Issue with Remington and the F5800

[Shaverman]

I have been trying, with limited success, to find out from Remington why my F5800 shaver has only survived 23 charge cycles. I use all my shavers, so they sit idle for several weeks between charging cycles. During their storage time, they are maintained with the proper temperature, roughly 50% charging status, and then charged to use again. Following Remington's recommendation, I fully recharge the shaver every six months for 24 hours, though normally that is not necessary. If I am lazy and don't want to wait for a shaver to charge, I'll simply use a cord-only to save time.

The shaver is well past its two-year warranty, as shavers, unlike vehicles, have only a "time" warranty--not a time and usage warranty. (Ideally, shavers would have a minimum charging cycle warranty). It is five years old so I understood it wouldn't be replaceable.

I asked Remington. Well, the customer-service rep knew nothing about shavers. She asked me to Email an AI site, but the AI response was that they solved my case, which meant nothing as they did nothing. In previous years, you could talk to someone with technical knowledge.

So, my suggestion to this site (Empower) was that maybe the batch of batteries for that series F5800 was not the same quality as other shavers, as I have Remington shavers 14 years old that are still charging. But no response. Now, the good thing is this is a cord/cordless shaver, so I can use it plugged in.

I guess I'd be interested in hearing any ideas why a shaver that is properly stored and charged would fail after 23 charging cycles. The only thing I can think of is that there is too much "down time" for my shavers, but that is because I have so many. Second, if anyone has this model Remington, be aware that there might be a battery issue. Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome.

 

[culcreuch]

Normally I would expect a rechargeable battery to have a minimum of at least 500 recharge/discharge cycles.

 

[Shaverman]

Yes, I agree. It seems to be sporadic, but guess I can always use it plugged in if I need to. Thanks.

 

[Jim Elliott]

Your battery maintenance practices are actually exemplary. Storing at 50% charge, controlling temperature, and rotating usage are all textbook approaches for lithium-ion longevity. The fact that your 14-year-old Remingtons are still functional proves you know what you're doing.


You've likely encountered a defective cell batch in the F5800 series. Lithium-ion batteries have inherent manufacturing variability, and even premium cells from the same production run can have failure rates of 1-3%. Budget consumer electronics often use lower-binned cells where this percentage climbs higher. Twenty-three cycles is catastrophically premature. These should easily survive 300-500 cycles even with your extended storage intervals.


Your multi-week idle periods between charges shouldn't cause this failure. While lithium-ion cells do experience calendar aging (time-based degradation), proper storage at moderate charge levels actually minimizes this. The six-month full-charge maintenance cycle you're doing is reasonable, though arguably unnecessary if you're already cycling them regularly at 50%. The real issue with extended storage is self-discharge leading to over-discharge if batteries sit for years without maintenance, not the weeks you're describing.


There's a small possibility that extremely infrequent cycling could allow dendrite formation or electrolyte stratification, but this typically requires abandonment timescales (six months or more completely idle), not the active rotation you're practicing.


More likely culprits specific to the F5800 include inferior cell sourcing where Remington may have switched suppliers or accepted a compromised batch for this model year, protection circuit failure where the battery management system itself could be defective and allowing over-discharge during storage despite your 50% target, or internal connection degradation where cheap solder joints or spring contacts create resistance that mimics battery failure.


Using it plugged in is fine for now, but be aware that some shavers don't isolate the battery circuit during corded operation. If the protection circuit has failed, running it continuously on AC could potentially stress the compromised battery pack. Monitor it for unusual heat during corded use.


Since you're comfortable with maintenance, you might consider replacing the battery pack yourself if you can source a quality replacement. The F5800 likely uses a standard NiMH or Li-ion cell configuration that's accessible. Given Remington's unhelpful response, a quality aftermarket battery might actually outlast their original.


Your suggestion about batch-specific issues is almost certainly correct. Thanks for the heads-up on this model. Hopefully others with F5800s will chime in if they've seen similar premature failures.

 

[Shaverman]

Thanks so much, Jim, for the technical explanation of possibilities. I will try again to fully charge, but as it is past its warranty, I'll have to live with it as cord-only, or as you mention, I could pursue the replacement battery option. This is the only battery issue I've had with Remington or any brand shaver. When I'm shaving with my brand new, old-stock corded Remington XLR 800, I realize there is really something to be said for the convenience of cord-only use. Thanks again, Jim.