Ryobi Lithium Ion

Why are laptop batteries more expensive than lawnmower batteries?

I normally restrain myself from ranting in this column – I prefer to concentrate on the sunny side of mobile technology – but I'm going to make an exception thanks to a problem that’s been bugging me for a while, but came to a head this month when I bought a new lawnmower.

Now you’re thinking “Didn’t he do lawnmowers last month?”, but allow me to explain further. As I’m a certified gadget-addict, this wasn’t just any old lawnmower but a Bosch Rotak 43LI. The clue is in that two letter suffix LI – yep, a lawnmower powered by lithium-ion batteries.

If you browse the Screwfix catalogue, you’ll see there’s recently been a flood of new lithium-ion-powered garden and workshop tools – they’re rapidly taking over from NiCd and NiMH thanks to lighter weight, longer life and lack of the pernicious “memory effect”.

It’s pretty much the same battery technology used in laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players, so volume manufacture is already established.

I’m really chuffed with my new mower, but what most intrigued me were the two batteries it came with, each rated at 36V and 2,600mAh.

You might remember from school physics that when comparing battery capacities what really matters is Watt hours, which you get by multiplying ampere-hours and voltage, so these lawnmower batteries have a capacity of 93,600mWh or 93.6 watt-hours. That’s enough to light a 100W bulb for nearly an hour, or to boil two cups of water – a staggering amount of power from a battery.

If you shop around you can pick up these Bosch batteries for around £140 (although I paid £340 for the mower itself, plus a fast charger and twin batteries).

But I digress: £140 for 93.6 watt-hours is around £1.50/Wh, and that’s where I start to get angry (and this column gets back on brief!), because I’m typing this on a Sony VAIO TT laptop for which Sony will happily charge me £220 for an extended-use battery. That 10.8V, 8,100mAh battery costs approximately £2.50/Wh, so why exactly should a laptop battery cost this much more than a lawnmower one?

Both are intended for rugged use (far more so for the mower, which is packaged in high-impact rubber); both have deep-discharge and thermal protection; both include a battery gauge; and don’t forget the mower is made by Bosch, a German company not known for positioning its products at the cheap end.

This 66% premium on laptop batteries would be annoying enough – perhaps not enough to power a full-blown rant – but I also have a few power and garden tools made by Ryobi from its excellent ONE+ range, which are also powered by lithium-ion batteries. The same calculation on their replacement batteries comes out at around £1.16/Wh, significantly below half the price of Sony’s laptop batteries.

About the Author

Laptop Batteries,Adapters,Chargers,notebook battery
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http://www.b2c-battery.com.au

Ryobi CB120L 12V Lithium-ion Battery $44.99 12V Lithium Battery - 130503005

Ryobi P104 ONE Plus 18V 2.4-Ah Lithium-ion Battery $189.99 One+ 18V 2.4-Ah Lithium-ion Battery - 130429001

Ryobi 130155001 ONE Plus 18V 2.4-Ah Lithium-ion Battery $159.99 One+ 18V 2.4-Ah Lithium-ion Battery - 130155001

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRHJP002K 12V Lithium-ion Drill Kit $59.99 12V Lithium-ion Drill Kit - ZRHJP002K. (2) Lithium-ion Batteries. Charger. Tool Bag. Operator's Manual

Ryobi 720217003 4V Lithium-ion Battery Charger $8.99 4V Li-ion Charger for HP37K, HP40K, and HP41K - 720217003

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRHP41LK 4V Cordless Lithium-ion Screwdriver $19.99 4V Cordless Lithium-ion Screwdriver - ZR HP41LK. Bit Set. Charger. 6-Piece Bit Set. Tool Bag. Operator Manual

Ryobi 130429017 ONE Plus 18V 2.4-Ah High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery $99.99 One+ 18V 2.4-Ah High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery - 130429017

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRHJP001K 12V Cordless Lithium-ion Compact Drill Kit $59.99 12V Cordless Lithium-ion Compact Drill Kit - ZRHJP001K. (2) Lithium-ion Batteries. Charger. Tool Bag. Operator Manual

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP864 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 2-Piece Combo Kit $65.01 One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Drill Driver - ZRP202. One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Impact Driver - ZRP234G. 18V One+ Compact Li-Ion Battery. Dual Chemistry Charger - ZRP117

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP813 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-ion Drill Combo Kit $149.99 One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-ion Drill Combo Kit - ZRP813. 18V Cordless Li-ion Worklight. (2) Lithium-ion batteries. Dual Chemistry Charger. Tool Bag

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP846 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 3-Piece Combo Kit $136.29 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/2-in Compact Drill - ZRP208B. 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Circular Saw - ZRP506. 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Worklight - ZRP704. (2) 18V ONE+ Compact Li-Ion Batteries - ZRP103. Dual Chemistry Charger - ZRP117. Tool Bag

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP2102 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Single Speed Handheld Blower (Tool Only) $39.99 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Single Speed Handheld Blower (Tool Only) - ZRP2102. Battery And Charger Sold Separately

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP2002 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 12-in Straight Shaft String Trimmer (Tool Only) $39.99 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 12-in Straight Shaft String Trimmer (Tool Only) - ZRP2002. Battery And Charger Sold Separately

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP843 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-ion 4-Tool Combo Kit $199.99 One+ 18V Cordless Li-ion Drill with Bit. 18V Cordless Li-ion Circular Saw with Blade. 18V Cordless Li-ion Worklight. 18V Cordless Li-ion Reciprocating Saw with Blade. (2) Lithium-ion batteries. Dual Chemistry Charger. Tool Bag

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRP839 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 2-Tool Combo Kit $137.01 One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/2-in Drill Driver - ZRP202. One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/4-in Impact Driver - ZRP234G. Dual Chemistry Charger. (2) 18V One+ Compact Li-Ion Batteries. Tool Bag. (2) Operator Manuals

Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZRCK412 12V Lithium-ion 4-Piece Combo Kit $129.99 12V Drill and Bit - HJP001. 12V Circular Saw - CS120L. 12V Hybrid Saw - CR120L. 12V Worklight - CF120L. (2) Jig Saw Blades. Circular Saw Blade. Blade Wrench. (2) CB120L Batteries. Charger. Tool Bag. Operator's Manuals

Lithium-ion polyer battery $12 Lithium-ion polyer battery

Lithium-ion Polymer Battery $10 Lithium-ion Polymer Battery

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.