DID WE KILL IT? FLEX Battery and Charger Technology [160W or 280W?]
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- There's definitely more to power tools than just throwing a battery in a tool and pulling the trigger. Well, at least when the battery dies, there is. If you've been around the tool industry for more than a decade then you've probably seen your fair share of battery failures. Many times this is due to overheating, both on the tool and on the charger. FLEX Power. Tools ensures that the technology in their 24-volt chargers and batteries mitigate the possibilities of these premature battery failures happening.
We push one of their 5Ah batteries to the edge in the FLEX 24V grinder, then we throw it on the FLEX 280W Rapid charger with it still smoking hot. We wondered if this would destroy the pack, or if the charger might cool it down and renew the life. The question is: should you pay the extra for the 280W Rapid charger or just stick with the normal 160W Fast Charger?
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Great video. Flex seems to always bring the beans, but those beans always coming served piping hot
Yep, the do get warm.
@@Shoptoolreviews and @Torture Test Channel have awesome reviews. I love both your channels. You both have such valuable information that we all need regarding all of are power tools. 😎
280W on a 24V (max) battery is an ~11A charger. That’s consistent with charging a 5A battery in under 30 mins. I think that makes it the fastest power tool battery charger on the market.
I believe max output on the charger is actually 9.4A, but yes, it's pulling a lot of power. I would definitely think it's one of the fastest on the market at this time. Thanks for watching.
I have a makita 40v 4.0ah battery and 40v charger. It charges my 4ah battery (equivilant to 8ah on 18v, 6.6ah on 21.6v/24v) in 42 minutes, its pretty damn fast.
that battery is actually 108 Wh. 21.6V x 5.0 = 108 Wh.
Never use max voltage to calculate what's SUPPOSED to be a nominal rating. (Flex isn't the only one doing this fwiw, Milwaukee does this on M12 and Dewalt is most famous for it with 20V Max)
I think Makita is the only one who offers the correct Wh ratings despite marketing the "Max" voltage for their XGT and CXT lines.
Exactly. I believe that in the EU, they have to use the nominal voltage in labeling the Wh ratings. Same DeWalt battery packs sold in the US have a lower Wh rating when sold in the EU.
Correct, EVERYONE does it on one battery platform or another. On several occasions, we've provided all the science behind this, but we didn't want to dig that hole in this video. Thanks for watching.
I really like the level of details you go in your reviews! Really like when you're opening them up to see how good or bad they're made! Keep up the good work! :-)
Hard spots in rebar? Is rebar made from melted down scrap or something?
How long does the battery last in a drill?
I just invested in a Milwaukee supercharger, any idea how the cooling technology compares?
I went the other direction and bought a ton of Milwaukee batteries. A few are out of commission after a very few uses "20 cycles"
Does the cheaper charger have dual fans like the rapid charger?
And is it possible to charge a 10.0ah stack lithium battery on the cheaper, slower battery charger?
Yes it still has dual fans, and it will charge any of their batteries, just at a slower rate of course, only difference between the chargers is the watt output for charging.
wonder how many cuts and how long it takes when your on a jobsite and its 100 degrees outside instead of a air conditioned shop
That's really funny. We wish our shop was air conditioned! In fact, when we filmed this, it was well over 100F degrees in our shop. Thanks for watching.
We call that "bat wing weather". You sit down for breaktime 10 minutes or so and when you get back up certain things are sticking to multiple other things. Not one of my fonder times of the year.
Nor is that kind of heat once fall hay fever kicks in...or what i call ragweed season.
What about the leaking issues when the flex batteries got hot?
They have fixed the issue, I had 3 leak, from water spilling on them, its thermal paste between the battery cells if I'm remembering correctly, I called and got 3 new batteries sent to me and was able to register the batts with lifetime warranty. No fuss at all, I called and waitedd maybe 2 mins for someone to answer
That's Not an easy task! I was wondering if I might need a break before the tool. My Ryobi "smart charger" won't charge a hot battery either. It tests the battery every few seconds until the internal temp reaches a safe to charge temp. It doesn't use cooling fan and I accidentally killed a battery while working on a big project by placing it on charger too soon. I'm just saying the technology has been around for a while if my 9yr old smart charger had the tech for a DIY brand like Ryobi. The need for a cooling fan to cool down the battery when hot at least as important. I'm sure more than a few home fires, and construction sight incidents have occurred due this issue. Flex has made me reconsider what platform I may adopt next.
I'm looking forward to the new year, to see who has the latest and greatest tool platform. My Ryobi stuff needs to upscale to something contractor level.
Right now, DeWalt's kicking everything else's butt. I don't mean every individual tool available, but for the tools that I use to beat the heck out of on a daily basis in heavy duty body repair facility I work in.
How many fans are on the ‘fast’ charger? Is there a dedicated fan for the battery?
Twin fans on the fast charger as well, just not as powerful. Thanks for watching.
