RIDGID OCTANE 1300 IN/LB HAMMER DRILL. OVERLOAD PROTECTION TEST

[chilly-willy]

Want me to?? I am thinking same results cause the bits to big for drill..

[lefty2053]

Want me to?? I am thinking same results cause the bits to big for drill..

Couldn't hurt to try.

[chilly-willy]

Give me a few to get ya some results..

[TickleStick]

I want to pick up a extra battery, what would be the best price and amp?

Using a 8" lazer

[3300]

stay with 9 amp. unless you need the lower profile for other tools like the circular saw and fan and panel light.

you can get two 9's for 2 bills and 3 year warranty or one 9 and one charger for 2 bills and lsa. your choice unless you want to buy one 9 amp for 184 and 3 year warranty. they sell a four pack of 9's for 4 bills and 3 year warranty.

they are 90 day returns and price match.

[chilly-willy]

Couldn't hurt to try.

My 9 amp worked fine with the 8 inch and the 750 inch pound drill..  the 1.5 amp battery on and the drill shut off on two out of the three holes..   I drill with the 1.5 amp the 9 amp not one shut off of the three holes I just drilled with the 9 amp ..  so I am guessing issue with batteries..

[lefty2053]

My 9 amp worked fine with the 8 inch and the 750 inch pound drill..  the 1.5 amp battery on and the drill shut off on two out of the three holes..   I drill with the 1.5 amp the 9 amp not one shut off of the three holes I just drilled with the 9 amp ..  so I am guessing issue with batteries..

Thanks for trying. This whole shut off deal is getting more interesting.

[chilly-willy]

Wondering if the cell are bad in the lithium ion packs of the drill or its circuits etc???

[shiveringjoe]

Sorry to see people are having problems with the Octane. I have an octane, 9ah battery, clam plate, and a new 8" lazer. Used it several times in December when the ice was under 8", once in early january on 12" ice when it was around 0 degrees, and then twice this weekend on 14-16" of ice and 10-15 degrees. Only had one cutout ever and it was in a spot with some refrozen ice chunks that I couldn't see after I finished the hole and sprayed water everywhere. I don't feather the throttle at all and I don't apply any downward pressure besides the weight of the auger setup. I did around 40 holes yesterday in 14" and had more than 50% battery remaining. In my group was a Milwaukee Fuel (1200 torque) with an eskimo 6" and a Ridgid X5 with a 6" mora. I was cutting holes at least twice as fast (certainly some of this is from sharper blades).  Only complaint with the setup is that it is difficult to pull the battery while mounted to the clam plate.

[DTro]

Here’s the reason I think it’s safety feature with the batteries.   For me personally, it’s only happening after drilling a bunch of holes in succession.  I can physically feel the drill get a bit slower in RPM before it starts happening.   Up until that point it rips.   Something is telling the battery, “hey we need to control this a bit”.    Some say it’s a bad thing some say it’s a good thing.  I would side on the good thing because it is essentially protecting your drill.  Annoying?…yes.    My DeWalt didn’t do that, however I could smell not so good things going on at about the same point in which the Ridgid starting cutting out.   I can’t imagine that was a good thing, but it never really seem to hurt anything either.  Maybe a long term factor?     

[chilly-willy]

Well said dtro thinking same thing my self..

[VTMatt]

Here’s the reason I think it’s safety feature with the batteries.   For me personally, it’s only happening after drilling a bunch of holes in succession.  I can physically feel the drill get a bit slower in RPM before it starts happening.   Up until that point it rips.   Something is telling the battery, “hey we need to control this a bit”.    Some say it’s a bad thing some say it’s a good thing.  I would side on the good thing because it is essentially protecting your drill.  Annoying?…yes.    My DeWalt didn’t do that, however I could smell not so good things going on at about the same point in which the Ridgid starting cutting out.   I can’t imagine that was a good thing, but it never really seem to hurt anything either.  Maybe a long term factor?   

Like I have posted before...mine has cut out after only a few holes....on mild days....on a full battery.

On a side note, Ridgid responded by saying it's not a known issue and I need to take the drill to an authorized servic3 center, lol. 

In other words, they have no idea whats going on.

