Ryobi awesomeness!

[kythri]

Just wanted to tell everyone how much I still love my Ryobi stuff!

I've been rewiring my shop over the last month - higher AWG wire and higher amp breakers, segregating some outlets onto their own breakers, prepping for my new air compressor and future welder.

At a couple points, I had to crawl up into the rafter/attic space out here to open up a couple of junction boxes and fix the mess, and, conveniently, it was during some 90-degree weather, so it was a hot, dirty, sweaty mess.

Since I've got the mains turned off while I'm doing this, plugging in an AC fan wasn't an option.

While I was at Home Depot picking up a new breaker and a couple other items, I walked past their Ryobi display, and ended up snagging an 18V One+ toy that I didn't already have, the fan.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...n.endeca.EndecaDataBean@3d0debe3&ddkey=Search

$30 and it was mine. DANG, this thing is fantastic! Dual speed, 10" job. Claims to run 3-4 hours on one part of the page, 5hrs on another.

The vast majority of my stuff, including the 7 batteries I own, was purchased over the course of a year, nearly 5 years ago now.

I have no lithium-ion batteries, all of my stuff is NiCad.

I came out to the shop tonight to clean up/organize things after the hurricane of work/mess I've made over the last few weeks, and it's kinda warm - 85/90 outside earlier, and an awesome uninsulated metal building means it's still kinda warm in here.

I've been running the fan for over 2.5 hours now, on a partially depleted battery (was using it in the circular saw last weekend for a while). It's still running strong, and keeping me cool.

I know that some people don't care for the stuff, but I've got to say, the Ryobi tools are worth every penny I've payed, and then some!

 

[d33pt]

i love my ryobi stuff too. the impact gun is one of my favorite power tools. it's strong enough to take the lugs off my truck. i did upgrade to the lithium batteries. they are great. i might just have to pick up the fan now.

 

[fomocoforrester]

I bought the Ryobi "One +" hammer drill/angle drill (with 18V Ni-Cad batteries) combo set about a year ago, and I must say that, for the money, it has been absolutely excellent.

The only problem I had when I first had it was, when I had finished a small cabinet job in the bedroom, I left it under my bed overnight. About an hour after falling asleep, I was woken by a low wirring noise....WTF.... After looking around for the source of the noise, I traced it to the carry bag that the drills came in.

Due to the bag being too small, one of the triggers had come under enough pressure to start the drill, so ever since then I have been careful to pack the bag so it could'nt happen again.

It was only last week that I found out that the forward/reverse push rod has a central locking position so that this "problem" can't happen.......

 

[Crash913]

i love my ryobi stuff too. the impact gun is one of my favorite power tools. it's strong enough to take the lugs off my truck. i did upgrade to the lithium batteries. they are great. i might just have to pick up the fan now.

My Ryobi impact is one of my favorites too. Ryobi is without a doubt the best bang for your buck

 

[msmith]

They are surprisingly tough and competent tools considering their prices. I own a cordless drill (can't kill it after 8 yrs), flashlight, small chainsaw (so-so), I also have the corded hammer drill (excellent) and circular saw (ok).

 

[JC23]

I've been digging 'em since they came out. I do, however, seem to notice the NiCads don't seem to hold a charge as long as they used to. Two batts are on the top of my Christmas list every year, but it seems like if I don't use them for a week or two, they all drop dead.

What is everyone doing with the dead batts? I've kept mine with the hopes of rebuilding them. A local place charges more than the new ones cost so that is out.

 

[msmith]

I've been digging 'em since they came out. I do, however, seem to notice the NiCads don't seem to hold a charge as long as they used to. Two batts are on the top of my Christmas list every year, but it seems like if I don't use them for a week or two, they all drop dead.

What is everyone doing with the dead batts? I've kept mine with the hopes of rebuilding them. A local place charges more than the new ones cost so that is out.

It's pretty normal for NiCd's to lose charge just sitting around. Lithium Ion has much better shelf stability.

You can zap dead NiCd's with a welder (instructions can be found on the internet) and revitalize them to some extent. You can only do this with NiCd batteries (DO NOT TRY IT WITH LITHIUM ION)

 

[Stick Figure]

Ryobi must have made some changes since the last time i tried their product. One year i got a "dremel" made by them as a gift. Died rather quickly, and i've never looked at that company again.

 

[Bolster]

Seriously? I would never have thought to equate Ryobi with "awesome." They must have changed. My Ryobi bench grinder died in short order, just a few hours use.

 

[wbclassics]

Same experiences as the last two posters. Every Ryobi tool I've ever owned ended up in the garbage (one angle grinder, two recip saws, one miter saw - all corded tools). No more Ryobi for me (no more cheap power tools either, unless it is the $10 HF angle grinders which I have had very good luck with).

 

[kythri]

I've been digging 'em since they came out. I do, however, seem to notice the NiCads don't seem to hold a charge as long as they used to. Two batts are on the top of my Christmas list every year, but it seems like if I don't use them for a week or two, they all drop dead.

What is everyone doing with the dead batts? I've kept mine with the hopes of rebuilding them. A local place charges more than the new ones cost so that is out.

I have yet to have any issue with my batteries, and they're all 4-5 years old.

I do make sure that I keep them rotated - when one goes on the charger, I make sure to take it off when it's done (I do have the "smart" chargers, but still don't want to leave the battery on it for days at a time), and I place it behind the other batteries - First In, First Out.

I also make sure to deplete them, and not throw them on the charger after a small amount of use.

