Ryobi batteries for Impact Wrench (400nm) - Minefield?

[Ice_blue_tvr]

So I picked up a 400nm Impact wrench kit from Halfords a couple weeks ago hoping it'd help me out with changing a suspension strut.

https://www.halfords.com/tools/power-tools-and-acc...

It was pretty useless tbh. It'll get (correctly) torqued wheel nuts off.. thats about it really. It struggled with wheel nuts that've been overtorqued by a tyre fitter.

However, I'd been reading that the 2ah kit batteries are useless and can deliver upto 100nm less than pretty much any other battery as they just can't deliver the current.

Looking at the 3ah "high energy" and 4ah (normal lithium+) 'upgrades', they are around £75. Is it worth the expense of trying another battery , or just are entry level Ryobi wrenchs just duds and I should cut my loss and go with another brand? Milwaukee?

I won't use an impact wrench that often, but the point being that when I do I want to be able to remove bolts that would usually require a breaker without 'breakering' the bank! Its pointless to have to crack bolts with a breaker first.

[Taita]

I have one of these Ryobi wrenches:

18V ONE+™ HP Cordless Brushless Performance Impact Wrench (Bare Tool)
RIW18X-0

No issues with a 4Ah battery, and for vast majority the 2Ah is OK (smaller to get in smaller nooks).

If you want 'big fking gorilla wrench' strength (will undo literally anything) then Dewalt DCF899 is big, heavy, expensive. But you can plug it into a socket at the North Pole and stop the Earth spinning.

[TurboRob]

Have the same wrench as you OP, and a selection of other ONE+ tools with 2-5ah batteries. Don’t remember noticing the impact wrench losing any grunt with one of the smaller capacity batteries fitted, they just empty quicker.

[Jamescrs]

I have a Ryobi impact wrenching find it very good for home DIY use, have changed suspension struts and removed wheels no issue but I have the 5Ah battery, I also have 2 x 4ah batteries as I have some other Ryobi one+ tools.

The 2ah battery is too small for the impact wrench or anything else really apart from the torches probably, they just bundle them with tools to shift the units but people quickly realise the 2ah batteries are too small.

[Ice_blue_tvr]

I found it pretty useless trying to crack the bolt that joins the rear strut to the wheel hub on the crv.. It wasn't even that tight when undoing it manually.

Perhaps I wasn't cranking for long enough.? I've been watching some wrench torque comparison videos on YouTube and some don't reach max torque values until upt 10secs of hammering?

I'm going to replace some arb bushes at some point so I'll see how it holds up for those.

I do like the comparisons this channel do.. They tested the ryobi ( I believe in the US its a model p261) , and it made less than 300nm max torque, which is quite a bit under the advertised 400nm (and perhaps less with the 2ah battery.)

https://youtu.be/xNQYUWV6EBo

That being said some of the monster torque wrenches (like the dewalt mentioned by someone above) seem to be hard to hold when they are hammering away. So maybe a smaller tool has its place!

Edited by Ice_blue_tvr on Saturday 8th January 18:16

[Taita]

They have a p262 in usa that is well thought of, and a bigger one coming out too.

Eta: hard to map the UK model codes to usa ones.

[Belle427]

I have that one too and it does struggle with certain stuff as you have described, it’s not the batteries just the tool doesn’t have enough grunt to get over the initial breakaway torque.

[Jakg]

TurboRob said:

Don’t remember noticing the impact wrench losing any grunt with one of the smaller capacity batteries fitted, they just empty quicker.

It is a "thing" which is why I went for a big 4ah battery for mine.

Ice_blue_tvr said:

That being said some of the monster torque wrenches (like the dewalt mentioned by someone above) seem to be hard to hold when they are hammering away. So maybe a smaller tool has its place!

An impact wrench shouldn't give any recoil, beyond the gyroscope inertia effect of the hammer spinning.

One of the best benefits for impact tools in a repetitive setting is reduced wrist effort.

EDIT - Not helpful, but I've had cheap impact wrenches that quotes hundreds of nm and was never impressed and always needed the breaker bar to start it off. I decided to get a proper one but wanted to make sure that it wouldn't struggle with anything so went for the Dewalt DCF899. Claims 1,600nm, hasn't struggled with anything, ever. Bit big to get into tight spaces though.

Edited by Jakg on Saturday 8th January 20:47

[normalbloke]

Jakg said:

TurboRob said:

Don’t remember noticing the impact wrench losing any grunt with one of the smaller capacity batteries fitted, they just empty quicker.

It is a "thing" which is why I went for a big 4ah battery for mine.

Ice_blue_tvr said:

That being said some of the monster torque wrenches (like the dewalt mentioned by someone above) seem to be hard to hold when they are hammering away. So maybe a smaller tool has its place!

An impact wrench shouldn't give any recoil, beyond the gyroscope inertia effect of the hammer spinning.

One of the best benefits for impact tools in a repetitive setting is reduced wrist effort.

