Buying a better (Lithium Ion) Body Groomer

Doge

Right lads, my philips series 7000 TT2039 BodyGroom pictured above has gave up the ghost despite it only being a few years old and I cant find the receipt.

The crappy NiMH battery barely lasts 5 minutes after a full charge.

I can't believe Argos still sell this piece of junk for €100! :eek:

I just used it for body hear or trimming a beard before shaving it, I don't bother using the foil trimmer, just the beard trimmer at the bottom.

So I've been doing research on Lithium Ion Body Groomers and found, 1 sold in Ireland, and another sold in the U.S.

Here's the one sold in Ireland, model MG7710, has 120 minutes runtime, currently priced 64.99 but was as low as 30 a week ago:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7096378/Trail/searchtext%3EPHILIPS+7000.htm




On Amazon US I found another Lithium Ion model MG5750, which has 3 hours runtime per 1 hour charge, its 240v compatible according to the leaflet and has 5 more attachments than the MH7710.

It costs €38.50 euro including shipping and import duty deposit direct from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071RZXXZ9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1




I think I'm going to go for the Amazon US one as I dont want to be waiting for a price drop for the one in Argos.

Has anyone else used Lithium Ion Body Groomers here, and have alternatives you'd recommend?

Cheers.

Doge

Just looking at the reviews for the American Model and theres quite a few people saying it turns on by itself as the button is flimsy.

Hmmm, might have to go with the Irish model instead.

Wibbs

Doge wrote: »

Just looking at the reviews for the American Model and theres quite a few people saying it turns on by itself as the button is flimsy.

That wouldn't be good. :eek: I know this sounds like old guy talk, but while stuff is way cheaper than "yesteryear", it's more usually made of the finest Chinesium and the quality and longevity is lacking. Personally I'd prefer to spend double or more the money on something that could last decades, but it seems more wouldn't and business models depend on obsolescence.

Tails142

Phillips isn't the brand it used to be, the name is just farmed out now. I was in the same boat as yourself just before christmas, I went with

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N55JI24/ref=pe_3187911_185740111_TE_item

It's cheap, it works decently enough, I'd say its NiMH just based on the charging time but at that price if I have to replace it in a few years time its no big loss. The blades probably dull on them over time anyway. Wish it had a battery charge indicator though, that would be handy.

Doge

Thanks for the replies guys.

Tails how long does your Braun take to charge?



I like your idea of going for something cheap since trimmers aren’t as good quality’s as they used to be.

If that Philips doesn’t come down in price by time I need a trim I’ll get the Braun.

I think it’s still worth going for a li-on as the battery is usually the first thing to fail in my experience, would be worth an extra tenner.

in my experience with all of these trimmers the battery wears out after a few years, no matter what the battery type.
the only difference is that the more expensive ones give you a better shave.
currently have the philips 5000 (bt5200). best shave as it has the comb on it has a hair lift design that pulls up the hairs as it goes as it has little grooves at the end of the comb- really does give an even shave. haven't seen that comb design on other ones.
you could try to replace the battery yourself. get one with the same voltage and size
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=philips+trimmer+battery+replacement

here is the model that I was talking about btw
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Beard-Stubble-Trimmer-Blades/dp/B015IU8SSW/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1517757403&sr=8-1&keywords=bt5200

you don't need 20 attachments when you can vary the length with one btw!

there's a lithium ion battery in that one btw. any device with a short (1 hour) recharge time is lithium ion afaik
the ones that take 8 hours to charge are nimh

Pat Mustard

A lithium ion battery will do X number of recharge cycles before its performance will start to fall off. It won't hold the same charge. Therefore, for longevity, maybe consider product that uses a mains supply instead of a battery.

As regards brands, look at Wahl. A common brand for head-shavers, found in many barbershops.

dastardly00

Hi OP,

I have the Philips 7000 Series TT2042/32.

I'm not sure if it's the newer/older model of yours?

Doge

After extensive research tonight on my birthday (I'm fun at parties :pac:) I think I have found the solution to this worrying problem of disposable trimmers which cannot be good for the environment.


After searching on Amazon I found this curious looking trimmer with a picture of an 18650 Li-on battery and a USB charging cable:



https://www.amazon.co.uk/LWD-Electric-Professional-Adjustable-Cordless/dp/B076WPLCNC/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1523064646&sr=1-1&keywords=LWD&dpID=514x77dQctL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch





Turns out this "LWD" branded trimmer has a removable 18650 Li-on battery, that can be charged via USB which must be a first for trimmers.

So I did a reverse image search as a lot of Chinese products on Amazon are just rebranded and found the store for the original brand on Aliexpress - LILI


http://s.aliexpress.com/mA77JnmQ?fromSns=


They seem to do a few of these style trimmers to suit different budgets,however I'm only interested in ones with a USB charging cable - as I don't trust a mains powered charger from China and can use my own trusted charger....
and one with a removable Li-on battery - for longevity and so I can upgrade to a more trusted brand of 18650 Li-on Battery.


