Time to replace some C3 tools...

[78Staff]

So looking to replace... well not replace, but I need to add a cordless portable wet/dry vac and a leaf blower. I have a slew of C3 tools, and luckily still have several functioning 19.2 lithium ions, but with the poor Craftsman 20v reviews what is everyone moving to? I know this is probably a personal opinion question, but have been looking at Ryobi and Milwaukee mainly. I though Ryobi batteries had a lifetime replacement warranty but I don't see it anymore - maybe I was mistaken.

Anyway, when you move on from C3, which direction did you go? Don't need Pro level stuff, mainly just home/boat/yard projects, but do want a quality piece of kit.

 

[mikebaker1129]

I was a dewalt guy for years and liked the tools, but the Nicad batteries did not last for me and I made the switch to Ryobi for everything at the house. 18volt Ryobi batteries are all I use in everything and they have a lot of options.
At work I use Milwaukee M12 and M18.

 

[23ford]

Milwaukee M18

 

[Cruzan80]

So looking to replace... well not replace, but I need to add a cordless portable wet/dry vac and a leaf blower. I have a slew of C3 tools, and luckily still have several functioning 19.2 lithium ions, but with the poor Craftsman 20v reviews what is everyone moving to? I know this is probably a personal opinion question, but have been looking at Ryobi and Milwaukee mainly. I though Ryobi batteries had a lifetime replacement warranty but I don't see it anymore - maybe I was mistaken.

Anyway, when you move on from C3, which direction did you go? Don't need Pro level stuff, mainly just home/boat/yard projects, but do want a quality piece of kit.

Ridgid is the lifetime batteries, easy to get the names confused. Orange is battery warranty, green is not.

Besides a cordless vac and leaf blower, what else are you looking for?

 

[M635_Guy]

I went from C3 to Milwaukee, and I've been extremely happy. I've wound up with a mix of M12 and M18 tools, and since the M18 charger will do both, I've been fine with that despite being twitchy about adding battery platforms.

I'd go brushless for everything - the difference is significant.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Wait, what's wrong with the V20 Craftsman. I've abused mine the same as anyone would a Dewalt, Milwanky, Ridgid, etc and they are all perfectly fine.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure they are just Dewalt with different plastic.

If you're thrilled with the C3, anything newer is going to amaze you.

 

[fourjeepin]

I invested in Ridgid, but with a couple of Ryobi tools, like the hedge trimmer, brad nailer and inflator. I use an adapter to power the Ryobi tools so I don’t have to keep multiple brands of batteries and chargers.

 

[Bockscar]

I went from C3 to Dewalt and love them....craftsman did good for me but Ibfelt like treating myslef.

 

[dlwilson]

I use Rybobi for all my home improvement/repair stuff. But a few years ago I bought a Milwaukee M12 cordless ratchet to see how it works for auto stuff. It works great! Since then I've build up my collection of M12 and M18 stuff for auto, but still use the green Ryobi for non-auto stuff.

 

[driftpin]

My C3 Craftsman tools do what I need in a cordless. I bought Li-ion batteries 15 months ago off Amazon for the platform, and the batteries are holding up well. No need for me to think of a change. If you just want to go to a newer platform I understand. I'm sitting here looking at nearly $1,000 in dental insurance receipts, which could buy me a lot of new platform tools, but I'm getting things done with my current C3 tools, so the $ goes into the savings account/brokerage.

Here's where I got mine:

Manufacturer	‎Reoben
Part Number	‎19.2 volt battery for Craftsman
Item Weight	‎3 pounds
Package Dimensions	‎7.64 x 5.98 x 4.02 inches
Item model number	‎C3 batery
Batteries	‎2 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)

ASIN	B07M5W57QJ
Customer Reviews	4.4 out of 5 stars 821 ratings 4.4 out of 5 stars

I recently began a disassembly of a 1950's Tri-Five Chevy 'unicorn' and the 1/2" impact C3 made my job a lot easier. Sure, buying a new car may end-up being the same price point, but when I'm finished, I've got a family heirloom, and the satisfaction of knowing Ididit ( the brand of steering column it's getting). I'll be happy to re-use the C3 tools until they break or batteries of a quality nature are no-longer available.

 

[humpty]

This question is so hard because what is "best" for one is not "best" for another.

I have all Milwaukee, its a mix of M18 and M12, my buddy has Ryobi. I am jealous of his low entry price, he has been able to get a lot of tools for his money. He sometimes is jealous of my stuff, usually of individual tools or size. He would tell you that Milwaukee is a superior tool but for a DIY like himself he is likely not to need it.

For yourself you have to evaluate how much you will use them, how hard you'll use them and does the brand your thinking about offer the tools you will need.
For the common tools I don't think you'd go wrong with any brand. If you aren't going to use them hard I'd suggest a "cheaper" brand. Ryobi is a good "cheaper" brand in that their catalog of tools is huge so you'll have lots of choices.
If you think you will use them hard, going with a more "premium" brand, Milwaukee, DeWalt, etc might be a better choice.

Of course this is GJ so if you are like me and you are a DIY guy but you want the "pro" tools then go for it!