[3300]

Like I have posted before...mine has cut out after only a few holes....on mild days....on a full battery.
On a side note, Ridgid responded by saying it's not a known issue and I need to take the drill to an authorized servic3 center, lol. 
In other words, they have no idea whats going on.

it seems like you are the main person having issues. it's a good thing that they don't know what's going on. that make it a widespread problem for them and us.

i contacted my small independent authorized service center that i like a lot and used one time and asked if they have had any of these new octane tools going in for repairs and he said no. i asked if he heard of any issues at all and he said no.

if it's too late to return/swap yours, then either wait out the season to keep using it or take it in and get a new battery or just contact yours and let them know you think the problem is battery related and you can not go with out the tool and want to swap out batteries.
there shouldn't be much else they can do for it except to replace the motor and you'll know if it is motor or battery by having a different battery. it could be a switch related issue, but i highly doubt that it is.

another option is to buy a new battery, test your system and if it checks out ok, then return the new battery and then tell your shop you know it is the battery and you need a new one asap. mean while you have 90 days to keep using the new one. that should get you thru the season. same for the drill if it is not the battery.
 if you were closer i would help you out by swapping components with you to test.

[VTMatt]

it seems like you are the main person having issues. it's a good thing that they don't know what's going on. that make it a widespread problem for them and us.

i contacted my small independent authorized service center that i like a lot and used one time and asked if they have had any of these new octane tools going in for repairs and he said no. i asked if he heard of any issues at all and he said no.

if it's too late to return/swap yours, then either wait out the season to keep using it or take it in and get a new battery or just contact yours and let them know you think the problem is battery related and you can not go with out the tool and want to swap out batteries.
there shouldn't be much else they can do for it except to replace the motor and you'll know if it is motor or battery by having a different battery. it could be a switch related issue, but i highly doubt that it is.

another option is to buy a new battery, test your system and if it checks out ok, then return the new battery and then tell your shop you know it is the battery and you need a new one asap. mean while you have 90 days to keep using the new one. that should get you thru the season. same for the drill if it is not the battery.
 if you were closer i would help you out by swapping components with you to test.

Already have a brand new second 9 AH battery - still cuts out when I press the trigger.

Seems like every single person has experienced a cutout of some sort with their Ridgid Octane drills.  Maybe mine is worse or maybe it just bugs me a little more to know I spent alot of money on the drill and batteries to have it work intermittently at times. 

If I swap the drill out and it does the same thing, I'll be even more irritated.

The fact that their CS gave me a generic response tells me they don't even know of a "safety" shutoff feature.  All we are doing is guessing what is wrong...and the only people that would know for sure are Ridgid, but apparently they have no idea.

 

[DR.SPECKLER]

Already have a brand new second 9 AH battery - still cuts out when I press the trigger.

Seems like every single person has experienced a cutout of some sort with their Ridgid Octane drills.  Maybe mine is worse or maybe it just bugs me a little more to know I spent alot of money on the drill and batteries to have it work intermittently at times. 

If I swap the drill out and it does the same thing, I'll be even more irritated.

The fact that their CS gave me a generic response tells me they don't even know of a "safety" shutoff feature.  All we are doing is guessing what is wrong...and the only people that would know for sure are Ridgid, but apparently they have no idea.

 

im on your side.mine cuts out so random. but not cutting holes that much.just randomly does it before cutting the first hole,getting 8 holes cut then pull the trigger and nothing on the 9th.but its takes less than a second to let off the trigger and press it again to start cutting ice.the light comes on so I know the trigger is pressed in.

[VTMatt]

im on your side.mine cuts out so random. but not cutting holes that much.just randomly does it before cutting the first hole,getting 8 holes cut then pull the trigger and nothing on the 9th.but its takes less than a second to let off the trigger and press it again to start cutting ice.the light comes on so I know the trigger is pressed in.

A few seconds isnt bad...but this weekend mine just kept blinking. Wouldnt work...had to take the battery off which is a pita...mine has to be forced off which I guess ia good.  But yes, very random cutouts...but mostly before the hole is even started.

