A reader (thank you Cody!) tipped us off that Ridgid has redesigned their compact 18V 1.5Ah battery. This isn’t just a styling update, but an entire redesign of the battery pack.
The most noticeable differences are to the battery fuel gauge, the battery latch release buttons, and the labeling, but the entire housing has been redesigned – and likely the internal arrangements as well.
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In my opinion, based on appearances alone, the new battery packs are an upgrade, although that might not be the case.
Surprisingly, the new Ridgid 18V battery design has a lot less orange color accenting than the previous iterations.
Additionally, the primary color looks to be a darker grey than before, or even black.
You might recognize the new batteries from Ridgid’s SubCompact cordless power tool lineup, which launched last April. There are only a few differences between those batteries and these, mainly minor styling changes such as the addition of Ridgid branding at the front of the battery.
Basically, Ridgid overhauled their compact battery design for the SubCompact platform, and now the same battery design seems to be seeing a broader release.
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Ridgid isn’t the only brand overhauling their batteries – Ryobi has done the same for their compact 18V batteries as well:
Ridgid and Ryobi cordless power tools are all designed by TTI North America.
Ridgid has also redesigned their 18V 4.0Ah battery as well.
There is no indication that their other battery pack sizes will also be updated, such as their 5Ah and 9Ah batteries.
It’s uncertain as to whether Ridgid will update their other 18V Li-ion batteries, as the compact 3Ah, 5Ah, 6Ah, and 9Ah batteries all feature similar features and functions.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Ridgid’s 1.5Ah, 2.0Ah, and 4.0Ah batteries were based on a common form factor, while the compact 3.0Ah, 5.0Ah, 6.0Ah, and 9.0Ah batteries retained their current appearances or were updated in a different shared manner.
Buy Now: Ridgid Batteries via Home Depot
Why Does This Matter?
That’s a good question, and one I don’t have an immediate answer for.
Ryobi’s new compact batteries are a little more compact, and they also added in a battery fuel gauge. I would guess that the new batteries might be a little more compact, seeing as how the new compact battery geometry launched alongside the new SubCompact tools, but I can’t say for certain.
Ridgid’s new batteries have a larger battery fuel gauge than before, and it looks like the side latch buttons are more accessible. Is there more to it?
I always liked the look of Ridgid’s 18V batteries, or at least I found them inoffensive, but the new styling looks a little more streamlined.
Was this a cost-cutting measure?
None of the new SKUs are available for sale yet, and so Ridgid might communicate more about these batteries later.
It’s also possible that the new battery SKUs aren’t necessarily replacing the existing battery SKUs, but it doesn’t make sense for Ridgid to maintain different product lines and different SKUs for batteries of the same size and charge capacity. I would expect this to be the new styling, at least for the 1.5Ah, 2.0Ah, and 4.0Ah batteries shown here.
Rog
Upgrades so as to not appear like an also-ran next to Ryobi and Milwaukee?
Tom D
Why is there a Bluetooth logo on that 3ah
Stuart
https://toolguyd.com/ridgid-18v-hyper-octane-batteries-with-bluetooth/
Charge notifications and security lock-out.
RJ
Looks like their Engineers were told to stop using chamfer on every corner.
Jared
Could be some production-related changes too. Obviously the new one uses one less torx screw on each side of the pack – and there’s less detailed molding (e.g. the cutouts along the bottom are gone). Might be cheaper to assemble the new packs.
I actually like the look of the old style better – but that’s not something that would affect my buying decision. The new ones look cool too.
Frank D
The only upgrade really is that the cut-outs for the battery release buttons are larger and now unobstructed.
Going back to their 24v gauge blister with 4 leds and a recessed soft button is a downgrade and 100% cost cutting to me. They’re harder to press, the plastic / blister wears out, … Have had none of that during the whole time since they released the now prior 18v series. But it was an issue with 24v and is an issue with any other brand that has the same setup.
As far as the smaller battery footprint. Well, your drill, driver, … will be less stable while standing up, when you do stand it up.
GEORGE MICHENER
Appears to be less cushioned when it falls down also. Any small battery I got from Ridgid in a kit was the 2.0….I honestly didnt know they made a 1.5 mah also
krashtd
It appears that the 3.0 and 6.0 batteries will also get the redesign, but will lose the Octane branding in the process, and likely the Bluetooth functionality will be gone as well. They are being labeled as Max Output. The 9.0 Octanes may get the same treatment, or there might be a new Ah entry above 6.0.
Don’t expect the 5.0 to be making a return in any form.
It seems that Octane is being transitioned to a tool branding only, just like Milwaukee’s Fuel branding.
GEORGE MICHENER
Seems the aftermarkets on ebay already have the body new design ,but keep the old battery gauge . Curious.
Mike
Got one of the new style batteries with the cordless handheld vac kit. The charger’s also different. I’ve got 4 different types of Ridgid battery chargers. On the plus side, it’s the smallest footprint of all of them.
Garrick Moe
I never understood their 3ah “compact”…i’m fairly certain it’s bigger than the 4ah (non octane). I have a handful of their 6ah and 9ah from when they went on sales for 89 or 99ea in 2019. Never saw them hit those prices in 2020.
Isaiah S
I recently purchased the battery and roll mat light kit and it came with a new 2 ah battery and I noticed on the footprint of the battery it doesn’t have the rubber bottom anymore That’s a big minus
Maximum Parsimony
Just got a drill/impact subcompact kit. The new batteries do not have the rubber bumper and – this is a major change – they are no longer water resistant. There’s new wording on the bottom saying do no expose to rain, water, and other liquids.
Jared
Now that “Octane” batteries are discontinued, do you know if the “Max Output” packs can get the Octane tools to run at peak performance?
E.g. I know the Octane tools run on any 18v Rigid packs, but they were supposed to achieve the most power when paired with Octane batteries.
Mark De Souza
Is the upgraded 2AH compatibility with the older R840085 impactdriver?
Stuart
The model number you gave is for the 1.5Ah battery. The 2Ah battery should work in its place without issue.
Mark De Souza
As well as 3 and 4Ah batteries too?
Stuart
Will the 2Ah be a good replacement for the 3Ah and 4Ah batteries? Not in heavy duty tasks. Can the 3Ah and 4Ah batteries be used in place of the 1.5Ah? Yes.
Mark De Souza
Is the updated 2Ah and 3AH batteries compatible with the R840085 1.5AH batteries charger
Mark De Souza
When well they be available and where?
Stuart
They came out 2 years ago; there’s a link in the post.
Plain+grainy
Home Depot’s special buy of the day recently featured Ridgid batteries. A battery combo of an 8.0, 6.0, 4.0, and a 2.0ah batteries. Price was $279.00 as I remember, the 8.0ah normally sells for $199.00 alone.
Plain+grainy
I see this was an older post. I must have wandered into this somehow.