I am slowly switching over to the Ryobi 18v line from my 20v Porter Cable tools as I dig Ryobi's extensive offerings. I've already picked up some handy tools and looking forward to deal shopping to buy more. But I'm too cheap to buy Ryobi drills/drivers/saws while my Porter Cable batteries are still able to power them. My batteries are from 2014 and 2015 and just curious what the average age of battery packs are when they start to fail. I'm actually pretty impressed they have lasted as long as they have so far (8 and 7 years).
How long do battery packs usually last?
- Thread starter wahoowad
- Start date
Well, I have an older set of porter cable drill and impact driver from lowes. The onesw hen impact drivers and lithium batteries first really came out say about 2012'ish? I went to use the set the other day and the one battery is toast, wont charge. I suppose if I were to jumpstart it with a battery charger and some cables i might be fine-but the charger wont do it, says bad battery.
I have milwaukee stuff thats 5 years old now, no issues with any battery
I have milwaukee stuff thats 5 years old now, no issues with any battery
It depends a lot on how the battery and charger are designed and how the tool manages discharge (e.g. will it deep-drain the battery or does it stop before that happens?).
I don't know about Ryobi, but their cousins over at Milwaukee do a really good job (which is a function of keeping warranty costs low as much as anything)
I don't know about Ryobi, but their cousins over at Milwaukee do a really good job (which is a function of keeping warranty costs low as much as anything)
reader2580
Well-known member
I have Makita LXT batteries purchased in 2010 still going strong. I am not a professional tool user, but they get plenty of use. The two original LXT batteries from 2006 died by about 2010 or 2011, but they had a fatal flaw in the the design.
I also have a Ryobi 3.0 AH ONE+ battery that was showing at least 1/2 charge last weekend, but it would only power my Ryobi miter saw for a moment. I didn't try charging it to see if that would help. I just switched to some 1.5AH batteries instead.
I also have a Ryobi 3.0 AH ONE+ battery that was showing at least 1/2 charge last weekend, but it would only power my Ryobi miter saw for a moment. I didn't try charging it to see if that would help. I just switched to some 1.5AH batteries instead.
Boilerhouse
Well-known member
I am still using the old style Nicad's, with my Dewalt cordless set. I write the date on them when i buy them. The two original batteries lasted 7 years but four replacement batteries that I am currently using, still seem to hold a charge, are from 2012.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Depends on the chemistry. NiCad last longer than Nickel Metal Hydride which truly sucked and Li-Ion last at least twice as long as either of these. I've got some 10 year old Milwaukee M18 batteries that don't last as long as they use to but still work. With Li-Ion there seems to be a 2 year drop dead date where the Milwaukee batteries that aren't up to snuff die and will not charge correctly. If they make it past two years they're good for a very long time. I think I've warranted six or eight Milwaukee M12 and M18 batteries and Milwaukee never gave me the slightest complaint about that. The worst Milwaukee batteries I've found are the M18 9.0 and the 6.0 in the M12. Had one bad 8.0 M18 and two bad M12 12.0 batteries but only the 6.0 in M12 has ever given me a problem. The problem is always identified by the charger as the lights blink between red and green when a bad battery is placed on them.
77thor
Well-known member
Some of my DeWalt 20V batteries are now 10 years old and still going...
nadogail
Well-known member
My Royobi batteries did not last long, they came with the tools I bought as a "Close Out" at Home Depot. I swallowed hard and bought new batteries, they too had a short service life; I have since switched to Makita and have been a happy Makita fan.
robert6715
Well-known member
In the fall of 2014 I purchased 2 Bosch drill/impact driver kits & the circ saw/jig saw kit as well as 4 additional 4ah batteries. All 8 batteries have failed within the last 5 months. Hard use year-round in Alaska & those batteries never were very good in the cold, you had to keep them stored inside & charge them inside.
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fourjeepin
Well-known member
I started switching from Dewalt nicad to Ridgid lithium about 9 years ago and have on,y had one battery fail out of about 8. It was the first one I got and was reconditioned, not new.
I too am a fan of the Ryobi line as I have the nailer, hedge trimmer, and air pump. I use an adapter so I don’t have to maintain and store multiple battery lines and chargers. I have 3 Ridgid chargers in my shop so i almost always have enough charged batteries available.
I too am a fan of the Ryobi line as I have the nailer, hedge trimmer, and air pump. I use an adapter so I don’t have to maintain and store multiple battery lines and chargers. I have 3 Ridgid chargers in my shop so i almost always have enough charged batteries available.
upgrading
Well-known member
I got some of mine in 2015 and they are still going.
I always rotate them
I always charge with the "Intelliport" charger for charging.
