it sounds like they asked him for a receipt, and there was no tool smashing :~
i keep receipts for anything with a warranty, though some places are using some kind of thermal paper that only lasts a year or sometimes less before it goes blank
Why don’t they just replace the cells with a decent brand? Then the tools will work?
One technique that used to work if you lost your receipt, or warranty cost to send it half way around the world at your own expense and then wait 2 or 3 months discouraged you, was just go buy a new one, put the old one back in the box, and return it 2 weeks later. However many stores have got wise to that and now look at the serial number. In the case of a power tool, that means you’re relegated to taking the working guts out of the new one, putting the non-working guts back in, and then returning it, which could be quite an undertaking, especially if you bought a Hummer or Fighter Jet.
Because what if it still didn't work even with Japanese/Korean cells? Then who would they blame? Too much risk, much easier to blame the C-word on the wrapper.
they don’t know that
I have measured the voltage of each of the 3 cells.
4.2
3.6
2.6
I am in the process of charging each individually while they are still in the pack. When they are all charged up, I will do a run test and see what happens. Maybe an imbalance occurred because of the charging circuit. But I think what actually happened is that those 2 cells failed. We shall see.
I have 20 IMR’s available from this thread.
I will probably just replace the China cells with 3 of those.
I took a L-ion pack into a Makita store last month while visiting one of my daughters just because. I told them I heard a rumor that they had a machine that could tell how many charging cycles the pack had been through before it failed. The answer was 6.
Turns out the pack draws power for the smart chip from just 1 cell and that is what killed the pack (Sony IMRs, IIRC). This pack was on a work light that I hardly ever swapped into rotation since it was one of the smaller half-size packs.
I never registered it - and it was a year out of warranty - but they gave me a new double size pack to replace it anyway.
I have been using Ridgid cordless tools for a long time and started with Ryobi before Ridgid was thought of. Always had good luck with them and some Craftsmen that were made by Ryobi at the time. just a few months back I got three new batteries for my 18volt tools through the lifetime warranty. Batteries were 8 years old and just not giving any rum time. I have sold Porter Cable, Makita and Dewalt drills in the past due to poor performance but not my Ridgids.
I was and am a long-time user of Ryobi 18v One+ and have added some li-ion things over the years, but I also picked up a Ridgid compact drill and impact drivers for some heavier work a few years back. Both Ridgid batteries died (luckily after the project I was working on) and the Home Depot service center tried to turn me away, but I just stood there like I didn’t understand until they finally gave me two new batteries and a charger :).
I had registered them originally and had the paperwork, but I didn’t re-register the replacements (will try the same when these fail). So far so good after a year though.
Ryobi is not quite as nice but I swear they make some pretty decent stuff.
Rigid tools are crap IMO, slightly better than Craftsman. Have gone through many power tools as a contractor and the only ones that hold up are the top of the line blue Makita 18 volts. Milwaukee experience is mixed, I like the corded professional line of drills, portabands and some saws. The battery life is very important to commercial contractors, when your hanging off a skyscraper it matters.
The only battery powered tools that have been consistently good performers are all Makita, not the home owner light duty stuff either. Dewalt is just a glorified Craftsman to me, gone through lots of stripped gears and bad batteries with those. Consumer reports did a battery drill test a few years ago and they had the same opinion, I think it was Makita, Dewalt and Milwaukee on top and Ryobi got the home owner value award. So far, I haven’t had a premature Makita 18 volt battery death. My personal 14 volt Makitas went many years hanging door hardware in commercial buildings. Never had a Craftsman or Rigid make it past 6 months of daily use. My buddy kept returning his Rigid 18 volt hammer drills every 6 months or so for repair. He had the whole package deal, but he used the warranty repair service often. Even the white home owner grade Makitas will go a couple years or so in commercial use. I tried Bosch a few years back since I loved the big hammer drills. The battery powered stuff didn’t last either, had gear failure. But I did use the battery drills more than most people for many years, we actually drilled through metal so weak designs showed themselves quickly. When I had to buy my own tools I had to choose the most durable. I tried the cheap route a few times and it always cost me more in the end. Those Craftsman 19.2 volts were the worst IMO, but I never tried anything cheaper.
Save yourself the anguish of wondering what if and axe it now, for your peace of mind naturally, our viewing appreciation is a side benefit 
I believe they’re AEG in Australia.
If not Bosch blue, Panasonic would be my choice.
I looked at the AEG in Bunnings and bought the Makita. Sorta glad now.
those cells shown in the pic are the same nonames in the $15 shipped ebay laptop packs.good for about 10 cycles before they head south.you dont get 9 quality cells in a pack for $15!
power tools are much more demanding.why is anyone surprised these are failing?
That is why I am absolutely outraged. I can’t understand how a company as well regarded as Ridgid would think something like this would OK.
And yes, 10 charges is all I got out of those cells. Earlier, I posted that I was charging those cells up individually and testing them. Well I did, and they are toast. Pure China JUNK.
If they are really that bad they couldn’t have passed any testing.
Perhaps the actual manufacturer or battery supplier switched them after production started. Ridgid failed to do quality checks of actual production batches. If you don’t maintain tight oversight of the chinese manufacturer you hire this is what happens. If you let them source components they will ignore official distributors & buy from the cheapest source with no reputation. Factory reject components & counterfeits will land in your device. Read reports from inexperienced companies who get burned like that.
Manufacturer: Tianjin Lishen Battery
Model: LS LR1865BE
1350mAh capacity
Seriously, one of the rare times I can suggest *fire probably would be a better option without it being an out and out joke!
Oh man... that first video was crazy!!
he was really freaking out...
poor ridgid.
I dont know why they put 3S li-ion cells and marked pack as 12.0V most packs with 3S cells marked for standard 10.8V (3.6x3) or 11.1V(3.7x3)
Power tools require higher current at load. I dont think such chinese cells (proven high internal resistance) can provide such current for power tools.
12v to make it sound more powerful.