EDIT - Not helpful, but I've had cheap impact wrenches that quotes hundreds of nm and was never impressed and always needed the breaker bar to start it off. I decided to get a proper one but wanted to make sure that it wouldn't struggle with anything so went for the Dewalt DCF899. Claims 1,600nm, hasn't struggled with anything, ever. Bit big to get into tight spaces though.

Edited by Jakg on Saturday 8th January 20:47

Likewise the big Milwaukee. 2400nm.

[The Road Crew]

Are you using impact sockets OP? Chrome sockets do sap the power a bit.

I feel my dewalt gun has more oomph with 5.0 battery on vs the 2.0

[DavePanda]

I bought a 5ah Chinese battery for my Ryobi tools, works a treat, was £26 instead of £70 or so. Charges fine and has plenty of grunt. Had it about 6 months.

[Griffith4ever]

I have the dewalt beast on 4ah aftermarket batts and it's a beast.

I also have a lot of Ryobi tools. I buy Ryobi when I want value and the job is not too demanding. I buy Dewalt when it is.

The bigger AH battery you get, the more power it can deliver. This is simp!e lithium battery science. Smaller batteries have a lower amperage draw ability. Ask anyone who's tried small batteries on a circular saw. They don't just last shorter, they offer much less raw power. It's in the nature of the battery chemistry.

I use aftermarket Ryobi batteries and they can be superb. Buy Amazon so you can easily exchange. I have bought a dud recently.

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 09:42

[Ice_blue_tvr]

Cheers guys, that's great info..

I'll mull over the option..

Either

1) buy a great big fk off dewalt or milwaukee (expensive but guaranteed option)
2) buy a bigger ryobi battery (not so expensive, but may not give the power I ultimately need)
3) buy a knock off battery from amazon and see what happens.

Will probably try option 3 to begin with.

[DavePanda]

Griffith4ever said:

Ask anyone who's tried small batteries on a circular saw. They don't just last shorter, they offer much less raw power. It's in the nature of the battery chemistry.

I use aftermarket Ryobi batteries and they can be superb. Buy Amazon so you can easily exchange. I have bought a dud recently.

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 09:42

That's why i bought a bigger one, my circular saw would stop on damp wood or anything remotely tough with a 2ah battery, with the 5, i did 2 days almost non stop sawing with no problems.

[Griffith4ever]

I've been using Lipos for ages - they 1st took hold in the RC market (helicopters for me) - so I know them well. Their power delivery is limited by their capacity(size) and quality of manufacture (i.e. some punch a bit above their weight, but only by so much).

Lipos operate in pretty much the same way as LiOn which is what is in DIY tool batteries.

A simple example

5Ah 11.1v 20c (20c refers to the max current delivery 20 x 5Ah) = 100Amp draw sustained

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-5000mah-3s-20c...

2.5Ah (half the size) 11.1v 10c = 25Amps max draw sustained

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-2500...

Or, better quality:

2.5Ah 11.1v 30c = 75Amps max sustained

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-2500mah-3s-30c...

As batteries get smaller, their current delivery decreases

[rxe]

I have the DeWalt 899, and the batteries make a huge difference to performance. On a 54 volt flexvolt battery, it is a beast, dismissing things like an Alfa V6 crank bolt with ease. On 4aH 18v battery, it feels broken.

[Griffith4ever]

rxe said:

I have the DeWalt 899, and the batteries make a huge difference to performance. On a 54 volt flexvolt battery, it is a beast, dismissing things like an Alfa V6 crank bolt with ease. On 4aH 18v battery, it feels broken.

No st - you are tripling the voltage!

I find the thing to be a beast on 18v btw - it cracks my van wheel nuts where I needed a breaker bar before.

Edit: ahhh - It runs at 6ah on 18v tools:

"This Flexvolt battery operates at 6ah when connected to an 18v machine"

I did wonder how it would not fry the 899 speed controller.

6Ah is a big step up from 4ah (what I run) so I'd indeed expect it to be wild.

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 21:51

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 21:52

[Flibble]

Really impressed with my big dewalt on 5Ah, it's completely ridiculous how fast it cracks things off.

[rxe]

Griffith4ever said:

No st - you are tripling the voltage!

I find the thing to be a beast on 18v btw - it cracks my van wheel nuts where I needed a breaker bar before.

Edit: ahhh - It runs at 6ah on 18v tools:

"This Flexvolt battery operates at 6ah when connected to an 18v machine"

I did wonder how it would not fry the 899 speed controller.

6Ah is a big step up from 4ah (what I run) so I'd indeed expect it to be wild.

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 21:51

Edited by Griffith4ever on Sunday 9th January 21:52

Yep - if you get one of the big ones, you have effectively a 9 or 12 aH 18v battery. You've also got 2 strings of batteries in there, so much less opportunity for voltage sag.

[nunpuncher]

I didn't think the ah of the battery would affect the power, just how long the battery lasted.

I went through several 300/400nm guns before seeing the light and buying Thor's hammer (Dewalt 899). The smaller guns are ok if you're playing at mechanics, taking wheel nut off etc. But if you're doing proper jobs like crank pulleys, taking drive shafts out, switching suspension on a rusty old barge then you're pissing in the wind with these wee guns.