I've decided I will go all out and buy the LILI L1 with LCD display (which you could call the flagship model :P) for €37.26 which comes with 4 attachments, a case, and even a shaving brush and barber cloth:

http://s.aliexpress.com/JBFn6v2Q?fromSn








Whats cool about this model is that had a slider on the left to adjust the length of the cut,
the + and - buttons can adjust the motor speed from 5000 rpm upto 7000 rpm,
The LCD screen shows the motor speed, the battery time remaining in minutes,
A charging notice indicator and more interestingly a notice to put more oil on the spindle, although I have no idea how it can detect that:






The only thing I'm not sure about is that it uses a ceramic blade for the moving blade which could get broken if you dropped it but I have seen replacement blades on the store for their pet groomers so I suppose you could get them for this also.

Some of you may think the LCD screen is a total gimmick, but since I'm a nerd I love it, especially to be able to see the time remaining in minutes.

If the big manufactuers were pressurised by Environmental Agencies to make trimmers less disposable, I bet something like this would design would be the future of trimmers.

Fair play to the Chinese for coming up with a forward thinking trimmer, that has a removable battery and USB charging cable, it seems to solve the issue of disposable trimmers.

kneemos

If they're all made in China anyway why not buy one from China for a fraction of the cost?

dastardly00

Nice work Doge.
Let us know how it performs

Doge

So the hair clippers came today, it was shipped by POST NL which was the free shipping method and came from Holland.it actually took 13 days to reach the POST NL office so it was a bit stagnant but much faster than waiting for it to come from china.

Interestingly it had this sticker on it, not sure if it was by customs or the people who packaged it.




Anyway...... It as well packed in bubble wrap and the case it comes with is very padded an nice....







A look inside:





It comes with 4 combs, 3mm,6mm,9mm, and 12mm
A shaving brush, oil for the blade, usb cable, mains charger with UK adapter which I will not be using. And a barbers cloth which I should never need!
When I powered it on there was 290 mins remaining which is impressive, however I do not know what the time for a full charge should be. It would be nice if you could switch between battery percentage and time remaining.





So how does it perform?

At the lowest speed setting 5000 RPM I found it more than substantial to trim my groin Area.

When you change the RPM the battery time remaining changes also which is neat.

It has a quiet enough operation also at 5000 RPM.

I have the blade adjustment set to the 0.2mm so it's up as high as it can go to give a closer cut.

One thing that's sucky is how the comb attachments friction fit to the blade. It's tricky to get them on.

The housing is made from plastic but feels robust enough.
The plastic door for the battery compartment comes off nicely so I wouldn't be worried about breaking it.

The battery included is 2000 mah which is really more than enough since it seems to provide 5 hours of charge according to the LCD screen.. I was tempted to stick a 3000mah in there to see if the screen reads higher but it's probably designed for 2000mah batteries.

Also the manual is completely in Chinese so that's not much of a help apart from the diagrams.

Overall I'm really impressed with the unit, the motor speed stays stable and doesn't fluctuate like some of the well known brands with their crappy batteries.

I have yet to charge it obviously, so I might update the thread when I do that with my Anker usb charger and the cable provided.

Hopefully I should get about 5 years from it at least, once the motor doesn't to in it.

Time will tell.

Stigura

Doge; Forgive me asking. But, Why, please? Why this entire focus on Rechargeable, even 'Disposable' trimmers? It's genuinely all lost, on me. I've tried to work out a possible reason too. Can't.

Granted; In my day, blokes only ever trimmed their heads or beards. I still 'shave' my head. With the Wahl clippers I've had for around seventeen years now. Standard, plug in sort.

Ye can access electricity, to recharge ye battery, I'm taking it? But, do ye encounter situations where ye may be many hours without electricity ~ and yet feel the need to concern yeself with what ye body hair's up to?

Just genuinely curious All a great riddle, to me.

Doge

Stigura wrote: »

Doge; Forgive me asking. But, Why, please? Why this entire focus on Rechargeable, even 'Disposable' trimmers? It's genuinely all lost, on me. I've tried to work out a possible reason too. Can't.

Granted; In my day, blokes only ever trimmed their heads or beards. I still 'shave' my head. With the Wahl clippers I've had for around seventeen years now. Standard, plug in sort.

Ye can access electricity, to recharge ye battery, I'm taking it? But, do ye encounter situations where ye may be many hours without electricity ~ and yet feel the need to concern yeself with what ye body hair's up to?

Just genuinely curious All a great riddle, to me.

Good question. I only use mine for trimming my gentleman's area and the occasional trimming of my beard before. I shave it off.

Being cordless I can bring it into the shower with me and trim my beard without all the stubble going everywhere onto the sink and sides of the sink causing a mess.

There's just something about cordless trimmers I trust when doing down there as they're easier to maneuver.

They're probably less powerful too incase you nip your skin?

I don't have an electrical outlet either in the bathroom so the cordless is handy there.

Anyway I feel like I've finally beat the system and I'm quite happy with my purchase!

Stigura

Doge wrote: »

Being cordless I can bring it into the shower with me and trim my beard without all the stubble going everywhere onto the sink and sides of the sink causing a mess.

Yeppers. I can see that. I don't touch my beard any more. (Now, I lay on the thing, in bed! :eek:) And, when I shave my head, one of my Dogs is pathological about snaffling up every hair that hits the floor.

But, yeah; chin, over a sink? That would be murder!