Ryobi - NiCd or Li-Ion - Interchangable?

[demonboy]

Upon recommendations made in this forum we purchased the Ryobi 18v hand-held drill kit including two batteries, drill, vac, torch and angle grinder. Had to get friends and family to import the things over to Turkey but we're well impressed with it all. My father, who brought out two of the components, said that he had difficulty buying them because B&Q no longer stock them. He bought them on Amazon.

Has Ryobi stopped doing this kit? I noticed in Cyprus they now do a Li-ion kit (muchos cash of course). Are they phasing out the NiCd kits? More importantly, does anyone know if the NiCd fittings are interchangable with the Li-ion ones?

I dumped my crappy NiCd Bosch drill because the batteries had had it after only two years service (in a hot country on a boat - not ideal). Am I going to have to do the same in two years time with my Ryobi gear?

 

[npf1]

B&Q still selling the Ryobi kit with either L-ion oe nicads - I was in there looking at that stuff only today

 

[philip_stevens]

I've just replaced my knackered 18v NiCd battery drill/driver with a Bosch Li-Ion 14.4v drill/driver. The battery is about a fifth of the size and weight of the NiCd, but the drill was about five times the price I paid for the old drill.

Mind you, it holds the voltage better, and takes a little longer to recharge, but you can recharge it at any state of voltage. The battery attachment is completely different from most NiCd battery holders.

Will it last as long as the NiCd?? Only time will tell. Though, even at the cost, I am more than happy with it.

Single Li-Ion batteries of similar dimensions are twice the voltage of NiCd (someone correct me if I am wrong - politely, please).

 

[nimbusgb]

Sorry can't tell you about battery interchangeability but I have the L-ion Ryobi drill/driver and it is a superb piece of kit. The torque available is impressive, the chuck is superb and the drill is built really well.

L-ion and Nicad require subtly different chargers, i would be surprised if Ryobi made the battery cases the same.

 

[demonboy]

Yeah, I know all about Li-ion being better than NiCd. Just wanted to know if the batteries were inter-changable.

Glad to hear they are still selling them though - my father claimed that the B&Q in Cambridge had actually stopped selling them.

 

[Saguday]

I have a full complement of Ryobi 18V kit which I bought in the US for use on the boat. Maybe I shouldn't tell you the price, but I think it was introductory at Home Depot in 2005 and I have 6 tools and 2 batteries plus carry case and charger for US$225 (I think it's about 4 times the price in the UK).

Anyway, it's first rate stuff, very well made and hasn't let me down. I have all NiCad batteries though, haven't used LiOn yet. I have added to it by buying more stuff since I've been back in the UK - the wet and dry Vac, a masonry drill, etc. Some of it I picked up as clearance in B&Q and like you I was worried it was disappearing however I can tell you that it is abundantly available through Screwfix, from whom I've bought extra batteries and stuff.

I also have a Bosch rechargeable NiCad drill bought in 1990 when I became a boat (dinghy) owner for the first time - it's still working and still has the original battery!!!

 

[peterb]

There is an EU Directive (see here) relating to NiCads. It virtually bans their sale except for certain uses (one being portable power tools). There are proposals, though, to ban even these uses in a few years time.

 

[nimbusgb]

Of course when your NiCads die you could always split the packs and rework them with NiMh batteries.

 

[Drascomber]

Remember that you can buy replacement NiCads on the web - often with higher Ah capacity than the originals, so don't chuck the tools away when the batteries die.

 

[William_H]

Ni MH, Nickel metal hydride batteries are better than Nicad and directly replaceable. In fact it is most likely the packs you are describing as NiCad are really NiMh.
However Lithium batteries are a completely different thing with one cell giving about 2 volts. They are extremely critical of charging voltage such that they often have a charge controller built into the battery pack. (especially for lap tops) It may be possible to use a Lithium battery on your drill where it is only discharged. The drill won't care too much about voltage but don't try to charge it in the same charger as you risk fire and destruction of the battery.

The best bet with old drills where batteries have died is to connect cables to run it on the ships 12v supply. Plenty of power there.

olewill

 

[demonboy]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course when your NiCads die you could always split the packs and rework them with NiMh batteries.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fortunately in Turkey they recycle everything and doing this is pretty straight-forward. William - they are definitely Ni-Cd. Kioni - I believe they're as cheap in the UK as the States. The vac and the torch were each around 2-30 sterling.

For anyone reading this thread who doesn't own the Ryobi set, I can thoroughly recommend it, if for no other reason than the fact you're able to swap tools with the same battery.


Thanks for your comments, chaps.

 

[PCUK]

I was looking at a Ryobi Li-ion pack the other day and was told they are directly interchangeable with Nicad.

 

[demonboy]

THAT'S the answer I wanted to hear! Thank you.

 

[jeremyshaw]

[ QUOTE ]

The best bet with old drills where batteries have died is to connect cables to run it on the ships 12v supply. Plenty of power there.


[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with olewill. I deliberately bought a 12v cordless assuming that after a few years the battery would be shot and not worth replacing. When that happened I wired it up with a long enough 12v cable to reach all round the boat and it works fine. Speed is a little down (loss in the line) but it is great to know you will always have power.

Li-on is the way to go for the future though I'm sure and I've just bought a new cordless with that feature. I think the batteries take longer to charge, but it is the very low loss during storage that I am looking forward to, since so often you need a drill for an emergency job and don't want to have to wait to recharge it before you start.