[kayl]

I had my auger out this weekend and had some friends using it. For what it's worth, the cut outs I saw were user error. Most common was starting too slow. The next was putting weight on the auger. I only had one cutout myself and that was for a dead battery. 😎

[DR.SPECKLER]

I had my auger out this weekend and had some friends using it. For what it's worth, the cut outs I saw were user error. Most common was starting too slow. The next was putting weight on the auger. I only had one cutout myself and that was for a dead battery. 😎

yeah well theres not much error to be had by putting the auger down on the ice to cut a hole and pull the trigger and nothing happening.its not to much of a issue for me yet.never had to take the battery off and I probably drilled 200 holes so far and its done the random no start or stop around 15 times.always before cutting never during is the puzzling part to me.so its not overloading or overheating.my drilling technique is to just pull the trigger fully.if I don't and start out slow my mora wants to walk.learned that on the very first hole.

[DTro]

Did you guys connect it to your phone/bluetooth to see what the actual error code is?

[DR.SPECKLER]

Did you guys connect it to your phone/bluetooth to see what the actual error code is?

i have it connected.no codes or notifications and i have all them checked to notify on the app.that app not that accurate.hrs used says 2.5 hrs but ive only used it less than a hr.charge times are off.

[VTMatt]

Did you guys connect it to your phone/bluetooth to see what the actual error code is?

I guess I will have to.  Nothing better than taking my gloves off in the winter to dig my phone out, open an app and then drill until it cuts out..lol fun..

As for user error - not even close.  I've tried multiple things.  Hammering the trigger, starting it in the air, feathering the trigger...

The one steady thing seems to be the cold.  Clearly something is going on with the batteries or the drill itself causing it to  shut off. 

[chilly-willy]

Seems we all have different symptoms of drill problems  like mine on first hole 3 inches in to the cutting while trigger is full bore the dang drill shuts off completely trigger still held full down. Looked to check ..

this was on the 750 inch pound drill..  i did mark which battery did this and it's a small battery of 1.5 amp..  though it was cause of the auger bit at first..  as soon as you let off trigger and pull trigger again. It fires right up ..and some times shuts back off.. 


my 9 amp battery don't do this!!  same thing with my 9 amp on my octane drill  have not tried the 1.5 amp on the octane drill.. so I am assume till I get a chance to try it it's same issue..  any how I  bought this drill days before I found out about the 9 amp battery sale and free octane drill..  I also bought the octane weeks later before battery deal.. 

then bought a 9 amp kit with a square drive impact driver more weeks later.. figured I could use it?  I think I got my first set during the rush to buy these batteries..  the second battery I got at a odd time??  while not much hubbub about the 9 amp was going on.. any how I know it's not the drills I have right now..  and I am guessing it's not a circuit??


 I am thinking it's a bad cell in the drill batteries??  lithiom ion is know for bad cells in batteries when produced..  like in the Samsung note 7 that cought fire .. and had bad bateries etc and they have had problems with other lithom ion batteries being bad  days after bought bringing a recall on them...  read that about another tool company..  any how just thinking we got a bad batch..

 I would not rush to turn them in all at once every one ..  that might be what caused if it is a holiday rush!! Or similar??  By the way I did notice a burning smell either from drill or 1.5 amp battery wile driving home..  so i suggest useing  caution till you get your self a good battery ..

[CO_Dinky]

Already have a brand new second 9 AH battery - still cuts out when I press the trigger.

Seems like every single person has experienced a cutout of some sort with their Ridgid Octane drills.  Maybe mine is worse or maybe it just bugs me a little more to know I spent alot of money on the drill and batteries to have it work intermittently at times. 

If I swap the drill out and it does the same thing, I'll be even more irritated.

The fact that their CS gave me a generic response tells me they don't even know of a "safety" shutoff feature.  All we are doing is guessing what is wrong...and the only people that would know for sure are Ridgid, but apparently they have no idea.

 

Not every single person.    I count myself lucky, I have not had any issues that were not related to something being set wrong.  When mine is in the correct gear, it cuts like a demon every single time!    Only problem I ever had was due to the drill being in the wrong gear, likely from the kids messing with it at home before I headed out.  Mine has close to 200 problem-free holes on the clock, with only a single recharge thus far. 

[Rather-B-Fishin]

I have the same set up, using 8" mora... I don get intermittent shut off that makes the usage choppy. I have not figured out a pattern yet. Some times I can make a dozen holes with no issue. As long as it works and I have the original handle as a backup and fish are on the ice , I am not going to worry about it. It will be interesting to see what happens when some of us actually use the drill for what it is intended. I have to drill some holes in stone this spring that will be my indicator as to how annoyed I am going to get.
I wonder what all these companies think of us crazy ice fishermen using cordless drills on the ice?
Can you imagine being someone foreign to ice fishing in CS getting this complaint? 

