Lowe's/Kobalt 80 volt battery tool system: a cautionary tale.

[Fixastuff]

Surprised to hear this! I own several Greenworks tools and while I do have multiple batteries on hand, I never thought that they'd quit making the heart of the beast! Guess I'm lucky then that I haven't yet had/tried to replace a battery. I'm going to be upset when/if I ever need a replacement and can't find/get one. Sorry for your experience but my Greenworks machines have been superb so far.

Greenworks is still in business. Lowe’s just stopped selling them.

 

[Gregster613]

Greenworks is still in business. Lowe’s just stopped selling them.

Thanks for the answer Fixastuff. Lowes is the faulty player here. I'm quite relieved to here that!

 

[garry1p]

Lowe's put out a statement awhile back they were phasing out Kobalt tools.
I have probably well over $1000 invested in Kobalt power tools.

They are moving to Craftsman and there is an adapter to use Kobalt batteries in Craftsman tools.

I am one unhappy camper and will stay away from Lowe's after this bait and switch.

 

[ultrarunner]

Do Lowes Kobalt hand tools have life time warranty???

 

[jmc]

Lowe's put out a statement awhile back they were phasing out Kobalt tools.
I have probably well over $1000 invested in Kobalt power tools.

They are moving to Craftsman and there is an adapter to use Kobalt batteries in Craftsman tools.

I am one unhappy camper and will stay away from Lowe's after this bait and switch.

Ugh.

What we need is an adapter to fit Craftsmen batteries to Kobalt tools...

They did me like that with the Greenworks. Bought some there and month later they stopped selling them.

While looking for affordable 80 v Kobalt batteries, I searched Greenworks in hopes that Greenworks was manufacturing Kobalt's line. IIRC, they didn't have any 80v batteries except rebuilds, which I took as a bad sign.

 

[RayIN]

I have the 80 volt Kobalt tools also.
Chainsaw Trimmer Blower.
I have two 2 amp and one 2.5 amp batteries.
They are starting to show some weakness on the chainsaw but run the other tools just fine. I will probably just rebuild the batteries when they finally die.

BatteriesPlus/Interstate battery, can rebuild your old batteries.

 

[Oaktree]

Have steered away from other platforms except HF Lynxx. Got 2 pole saws and a 40V chainsaw, good tools but discontinued.

Was waiting for someone to mention Lynxx. Have the same 2 saws you have, 6 months after I bought them they were discontinued, instant orphans. Makes me very hesitant to buy store brand battery tools in the future.

Lowe's put out a statement awhile back they were phasing out Kobalt tools.
I have probably well over $1000 invested in Kobalt power tools.

They are moving to Craftsman and there is an adapter to use Kobalt batteries in Craftsman tools.

I am one unhappy camper and will stay away from Lowe's after this bait and switch.

Not sure I'd call this a bait & switch, more like they were discontinuing a house brand and replacing it with a national one that at least once upon a time had a good reputation.

Lowes does seem quick to discontinue items, hand tools too. A few years ago they made a file handle to use with their own files that had 1/4" locking hex tangs. Thought it was a great idea, have never had good experiences with traditional file handles. Of course, they were discontinued too.

You do have to register your tools but why wouldn't you? Only takes a few minutes

Uh, maybe because guaranteed you will get inundated with spam emails, not just from them but from everybody they sell your name to.
I'm of the belief that you shouldn't need to "register" a tool in order to get warranty coverage.

 

[Oaktree]

Be forewarned…… electric cars and trucks will be the same way. My 40 year old corded tools just keep working. Bet they won’t be restoring Chevy Volts 25 years from now to take to the classic car shows.

Not just EVs, but most anything made in the last 30 years or so. Too much proprietary electronics that all need to be programmed for that specific VIN in order to work.
I don't see many vehicles much newer than the mid-70s at any classic car shows I've been to. Something changed in the 70s, and cars got boring, even ones that may offer decent performance.

 

[Oaktree]

I have bought 3rd party, probably Chinese batteries (20v 6 and 7 amp Hour) on Amazon for as little as $20 a piece. I can't tell the difference except for color. In fact the only battery to date I've had to recycle was a Dewalt brand name. I suppose I better stock up on Chinese knock-offs before tariffs go into effect!

I can't speak for Chinese knockoff power tool batteries, but lotsa luck finding a decent replacement laptop battery. Pretty much all you can find are these weird, unpronounceable Chinese brands, often as not sold by 3rd party vendors you've never heard of. Bought one for my laptop last June, maybe lasted 2 months then wouldn't even take a charge anymore. Of course it waited until it was outside the return window.

 

[KennyG]

Uh, maybe because guaranteed you will get inundated with spam emails, not just from them but from everybody they sell your name to.
I'm of the belief that you shouldn't need to "register" a tool in order to get warranty coverage.

If I remember correctly, you don't have to register to get coverage on anything. The text may indicate that registration will make warranty claims quicker and easier, but I think the law requires warranties to be honored as long as you have the sales documentation.