Ridgid lifetime battery replacement (Home Depot)

[TheWarrior]

You probably have too much of a life to make it through this, but I get a kick out of this guy. Least Eddie think HF has turned a corner with their Hercules product, you can share this with him.

On the other hand, this one seems the rare gem in the dung heap:

It looks like the ergonomics would suck if you had to use it all day, but for home/farm owner use it seems very capable!

These are always entertaining!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Interesting. Didn’t know they were connected. It’s nice to hear about a company adding employees rather than downsizing and firing a third of them for no reason. Oh, except maybe the ceo needs a new plane, or a Vette or Ferrari or whatever else.

That comes next.

 

[Mikado463]

Let me talk you out of anything but Dewalt for cordless. Buy used 18 volt nicad stuff from CL and pawn shops. If you keep it to that one battery style, the tools are cheap. I've had this one cordless drill longer than I've been sober (f^%&ing forever).

The new lithium ion tools are really expensive but it's top shelf stuff that companies paying a premium for labour are wise to provide. More later .... starving.

you can't be serious about buying NiCad are you ?

 

[Alex2507]

you can't be serious about buying NiCad are you ?

Yes. Dewalt 18 volt nicad tools are cheap enough now and if you get it down to that one battery style you are pretty much all set with a couple three batteries. Eventually you end up with a few chargers so your kits/cases have them and you can put a spare in the garage at a permanent charging station.

It's where I ended up in an effort to have a certain standard of quality, simplicity of a single battery/charger system and of course low cost.

Kurt, I can't buy Ryobi like some can't buy Bose. I know they have feather light batteries, led lights, fast multi port chargers, free batteries in perpetuity, suck start alarm clock coffee grinder esspresso mp3 wave guide digital plungers ...

I think it's important to choose a battery style and stick to it. Batteries come and go so homing in on one that has been around for more than 5 minutes makes sense too. If you love one of your tools, then commit to that ... or just switch over to the 18 volt xr battery style.

Due to work, I'm seeing that the 20 volt lithium ion stuff is considerably better than my bang for the buck choice. If I were starting out fresh and if I had your money, that would be where my money would go. Having a state of the art tool last over a decade works for me. Again, RPM's are where it's at.

 

[annunaki]

I purchased the Rigid brushless impact drive 2 years ago mainly for the warranty coverage and for doing my deck.

The battery lasts a LONG time and I use it for pretty much everything. It is a better unit than my Bosch drill from a battery perspective by far. I just wish I would have went this route years ago.

Unless you are doing construction work for a living a Rigid will do everything you need it to do a long time.

 

[Mikado463]

Yes. Dewalt 18 volt nicad tools are cheap enough now and if you get it down to that one battery style you are pretty much all set with a couple three batteries. Eventually you end up with a few chargers so your kits/cases have them and you can put a spare in the garage at a permanent charging station.

It's where I ended up in an effort to have a certain standard of quality, simplicity of a single battery/charger system and of course low cost.

Kurt, I can't buy Ryobi like some can't buy Bose. I know they have feather light batteries, led lights, fast multi port chargers, free batteries in perpetuity, suck start alarm clock coffee grinder esspresso mp3 wave guide digital plungers ...

I think it's important to choose a battery style and stick to it. Batteries come and go so homing in on one that has been around for more than 5 minutes makes sense too. If you love one of your tools, then commit to that ... or just switch over to the 18 volt xr battery style.

Due to work, I'm seeing that the 20 volt lithium ion stuff is considerably better than my bang for the buck choice. If I were starting out fresh and if I had your money, that would be where my money would go. Having a state of the art tool last over a decade works for me. Again, RPM's are where it's at.

NiCad is old and incredibly toxic technology. It make zero sense............. 1) memory problems with respect to capacity 2) pound for pound it's one of the most toxic wastes in our nations landfills. Way too many people do not dispose of them properly.

 

[jinjuku]

You probably have too much of a life to make it through this, but I get a kick out of this guy.

aVe is hilarious. Focus you fu*# !

 

[Alex2507]

NiCad is old and incredibly toxic technology. It make zero sense............. 1) memory problems with respect to capacity 2) pound for pound it's one of the most toxic wastes in our nations landfills. Way too many people do not dispose of them properly.

1 I'm anti-social
2 Home Depot has battery drop off

 

[highfigh]

NiCad is old and incredibly toxic technology. It make zero sense............. 1) memory problems with respect to capacity 2) pound for pound it's one of the most toxic wastes in our nations landfills. Way too many people do not dispose of them properly.

That can be said for just about anything that needs to be sent through a recycler. The thing is, it works well, even if they're heavy. USED properly, memory isn't a problem.

Should someone with a group of tools that use the same battery replace everything? I would argue that doing this is more wasteful, not to mention prohibitively expensive. I have two hammer-drills, a circular saw and flashlight- if I can spend about $100 every few years for three battery refills, it's better for me than dropping the $500 it would take to replace what I have and then need to spend closer to $300 for three LiIon batteries. I don't throw batteries in the trash.

 

[Mikado463]

That can be said for just about anything that needs to be sent through a recycler. The thing is, it works well, even if they're heavy. USED properly, memory isn't a problem.

while true (to a point) your argument does not hold water with respect to new development. Regardless I remember back in the hay day of NiCad what my boys went through to be sure their batteries were properly discharged before re-charging their R/C cars prior to a race. Granted that anal attentiveness does not spill over to ones battery powered tools but I will give you one example where memory was most definitely an issue with NiCad..........your portable phone, land or cellular. Please don't BS me and tell me you did the proper 'memory thing' ..........cause you didn't !

