
But
What's the probability of actually being able to use it?
I tend to keep tools for half a century.
I've never been able to get warranty replacement on any power tool
I've ever owned (Craftsman hand tools ain't power tools).
The warranty is not for MY lifetime, it's for
the lifetime of the company.

I once had a checking account that paid 7.5% interest on deposits
for life. One Friday, they closed up shop, replaced the sign over
the door and reopened on Monday under a new name. As a courtesy,
they seamlessly transferred all our accounts to the new bank, minus
the interest guarantee. I checked, I was still alive.

In the case of the Skill driver, you can't buy a replacement battery.
Skill doesn't even admit that they ever made that model. And you can't
buy a replacement battery for the current model either.

I've got zero confidence that I'll be able to get a free Ridgid
replacement
battery 20 years from now.

Do lithium powered tools make any sense yet?

That's why I'm a big fan of corded tools! Get a small generator if need be.

18v deWalt has so far been a safe bet. The new lithium ion batteries
fit the old tools, the old niCd batteries fit the new tools, the current
models of charger will charge both and niMH (which deWalt never offered
but which can be had as rebuilds) besides.

Just watch that someone doesn't buy you a DeWalt "20V Max" LiIon yet.
Those ones are NOT backwards compatible like the 18V line - and they
don't have all the accessory and specialty tools in that line that you
may need as a Pro yet.

The 18V DeWalt is darned near indestructible, runs quite a while on a
charge, and while you won't get Free Lifetime Batteries you can wait
till Christmas and get another "2 For $99" pack.

And you can get caulking guns, drywall cutout tool, right-angle
drill,, sheet-metal power shears, a 300 Ft-Lb impact for heavy work,
and even finish nail guns. ONE battery system and pool of batteries.

-- Bruce --