18 volt Ryobi tool sets at HD online??

Hey folks,

Anyone looked at or bought them? Think they are any good.... Website has the set for $149 which includes a freebie of a wide range of choices from 2 extra batteries to sawzall, etc..... Looks pretty interesting and the price is real nice.... Any input appreciated....

Dave

I have a set of Ryobi cordless 18v tools and they are tough. I've used them hard and they work very well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Ryobi tool. Mike

I have a bunch of ryobi drills, saws, flash lites and even a hand vac. I keep em in my workshop in the barn, the workshop in my basement, workshop in my garage and my fifth wheel camper. I have had good luck with the stuff and just buy a couple new battery's every couple years and add another piece here and there. As far as I'm concerned you can't beat em for the price. I have been real happy with the tools I've had and have not had a failure yet with any of it. I'm not a professional or anything. I just like to have something handy when I need to drive a screw, drill a hole, make a cut, or need a little light on the subject.

They last about 25% of the time that a Porter Cable,
Bosch, or Milwaukee will last in a heavy use
setting. But they are OK for casual use and non
production tasks. Jim

I did not have good luck with the Ryobi I bought because of the lower price.

I now try to buy Ridgid when ever I can. Life time warrenty even on the batteries saves in the long run in my mind.

Go to Tool Talk and search the archives there. Lots of threads about cordless drills.
The trouble with cordless drills is the batteries do not last as long as the drills do. So a lot of guys there are asking how to install new batteries without having to spend big bucks on OEM batteries. Because batteries for any of the brands are going to cost you in the neighborhood of $45 apiece.
I have made mention several times on TT that I buy the 18V Ryobis because they are poweful and cheap and get the job done. But the batteries will fail in about 2 years like any other brand.
At that point they are not worth buying new batteries for like some of the better brands might be. The drill will be worn out.
As for all the extra goodies that you got with it like the light, vacuum, skillsaw, reciprocating saw and gargantuan plastic carrying case well IMO that stuff is all a bunch of junk and I dread being the cause/owner of such a waste of resources.

I second what you say, Ryobi Ni-cd batteries are only good for 2 years if you are lucky. That said, there aren't too many Ni-cd batteries that will last much longer. Go for Ni-MH batteries if you can find them. Sorry to say, the only place I can buy NI-MH batteries are on ebay and they are made in China. Price wise, they are equal or less than NI-cd. I have a 4 year old Ni-MH battery and it hasn't lost any power.
George

I have a set, drill, circle saw, sawsall and flash light with the lithium batteries. I've used the drill and flash light a lot and the saws some. I've had em about 4 years and have had one battery go bad. I wouldn't be afraid of anther one.

Rick

I bought a Ryobi cordless airless sprayer and it
works very well. I did have a problem though.
One battery is not enough to run it for any length
of time. I found 2 of the Ni-Cads on Craig's list
for $35.00 plus $5.00 shipping. These were almost
new batteries. The new Ryobi tools and the Ryobi
batteries along with the new Lit-Ion chargers are
all lime green now. This charger is listed as a
"multi-chemistry" charger for use with both types
of batteries. The old style tools and chargers are
dark blue and deep yellow, these are NiCad
batteries which are heavier than the new lith-Ion
batteries. I like the fact that all the tools will
use both the old and new batteries and the new
lime green colored charger will charge either the
old or the new style batteries. This month the Home Depot store close to me had a deal where if you bought the so called "starter kit" which was the dark blue and yellow drill and cordless Skil-saw
along with 2 of the Ni-cad batteries and charger
for $99.00 they gave you the upgraded charger and
one of the Lit-ion batteries free. I went with
intentions of just buying a new style dril but
this was a better bargain. This suits me because
I can use the batteries between all the tools and
I have enough chargers to keep spare batteries hot
all the time. I just have to remember that the old style charger only works with the Ni-Cad
batteries, but the new style will take either. I
replaced my 2 year cordless Kawasaki branded
(Northern Tool Co.brand)cordless drill with the
Ryobi and so far it is nice. The airless paint
sprayer works well with enough battery power
available to spray till your arm goew limp.

Ryobi has one thing in their lineup that I have not seen elsewhere. They may be out ther I just have not seen them and that is a charger that runs off of a 12V Vehicle outlet. Don't need it when you work in the shop but if you are working on a site without power it's great.

(quoted from post at 22:30:17 01/13/12) Ryobi has one thing in their lineup that I have not seen elsewhere. They may be out ther I just have not seen them and that is a charger that runs off of a 12V Vehicle outlet. Don't need it when you work in the shop but if you are working on a site without power it's great.

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seen them for Makita at least.... I have a hard time understanding how you can charge an 18 volt battery with 12 volts.... Kinda like squeezin blood out of a turnip???

Dave, Inverter tech. My dewalt chargers will charge a wide range of battery voltages. Inverter tech charges with a constant current. My newest charger will charge all 3 batteries, Ni-MH, Li-ion, and the worthless Ni-cd. The best part of this charger, is it will turn off completely when battery is charged. You won't cook your batteries, like the old style chargers do.

Dewalt also sells a radio with a built in charger. Big plus. I have a 12v charger I keep in the truck and 110v charger I keep in the shop. I've found ebay have good prices on chargers and batteries.

There are many places that will take your junk Ni-cd batteries. Does anyone know of a place that buys your junk Ni-cd batteries?
George

(quoted from post at 20:59:43 01/13/12) I have a set, drill, circle saw, sawsall and flash light with the lithium batteries. I've used the drill and flash light a lot and the saws some. I've had em about 4 years and have had one battery go bad. I wouldn't be afraid of anther one.

Rick

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These are 4+1 sets that are an impact driver, 1/2 inch hammer drill, 3/8 right angle drill, and a light... comes with 1 nicad battery and charger...
one of the pluses is 2 lithium ion batteries and another is an impact wrench. Think I'd get more out of the extra batteries but it doesn't say if they work on the same charger.... Any idea?

Thanks...

Dave, my first car had a vacuum tube radio. Talk about squeezin blood out of a turnip, it had 6v battery and the tubes in the radio needed 300v DC. Also, had old tube type CB radio, did the same thing. Today, we use solid state, transistors and diodes. Back then we used an old tube called a multi-vibrator, it made a buzzing sound, that flip floped the 6 voltages in to a step up transformer, before converting it back to 300v DC. This technology may be older than you, perhaps older than most on YT. George