[CO_Dinky]

I wonder what all these companies think of us crazy ice fishermen using cordless drills on the ice?
Can you imagine being someone foreign to ice fishing in CS getting this complaint? 

I could imagine if CS found out that a person was having problems and that they were using the drill to cut 8" holes in ice, they would probably make up some BS excuse that it was "abuse" of the tool, and cite that as a reason not to honor the warranty. 

[VTMatt]

Seems we all have different symptoms of drill problems  like mine on first hole 3 inches in to the cutting while trigger is full bore the dang drill shuts off completely trigger still held full down. Looked to check ..

this was on the 750 inch pound drill..  i did mark which battery did this and it's a small battery of 1.5 amp..  though it was cause of the auger bit at first..  as soon as you let off trigger and pull trigger again. It fires right up ..and some times shuts back off.. 


my 9 amp battery don't do this!!  same thing with my 9 amp on my octane drill  have not tried the 1.5 amp on the octane drill.. so I am assume till I get a chance to try it it's same issue..  any how I  bought this drill days before I found out about the 9 amp battery sale and free octane drill..  I also bought the octane weeks later before battery deal.. 

then bought a 9 amp kit with a square drive impact driver more weeks later.. figured I could use it?  I think I got my first set during the rush to buy these batteries..  the second battery I got at a odd time??  while not much hubbub about the 9 amp was going on.. any how I know it's not the drills I have right now..  and I am guessing it's not a circuit??


 I am thinking it's a bad cell in the drill batteries??  lithiom ion is know for bad cells in batteries when produced..  like in the Samsung note 7 that cought fire .. and had bad bateries etc and they have had problems with other lithom ion batteries being bad  days after bought bringing a recall on them...  read that about another tool company..  any how just thinking we got a bad batch..

 I would not rush to turn them in all at once every one ..  that might be what caused if it is a holiday rush!! Or similar??  By the way I did notice a burning smell either from drill or 1.5 amp battery wile driving home..  so i suggest useing  caution till you get your self a good battery ..

1 5 ah batteries arent strong enough for an auger, people recommend at least 4 ah for a reason. 

So your 9 AH batteries also have problems or no?

[VTMatt]

I could imagine if CS found out that a person was having problems and that they were using the drill to cut 8" holes in ice, they would probably make up some BS excuse that it was "abuse" of the tool, and cite that as a reason not to honor the warranty. 

As far as I'm concerned there is no difference in using it on an auger and using it with a big concrete drill.

If you got your drill wet and it malfunctioned, that's a different story.  The drill for me isn't cutting out mid-cut, it's cutting out before it even starts spinning, so regardless of what I'm using it for, there is still a problem with it.

[VTMatt]

Not every single person.    I count myself lucky, I have not had any issues that were not related to something being set wrong.  When mine is in the correct gear, it cuts like a demon every single time!    Only problem I ever had was due to the drill being in the wrong gear, likely from the kids messing with it at home before I headed out.  Mine has close to 200 problem-free holes on the clock, with only a single recharge thus far. 

So if you've never had it cut out, that shows inconsistency as well.  If we ALL have cutout issues, we could assume it's either supposed to happen OR it was something that got overlooked during testing. But your setup seems to be fine....even more confusing.  What kind of temps are you using it in?

[lefty2053]

Those drills are made to turn at least a 4" Wood hole cutting bit if not a 6".  I don't see using 8" Augers going through Ice with sharp blades putting any more torque on it than the Wood bits or the Concrete bits. But of course those Wood and Concrete bits don't weigh anywhere near the same as an Auger bit.

[DTro]

I guess I will have to.  Nothing better than taking my gloves off in the winter to dig my phone out, open an app and then drill until it cuts out..lol fun..

As for user error - not even close.  I've tried multiple things.  Hammering the trigger, starting it in the air, feathering the trigger...

The one steady thing seems to be the cold.  Clearly something is going on with the batteries or the drill itself causing it to  shut off.

You can pair your phone to the battery before you go fishing, then check the stored codes later.