Product
Ryobi RY40009VNM
Category
Lawn Equipment
Report number
20211014-9777B-2147359177
Ownership age
About 0 months to failure (from purchase date when reported)
Failure type
Electrical shock / short
Incident narrative
SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20211014-9777B-2147359177. Severity: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received. Product: Ryobi RY40009VNM (RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 15 in. Cordless Carbon Fiber Shaft Attachment Capable String Trimmer with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger. This is the bundle/kit description. The model # of the bundle is RY40290VNM. The model # listed in field 4 is the model number of the power head itself (the component causing the shock). Model RY40009VNM). Incident: About 2 weeks ago I purchased a new Ryobi cordless lawn power head model # RY40009VNM serial # LT21086N120328 from my local Home Depot in bundle model # RY40290VNM . The first day I ran the power head I used several different Ryobi-made and approved attachments including an edger, blower, weed trimmer, and a pole saw. After about 40 minutes of use, the palms of my hands began to sweat a little - not dripping with sweat but slightly damp. I then began feeling sharp and painful shocks in my right hand (trigger hand) when gripping the trigger of the power head at full throttle. The first couple of shocks were so startling I jerked my hand away from the trigger and nearly dropped the entire tool. This power head runs on 40V batteries. With a little experimentation, I discovered I could run the power head without getting shocked if I held the trigger grip with my thumb and trigger finger being careful not to grip the rubber overmold near the recessed steel screws holding it together. Apparently, the shock is passing through these steel screw heads into the palm of my sweaty hand. I do not know why these screws are energized. Perhaps this a manufacturing defect (wire to the trigger assembly pierced by one of the screws) or a design flaw that is causing current to leak from the trigger/grip assembly. I do not know. I called Ryobi support and they promised to forward this report to their product safety department. I was told I would be contacted by safety directly. It has been a week
Official report number: 20211014-9777B-2147359177. Search that ID on SaferProducts.gov or match it in the CPSC public database export to verify this record.