Cordless 18 volt tools?

There are a lot of tool manufacturers but only a few battery suppliers and the batteries are obviously the weak link in the whole system. Panasonic makes all the batteries for Black & Decker/DeWalt and many others, including Makita. I'm not sure who the supplier for Ryobi/Ridgid is.

Ryobi tools hold up okay, but you don't see a lot of them on job sites or in the field. And I've never seen any of their newer Lithium Ion tools outside of a Home Depot. I've had Ryobi drills and they've held up okay and a chop saw that may last forever. It's the other stuff with cheaper tools that can be frustrating, like chucks that need two hands to tighten or the difficulty of finding parts if it's even worth fixing. You have to decide for yourself, compare features, and look closely at what they can and can't do.

A better option for you might be to consider reconditioned tools. I've always had excellent results with them and never had a problem. I've bought several for myself and dozens for the shop I run from reconditionedsales.com because I've had good luck with Hitachi and Makita. DeWalt and the other big manufacturers have refurbs on cpotools.com and several other sites. I've also purchased Milwaukee and DeWalt tools for the shop from them and we absolutely abuse them. Put reconditioned tools in your search engine and you'll find the rest, but CPO and Tool King, are probably the biggest and the best. You get a professional tool for the cost of Ryobi and I've never gotten one that had more than the tiniest sign of wear. They all come with the original factory warranty, too. I'll probably never buy a new tool again as I've had such great luck with reconditioned ones. Even my Mac Book is reconditioned and I saved something like $300 on it.

Tools are like a lot of things in that you'll get a lot of opinions, few of them informed. Do your own research and find what is going to work with your needs and budget. You didn't ask about battery types, so I didn't offer much information or opinions on the 3 main options.

1

I have been using all types of cordless power tools for many years. GENERALLY 12 and 14.4 volt tools have longer battery life and charge life. I have all 18 volt cuz I beat the snot out of them, I'm thinking about going to 36 volt even. In my opinion, for just around the house, 12 or 14.4 is best. Unless you plan on ripping down multiple 2x4's the long way, or drilling many 3" holes in thick lumber.

I bought a Menard's home center (Midwest only) brand cordless drill. Their house brand is called Tool Shop. It's a 12 volt, and the drill has worked great for years. The batteries will lose most of the charge after sitting for a week or two. So I have to be careful because I don't like picking up a drill that I can't use. I think it may be more of a 12 volt issue, plus the drill is a few years old. Still, it's a great drill that I paid like $30 for. I always have 2 batteries with any cordless product so if in the middle of a job the battery runs low there is always another battery in the charger. Lots of sets come with 2 batteries, and I made sure my drill came with two batteries for this reason.

I have also been looking at Ryobi. I have been thinking about getting a cordless weed trimmer. And, Ryobi has one that is part of their newer Ryobi One Plus lineup. I think they have two One+: one is 18v, and one is 18v and uses lithium ion batteries and costs more. So that's what I was looking at.

http://www.cporyobi.com/ryobi-combo-kits/ryobi-com...

Anyways, the weed trimmer uses the lithion ion:

http://www.cporyobi.com/factory-reconditioned-ryob...

I don't think Ryobi is junk, but I have never used their tools. You may be better off though waiting for Sears to have a big sale on a Craftsman cordless combo. Good luck.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_10153_12605?keyw...

WWW.CPOOUTLETS.COM IS A GOOD PLACE to check for tools if you want to save some money. They had a factory reconditioned Milwaukee 18v lithion ion drill and reciprocating saw with 2 batteries for $250.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/on/demandware.store/Si...

i will tell you right now that if you are using dewalt tools professionally you better stick with them. i bought a rioby set just because the whole box with 3 or 4 tools cost less than one dewalt battery. riobi had to start selling a different battery because the regular ones wont last a year if that long. i agree that dewalt is too high but for every day use you will always be satisfied. i have used cordless dewalt for years in my maintenance business. dewalt needs to put on some promotions especially on their batteries to keep people like us from buying the cheap stuff. riobi is low end home owner tools, but money talks and bullsh** walks, especially nowadays.

I've had a basic multi-tool Ryobi set for nine years and I've been very please. I'm a homeowner and the 18v set I've got is plenty powerful and versatile for me. In nine years I've replaced a couple of batteries, but as they age they do not hold a charge as long as when they're new. The next set of batteries will be their new Lithium Ion batteries because they last longer and will fit my tools. If you're a pro you'd better stick with DeWalt but if you are a weekend project guy like I am the Ryobi will probably do fine.

I've had Milwalkee, Riobi, Dewalt, and Skill.

I always go back to Dewalt as they produce the most torque and the complete battery life seems to be longer.