When I finally do have any that start failing, I'll try the welder-zap trick, but failing that, I'll have to see how much it would cost to repack the cells myself, as the battery places are going to charge more than the cost of new batteries.

If I do repack, I'll try out Nickel-Metal-Hydride cells, and see how that works out.

I may see if I can work up an AC adaptor in a pack, as well - might be kind of fun, if I can find something that would fit in the pack, and just have to plug a cord into it...

 

[wafrederick]

I have bought one Ryobi and no more.Bought an 18 volt Ryobi cordless circular saw,not lot of power and the battery has to be charged before I use it.

 

[kythri]

I have bought one Ryobi and no more.Bought an 18 volt Ryobi cordless circular saw,not lot of power and the battery has to be charged before I use it.

Yeah, I have to charge my batteries before I use them, too.

 

[Indy_500]

Yeah, I have to charge my batteries before I use them, too.

i love my ryobi drill/circular saw set. It was $50 on black friday. I also love my ryobi 30 or so pc. drill bit set, the only set i found with BIG drill bits that come with, they're black oxide, and i think they're irwin copies

 

[GrantCee]

Years ago I had a 12v Makita drill (the early 12v style with the "L" shaped battery.) The battery died, and a replacement was something like $75. The Ryobi One+ line had just come out, it was the holiday season, and I could get a drill set (drill, battery, charger) for something like half of what the Makita battery would cost. The Ryobi had a wider range of speeds, handled better, and had a keyless chuck (the Makita didn't, which should tell you how old it was!) The Ryobi line also had a wider range of tools than anyone else at the time (others have since caught up and passed them by, but at the time it was a good selling point.)

I figured the Ryobi, a brand with which I wasn't familiar, probably wasn't up to the Makita, but it was too good a deal to pass up. It's years later, and I still have that first drill; it's taken a serious beating, and still works fine.

Since that time I've acquired a number of the One+ tools, and overall am happy with them. Some weren't all they were cracked up to be, but others easily exceeded my expectations.

The good: the drill (good power, battery life); impact driver (wish I'd bought it first!); the recip saw (surprising powerful for a battery appliance); caulking gun (I scoffed at first, but am now a believer.)

The bad: staple gun (wish I'd not bothered), handheld vacuum (glad I didn't pay extra for it).

The mixed: circular saw (handy, durable as all get-out, but not as powerful as I'd like and would prefer a slightly larger blade), saber saw (works fine, good power, but the blade rotates on axis more than it should, making the laser pointer off; I don't even bother with the laser any more.)

Batteries? I've got a dual chemistry charger, but for now am sticking with NiCd. As long as they're treated properly (discharge completely before charging, don't store with a full charge, don't use immediately off the charger) they're fine. This isn't news to anyone who's lived with rechargeables, but apparently many people haven't - and blame Ryobi for the chemistry limitations!

I like NiCd because they're a) cheap, b) handle sustained high drain better than a LiON, and c) with proper care have a longer service life than LiON. Ryobi gets a kudo for making both, making a charger that takes both, and giving the user a choice.

The Ryobi cordless tools aren't the very best I've used, but I think of them as "honest" tools - they're reasonably priced and perform beyond their cost.

 

[Krokodil]

About 7 years ago when I was still studying I bought a Ryobi 4 piece power tool kit that included a grinder, drill, jigsaw and sander. The sander and jigsaw does not get used much, but the drill and especially the grinder has held up very well considering the duty cycle I have put on them. I always tell myself I'll get Metabo or Dewalt stuff when they pack up, but they have been indestructible thus far!

 

[demondriven]

i love my ryobi drill/circular saw set. It was $50 on black friday. I also love my ryobi 30 or so pc. drill bit set, the only set i found with BIG drill bits that come with, they're black oxide, and i think they're irwin copies

I have the drill and saw combo as well love the drill works great the saw hate it. Love the size and feel but I can bearly make a cut in plywood or a 2x4 and it stalls out and the battery dies out very quickly. This is the second one I have gotten (both as gifts) is it just me?

 

[GrantCee]

Must be how you're handling the batteries. I have no problem cutting multiple 2x4s with mine, and I use it for plywood constantly. All of my batts are over a year old; one of them is approaching 4 years.

A sharp carbide blade is a must, however.

 

[GrantCee]

More thumbnail reviews (forgot I had some of these!)

Speedsaw (Rotozip-like tool): works perfectly, lots of power, superb battery life. Vibrates, but they all do! Depth stop a bit flimsy, but then again most of them are until you get to the commercial versions.

Random orbital sander: very top-heavy, a little difficult to use on vertical surfaces as a result, but works well - very smooth, even results. My hands are a bit small so the grip is a little large for me; would probably be perfect for someone with larger hands. Good battery life.

Corner cat finish sander: works well enough, but vibrates like all such sanders do. Frankly, can't tell much difference between this one and a like corded tool in terms of performance, though the ergonomics could be better (would help if the grip were angled downward a bit.)

 

[Lippyp]

I have a 14.4V ryobi cordless drill and its been as good as the Bosch I had before thst, battery packs are getting a bit old now and losing charge and not holding as much of a charge but I must have had it for at least six or seven years now. I also have a miter saw thats been OK but the scale on the bottom is less accurate than I'd like as is the laser.

I bought a Ryobi petrol weed whacker, line trimmer, strimmer whatever you want to call it, spent an hour and a half trying to get the ****** thing to start, when eventuually it did start the next time the whole recoil starter assembly fell apart and the strap attachment point broke off first use. Needless to say it went back in short order and I bought a stihl instead, that starts first pull even after the winter and works damn hard for its living.