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https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Electrical Questions >> Charging drill bought in America: recommendations? https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1433504580 Message started by drllhead on Jun 5^th, 2015, 12:43pm

Title: Charging drill bought in America: recommendations?
Post by drllhead on Jun 5^th, 2015, 12:43pm

Hello,

I've got a Ryobi 12 volt DC drill-driver (model CD100) and battery pack (model CB120N) which I bought whilst living in America. I recently moved back to the UK and unfortunately the battery charger that came with the drill (model no. C120N) does not work using a standard 2-pin-to-3-pin travel plug adapter (nb. which works for a laptop I bought in America).

The operating instructions for the drill battery pack and charger state that the power supply must be 120 volts, AC only, 60Hz. And the specs for the American charger I have are as follows: Input AC 120V 60Hz 7W; Output DC 15V 200mA.

I can't afford to shell out for a new drill. Can anyone recommend a low-cost product to help me charge the battery for my American drill in the UK? I'm not sure if I need a new adaptor, charger or a transformer, and if so, which one to buy. :-? :-?

I contacted Ryobi over a week ago via the 'contact us' section on their website and haven't received a response yet. I also called their customer care line, but they just referred me to one of their service agents and then their parts supplier - neither of whom stocked or could recommend a suitable product. :-[

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

Title: Re: Charging drill bought in America: recommendations?
Post by Lectrician on Jun 6^th, 2015, 2:15pm

I would look on eBay for a replacement charger.

Title: Re: Charging drill bought in America: recommendations?
Post by big_all on Jun 7^th, 2015, 9:50pm

i am a self confessed ryobi nut lol and i have never seen that sort off contact on a uk spec tool battery :-[

Title: Re: Charging drill bought in America: recommendations?
Post by CWatters on Jun 16^th, 2015, 7:46pm

It is possible your charger has been damaged if you tried it on a simple adaptor without a transformer.

If you can't find a UK charger for those batteries then a step down transformer adaptor like this should work with your USA charger.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/45w-STEPDOWN-POWER-VOLTAGE-CONVERTER-TRANSFORMER-USA-110V-TO-UK-240V-STEP-DOWN-/191403695928?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

The spec for your charger says it needs

110V, 60Hz, 7W

The output of the transformer adaptor is:

110V, 50Hz and up to 45W

I wouldn't expect the frequency difference (50Hz vs 60Hz) to make a difference.