APOD Firearms

Ryobi 18 volt Lithium Batteries

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  • gdr_11

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    Being cheap by nature, I no longer buy high end tools like when I was young and used to build and repair things. At my age, getting out the drills and saws is something that happens once or twice a year and no more. As a result, a few years ago I bought a Ryobi 18 volt drill, Sawzall, leaf blower and string trimmer. All lightweight, reasonably priced and good enough for an old guy like me. I have 4 batteries and two chargers that have served me well for 3-4 years. Now I find myself with 3 batteries that will no longer charge and I am about ready to buy the 2 pack replacements on Amazon for $38 which is a great deal compared to the factory Ryobi units.

    Being cheap as I am, however, I did the YouTube thing and ended up trying a half dozen of the fixes shown on there short of taking the things apart and jump starting the old batteries with a hot wired low voltage transformer. I tried wetting the battery contacts, putting them in and out of the charger quickly for a dozen times and several other crazy fixes and none of them worked. Before I make a trip to recycle them I thought I would ask this esteemed group of experts if there is any way to breathe life back into these things.
     

    GeorgeS

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    Jul 7, 2018
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    I remember the recommendation to use Harbor Freight beginner-level 70A welder to zap the batteries and refresh them.

    I never tried it myself but someone here may be willing to use their welder to give it a try.
     

    pronstar

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    Some tool batteries are just 18650 cells.
    If you’re able to pop the case open to take a look, and these are in there, then just swap them out.

    If you buy amazon replacements, and you want some piece of mind, I suggest buying their SquareTrade warranty if offered.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    texasnurse

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    The replacement batteries are better; the small ones that come with the drills die prematurely


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    gdr_11

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    I did some research and bought one generic from Amazon that had 4 1/2 star reviews,and that is supposed to fit my P118 charger. Will let you know how it turns out
     

    robertc1024

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    The chemistry changes over time on rechargeable (all) batteries. Quick fixes are snake oil. I can't tell you which are the best replacements, but after good service with the existing ones, I can tell you to just replace them. I had a similar situation with a Makita drill. It was cheaper to buy an entire new drill kit than just the factory batteries. Stupid.
     

    Dad_Roman

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    Teague
    The chemistry changes over time on rechargeable (all) batteries. Quick fixes are snake oil.
    This^^^^^^

    Lithium's are nothing to screw with if your unfamiliar. Snake oil fixes? Yep. The jumping a much higher voltage through them CAN shock them back to life for a short bit but.....

    LITHIUM'S CAN AND WILL CATCH ON FIRE AND/OR EXPLODE IN YOUR FACE.

    For 38 bucks, it aint worth it at all. Amazon....the safe bet.

    Sidenote...my family LOVES the new Craftsman line (Lowes) and we have swapped to them.

    .
     

    birddog

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    Mar 4, 2008
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    nunya
    The problem more than likely isn’t the cells, it’s the charging voltage protection circuit that’s the problem. I’ve restored the same Ryobi Li-Ion packs by taking a fully charged pack and momentarily shorting pos to pos and neg to neg on a dead pack to bump the voltage back up to 3.8+ volts. It’s worked every time.

    fwiw, I’ve taken apart these same Ryobi 18v packs to use the cells in LED flashlights and RC projects. The individual cells were Sanyo 3.7v 1000mah 18650 cells.

    * the actual measured voltage on the cells is typically 4.1 volts nominal. When they drop below 3.7 volts, the charger considers the pack dead though that’s not the case. Hence the reason to always store these packs in a fully charged state.
     

    F350-6

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    I've recently started buying the cordless rigid line from home depot. If you register the tool, it's covered by a lifetime warranty, including the batteries.

    I've had several of the 18v Ryobi batteries go bad over the years. The generic amazon replacement sounds like a good way to go. I'll have to look into that. I usually buy replacements around Christmas when you can get a heck of a deal on a two pack.
     

    Dawico

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    Oct 15, 2009
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    Not really related to saving old batteries but the best thing you can do for your cordless tools is fully charge the batteries and remove them from the charger/ tools for any extended storage.

    I used to go through batteries fairly often until I started doing this. Amazing what a difference it makes.
     

    birddog

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    nunya
    I did some research and bought one generic from Amazon that had 4 1/2 star reviews,and that is supposed to fit my P118 charger. Will let you know how it turns out

    A link to reference what you ordered would be helpful.
     

    gdr_11

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    ZX9RCAM

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    mroper

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    I took a low Amp 12 volt battery charger and hooked it up to mine. I kept it on overnight That brought the charge up for me to put it back on the normal charger. I have porter cable but I imagine they are all made the same
     

    Inspector43

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    Jul 12, 2017
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    Colorado County, Texas
    Being cheap by nature, I no longer buy high end tools like when I was young and used to build and repair things. At my age, getting out the drills and saws is something that happens once or twice a year and no more. As a result, a few years ago I bought a Ryobi 18 volt drill, Sawzall, leaf blower and string trimmer. All lightweight, reasonably priced and good enough for an old guy like me. I have 4 batteries and two chargers that have served me well for 3-4 years. Now I find myself with 3 batteries that will no longer charge and I am about ready to buy the 2 pack replacements on Amazon for $38 which is a great deal compared to the factory Ryobi units.

    Being cheap as I am, however, I did the YouTube thing and ended up trying a half dozen of the fixes shown on there short of taking the things apart and jump starting the old batteries with a hot wired low voltage transformer. I tried wetting the battery contacts, putting them in and out of the charger quickly for a dozen times and several other crazy fixes and none of them worked. Before I make a trip to recycle them I thought I would ask this esteemed group of experts if there is any way to breathe life back into these things.
    I found that if you leave the battery on the charger too long, like over night, it will drastically reduce the life of the battery. And, I buy them from Home Depot and keep the package. If they die too soon I take them back.
     

    gdr_11

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    Link price is $25.

    The price seems to change almost daily. On Sunday, I bookmarked this and it was $19...went back to order on Tuesday and it went to $20.95...now you say $25. That's what I hate about the third party vendors on Amazon...I think they track the traffic to their listings and then raise prices as numbers go up followed by lowering prices when the number of hits go down.
     
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