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Rich Stern

Rich Stern

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The batteries on my Ryobi 14.4 drill/circular saw combo set are toast. Got ok life out of them, not great, not terrible. Replacement cost is ridiculous. Can get a new set of tools for about $30 more than the cost of new or rebuilt batteries. Batteries seem to be a weak spot for the Ryobi line. The tools themselves proved to be good for the money spent. They always did what I asked of them.



Gonna ask the wife to get me a new set for as my holiday present.



Interested in hearing from you cordless tool mavens what brands you like and why. So, please let fly with the "Sport Trac Web Site Cordless Tool Consumer Report" right here:
 
I've been using sears. Using them hard for 5 years. Less than $200 for a 19.2 volt drill, flashlight, sander, vac, jigsaw and circular saw is a bargain. Another kit has a recipro saw instead of the jigsaw. ANother may have a stapler. They have a lot of combo's right now for Christmas. They also have _separately) a laminate trimmer, dremel type tool, and impact drill sold separately using the same battery.
 
I would be happiest to own all Milwaukee stuff, followed by Makita. I've had poor luck with Black and Decker, Dewalt and Skil. I would not buy another Dewalt drill after my experience with the last one, now replaced by a Milkwaukee.
 
My dad has troubles with his 18 volt Dewault drill he doesn't believe the battery run time is all that good. His twin brother has the 14 volt and has better luck with battery time. Dad wished he had the 14 volt.



I have the Ryobi 12 volt drill. Can't complain for the money I spent. I have two batteries for it. I only use it for small work around the house. I also have ryobi's electric chop saw and stud finder. I love them both. I believe I spent my money well on Ryobi.
 
Almost everything I have is corded. What I do have cordless is a Craftsman drill and I've had it for about 7 years. Only bought one extra battery after about 4 years. It's only 7.2 volt and the concrete walls in Okinawa killed that first battery.



Batteries aren't cheap, I think I paid $30 for my replacement 3 years ago. It's about like the conspiracy on ink cartridges with printers when it comes to replacement stuff these days.
 
After having Ryobi (the battery died too) and Makita, I went with Bosch. I opted for the 24v combo with a drill driver, 7" circular saw and flashlight (whoopee!). I love its power and smooth and quiet operation but the 24v batteries get heavy, especially when driving screws in the ceiling. I liked the 18v Milwaukee too but got swayed by Bosch having a hard case as opposed to a soft carry bag. Check out Tyler tools. There;s free shipping and prices are good too. I also went for reconditioned since the price was much better and what could go wrong already has and was fixed.
 
Buy Hitachi....Rated number one on the market by Consumer Reports. Batteries last 32% longer per charge and 47% longer total lifetime than Dewalt XRP batteries. They also come with a 5 Year warranty. Lowe's sells Hitachi. Hitachi has given Lowe's an exclusive 100% buy back policy. As a result, if one of these tools becomes defective, Lowe's will replace it with no hassles within that 5 year period.



You cannot go wrong buying the Hitachi line of tools!!!!!!!



Terry
 
I had the tool guy at Home depot tell me it is night and day difference with the Ryobi tools once you get above the 18 volt range.



I bought a combo kit, 3 batteries, four tools and a case of the 18.8 Ryobi series and they have been great. Hold the charge very well when using the tools. They do drain a bit quick if not using the tools.
 
It sounds like you are pleased with the tools and the only problem is the battery replacement cost. Check eBay for a replacement batterys, that will probably come out to be less exspensive. Also, be sere to keep the batterys charged and that will extend the life of them, unless you're using them really often. If that's the case, it could just be time to replce the batteries. How long did the batteries last? If you got 2-3 yrs out of them I think that's fairly normal.
 
I have a Black and Decker set (drill, sawzall, circ saw, and light), and have been very happy with their performance. Batteries have always had very good life.
 
I have a Craftsman 12V drill set that came with the keyless drill, flashlight, 2 batteries and a charger for about $100 I used it a lot the first year and then one of the batteries just died and the charger showed a blinking yellow LED that means a defective battery.



I ordered a new battery ($59) plus shipping and a few months later the second old battery died. I could not see spending another $59 + for another battery so I used the new battery until it died a few years later.



If you go to Sears with the original battery, the part number for the replacement battery is always different than the original battery??? I think the original batteries are purposely made cheaper and with less life expectancy than what you get when you buy the replacement batteries. That's so you will buy the tool at a cheaper price and then they make up for the price when you have to replace the cheapo batteries.



About 5 years ago I purchased a cheapo 12V cordless drill at Harbor Freight for about $8. It included one battery and one charger. I purchased an additional 3 batteries for about $5 each and always keep one on the charger. I am still using the same drill and batteries, and only two batteries are now starting to show signs of not hold a charge very long. The drill still works perfectly??



Most Harbor Freight brand power tools are hopelessly under powered, but this drill is plenty powerfull and has never let me down in over 5 years of use. I will probably just buy a few more batteries for $10 and keep it running for as long as I can get batteries at that price. :D



...Rich

 
I have the Dewalt XRP 14.4 set- about $300 at Costco. For the occasional handyman job I do, they are excellent tools. Used the recip saw to saw up blown down trees after Hurricane Wilma, circular saw to repair the jungle gym and drill all around the house. No complaints.
 
I bought the contractor grade cordless drill by Craftsman. I've only had it a few months, no complaints yet. The battery life seems pretty good to me. Personally I like to avoid cordless tools, I don't feel they have the power of a corded one. My impact drill is corded and I can't imagine a cordless drill having the same power. But then again I haven't done anything with one. I bought the craftsman because of the price, but if I get any other cordless tools I'll get the ones that take the same battery, I think I have the 19 volt, so that if one battery dies I'll have a newer one.



Sears always has a different part number for replacement then original. Most of the time that is because the replacement will fit a multitude of their tools and the original has it's own number for each tool. I've never had a problem with the replacement part not working, but I have noticed a lot of times it's cheaper to buy a new one then to fix the old one.
 
Cordless tool batteries can be rebuilt with the internal rechargable elements replaced with new ones. The maintence shop at my work sendes them out and is very cost effective.
 
Take it from me, and trust me on this one. I am a professional and use cordless power tools almost on a daily basis. I do communications work. Have used all types of cordless tools from you-name-it to the most expensive they have. If you want a excellent tool set of cordless tools go with RIDGID. You can get them at home depot and they make just about everything under the sun. The warranty is the best in the business, lifetime on parts, labor and batteries, again something us pros take very seriously. My 18 volt cordless hammerdrill had a problem with the chuck and i took it to a repair center and they fixed it no questions asked. In fact i stand behind this tool so much so i have had damn near all of my company's technicians go out and buy them, just from my word of mouth. Everyone is super happy with the performance. I have literally put my ridgid up against any other tool out there, De-Walt, Milwaukee, Makita, Hitachi, anything, and have blown them away. HANDS DOWN !!!

RIDGID is the real deal. Fell free to ask me any questions
 
I use battery tools everyday. Do NOT buy DeWalt. I've used Porter Cable & Milwaukee with great results & battery life. DeWalt batteries are great for dropping outta windows from the fifth floor. Good tools, batteries suck.



We were discussing replacement drills today, Ridgid brand came up. As soon as my 23 month old, daily abused Milwaukee with the original pair of 18 volt batteries pukes, I believe Ridgid will get a work out.
 
Rich: I have the Ridgid 18 volt can't beat it, and the life time warranty is also good because the battries are the first thing to go. Good luck with what ever you deside to do. Chip
 

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