rigid battery drills

[SeaKan]

home depot has a 189 drill for 99. 18 volt. the brand is rigid. is that a good brand or is ryobi better? my bandecker is dying.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Ryobi is crap, IMO. The Ridgid drills are fairly new in the market but are supposed to be OK. Check the warranty as they were offering a lifetime, including batteries, for a while and that would make it a good deal.

I'll put my Panasonic 15.6 V up against most any 18V drill on the market and have more power and less weight.

[Bernie Hunt]

Ridgid is made by the same folks as Milwaukee. Ridgid is targeted at the mid level pros and high level home owners. I own a couple of their tools and have been quite pleased with them. I would definately talk a Ridgid over a Ryobi.

Bernie

[buffalobill]

makita 12 volt is my favorite. watch the weight on those 18 volt models.

[larry moe 'n curly]

The Dec. 2005 Consumer Reports has a review of cordless drills and gave the 12V, 14V, and 18V Ridgids top marks for speed and battery charging time. The 18V and one of the 14V models 9R83015) were also rated above-average for torque. However the 14V and 12V models were below average in battery run time.

The 18V Ryobi ranked slightly below the lower voltage Ridgids, overall, but Home Depot currently offers for just $29.97 (only one battery pack).

OTOH how can you beat the Ridgid lifetime warranty, especially when it includes the batteries?

BTW, that CR review includes a look at the Milwaukee 28V drill, but three samples failed a test where 3" lag screws were driven. The motor in one failed, while in two others solder joints melted. CR said that four other, cheaper drills made it through the same test without trouble.

[Sacramento Dave]

I always thought Ridged was Black and Decker, I know there Vacuums were the same as crapsman at one time. Most the ridged stuff I've checked out I'm not to impressed with. I have a 9.6 Makita the batteries don't seem to last very long. Now I bought a 14V Dewalt the drill has plenty of power. But I notice the batteries are not holding a charge very long. I was told they will take 1200 charges I'm not even close. I have used the 12V Makita it a really nice drill. I also have heard the Panasonic is very good. That might be next one. I'm going to wait I heard that skill is working on a new designee. It is based on a central power supply the draw back is there will be a line from the drill or tool that hooks to the power supply. The article also says there working a secondary line that can be chained to extend working distance. (That sounds a little high Tec for average user) They hope to be in production by Mid Summer. Think about it, no need for over priced batteries or after one screw saying oh crap

[Bernie Hunt]

Nope, Rigid, Mlwaukee and Ryobi are all made by Techtonic Industries. Here is the NA website;

Here is their corporate web, Their sites don't talk about Rigid because it's a private label deal to put the Rigid name on their power tools. If you are at a woodworking show and see Rigid there, ask one of the reps. They all work for TTI.

Bernie

[Jeff]

One thing to check on battery power tools is type of battery. Newer better tools use Ni-metal hydride batteries. These don't have memory effects and are higher capacity than older Ni-Cd batteries. IMHO a 12 volt drill is adequate. Extra power equals extra weight for little gain. I can drive 50

3" deck screws with my Makita before needing to switch batteries. Charging takes about an hour.

[Bob]

back is there will

supply. The article

chained to extend

average user) They hope

for over priced

I would just buy a plug in drill. They recently invented a way to operate them a distance from the power outlet. If I remember correctly, it's called an "extension cord". The drills are way more powerful and dependable than any battery drill.

Bob

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That sounds fantastic. You can have a nuclear powered drill that way.

I'm hoping they come out with a phone that can be wired to one spot so I won't misplace it al the time. The advances in technology are just astounding.

[Sacramento Dave]

So someone beat Skill to the bunch? Probably corporate espionage . I wonder who will come out with a Black & White TV

[spudnuty]

I also like the Makita but I'm still with the 9.6 V model. I've only broken one driving a series of 6" lag screws with it. They've survived any number of nasty falls. I like the light weight of these models and with my recently acquired right angle driver (30% discount) I've got 4 now. I've also refurbished many junked batteries and now have 12 working. The newer trend will probably be LiPolys, very light and powerful.

[CBHVAC]

Milwaukees Lifetime warranty before they sold out. Thats how..LOL Ridgid drills are made in China. Only thing that carries the Ridgid name now thats worth a damn is the pipefitting tools that are still made in Ohio.

Milwaukee is now total and complete shit. Ryobis on the inside..

Bosch is what we are using, along side the older Milwaukees.... Id use Panasonic, but cant find them in this area.

[do_not_spam_me]

About the only way to get 1200 charge cycles is by keeping the cells cool (drilling several small vent holes in the pack can help greatly, not charging them until they've fully cooled down, and frequently checking for reversed cells. Otherwise the lifespan is more likely to be 100-500 cycles.

Some people make a remote battery pack that fits on the belt by taking the body of an old pack. This allows using D cells with over twice the capacity of the C or sub-C cells normally found in tool batteries. But don't connect this to a charger that monitors battery temperature directly, rather than through a thermistor built into the battery, or the cells will overcharge.

I'd buy nothing but Panasonic drills if the batteries weren't so expensive and hard to find.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

You can have them rebuilt for less.

[do_not_spam_me]

All new cells or only the dead cells get replaced?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

15.6 volt is $61.00 for 3300 mAh nihm In most cases, they are better than factory original.

[patrick mitchel]

Depends on how much you use the drill, how cheap you are and whether ya want a dependable drill. I fit the "cheap" category and replaced the defective cells. If I were to do it over (and I have on a bunch on makita

9.6 stick batteries), I'd get all new cells. The problem with replacing only the defective one is there's probably several cells that are weaker. When you add a new one, and try to use the drill , you end up with a cell that's going to quit the job before the rest. I tend to keep using the drill at a reduced pressure and speed to still get the job done. The result will potentially be another cell going flat and possibly taking a reverse charge from the interconnected nature of the pack. There are services (like the rc electric guys would use) that match the cells for output- you'd get the max out of that pack. I use the battery packs as power for a homemade bicycle lights. Works fine but the lights will often dim on the night rides (hence the need for a 2nd pack to change out along the ride). Now if I had bought some GOOD cells (the stocks were nicads of 1500mah) or upgraded with newer nimhs (upwards of 3000mah for the same size), I'd probaly be happier if lighter in the well used wallet, but defeating the cheap bugger in my nature is trying at times. Pat