 

[M635_Guy]

The puts and takes for me were varied, but consistently great moving to Milwaukee:

Drill - I had a brushed C3 and a smaller C3 I think was brushless. The M18 brushless is quieter, smaller and definitely more powerful. This is the smaller of the two C3's:


Impact Driver - I kinda hated the C3 impact driver. It was super-loud (esp. for a guy who already has tinnitus and hearing loss) and not gentle on the hand/arm at all. The Surge is obliterates it - really small, really powerful, really quiet and really smooth/gentle. On top of that, the modes make it the go-to tool for any kind of installation/removal - perfect application of power possible where the C3 was a loud beast (and mainly I used my C3 drill as a driver for anything that wasn't heavy-duty/decking). Huge fan of the M12 Surge. The Surge alone would make me choose Milwaukee again, and it is my most-used tool. (the C3 drill had that role before, hence why I had two)


Impact Wrench - the C3 impact was only OK. It worked well enough for lugs but struggled mightily with anything else. When I was doing control arms on my wife's van, it was of limited help on anything not a lug nut - it wasn't powerful enough for most things and it was too big to help with the rest (caliper bolts, etc). This did not endear it to me. What's pictured below is the C3 with the massive 2767 (it was a similar size) and the M12 Stubby (which was more powerful - lol). I've since replaced the 2767 with the M18 Mid Gen2, which is significantly smaller than the C3 (not very much larger than the Stubby) and still multiples more powerful.

(my larger battery for the 2767 hadn't arrived yet - lol)

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I had a few other C3 things, but the story was the same for all of them. I don't miss any of them at all.

I think any newer platform is going to far exceed the C3 stuff. I see a lot of similarity in Ryobi's offerings these days. Beyond the stability of the battery platform with Milwaukee (I know RIGID and Ryobi also have excellent history on this point, but I don't trust any "house brands" any more and I find the Ryobi batteries bulky and their offerings a bit more entry-level overall than I want), what I really like about the current Milwaukee stuff vs. the others is the modes - it makes such a difference in the use of the Surge and the impact wrenches that make them far more effective to use. It's always a game of leap-frog - I don't think there are bad choices between Milwaukee/DeWalt/Makita/Bosch/Metabo in terms of platform - they all have their strengths. For me, I'm not ever going to trust a in-house brand that is subject to the whims of a Home Depot/Lowe's/Harbor Freight/etc. when it comes to a battery platform, so Craftsman/RIGID/Kobalt/FLEX/etc. I'm not actually sure where to put Skil/Porter Cable/Black+Decker any more, but they've lost all my trust too.

 

[78Staff]

Thanks all, was checking out Project Farm reviews of cordless shop vacs - the Rigid and Milwaukee came out on top by a pretty good margin, am leaning towards one of those two.

My C3's are still working fine with Lithium Ions, so not looking to replace, but my old 18v B&D leaf blower needs replacing, and I wanted to pickup the cordless wet/dry vac, so wanted to make sure I go down the right path as I am sure I will need to replace some of my C3 stuff in the future.

 

[78Staff]

@M635_Guy I like the compactness of those tools, the C3's are huge by comparison. Even the basic drill I always though was too big. Going to give them a look...

 

[ste6168]

I hate battery powered tools, outside of drills and impact drivers, and still sometimes prefer a corded drill. That said, my drills are milwaukee. I have a set of both M12 and M18, both great in their own regards. I use the M12 for most around the shop stuff, quick house stuff, use the M18 for bigger jobs. I keep a Bosch 12v set (installation drill, impact, and right angle drill) in the service truck, as well. Everything else has a cord and I have never felt the need to have cordless on the rest.

 

[78Staff]

Ridgid is the lifetime batteries, easy to get the names confused. Orange is battery warranty, green is not.

Besides a cordless vac and leaf blower, what else are you looking for?

Right now that's it - C3 has everything else covered for me right now, but I know at some point I will need to replace them so want to go down the right path so I don't have a bunch of different brands/batteries/chargers in the future...

 

[M635_Guy]

@M635_Guy I like the compactness of those tools, the C3's are huge by comparison. Even the basic drill I always though was too big. Going to give them a look...

I'm not saying you couldn't be happy with Makita/DeWalt/whatever, but I have **zero** regrets with any of the Milwaukee stuff I have (and its...several...things beyond what's shown...)

 

[driftpin]

I got a deal from my local Ace Hardware on a Craftsman 1/4" impact driver tool, battery & charger. It was $80 for all. I have a lot of Craftsman 19.2 volt tools most are C3 Li-ion. They do what I need. If the tools start breaking, I could look at another platform but as long as I can get batteries and they do the work. I'm OK with 'em.

 

[78Staff]

I did wind up buying a few items during recent holiday sales - Picked up the compact Dewalt 20v drill and 1/4 impact for working on the boat - the C3 tools are just too big at times working in the bilge or under the console, etc. Also picked up their leaf blower and battery/corded wet/dry vac - again for the boat. But the C3 tools I have are still going strong as I mentioned. I do have one li-ion battery that shows a fault when charging, but it charges up fine best I can tell - I just use it on my C3 radio in the garage . I likely will purchase a new light as well, as I've started to notice both my C3 lights are pretty dim in comparison to today's LED models.

 

[jd_1138]

I'd go for 2 brands -- Ryobi for the cheap prices and huge selection of tools and a 2nd brand (Makita, DeWalt, or Milwaukee) for the core main tools (impact driver, regular drill, recip saw). Then you have flexibility to choose from 2 brand lines.

In Ryobi, I have drills, saw, flashlights, jobsite radio. In Makita I have drills, and a circular saw and some other tools. When working on larger projects, you can use the various drills with specific bits/drivers in them, so no need to constantly change bits.

Seems beneficial to have ALL tools with one battery pack style, but really once you go into 2 brands, you quickly build up plenty of batteries in each brand. Benefits of 2 brands outweigh the benefits of being able to use the batteries on every tool you have.