A New Ryobi Tool

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  • woodturner
    replied
    Originally posted by leehljp

    Boy does this get confusing:

    -> "Follow the directions of the manufacture . . . and you will be safe "
    This is the right answer - follow the manufacturer's directions. Leaving the batteries in can damage them and can be unsafe, if they are not designed for that, and taking the batteries out can damage them and be unsafe, again if they are not designed for that. The manufacturer knows the design and what is best for that design, so it is best to follow their directions.

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  • Carlos
    replied
    I wasn't talking about Ryobi or any one battery or charger. In general, for all batteries, it is ALWAYS safe to remove them when done. It may or may not be safe to leave them. Therefore it's an easy and logical habit to just always remove them. If I walk by and see a "ready" light I pop the batteries out.

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  • leehljp
    replied
    Originally posted by Carlos
    It's never wrong to remove them at the end of the cycle. It's sometimes wrong to leave them. Simple as that.
    Ryobi should hire you so that you can teach them something!

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  • Carlos
    replied
    It's never wrong to remove them at the end of the cycle. It's sometimes wrong to leave them. Simple as that.

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  • leehljp
    replied
    Originally posted by Carlos
    You can never go wrong by removing them from the charger. You might or might not have a problem if you leave them on. Also, in nearly all cases, the charger remains warm, and cooler batteries last much longer (as shown in one of the charts I previously posted). I don't know how common it is, but there have been a few charger fires also, with batteries left in them.

    The wife has an 18650 charger that claims to be intelligent and safe to leave the batteries on. She complained of batteries going bad quickly, and I found that they stayed warm after charging. I told her to set a timer for the charge cycle and always remove them. The current battery set is now at double the life of the previous ones.
    Boy does this get confusing:

    -> "Follow the directions of the manufacture . . . and you will be safe "
    or
    -> "Don't follow the directions of the manufacture . . ."

    I leave my Ryobi lithium batteries in and when I forget and go back in the shop 3 to 4 days later, they are not hot; they are not warm. They are room temp. That seems to fit your requirements and Ryobi's operational specs.

    As to your note on warm batteries, I do agree. When batteries stay warm in a base, there is some trickle charging going on. That is common sense judgements - something is a-miss. But I haven't experienced that with my power tools lithium chargers - Ryobi or Hitachi.


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  • Carlos
    replied
    You can never go wrong by removing them from the charger. You might or might not have a problem if you leave them on. Also, in nearly all cases, the charger remains warm, and cooler batteries last much longer (as shown in one of the charts I previously posted). I don't know how common it is, but there have been a few charger fires also, with batteries left in them.

    The wife has an 18650 charger that claims to be intelligent and safe to leave the batteries on. She complained of batteries going bad quickly, and I found that they stayed warm after charging. I told her to set a timer for the charge cycle and always remove them. The current battery set is now at double the life of the previous ones.

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  • leehljp
    replied
    Originally posted by Carlos
    I'm not sure if that was a typo or too many mixed negatives, but Lipo/Li-Ion batteries should NOT be left on the charger. If you want them to last, and be safe, you remove them from the chargers as soon as practical to do so.
    I think it depends upon the chargers themselves. Some chargers (of Li-Ion) cut off once charging is complete and some do not. I, or rather LOML has a Li-Ion charger for her cordless vac that says specifically to take the battery out after charging, but Ryobi's Lithium Ion battery charger says this:
    "
    • "INTELLIPORT TECHNOLOGY: This charger features a maintenance mode that knows when a battery is fully charged. Once full, this unit keeps those batteries conditioned for peak performance and maximized battery life. This uses less power than other charging units that never stop loading power into a battery, wasting energy and your money."
    Last edited by leehljp; 01-03-2019, 09:46 PM.

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  • Jim Frye
    replied
    Just another update to annoy people. I last used the mower on 11/15/18 and put it away for the winter, even though we haven't really had any winter weather here yet. Per Ryobi's instructions, the mower has been plugged into the charger since then. I've since learned from Ryobi that the charging system (a processor in the charger and one in the mower) monitor the batteries continuously. If the pack voltage drops below 51 volts or every 30 days (whichever comes first), the system will do a "maintenance charge" automatically. I've monitored the system and this charge runs for about 3 hours when it kicks in (less than $0.05). Also replacement batteries can be had for $150 (HD wants $202) each at this writing. Since I use less than 10% of the charge each time, the battery gurus predict I will get at least 10 years out of the original set. The gas, oil, filters, and belts savings will pay for a total battery replacement more than two times over in that period. Oh yeah, they just released a front mounted snow plow for this mower. Now we just need snow to justify one. Our next car may well be all electric too.
    Last edited by Jim Frye; 01-03-2019, 07:06 PM.

