From 18v Dewalt to 20v or 18v ryobi

[altereddezignz]

Hello everyone here is a little issue I am having. I current have the 18v Dewalt kit that consosts of sawaw. skill saw. drill. hammer drill/drill. 1/4 impact. 1/2 impact. Angle grinder. Light 5 batteries and 2 chargers. I have 4 batteries now that haven taken a dump and died. They now last about 1 minute. So have been looking at the 20v kits but would be out at least another 600 without the 1/2 impact. I have been reading a lot about the ryobi kits and they seem to have some really good reviews. I do not use my tools for a living but as hobby. Fab type shop building big trucks hot rods and customs with just about all the home stuff you can think of lol. I do have desalts corded drill and angle grinder and so on. I use my 1/2 impact. 1/4 impact and drill mostly for everything along with the sawsaw. What are your thoughts.

 

[rsanter]

If it was me I would buy a couple batteries or rebuild the ones you have.
I have seen where there are people selling just the batteries already connected up so you open the battery pack and drop the new set in.

I have seen a couple deals where they have the two to four tool set so cheap that you could buy it and keep the batteries and then sell the tools off or keep them as spares

Bob

 

[mingus2112]

I really like my Ryobi stuff. If I were in your shoes, though, i'd only switch "systems" if I was looking for a reason to. (it's happened before) If you're just in it for utility and like your current tools, just get the batteries or rebuild them as rsanter said.

 

[TomB19]

Consider rebuilding a pack or two. Even if you get into a new system, you're going to want a battery or two for your old system.

Sub-C cells can be purchased on eBay at a reasonable price.

You may also wish to consider a lithium ion battery pack for your XRP system. They are a bit spendy but cheaper than changing systems and you get the benefits of Li-Ion.

 

[ajchien]

I like my ryobi 18v.

But you already have 8 dewalt tools plus 2 chargers. Why change? I'd buy 2 new batteries now, and wait for Black Friday to see if more go on sale and get another 2 at that time.

 

[ConnerSmith]

Definitely replace the batteries. I have seen online some cheaper aftermarket batteries for different brands of cordless tools, if you are really wanting to save some money, but I have never tried them. As for ryobi, I like them a lot. In my experience, ryobi's lithium batteries have lasted me about 2 years before they **** out. Which isn't too bad. I have heard that ridgid warranties their batteries if they go bad, but don't quote me on that.

 

[TomB19]

I picked up some M18 compatible batteries from AliExpress.com.

Be very careful. When they say, "Original Milwaukee M18 Batteries", they mean crappy knock-offs that don't even fit properly so they practically have to be pounded off the tool.

Then there is the run-time. They were originally about half the run-time of my M18 4.0 batteries but now they are down to totally dead. They've been charged 2~5 times in the four weeks I've owned them.

 

[Voi]

Another vote for doing a cheap rebuild on a battery or two. Even if you don't ever upgrade to brushless angle grinders and reciprocating saws, those both seem like useful cordless tools to keep around. In another thread somebody mentioned buying a cheap 18V battery and Harbor Freight and taking it apart for the Ni-Cad cells.

That will also give you some time for the brushless compact Dewalt 1/2" wrench to come out.

On the other hand, if you already know your current Dewalt impact wrench is lacking a bit you can get the high torque brushless wrench. I feel like there have been a review or two posted recently.

 

[altereddezignz]

Ill probably just buy some batteries. The ion batteries are around 120 each and require a new charger. It would be a big price to change everything out to be new 20v this is the reason i was looking at the ryobi stuff. Even if it all died in 2 years i could have it replaced since they offer a 3 year warranty and still buy a complete new set and keep what is good for the price of one kit on the dewalt If not buy it 2-3 times. I like my dewalt tools but everything becomes outdated at some point but that is not a reason to upgrade. Looks like ill do a little searching to see if i can find a place to rebuild them as there is no true way of knowing if i am rebuilding my xrp batteries with the right internals.

 

[Robinson1]

There is no comparison between Dewalt NiCad 18v and Dewalt lithium 20v. See if you can find someone who has a few and will let you try them out before you sink several hundred dollars into batteries for outdated and weak tools. You will be impressed by the 20v line.

 

[altereddezignz]

My boss has pretty much everything that dewalt makes, but i dont use these for a living either and its just here and there around my shop. The impact driver, Drill and big impact get used more than anything.

 

[altereddezignz]

Also they are really not 20v but i have read they do have more power and last a lot longer.

 

[Cruzomatic]

Just get some new batteries. I bought some off brand dewalt packs off Amazon and they have held up great for me. Price isn't too bad either.

 

[DonkDonk]

I don't know how it is in your area, but around here you can go to a pawn shop and pick up a tool (usually the cheapest is a drill or impact) that will come with 2 XRP lithium batteries & charger for under $100. I personally would never give up a complete dealt 18v set because I needed new batteries.

 

[altereddezignz]

I found a place this morning that will rebuild the batteries for 2$ a volt so 36$. They say that they use better internals than are on the original XRP batteries. I may drop all mine off and get them rebuilt.

I do like the new 20v dewalt tool and i also like the ryobi tools. Since i keep all my dewalt tool at my shop i may buy the ryobi set for my house and just go from there. I wont be getting rid of any of my dewalt tools just adding to the collection.

 

[jd_1138]

Yeah I'd pick up a couple of batteries and stay with DeWalt unless the tools are really worn out. You can probably pick a 2 pack set up for like $70 or less -- way cheaper than buying all new Ryobi stuff.

But yeah the Ryobi stuff is great for homeowner use. You can pretty much pick up a 6 or 7 tool package for $250 or so -- impact, drill, recip, circular, multi-tool, sander, flashlight, etc. with at least 2 or 3 batteries. May have to get more than 1 package to get all this. And also, you can buy bare brand new tools for cheap off ebay.

 

[altereddezignz]

299 for a 7 tool package with the large 4amp hour batteries. Ill do this for home since i am always needing random cordless tools around the house. The xrp batteries are 100 for 2 new so ill be out 180 to have 5 of my batteries rebuilt. I would like another charger tho so may buy a batter and charger combo to give me 7 batteries and 3 chargers total.

 

[cheechi]

Funny this question comes up. I and several contractors I know (I'm not a contractor) would pick up both Ryobi & Dewalt 18v tools whenever we see them in good condition for a good price, because more than any other lineup they are the longest availability for used tools and the batteries if you treat them well can last a while. I mean what other nicad era tools can you still buy new now?

I have never liked and try to avoid nicad like the plague. If you're patient you can pick up XRP tools/batts on CL for (relatively) cheap but expect them to look like hell most of the time. Likely writeoffs from GC's.

Also now might be the time to get into M12 if you are looking into any other brand/system. I think M12 tools are a better value than either of those batteries/tools you are suggesting (new) but may not be a better value than rebuilding the existing batts if you have the tools and skill to do so.

You could pick them up on various sales coming up here in a few months, and the M12 Fuel tools are probably more powerful but at least equivalent to the 18v nicad Dewalts and early Ryobis. All but the most recent generations in the tools that matter most. Biggest downside is no circ saw and the sawzall wont be as big (easily as powerful or more but sometimes that extra bulk and mass can help).

In that situation I'd get M12 tools as needed on sale, sell the tools individually 1 by 1 you know there will be a buyer the only question is what you will get back. I sold a Dewalt 18v circ saw (granted it was brand new) for $100 a few years back on CL. There are still plenty of guys that have some and want what they dont have and are willing to pay.