Bought this Flex pack out a few months ago. Used on three projects. The latches between the top box and the middle box kept hanging up or not locking. Soooo, tried to call company service to get a fix. Wasn't asking for anything but a tech to walk me through the fix(maybe a replacement latch?). First, good luck getting through, they DON"T answer their phones. After a half hour hold the message comes on offering a call back. No choice gotta grow old on the phone or give up. No call back, so the next day I try again, same deal, but this time I get a call back. Pleasant young lady hears the problem and takes all my info and says they are sending a new replacement unit!! Of course nothing took place, NO Replacement Unit, No Latches, NO NOTHING!!!! The product seems to be well made except for these few minor issues, however I would never recommend buying a Flex product. They have no customer loyalty.
Tha is for a great review Tim. I’d like to import a Flex combo set across the pond to the UK. Can you tell me if the charger is multi voltage seeing as we run in 240v mains? Many thanks
does not work. 240v
But i think there are adapters to kick the 240 down to 110?
Why does the uk use 240??
I got the big boy battery. 1 month later, charger has quit on me. Plug it in it shows red and green light and goes off. Can this be fixed? These chargers are expensive...
FLEX tools an chargers are covered for 5 years. Send it in for warranty. Lowes should be able to help you. In fact, if you registered the tool when you purchased, then you have a lifetime warranty.
@@Shoptoolreviews I didn't reg. It. And I actually got the charger and 12.0 battery for free from a review test site so I dnt have any kind of proof of purchase. Still think they will warranty it??
love my new Flex tools.Invested like 1300.00 in them,which i felt was more then fair for what a got.Buy now and get buy more save more great Deal.Now go and get some u won't be sorry
what ya mean couple decades you be thinking of dewalt flex just came out this year at Lowe's. 😄
FLEX is originally a German company that has been around for decades. Chervon now owns FLEX, and they've been around for more than 20 years as well. Thanks for watching.
@@Shoptoolreviews really wow , I still wouldn’t move to another brand I have Milwaukee hehe I have used them over 5yrs and no service repair so they have proven to my needs but yeah some new users might want to invest in this brand hope they come up with varies tools to give it a chance in a future … love your videos explained like no other . Nice charger with the fans
The regular kits that you by don't come with that that supercharger that you demonstrated with a dual fan only comes with the high-end models which you have to pay for once again though still try to call flex and register your products with the warranty and you can't even get them to answer the phone and after then try to get them replaced with any luck going to Lowe's and asking them to give you a new tool. I'd rather stay with the black and red send in a tool and got it replaced within a week I had a brand new one delivered to my house
That's exactly what we said in the video. The Fast charger comes with the kit and you have to buy the Rapid Charger. Thanks for watching.
They answered the phone right away when I called,then the rep made sure my tools had the lifetime warranty on them
I thought you just had to register it online to get the lifetime warranty?
Yes you do it online . Maybe it used to be different but ive registered over a dozen products the past couple months @@SoulDu_Jour
Flex is like the cousin Eddie of the tool world in my opinion.
Strong and Beastly, or Wears a dickie and has a dog name Snots? Lol. Thanks for watching.
@@Shoptoolreviews the second part lol
That's what I thought you meant.
Flex seems cool to me
What ever you do....DON'T TRY ONE! You'll get hooked and start buying more. Especially the inline circ saw.....
Milwaukee needs fans like these on there string trimmer cause it gets hot and cuts out when you work it hard
Interesting. Which string trimmer model are you talking about? The QuikLok trimmer or the new M18 FUEL? Thanks for watching.
@@Shoptoolreviews both of them can get hot and cut out if you are working the tool pretty good
@@Shoptoolreviews i think i have the quick lock?? Its a battery destroying POS...
Will run a battery below the cutoff point. Hate it with a passion.
An hour & 3 minutes for a full charge on a 5ah battery on a “rapid charger” is not to great tbh .30 mins for my Milwaukee 5ah on their rapid charger,bout 45 mins for a 6ah high output .I get its cooling first but idk .15 extra minutes for a battery charge on the site aint gunna cut it
It was NOT an hour and 3 minutes! It only took 52 minutes, 26 minutes for cooling-only, then 26 minutes to charge the battery. Milwaukee: 18V x 5ah = 90Wh. FLEX: 24V x 5ah = 120Wh. The FLEX charging in less than 30 minutes is doing quite a bit more work...and dropping the battery temp. Thanks for watching.
Which is why my battery collection is stuipidly large for a part time woodworker and full time hydraulic tech.
Expensive though...
Great review also the best power tools on the market
FLEX IS AWESOME!!!! Great products for real
No doubt. Great products and lifetime warranty. Thanks for watching.
I have the inline circ saw with 2x 5.0ah batts, their vacuum, and now the compact impacter kit with the 2x 2.5ah batts. Really impressed with all 3 but especially the vacuum. I was expecting weak performance from the 5.0 battery but it wasnt weak at all. Very good suction and runtime. I will get the fan and radio next. I would like to get the 7 1/4 right blade saw with the 10ah stack lithium but $400 price tag is giving my stomach fits.
I might consider the grinder in your review. I just don't need it as much as i am more into woodworking than metal work. Not to say i dont occasionally cut metal here and there.
