Anyone used "FLOUREON" batteries? (power tools)

[D.M.Chapman]

My trusty Makita drill/impact driver set has knackered batteries. Still kicking myself for not buying up some of the Site kit when screwfix flogged them off - the price for new 12v NiCD or NiMH is rather more than I wanted to spend (to say the least!)

Can find a few cheap 1.3AH NiCDs but would rather move to something a bit better. Picked up a bargain 2.8AH NiMH on ebay (poor photos, took a punt and got it for 14 quid - it's brilliant!) and while looking noticed a steady stream of cheap and presumably crap noname batteries, and a number of Floureon ones.

I've never heard of Floureon, but it seems more than some crap brand. Most hunting on the intermahwebs suggests they make cheap replacement laptop batteries which review pretty well which is reassuring.

So, anyone used them? Price is tempting - might have to take a punt and try. Something like:

for example.

Darren

[John Rumm]

I tried a "compatible" 3Ah 18 NiMh once. To be fair it performed ok at first, but the number of charge cycles was very poor compared to the OEM cells (in fact I bought it to replace the first of my original 3 that was no longer holding a charge. By the time the remaining two of the original set were in the same state, so was the "new" one).

In the end I bought a 3 pack of genuine Makita batteries for about £150...

[D.M.Chapman]

Yeah, I've had compatibles (no name rubbish) before and like you say, they've been pretty crap.

Tempting to take a punt on this Floureon brand though - they seem to review better than most generics for other uses.

Yeah :-( As I say, I found one bargain on ebay - just need to spot another brand new badly photographed and badly desribed listing ;-)

Cheers,

Darren

[JimK]

Apologies for thread hijack but has anyone tried one of the US sourced Makita lithium lxt battery adaptors that enable lxt batts to be used in old school 18v Makita drills - think DWPE 18v hammer drill 1.3ah red NiCd battery etc?

My NiCDs are on their way out and switching batt technology to lithium seems a good pathway - just need to know if adaptors work!

TIA

Jim K

[alan]

But is that listing for a fake branded battery? The description says from a company in 4 locations in the USA but the seller is in Hong Kong

[D.M.Chapman]

Oh yes, that listing may well be - I was more showing the brand. There are some resellers who appear to be a bit less risky but fakes is always a risk I guess :-/

Darren

[Joe]

replying to D.M.Chapman, Joe wrote: Hi, I have got the dewalt li-lon set and have had the Makita li-lon set before that and the batteries in both sets packed up really quick I use them on site everyday so they do take abuse but I'm not paying the crazy cash for there batteries anymore. I have just paid £94 for four floureon 18v batteries and they work fine and to be honest I'm not that fussed if they do pack up because I can buy 3 sets to makita/dewalt 1 I will keep my fingers crossed

[newshound]

Not seen these before

Looks like a good idea (if a bit expensive). There's an Amazon listing but showing "not available".

I have bought a couple of generic 14.4 and 18 V nicads for my Makitas, and they seem to be OK (much cheaper than "genuine").

[newshound]

I've used unbranded eBay Makita replacements, but I have a couple of Floureon "jump starters" which seem to be OK

This isn't the exact model. One of them had an early failure (looked like a dead switch) but Amazon's replacement process was flawless once I contacted customer services.

[Dave_104]

replying to D.M.Chapman, Dave_104 wrote: I had two floureons (18v 3.0ah nimh), barely lasted a year. My problems with them is they don't keep much charge and don't last too long before needing recharging. I also have a couple of KooPower batteries, same capacity, and at 2 years old they still perform brilliantly and hold long charge. Bought them on ebay but can't find them on there now.

[matt]

replying to D.M.Chapman, matt wrote: a word of advice from someone who's bought floureon batteries..absolute s**te,don't buy,they charge to full voltage fine but have no capacity,they will last no time at all under load..total waste of money

[Huge]

The one I bought for my Hitachi cordless drill was fine. Lasted at least as long as the original batteries.

[newshound]

Ditto (except mine are Makita NiCads)