I always rotate them
I always charge with the "Intelliport" charger for charging.
All the adapters I have seen are from China accept for the Dewalt 18v to 20v (but there is a Chinese knockoff as well).
Easiest is to search Ebay with keywords like ryobi, porter cable, adapter. A bunch will usually pop up for under $20.
I've got an 18v ryobi tool to 20v Dewalt battery for my thrash reciprocating yard saw and several other styles I bought for my father-in-law. He has a mishmash of tools but only had one or two batteries for each but the adapters open up more options.
rustyjames
Well-known member
I have two 12V batteries bought in 2014 that still perform fine.
I have several that at 10 years old…….they perform but no way are they like new. Especially the 12-18 volt NmH are weak. To good the throw away? But the tools are not worth the price quality new batteries.
5 years seems to be the average Lithium life for prime time……..tools, phone, computer.
Most are limited by the 1000 full charges cycle ……..which is the industry standard as of today.
5 years seems to be the average Lithium life for prime time……..tools, phone, computer.
Most are limited by the 1000 full charges cycle ……..which is the industry standard as of today.
Well, are you a DIYer or a profesional? A DIYer might get 10 years of more from a lithium battery. A pro who is using some small set of batteries and empties them a couple times a day might get just a couple years. With lithium batteries it apparently is charge cycles and time along with some standard factor for degradation. Anyway, I have a couple lithium 5ah Dewalt batteries that are 2014 marked and are in my battery rotation and are working fine.
duneslider
Well-known member
This was my experience too but it was like at least 15 years ago, when the ryobi lithium batteries came out I thought that would solve my problems but my lithium batteries bit the dust very fast, I had a lot of ryobi tools so I sold everything on craigs list and bought a makita set. My drill/impact set came with the small 1.5ah batteries and one of those is completely toast and one still works okay after 15 years of hard use. I have one 3ah battery that is about 12years old that is failing but works fine in the drill or impact if I am not doing anything hard.
I still don't have everything that I had in the ryobi tools, I just keep buying things as I need them. The cost of the ryobi stuff is sure nice but my experience with batteries sure turned me off. If their batteries are better now then I would be fine having them for light duty use. I never did have a tool fail, even using them pretty hard.
alwaysFlOoReD
Well-known member
I'm invested in ryobi for decades now. The small batteries are garbage imo, but the 4.0ah are good. I bought into ryobi when they were the only tool maker that sold without battery and charger. I'm not sure how long the battery last for me...
engineer2
Well-known member
I have a couple of 10 year old 3 AHr Makita 18V lithiums and they are still going strong. They are on string trimmer duty for the summer, but I'll use them for my impact driver and work light in the winter.
The key is to not abuse them.
Don't force the tool to run when the battery is run down.
No harm in recharging when it is partially used up.
If the battery is warm from being worked hard, let it cool off before recharging, even though the charger has a cooling fan.
The key is to not abuse them.
Don't force the tool to run when the battery is run down.
No harm in recharging when it is partially used up.
If the battery is warm from being worked hard, let it cool off before recharging, even though the charger has a cooling fan.
PhantomEB
Well-known member
I have 5 Ridgid and 4 RyobI, constantly rotate them around and always charged up. Worrying about when one craps out Is the least of my worries.
no wonder I belong to the minimal different brands of cordless tools. Ryobi is only cause Ridgid don’t make yard tools. Even my moms new place will be all Ryobi yard tools!
no wonder I belong to the minimal different brands of cordless tools. Ryobi is only cause Ridgid don’t make yard tools. Even my moms new place will be all Ryobi yard tools!
Tiny Jackson
Well-known member
I still have two battery packs from 2006 in use. They do not perform as long as when they were new but its remarkable they still operate.
danfromsyr
Well-known member
indeed I would just buy a rigid battery to Ryobi adapter and buy the Ryobi tools individually as needed.
no need to switch over really. just diversify..
I like the Ryobi caulk gun and even the cordless cordless hot glue gun... ;-)
no need to switch over really. just diversify..
I like the Ryobi caulk gun and even the cordless cordless hot glue gun... ;-)
jsaw
Well-known member
I had a Skill drill that was bought in the late 1980s. the date marked on the second set of batteries was 1996. In 2006 the batteries were working fine, but the charger burnt up and It was no longer available. I used It so that I only needed to charge a battery once a month.
I have never had any newer batteries that lasted as long as those did
I have never had any newer batteries that lasted as long as those did
fourjeepin
Well-known member
I bought one off eBay a few years back. Before they were commercially available, I built one. Build thread can be found here on GJ. With 3D printing, folks are offering these to adapt between a bunch of the different lines.