I am seriously hoping they come out with a 10" dual bevel miter saw and table saw soon.
Or even a band saw or plainer. I'll take whatever they come out with. That little inline circ saw is good enough to do furniture with. Really impressed with it!!!
I purchased a new FLEX tool with battery this month. Unfortunately, the battery is leaking fluid.
Yeah...i ran into that two on my 2nd 5ah battery. Lowes switched it out for me. It was kinda funny...they had baggies just for batteries and baking soda boxes they dumped in there with it.😁
The thing is i like the flex tools i have bough enough to put up with warrantying a few batteries. Just like my milwaukees. My m12 and m18 lighting and my circ saws, sawsall, jigsaw, and gen 4 impacter and 3/8 impact wrench are really good tools.
The weed wacker...not so much.🙄
@@unclefester4626
I like their tools. I wish the rest of the batteries will not leak in the future. It must be a manufacturer defect. The FLEX high torque impact wrench is powerful and reliable. May be the best wrench available.
@@a.a.6132 i think these tool makers suffer from the same problem the automakers have. They buy many of their components from other suppliers/manufacturers. They just design and assemble them?
Those samsung cells in milwaukee batteries are definitely not as good as they were 10 years ago. They come in higher ah ratings from the old 1.5ah batts but the longevity is definitely not there. Flex probably has no choice but to use the same crap cells.
Sure would be neat if there were an adapter that would plug into the battery slot, have an inverter and a cord running to a wall socket. It could be used if batteries were dead or if several were down for repair. I think they make most of their profit on batteries?
At what temperature does turbo shutdown?
Y how long too u want too run a cordless tool for,gotta have a little wisdom when using a battery powered tool
@@gregorymandile2321 thats exactly what my exwife said after she wrecked a few of her...toys.
MY several year old. Kobalt charger does this. I know same company but still nothing new.
You're right, but I could name popular names of those that don't. Also, your Kobalt doesn't have the dual fans. Thanks for watching.
@@Shoptoolreviews it does have at least a fan the newer chargers do not.
@@larrysutton2001 My 12-13 year old makita has the fan and cools the battery as well. :D
I have both chargers that rapid charger is something else
I dropped over $3 thousand dollars in flex tools almost 2 years ago when they were released. 3 months ago the batteries started leaking back goo that stains everything and may be toxic. Flex warranty is nowhere to be seen.
Did you register the products on their website?I had 3 start leaking, its their thermal packing paste between cells, mine leaked due to water spilling on them, I called them and they sent 3 new ones with no fuss, and I kept the original batteries and got lifetime on the new 3 I received. Customer service was super easy and took no time at all to talk to someone.
They are offering a lifetime guarantee on everything if you buy it now before 2024. The registration is easy on the website, you can do it all online without calling anyone, and you register the serial number on your batteries, charger, and tools, so they can honor the lifetime warranty. From what I've heard, they are very happy to send new batteries, no questions asked (for people that had the leaking batteries). The leaking batteries were an old design, which they have since changed.
650 and 700mm long? This isn't tinder. I think you meant 65.0 and 70.0 mm long!
You must not have listened to the video. Our exact words were: 18650 means 65mm long, and the 21700 means 70mm long. I guess your brain was somewhere else. Thanks for watching.
My flex rapid charger just exploded first time it worked.
Got an ego snowblower that came with two 7.5 ah batteries. One year, four uses, now one battery won't fully charge even though charger says it is charged. Now a Flex 2.5 ah battery doing the same thing on its third charge. Tried fast and rapid charger. Also 6 ah stacked lithium on jobsite fan reads one bar, take the battery off, four bars. Not exactly a good battery track record so far. Anyone else having Chevron battery issues?
Sounds like my 6 dead Milwaukee batteries. I put a volt meter on them and tested each cell...3.7v, 3.7v, and 1.4v.
That's a bad cell. Batteries from all manufacturers are shyte these days. Samsung or whoever is cutting corners. As well as who ever makes milwaukees circuit boards for their tools. Its the day and age we seem to be living in unfortunately. Luckily i have not had a flex battery go bad yet.
Oh another thing. I was told recently that if Milwaukee does not warranty these bricks that batteries plus and interstate batteries here locally can rebuild them for a reasonable price and the cells they are using are vastly superior to the ones the toolmakers buy in bulk for their batteries. Have yet to test that out but several people i know are pleased with their results.
if you cant safely take the battery out and put it on the charger then it is not a shop tool
You are correct, but I can't name some popular names that you can't do this with. Thanks for watching.
All these features except the fan are pretty standard for all lithium ion power tool chargers out on the market
No, not really. Thanks for watching.
not true
Your voice and look reminds me of jeff foxworthy
I'll take that as a complement. Maybe he'll share some of his millions. lol. Thanks for watching.
I was thinking the red green show...🤪
Just kidding.😁
You know what would be smart? Those brushless electronic motors have that fan on the back of them that move a LOT of air. Maybe if they used some ducting and ran air through the batteries that would help. Makitas already run air through the battery on the charger.
They do. They have ports on the batteries that allow the air to circulate through them. Thanks for watching.