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Thread: Ryobi One+ 18V Lithium Upgrade

  1. #1

    Ryobi One+ 18V Lithium Upgrade

    Last year, I bought a Ryobi One+ 18v circular saw to take along to the lumberyard, so I could cut boards down to the 6-1/2 foot length of my Dodge Dakota bed. I really like this tool, and it has done everything I have asked of it. What I didn't like about it were the Ni-cad batteries. I always had to take both batteries because you never knew when they were going to die. I was very unhappy the time I got to the lumberyard and both batteries were dead. I hadn't used the saw for a while and the batteries were sitting on the shelf and had lost their charge. Since its over 30 miles to the lumberyard, running home to charge the batteries wasn't an option.

    I happened to be at the HD the other day and I noticed that Ryobi now has a Lithium Ion battery for the One+ system of tools. Since I now have several of the One+ tools, I decided to look a little more closely at this upgrade. What I found made me decide to purchase a Drill-Worklight combo with 2 Lithium Ion batteries and Lithium charger.

    There are 3 things that I really like about the new One+ Lithium batteries. First is that the new battery is backwards compatible with the older Ni-cad One+ tools. Secondly, and most important to me, is the new battery has a "Fuel gauge". On the bottom edge of the battery, there is a momentary contact switch, and above that switch is a window that LEDs shine through. When you press the switch, the LEDs shine in one of 3 colors. Green means good charge. Yellow means enough power to still run the tool, but charging is needed soon. Red means the battery needs recharged. This is such a great idea, that I feel all rechargeable batteries should have this feature. The third thing that I like about the upgrade is the new charger is dual chemistry, meaning it will charge the new Lithium and the older Ni-cad batteries.

    Both the new One+ tools, now molded in a bright green color, and the older One+ tools that are blue, will work with the new Lithium or the older Ni-cad batteries.

    You can get the new batteries 3 ways. An upgrade kit with one(1) battery and the dual chemistry charger. A Drill-Worklight combo kit with two(2) batteries and dual chemistry charger. A Drill-Worklight-Circular Saw- Reciprocating Saw combo kit with two(2) batteries and Dual chemistry charger.

    Ryobi clames the new batteries have 2x the performance, 2x the runtime, holds the charge 4x longer and is 20% lighter that the older Ni-cad batteries.

    I feel that just the "Fuel gauge" makes this upgrade worth it, but the added benefits of Lithium technology (no memory effect, many more recharge cycles, and the increased performance claims) makes this a great upgrade. Ryobi has made a good line of light-medium duty tools even better in my opinion.

    Below are pictures of the "Fuel Gauge" in fully charged state(green), medium charge(yellow), and needing charged(red)
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Near Boston, MA
    Posts
    146
    Thanks for the review. I have a few of these tools as well and have been eyeing the new batteries. Unfortunately, I bought a couple of the old batts earlier this year, so it's going to be a bit before I can justify new cells!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    3,559
    I am waiting in the wings for the Lithium powered tools to really take off so I can get some very good prices on the "old" Ni cad tools and batteries. I use them a lot and have been very happy with them. I have so many now that it wouldn't be cost effective for me to switch to Lithium for a "loooooong" time.
    David B

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Summit, NJ
    Posts
    997
    That is great that they now use lith ion. I wish Dewalt would come out with retro fit packs they are behind the curve here. Looks like a good oppertinuity for someone to make lithium ion packs that fit dewalt tools
    -=Jason=-

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    70
    Quote Originally Posted by jason lambert View Post
    That is great that they now use lith ion. I wish Dewalt would come out with retro fit packs they are behind the curve here. Looks like a good oppertinuity for someone to make lithium ion packs that fit dewalt tools
    The problem is not making replacement packs with Lithium ion cells, it is getting an appropriate charger for them.

    Cheers

    Brian

  6. #6

    DeWalt does have a LiIon retrofit battery

    DeWalt just recently release the NANO, an outstanding Lithium Ion battery that is backwards compatible with all their tools. It's a bit pricey but if you are hooked on DeWalt tools like my brother is, the NANO is your obvious upgrade into the Lithium Ion system. Check out some info on them here: www.toologics.com.

  7. #7
    From what I have seen, other than Ryobi... Dewalt is the only other manufacture that has made Lithium batteries that are backwards compatible.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Saint Helens, OR
    Posts
    2,463
    I purchased the new Ryobi Plus 1 Lithium Ion set a couple months back. The fuel gauge is very, very nice. No more guessing if there is a charge or if it needs to be recharged. For the light/medium duty work I subject these tools to, they are more than adequate.

    I'm taking the reciprocating saw out this weekend to 'chop' down my X-Mas.

    The circular saw will be handy for cutting down sheet goods into manageable sizes.

    The drill has ample power, magnet on the base for holding bits and screws and a level. Handy.

    The flashlight is pretty nice. The head swivels so you can pretty much get light where you need it. Nice design.

    Were I a professional craftsman I may need something heavy duty, but for the weekend warrior work I do, this set fits me perfectly. YMMV.

  9. #9
    Happy Ryobi one+ user here. Glad the new batteries will work with the "old" tools. That fuel gauge on the new batteries will really help. Thanks for the review Lance.

  10. #10
    Ive got the ryobi 18volt set and I'm waiting for the price to drop on the lion batteries , right now $100 buys you 1 lion battery and charger

    for 80 you can get 4 nicad batteries

    I did pick up the Ryobi 12volt lion driver/drill kit to use a screw gun , battery life has been phenomenal I bought it the day before thanksgiving so thats 3 weeks today and I'm still using the first battery on its first charge. lightweight and lots of torque , ive been really pleased with it

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by skip coyne View Post
    Ive got the ryobi 18volt set and I'm waiting for the price to drop on the lion batteries , right now $100 buys you 1 lion battery and charger
    Thats why I bought the Drill-Worklight combo. For $69 more, you get the drill, worklight, and a second battery. I really was interested in the batteries, but will use the drill, and not as much, the worklight.

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