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  • Carlos
    replied
    Excellent point on the cost savings, thanks for the update. Never thought about that. Nevermind all the cost and annoyance of carbs and other engine maintenance.

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  • Jim Frye
    replied
    I've had this unit for six weeks now and I'd llike to lay out what I've learned. First off, it costs me about $0.06 in electricity to mow my lawn each time. I mow for 45 minutes to one hour and it uses less than 10% of the total charge capacity. Given the current cost of gasoline, I will have saved enough money in four years to pay for a total battery replacement. The mower is very maneuverable and it requires minimal trimming. Maintenance is limited to wiping out the underside of the mowing deck and plugging the mower into the čharger when it's not beîng used. This has been a great purchase experience.

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  • Carlos
    replied
    Oh yeah, the noise...never thought about that with an electric. Congrats, sounds like it will work for you forever.

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  • Jim Frye
    replied
    Delivered at 11:15 AM this morning and spent about 3 hours doing the final assembly. Backed it off of the steel frame pallet it was shipped on and ran it around the driveway. Gobs of torque! It was raining, so it was parked in the garage and plugged into the charger as it is supposed to be before the first mowing. This thing is STOUT!. All bolts and fastenings are oversized. Switch gear is also high quality. Full blown automotive style rack and pinion steering with adjustable ball joints on the tie rods. Automotive style spindles and king pins attached to a large front axle beam. And it's really pretty quiet.

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  • Jim Frye
    replied
    It's on its way! Before the trade war jacks the price up or makes it unavailable

    08/13/18: I was puzzled by the apparent slowness of the shipping and finally logged into my HD account and opened a chat to get more details on my order. I ordered it on 08/06 and it shipped from the HD warehouse in Riverside, CA on 08/08. It's now traveling across the US to an LTL carrier near my home. Once it eventually gets there, they will set up delivery to my home.

    08/14/18: It's at the LTL facility. Waitimg for delivery scheduling.

    08/15/18: Delivery is scheduled for tomorrow!
    Last edited by Jim Frye; 08-15-2018, 06:08 PM. Reason: added blather

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  • woodturner
    replied
    Originally posted by Jim Frye
    I will be going over to the nearest HD next week and placing an order for one.
    A couple of suggestions to save you a few bucks:
    1. buy it with HD gift cards you bought from a store that offers rewards. I think Kroger in your area still offers gas rewards when you purchase gift cards.
    2. If you order in-store, ask for a 10% discount, HD and Lowes pretty much give anybody a 10% discount on request. If you are a vet, they also offer a 10% discount for vets.
    3. Various reward referral sites offer rebates - so if you use their link and order online for in-store pickup you can get a rebate. Looks like the best rebate is 8% plus a $10 new account reward, but I don't know of a way to combine that with the 10% in-store discount.

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  • Jim Frye
    replied
    OK, today we took a drive the nearest HD that had a RM480e on the floor. 45 miles and an hour's drive up into Michigan. Ypsilanti to be exact. Hard to believe that the Toledo, OH area has no less than five HDs within 15 miles of my home and none have one of these after 18 months on the market. I asked the outdoor equipment guy at the Ypsilanti store why so few stores had this machine on the floor or in stock and he offered up a rather unique reasoning. The Ypsilanti store sits between the Eastern Michigan and the University of Michigan campuses. "Lots of tree huggers to make up a demographic that would buy such a machine". Anyway, it was everything that all of my research pointed to. Sitting among all of the traditional riders (both front and rear engined), it was as unique as the BT3000 was back in 1993. SWMBO sat on it, was struck by how small it was compared to the other riding mowers and even suggested an alternate storage area in the garage for the thing. I will be going over to the nearest HD next week and placing an order for one. I've been in contact with Ryobi to get answers to some of my questions that aren't addressed in the User Manual and so far, no bad answers. I also had a chat with the guy who lives behind me about his Toro Timecutter 42" mower. $3,400 new. Guess the Ryobi isn't overpriced after all. I'll update this after it gets delivered, assembled, and used a time or two. I'll also be comparing it to another neighbor's new rider. He's going to be mowing about 30,000 square feet (about 3/4 acre) with a CubCadet CC30 gasoline powered mower. Watching to see if it holds up like some of the reviews have stated.

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