Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Power tool batteries

And where does one get these new cells when one lives 2 hr drive from nowhere? Does your son have a link for where he gets his?

Geno

Bought two clones for the electric mower, they seem to work well when I can get them to charge. Have to wiggle them around on the charger to get the lights right, otherwise the charger thinks their not in correctly. Other than that, they seem to be working fine.

Just leery about the clones for my tools, as I'm already not having what I consider the best of luck with the factory ones.

Why the "F" didn't they just come out with standard batteries for all tools so I could just get some Duracells like for flashlights, GPS units, etc.

I know, it's like Ford's "Better Idea" thing.............................yeah, right.

Geno

Hey, I'm not a contractor using the dang thing all day long. Bought a Skil brand circular saw, not the worm drive commercial nail pounder model, just a Happy Homeowner model on the recommendation of a construction worker friend. Why buy a big ol' heavy saw when, for my uses, the little saw will likely last my lifetime? And so far, 30 years later, it still is working fine. Just cut some 2" full dimension 2" x 8" boards the other day. Of course, a 30 year old saw needs a cord and outlet to function.

My $99 Ryobi drill and saw combo are still going strong, probably over 10 years now. I was happy with the NiCad version batteries as 2 sets lasted until last summer when I got the Li-ion after they made the switch and discontinued the NiCad.

Now that I'm on a fixed income, I don't see the big ticket DeWalt or Milwaukee sets coming my way. Trying to make do with what has been a very serviceable set of tools I already own.

Now, if you're driving today, you better get that rig back on the road!

Geno

Are you boycotting Google, Duck Duck Go and other search engines? LOL

LOL. Stuck at home another week. It doesn't pay for chit but damn it's been a nice break despite all.
What Ryobi specifically?

No smartass.

I'm not a nerd and therefor can easily be fooled into thinking xyz website for battery cells is real. Was hoping to get an actual link to a reputable place from someone who'd done it already.

Thanks for your input though.

Geno

PS, never google, never never never. I hate the fact my android phone is controlled by them. Teddy Roosevelt would put them through the wringer for getting too big.

Have you busted one open to see what cells? Just curious.

Battery Junction is a solid place that others here have recommended.


FYI my $99 tool comment wasn't in regards to what I didn't know you bought 10 years ago. Currently, like a Dewalt bargain drill pack, imo, will be a half-assed drill, a near garbage battery and a damned basic charger. I'd bet the kids in China build the while works for $15.

Thanks Boomer, I'll check out that battry junction place.

Ryobi because it's what I have. And I have it because I bought the $99 set at Costco when I was living in WA 8 months a year in an RV. All I needed for that, and I could pack 'em up in the free bag and drag them "home" to wherever the wife was at the time every winter. Still have corded saws and hand drills, but the cordless are handy out here on my 7 acre RANCH, so I just stay with the tools that are still working after almost 10 years. The batteries are the issue.

If the crap with the batteries keeps up, a nice set my go on my Santa list though.

Was doing some research on the jump starting and saw some comments about that method defeating the built in safeties that keep the batteries from catching fire. More to look into, as I was going to give that method a try. Charger and batteries are in my well house, don't want that burning down.

Geno

Good luck. Awhile back I was looking at 18650 cells and decided that I am good with paying a few bucks more for protected cells. Fire bad.

With my Dewalt stuff, I invested heavy in batteries and glad for it. But did so in good times. LOL

I have the Ryobi 18V Li ion ones and love them. Last forever compared to the old yellow and black Ni Cad ones. Hold the charge great while not in use and lighter weight too. The best deal of the year is coming up pretty quickly. Home Depot always has killer deals on the tools and batteries starting on Black Friday and usually lasting until after Christmas if supplies last.

Well, I'm glad you had better luck than I did. But thanks for the info on the HD sale. I may just wait until then to get another set. I like the power and lighter weight, but the set of two I bought hardly lasted a year. Just used one of my remaining NiCad ones this afternoon. Think it was new in 2014, so I'm money ahead on that one I guess.

Geno

Has anyone actually had trouble with the Ryobi 18v clones on Amazon? One of the four I purchased actually stopped taking a charge after a few months. However, for what they cost, I’m still money ahead, compared to buying the name brand ones, even at Black Friday prices.

Some years ago I bought a Rigid drill/recip saw package from Home Depot. After several years, the batteries started going bad but they didn't carry replacements. They were throw away. I've avoided Rigid tools every since.

This ^^^^^^^ is my experience also. I bought two additional "Dewalt" brand 18v batteries as back ups shortly after I bought my Dewalt 18V tools. One of those puked. I decided to try the cheap Chinese knock offs for the next go around. They only do 1/3 of the work of the original "tired" Dewalt brand batteries.

I've been pretty happy with my Ryobi lithium'ss. I had one die but I left it on the charger in an unheated garage over the winter. The rest, I can pick up a year later, and they still have a charge. The ability to retain charge for long periods is more important than the energy density to me.

Milwaukee lithium's at work have held up great also. They get used pretty hard.

I do not miss NiMH or NiCad batteries.

Here's one way to regenerate NiCad batteries that I read about. It doesn't work with Li so don't bother.

Put the tool in a vice and use something to hold the trigger back. Let it run completely down. Let it sit 30 min to cool, then do it again. Repeat until it won't run at all. Then recharge. That might take several times the normal charging time, maybe even overnight. The total power drain is breaking down the crystallization inside the battery. When that's gone, it'll take and hold a charge much better.