Ridgid has come out with a new 18V Octane cordless brushless 7″ dual battery angle grinder. Thank you to Dan for the heads-up!
Ridgid says that their new 18V Octane grinder, R88040B, is the industry’s most powerful dual 18V battery grinder. As far as I am aware, Makita’s 18V X2 grinder is the only other tool in this product category.
The new Ridgid Octane grinder can be powered by 1 or 2 of their 18V Octane batteries, or 2 non-Octane batteries. What this means is that although it was designed for the higher power delivery of the Ridgid 18V Octane Li-ion batteries, you can also use their non-Octane batteries in pairs.
- 7″ wheel size
- 5/8-11 arbor
- 6900 RPM max
- Brushless motor
- Electronic brake for faster spin-down
- 3-position handle
- 2-finger lock-on trigger
- Weighs 8 lbs
The bare tool comes with (1) grinding wheel, a spanner wrench, and the auxiliary handle. A battery (or batteries) and charger are sold separately.
Price: $229
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
First Thoughts
Press materials say:
Run the grinder off one or two OCTANE batteries for optimal performance, or one or two non-OCTANE batteries.
So, if you’re down to just one non-Octane battery, it might work, although not for long if the power draw heats up the battery too quickly.
I hadn’t considered this to be possible, but it makes a lot of sense. The grinder is designed for the latest high-output Octane batteries, for optimal performance and runtime. Add a second battery and you extend that runtime further. If you’re not ready to invest in Octane batteries, you can still use two non-Octane batteries. It’s brilliant, and very user-friendly.
This cordless power tool battery configuration can possibly be extended to other tools. Maybe a larger Ridgid cordless miter saw? Table saw? Dust extractor? What about other brands, such as Milwaukee? Can future tools designed to take advantage of their HD 12Ah batteries come with an adapter that allows the use of two XC 5Ah batteries?
The grinder itself is an interesting addition to Ridgid’s 18V cordless, but to me the battery power configuration is far more interesting for the potential it holds.
This isn’t the first Ridgid 18V cordless power tool to feature a dual-battery setup – their 18V cordless air compressor can similarly be powered by one or two batteries. However, while their cordless compressor can work with one or two batteries for greater runtime, there’s no Octane vs. non-Octane consideration. That this tool can work optimally with one or two Octane batteries, or two non-Octane batteries is a game-changer, or at least it could be.
What kinds of high-powered cordless tools would you like to see Ridgid springboard to from here?
