Ridgid Brand Tools

[3930dave]

a couple years ago i bought a ridgid 2 piece combo set. registered for the lifetime warranty. about 6 months later battery failed at that time i had to send battery to repair center,battery was replaced with no problem.recently other original battery failed this time was able to take to HD for replacement. there was amixup in paperwork but HD eventually got it taken care of and i got up graded battery.went to ridgid website to register battery got message they no longer lifetime warranty battery instead they give 3 yr warranty. i dont use these tools all that hard but up to this point the tools themselves have worked fine.

I'm wondering if you going through the Depot the last time caused this to look like a New battery purchase ?

I'm happy with the Ridgid set I have, but will have one less reason to add things to it if they (meaning Ridgid, not HD) are actually rescinding the Lifetime Battery warranty that they issued to previous buyers.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

Craftsman did this to me with tape measures...

I had an old one in the truck that I had bought new... it finally wore out and I went to Sears and was given a new one and told they no longer have a lifetime warranty...

 

[3930dave]

Craftsman did this to me with tape measures...

I had an old one in the truck that I had bought new... it finally wore out and I went to Sears and was given a new one and told they no longer have a lifetime warranty...

The ones (companies and people) that keep their word are becoming more rare.

AFAIK, Mastercraft (Canadian Tire here) is still pretty good. I took one of their padlocks in that would still latch, but the spring had disintegrated, so you had to pull the hasp up to get it to open. They didn't have that particular model of padlock in stock, so they replaced it with an more expensive one.

Not sure about their measuring tape policy though.

Rgds, D.

 

[Coyote machine]

I have been buying Ridgid cordless tools recently: the 18V Li-ion impact/drill/2 batts and fast charger kit and circ saw BODY only, from online- not sold in some/all? HD stores. Backwardly compatible chargers, I believe, and lifetime warranty, IF registered. I believe the fine print now requires the charger/tool AND batteries all be sent in to determine which piece is defective, even if one knows it's a dead battery?! That seems excessive, and I believe there may be a new replacement battery 3 year limitation instead of lifetime warranty on the replaced batteries, BUT I'm not certain on that point.
Buying the bare tool, only available off the internet, and the local HD store clerks being mostly clueless about what is not available in store vs. on the net is to me, frustration. I really wanted a cordless circ saw, but the store had me thinking Ridgid didn't make one, when it was available on the net. I wanted it because the drill/ driver batteries are the same, and therefore interchangeable between tools.
I agree with those who want a tool with best quality rather than a 'lifetime' fine print, run around, waste time = $$$ warranty that disables the owner of the tool and the tool for hours/days/weeks, etc.
And, Li-i may be good but when the battery quits it is dead, NO more juice for turning a drill or anything. At least Ni-Cads would give a warning of some reserve!
I've had DeWalt cordless tools, Makita, Crapsman, etc. So far, Ridgid is good weight to work ratio, good ergonomically, and I like the built in lights to shine on work area too.
My carpenter and others like Hitachi tools too in recent years.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think part of the reason I have good luck with the older cordless tools is I never charge until 100% dead... even if that means popping it into the flashlight and leaving it on.

Others I know were always charging and it seemed to really shorten life.

 

[3930dave]

I think part of the reason I have good luck with the older cordless tools is I never charge until 100% dead... even if that means popping it into the flashlight and leaving it on.

Others I know were always charging and it seemed to really shorten life.

NiCd has the memory issue, so it was/is critical to discharge those, to avoid losing capacity.

Newer chemistries got away from the memory problem of NiCd, so discharge/charge discipline isn't quite as critical now. Thermal issues still remain though - I don't like to frequently charge lithium packs, in order to keep the thermal stress to a minimum - I can't think of an equivalent situation with tools, but I try and charge my phone and laptop when they are Off, to help reduce the thermal load.

Lithium tool packs are more temperature sensitive than NiCd. Up here, it's a bad idea to leave Lithium tools in your truck overnight in the dead of Winter - they won't be at full capability (sometimes, not doing anything at all) until the pack warms up. Heat - if the pack is dead, sitting in a closed vehicle in Summer, try and let it cool off before throwing it in the charger - same goes for finishing a run driving many lag bolts..... try and let the pack cool off, before charging.

I recently bought an Anker (aftermarket) battery for a Thinkpad. Their conditioning recommendation for this lithium battery was to not discharge it below 7%. I'm trying to stay above that level on the phone/laptop now - my cordless tools are olde enough that they don't ( ) have a Bluetooth interface, so I don't have a % reading there.

Rgds, D.

 

[CNC Dan]

.....And, Li-i may be good but when the battery quits it is dead, NO more juice for turning a drill or anything.

Has to be that way. Li batterys have a circuit inside that keeps them from being over discharged. Without it they would blow up/catch fire.

At least Ni-Cads would give a warning of some reserve!

That warning is the start of the pack getting dammaged. As soon as you see any drop in preformance, stop, and switch packs. Don't drive that last screw, don't drill that last hole, just stop.

One or two cells inside the pack is fully discharged, and any further use will have the remaining cells force the dead cells to overdischarge, shortening their life and reducing their capacity.

 

[ultrarunner]

Dan... I've never heeded the warning with Ni-Cads ever... I go out of my way to drain every last ounce and then charge.

Some of my batteries that get regular use are 10 years old which I think is very good.

Makita, Dewalt and Bosch.

 

[CNC Dan]

Dan... I've never heeded the warning with Ni-Cads ever... I go out of my way to drain every last ounce and then charge.

Some of my batteries that get regular use are 10 years old which I think is very good.

Makita, Dewalt and Bosch.

I'm very surprised to hear that.
Are they NiCad or NiMh?

I also have battery packs that have lasted much longer than usual, but I stop at the first sign of power reduction, and re-charge.

 

[3930dave]

Dan... I've never heeded the warning with Ni-Cads ever... I go out of my way to drain every last ounce and then charge.

Some of my batteries that get regular use are 10 years old which I think is very good.

Makita, Dewalt and Bosch.

Lithium discharge curves tend to fall off a cliff.... you're doing fine, then you pretty well have nothing. Most of us wouldn't drive cars that behaved that way, but we put up with it in tools for the convenience and energy density that Lithium provides.

Lithium is a much more volatile chemistry than NiCd, so Li systems need more complex charge protection. A decent Li charger will have temperature delay built in - if the Batt pack is too hot, the charger will delay Start of Charge until the Batt pack cools down.

I've seen flattened out Lithium tool packs (that were actually healthy) where you physically have to insert the battery into the charger multiple times, before charge will initiate. With a really flat Li pack (voltage wise), the charge controller is erring on the safe side, and deciding the initial current is too high, or it thinks one of the cells is shorted.

In comparison, NiCd packs are an inherently stable chemistry and will tolerate simplistic/crude charge techniques, and heat/cold abuse better, with little risk of failure.

Rgds, D.