 

[highfigh]

while true (to a point) your argument does not hold water with respect to new development. Regardless I remember back in the hay day of NiCad what my boys went through to be sure their batteries were properly discharged before re-charging their R/C cars prior to a race. Granted that anal attentiveness does not spill over to ones battery powered tools but I will give you one example where memory was most definitely and issue with NiCad..........your portable phone, land or cellular. Please don't BS me and tell me you did the proper 'memory thing' ..........cause you didn't !

The proper way to use and discharge batteries in power tools was explained to me by the design engineer and several electrical engineers- I still have batteries from well over 5 years ago that still work in a pinch, so I must have done something right. Also, if anyone uses their devices in the way the manufacturers tell us, it's a good bet that the batteries WON'T last as long as they should because more batteries will be sold if they're treated in the recommended way.

 

[Mikado463]

1 I'm anti-social

yeah, but you have a great smile !

 

[Alex2507]

Proper memory thing ... when a battery doesn't work, it goes on a charger. There is always a charged to continue working with. Batteries are good for 5+ years. Flip phones rule. May as well keep this down to one paragraph. Drills are a much nicer way to drive screws than impacts when a night shift worker is sleeping or when in a multi family structure.

Oh, btw I bought a little Makita slide compound miter with 18 volt nickle metal hydride batteries or something like that. Refurbished batteries cost close to a couple of hundred and they have been around for a few years of light duty service. I recently cut aluminum weather stripping with it using a triple chip blade: kinda cool. It's a nice enough tool to warrant a different battery scheme. Anyways, there's always exceptions to rules.

 

[KEW]

I purchased the Rigid brushless impact drive 2 years ago mainly for the warranty coverage and for doing my deck.

The battery lasts a LONG time and I use it for pretty much everything. It is a better unit than my Bosch drill from a battery perspective by far. I just wish I would have went this route years ago.

Unless you are doing construction work for a living a Rigid will do everything you need it to do a long time.

Is it the hydraulic impact driver?
If so, here is a tear down of it:

 

[KEW]

After some deliberation and taking inventory of what I have, I decided on option #3 - Do Nothing!

When I started the thread, I thought that the lifetime warranty was a special, limited time promotion.
Now that I know this is (at least for now) a permanent strategy for Ridoby, there is not much impetus for action.
Also, my most recent Hitachi 12v drill is still showing decent battery life (I'd guess 4 years), and is in many ways a great drill - it is compact so I can use it in a tight spot and lightweight for easy control. About perfect for my purposes.
On the day I start a project that requires running a tool for hours, I will select a tool to fit that job, which might then lead me to choose a color scheme for my cordless tools.

Thanks for helping me think this through with a broad perspective!

Does anyone know what tool company Hitachi is aligned with? I know Lowe's sells some of them, but they don't seem to have the exclusive arrangement that HD does with Ryobi. But what I am asking is if they are owned by another company the way DeWalt and Porter Cable and Black & Decker are co-owned.

 

[TheWarrior]

After some deliberation and taking inventory of what I have, I decided on option #3 - Do Nothing!

When I started the thread, I thought that the lifetime warranty was a special, limited time promotion.
Now that I know this is (at least for now) a permanent strategy for Ridoby, there is not much impetus for action.
Also, my most recent Hitachi 12v drill is still showing decent battery life (I'd guess 4 years), and is in many ways a great drill - it is compact so I can use it in a tight spot and lightweight for easy control. About perfect for my purposes.
On the day I start a project that requires running a tool for hours, I will select a tool to fit that job, which might then lead me to choose a color scheme for my cordless tools.

Thanks for helping me think this through with a broad perspective!

Does anyone know what tool company Hitachi is aligned with? I know Lowe's sells some of them, but they don't seem to have the exclusive arrangement that HD does with Ryobi. But what I am asking is if they are owned by another company the way DeWalt and Porter Cable and Black & Decker are co-owned.

Hitachi Group out of Tokyo! They make great tools!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

...back to me....

So since I have a fancy drill that I don't really use and it has two batteries, should I store these in the house? I have always just left my stuff in the garage that gets 100+ degrees in the summer so I am thinking a controlled environment would be better?

BTW, I used it yesterday for maybe 4 seconds so it has a little more time on it now.

 

[TheWarrior]

...back to me....

So since I have a fancy drill that I don't really use and it has two batteries, should I store these in the house? I have always just left my stuff in the garage that gets 100+ degrees in the summer so I am thinking a controlled environment would be better?

BTW, I used it yesterday for maybe 4 seconds so it has a little more time on it now.

Nothing is well stored if it suffers large temperature swings, which of course batteries are sensitive too.

Make sure to throw the batteries on a charger a couple times a year to keep them fresh, they should be fine!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Should I put my AMG in the house too then?

 

[TheWarrior]

Should I put my AMG in the house too then?

Lol, I was hoping to allude to wine storage, but that works too!

There I would say outdoors is fine if you maintain the battery, but you really need to learn to use a clay bar. Even a new car isn't clean until it's been rubbed with clay!