Aftermarket 18V batteries
Discussion
Has anyone tried aftermarket 18V or 36V batteries in their tools?
I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
donkmeister said:
Has anyone tried aftermarket 18V or 36V batteries in their tools?
I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
Not personally but there's a bloke on YT who did extensive testing of them and concluded the originals are still the best. I'll try to find the vid for you.I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
pocketspring said:
donkmeister said:
Has anyone tried aftermarket 18V or 36V batteries in their tools?
I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
Not personally but there's a bloke on YT who did extensive testing of them and concluded the originals are still the best. I'll try to find the vid for you.I could do with buying a second Ryobi battery as I've recently got a couple more of their tools, and noticed that there's a thriving market of aftermarket batteries at the usual online tat bazaar. About half the price of the branded ones for a given capacity. Which then had me looking at the 18V and 36V Hikoki ones too (as my older batteries are starting to get a bit weak and I don't fancy trying to re-cell them).
Before I start buying a load of batteries that could turn out to be crap, has anyone had experience of aftermarket batteries for their tools? Was the experience satisfyingly unremarkable? Or were there some horror stories to tell? Or were they even better than the originals?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OkT_SU6GSg&ab...
I have both genuine & bay of e special rip offs & can honestly say that I can't actually tell the difference in performance.
I will add that I have not done any specific back-to-back testing, just real-world use in circular saw, drill, angled drill and recip saw.
My batteries are generally just left alone & then when I have a project to use the tools I will top them all up one after the other.
I will add that I have not done any specific back-to-back testing, just real-world use in circular saw, drill, angled drill and recip saw.
My batteries are generally just left alone & then when I have a project to use the tools I will top them all up one after the other.
From what I've read (primarily about Makita clones but I suspect other brands are similar) they are certainly functional but they do have a few disadvantages:
1) They are often lower capacity than claimed. Sometimes only marginally; sometimes significantly so.
2) They often (but not always) use unbranded cells of unknown quality (which may be the cause of the above)
3) They almost always lack cell balancing circuits, which will result in a capacity drop if/when the cells start to go out of balance
4) The really cheap ones often use worryingly thin gauge wires to carry the current to the connector block rather than the solid metal tabs the OEM batteries tend to use. Probably only an issue if you're using them for prolonged high-current applications though.
Whether it's worth those risks/limitations for a battery which is usually around half the price of a manufacturer-branded one is a question of personal priorities, I guess.
Given that my Makita batteries are still going strong at 10 years old despite fairly heavy (at least for DIY) use, if/when they finally die I'll probably go for OEM again.
1) They are often lower capacity than claimed. Sometimes only marginally; sometimes significantly so.
2) They often (but not always) use unbranded cells of unknown quality (which may be the cause of the above)
3) They almost always lack cell balancing circuits, which will result in a capacity drop if/when the cells start to go out of balance
4) The really cheap ones often use worryingly thin gauge wires to carry the current to the connector block rather than the solid metal tabs the OEM batteries tend to use. Probably only an issue if you're using them for prolonged high-current applications though.
Whether it's worth those risks/limitations for a battery which is usually around half the price of a manufacturer-branded one is a question of personal priorities, I guess.
Given that my Makita batteries are still going strong at 10 years old despite fairly heavy (at least for DIY) use, if/when they finally die I'll probably go for OEM again.
Edited by kambites on Saturday 30th December 09:23
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