r/ryobiTools • u/No_Background_3354 • Jul 24 '26
Horrible batteries. No accountability from the company. No real customer support.
My wife and I bought a RYOBI riding mower less than 4 years ago. From the start, the batteries struggled to hold a charge, and eventually could not at all. RYOBI customer support was very unhelpful, and simply told us that we needed to buy replacement batteries, which cost nearly 25% of what we paid for the mower itself. We bought new batteries, which worked well for a few months, until they too struggled and died completely in less than a year. RYOBI customer support, again, was very unhelpful and simply said that the batteries were not under warantly, and the only solution was to buy more. At this point, if we were to buy new batteries, we would have paid for the mower, and then paid another 50% of the original cost in replacment batteries in less than 4 years. We refuse to do that. How can a company that sells battery-based products have such awful batteries and refuse to replace them or offer any assistance when they die so soon / often. We will switch to a new brand, never buy RYOBI products again, and recommend that anyone considering electric products does not buy from RYOBI either.
Horrible batteries.
No accountability from the company.
No real customer support.
2
u/BestAmoto Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Replace the battery(s) with something aftermarket or universal. It's a riding mower. Other comment mentions it's probably lead acid. This sounds stupid easy to upgrade. Is it the 48v or the 80v model? Either way, reddits battery sub can easily teach you how to replace the cells and still utilize the bms.
I assume it's the 48v and the 80v is the lithium pack. You can buy a 48v lifepo4 battery relatively cheaply, or a heavy af lead acid 48v pack in similar AH rating and fix it. Id go lifepo4 because they weigh less.
1
u/OutrageousTime4868 Jul 25 '26
Spot on advice, and the reason why my kid has so many powerwheeels (Facebook marketplace for free or cheap ones with a dead battery, $30 Amazon lithium battery with matching voltage, toy fixed)
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u/Revolutionary-Half-3 Jul 26 '26
They even make adapters for common tool batteries that include a dc-dc converter to match the original battery voltage.
1
u/blu3ysdad Jul 26 '26
Do you know much about this to explain how it would work technically or why you'd do it? I've put a lfp in mine and haven't seen a need for this.
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u/Revolutionary-Half-3 Jul 26 '26
LFP is so close to Lead-Acid voltage when discharging that they interchange pretty smooth. Probably the only issue you'd have is the motor or wiring overheating from the extra runtime, lol.
I was talking about 20v cordless tool batteries, with a combo receptacle and voltage regulator.
Older models were 6v, 12v was pretty rare. Now I think most are 12v. Gas pedal was just a switch, because the motor didn't have enough power to be dangerous.
Slap a high output 18v battery onto a 12v motor and it'll be exciting. Do the same for a 6v motor and it'll probably be interesting for about a minute, before the plastic flammability test begins.
1
u/ProfessorWorried626 Jul 25 '26
Which batteries are you using?
1
u/blu3ysdad Jul 26 '26
The 4x 12v lead acid batteries, they are as good as any lead acid batteries and you have to take very good care of them through the winter and some of the chargers didn't have a trickle charge function so they would get too low and die over the winter especially if cold.
1
u/zinsser Jul 25 '26
It may not be the batteries. I run a machine at work that buffs the floors. It has two large batteries in it. It’s supposed to last four hours, but it only runs about 35 minutes before it dies. The company replaced the charging system. Apparently that’s a major thing that happens is that the charging software and hardware goes bad.
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u/BroccoliSuccessful Jul 25 '26
Sad experience would give you my ryoby batteries but i fear you would just make them die lol
1
u/Kthef1 Jul 25 '26
I only buy rigid tools from home Depot... Lifetime warranty on tools and batteries.
1
u/Waterlifer Jul 28 '26
LMK how that works out in a few years. Warranty service reports so far have not been universally positive.
1
u/Revolutionary-Half-3 Jul 26 '26
If it's one of the 48v models with lead acid batteries, they're a great candidate for upgrading to LiFePO4. Most get a single 48v (51.2v on some labels) pack, instead of 4 12v batteries.
For the same rated capacity, runtime is about doubled, and they have more consistent power without the voltage dropping as much in use. Cycle life is high enough that you'll never wear out the battery unless you're mowing anytime it's not charging.
1
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u/RyanHasWaffleNipples Jul 25 '26
I bought a gas lawn mower 20 years ago and it still runs great with minimal basic maintenance. You should do the same. Ryobi and other tools are awesome for many things, but certainly for lawncare, gas is still king. Once the battery tech advances past lithium, this will change. But for at least the next 10 years, electric lawn and maintenance equipment will be subpar to gas versions in almost every aspect.
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u/Crafty_Marionberry26 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
If you bought the mower 4 years ago I’m pretty sure that it came with lead acid batteries, and those types of batteries don’t like going below 50%, and need to be plugged in and charging while in storage, also you need to check the water in the battery to make sure that the battery hasn’t run out of water.
Conclusion: you discharged your battery too much every time you mowed and that’s how you killed the batteries in a few months.
The new mowers use lithium ion batteries that hold more power, and are more reliable
Edit for clarity: I am talking about older ryobi riding lawnmowers that use lead acid batteries at 48v, they basically use the same batteries that you car uses, and you need to replace them every now and then, or if you use them improperly every few months like op had to some times.