Has anyone got any experience of Ryobi (or other brand) lithium batteries?

I have several of their One+ tools, which all share the same batteries.
I have 5x Ni-Cads upto about 6 years old, still working fine.
Last October I bought 2x 1.4aH Lithium batteries and a suitable charger
from my local Screwfix trade counter. These didn't work at all and were
returned for replacement.
The replacements worked OK for around 6 months then gave up = charger
claims to charge them, but nothing when attached to tool - not even slow
running.
Today I finally got around to returning them to Screwfix, and after
sucking of teeth and waiting for managers, then phoning head office they
finally agreed to replace them... but don't have any in stock - I now
have to return tomorrow to collect them.

All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

It is possible the issue is with the charger instead, however it charges
Ni-Cads without issue. (It's one of their 6 slot ones). None of my other
Ryobi chargers support Lithium batteries so I can't prove it!

In article m,
Alan Deane wrote:
All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

Only one I have is the lovely little Makita impact screwdriver. Several
years old now and despite heavy DIY use, still fine.

--
*When it rains, why don't sheep shrink? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:04:12 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article m,
Alan Deane wrote:
All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

Only one I have is the lovely little Makita impact screwdriver. Several
years old now and despite heavy DIY use, still fine.

I too am lucky enough to have the little 7.2v Makita impact driver -
my favourite power tool - recently got some Heller quick-bit wood bits
to fit it. The batteries have been very good and lasted well.

Just acquired a Stihl cordless grass trimmer from their cordless power
system range. The lithium battery is a 2.2Ah lump, weighing in at
1.1kg which lasts for about 30 minutes on full charge. Have not had
it long enough to comment on longevity.
--
rbel

rbel wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:04:12 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article m,
Alan Deane wrote:
All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

Only one I have is the lovely little Makita impact screwdriver. Several
years old now and despite heavy DIY use, still fine.

I too am lucky enough to have the little 7.2v Makita impact driver -
my favourite power tool - recently got some Heller quick-bit wood bits
to fit it. The batteries have been very good and lasted well.

Well, I have one, and I rarely use it. It's so uncontrollable, full
blast or nothing with no way to tell it to go slowly. I only use it
when its small size and weight overcome its other disadvantages.

--
Chris Green

In article ,
wrote:
Only one I have is the lovely little Makita impact screwdriver. Several
years old now and despite heavy DIY use, still fine.

I too am lucky enough to have the little 7.2v Makita impact driver -
my favourite power tool - recently got some Heller quick-bit wood bits
to fit it. The batteries have been very good and lasted well.

Well, I have one, and I rarely use it. It's so uncontrollable, full
blast or nothing with no way to tell it to go slowly. I only use it
when its small size and weight overcome its other disadvantages.

I've never ever found this a problem.

--
*Re-elect nobody

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:08:28 +0100, Alan Deane wrote:

All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries?

Got a Lidl/Aldi Li powered screw driver. Sort of worked but the moment
you asked it to really apply even moderate torque to a screw the battery
protection would kick in. The after a month or so of not being used it
had self discharged and wouldn't charge. Took it back for a refund.

Recelled the ancient B&D screwdriver instead with NiMH, they retain
charge pretty well and it can apply some decent torque with out tripping
out.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:08:28 +0100, Alan Deane
wrote:

All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

Ryobi aren't the best quality and I'd be surprised if their batteries
were. However, it's possible the charger might be under or
overcharging them - Lithium are quite particular about that.
If slightly under, fine; slightly or a lot over, burn your house down.

It is possible the issue is with the charger instead, however it charges
Ni-Cads without issue. (It's one of their 6 slot ones). None of my other
Ryobi chargers support Lithium batteries so I can't prove it!

What I'd do is get a decent and relatively cheap charger from Hobby
King. Lithium batteries are dead common in the model world and
chargers for them come in all shapes and capacities. You'd need to
make up an adapter, but not really a biggy. It also leaves the way
open to making up your own battery pack from better /safer Lithium
chemistry, like LiMn or perhaps LiFePo.

On 13/07/2012 13:08, Alan Deane wrote:
Has anyone got any experience of Ryobi (or other brand) lithium batteries?

I have several of their One+ tools, which all share the same batteries.
I have 5x Ni-Cads upto about 6 years old, still working fine.
Last October I bought 2x 1.4aH Lithium batteries and a suitable charger
from my local Screwfix trade counter. These didn't work at all and were
returned for replacement.
The replacements worked OK for around 6 months then gave up = charger
claims to charge them, but nothing when attached to tool - not even slow
running.
Today I finally got around to returning them to Screwfix, and after
sucking of teeth and waiting for managers, then phoning head office they
finally agreed to replace them... but don't have any in stock - I now
have to return tomorrow to collect them.

All this doesn't inspire confidence in Lithium power tool batteries.
Has anyone else had issues with Lithium batteries? It could just be a
bad batch but it makes me wonder if I'll be back in the same situation
in 6 months, when the warranty expires!

It is possible the issue is with the charger instead, however it charges
Ni-Cads without issue. (It's one of their 6 slot ones). None of my other
Ryobi chargers support Lithium batteries so I can't prove it!

Lithium cells need more sophisticated controls to charge safely, and
also many include the ability to remember failed charge attempts etc,
and if certain thresholds are reached then enter a lock out state. So
you will find various stories of people having apparently new cells
refuse to charge etc. However, when working they normally perform well.



--
Cheers,

John.

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