Thread: 18 v ryobi lithium batteries

Did you have NiMH or NiCad batteries for the same tools before? If so did they last any longer?

Do you know what the Amp/Hour rating of the batteries is?

I had NiCad before, they weren't brilliant but at least they would do a dozen cuts or so before giving up the ghost. The NiCad are 1.7, the lithium are 1.4 amps from memory.

Thank you for posting this Tiger, there is a valuable lesson to be learnt for those considering going the cordless path; unless you go REALLY high end, it simply doesn't work.

What charger are you using? Lithium batteries require completely different charge systems to NiCad/NiMH batteries. If your tools predate the introduction of the Lithium upgrade batteries, they most likely were supplied wuth the original NiCad/NiMH charger, which is not suitable for Lithium batteries.

Ryobi - Batteries & Chargers shows single chemistry Nicad family only chargers and dual chemistry Lithium/Nicad chargers.

Some manufactures took pains to ensure that their different families had different connectors to make using the wrong charger impossible. Makita for example introduced Lithium with a new charger which is Lithium and Nicad/NiMH capable, but to charge NiCads you need a cheap plastic adaptor to interface the battery to the charger.

Ryobi introduced their Lithium with a NiCad compatable battery connector to allow existing users to upgrade theeir batteries while retaining their tools. This has good and bad points, the principal issue being the ability to attempt to charge Lithium batteries with the wrong charger.

I strongly suggest that you bite the bullet and buy the appropriate charger if you have the black Nicad only one. Lithium can become very unfriendly if charged with incorrect equipment.

I'm using the correct charger, it came with the batteries, so not the charger at fault.

If theyre only 1.4Ah it's plausable this is how they will perform with high power demand tools like your circular saw. With litium ion batteries the voltage drops off a lot faster when they're discharged which is why your tools just stop when the battery goes flat, unlike the NiCads where you might get a couple more cuts but the saw will slow down as the battery goes flat.

Hitachi have 1.5Ah and 3Ah batteries for their 18V range. I wouldn't use the 1.5Ah batteries for higher power tools like the circular saw or angle grinder because you'd probably only get about 10min running time. I notice ryobi also has a 2.4Ah battery, maybe this would be better suited.

Originally Posted by nihilism

I wouldn't use the 1.5Ah batteries for higher power tools like the circular saw or angle grinder because you'd probably only get about 10min running time. I notice ryobi also has a 2.4Ah battery, maybe this would be better suited.

I would be ecstatic if I got 10 min running time with any battery. The 1.4's gave me about 30 secs run time before they conked out but I take your point that the higher amp battery is better suited for the saw etc. I am assuming that just because the 2.4 is a little less than double the amperage of the 1.4's that it will last more than double the 1.4's ie that I will get more than 60 secs out of it?

Other thing that I'm wondering, maybe just bit the bullet and get a high end brand ie Makita or Hitachi with their batteries. Anyone have any experience with those and cordless saws?

makita lxt grinder and circ saw should only be used with the 3.0ah batery and they have designed the tool so the 1.5ah battery wont fit [unless you take to the battery with a dremel]

so the 1.4ah battery, IMHO, is underpowered for the task. Even my LXT grinder will suck the juice out of the 3.0ah battery, you need more battery's and rotate them, thats all