Ridgid lifetime battery replacement (Home Depot)

[Trell]

You must have been quite popular with the neighbours.

It least I did not drill a hole through the walls to the neighbours.

 

[GO-NAD!]

It least I did not drill a hole through the walls to the neighbours.

That would likely be frowned upon.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...


All in all this seems like a great way to go and I'm thinking about going all in with the $500 kit,
but hoping to have some discussion here before I commit!

Comments/thoughts?

My son has a set of these tools and used them when I visit. I don't like the way it releases the batter from the tool, buttons on the sides. I have a hard time reaching so wide and pressing them.

 

[panteragstk]

I've had the Ryobi tools with lithium batteries for over a decade and they've been pretty much perfect. I can charge the batteries and they won't budge for a year if they go unused. Even if I do use them, they still stay at the same charge level until the battery dies.

Easily one of my best purchases.

 

[Hobbit]

As far as I can tell, Ridgid cordless tools is really Ryobi's premium line (as Lexus is Toyota's premium line).
I don't know if it is a temporary offer or not, but if you go to the Ridgid website and register your tools within 90 days of purchase, you get a lifetime warranty that includes batteries.
As someone who has gone through three to four generations of cordless tools, this is a huge deal - I take good care of my stuff and after ~6 years end up having to replace a perfectly good drill, reciprocating, or circular saw because it makes more sense to buy a new kit than to buy replacement batteries.
I started out buying high quality tools like Bosch, Makita, and Dewalt, but eventually settled for Hitachi and Ryobi after realizing that these tools only needed to last as long as their battery (I'm a homeowner, not a contractor).

Furthermore, through 1/24/18, if you buy this kit:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-Gen5X-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Brushless-Hammer-Drill-and-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-with-2-4-0Ah-Batteries-R9205/206127587

you get you choice of one additional tool free (which includes the 6.5" circular saw, reciprocating saw, boom box, or spare batteries) as indicated just below the price in the link above.

Alternately, you can buy the $500 kit and get to choose two additional tools:


All in all this seems like a great way to go and I'm thinking about going all in with the $500 kit,
but hoping to have some discussion here before I commit!

Comments/thoughts?

After the batteries died on my Ryobi gear, I decided that I don't use my power tools enought to worry about the convienence of having cordless. Therefore, I went old school corded power tools and am much happier. They always work when I need them.

 

[mtrycrafts]

After the batteries died on my Ryobi gear, I decided that I don't use my power tools enought to worry about the convienence of having cordless. Therefore, I went old school corded power tools and am much happier. They always work when I need them.

Until grid goes down. Then you hunt for the generator or the solar batteries kick in.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Even though my Rigid 18V (nicad) drill and 1/4" impact driver set have served me well over the past several years, I wonder what I should do when the batteries eventually die. I haven't seen any, but does anyone know of a corded 1/4" impact driver on the market and how it/they compare with cordless versions, eg. torque ratings and weight?

 

[Trell]

Even though my Rigid 18V (nicad) drill and 1/4" impact driver set have served me well over the past several years, I wonder what I should do when the batteries eventually die. I haven't seen any, but does anyone know of a corded 1/4" impact driver on the market and how it/they compare with cordless versions, eg. torque ratings and weight?

Modern Li-Ion batteries can pack a punch, and then some: Not only have the capacity increased over the years but also the available current as well as a decrease in overall weight. Works fine for my rotary hammer drill when drilling in my apartment I also have an impact driver as well as a drill, all cordless, all of the same brand (Bosch Pro) with the same battery system. The charger can be set to only charge up to 80% or 50%, which is fine for my use as I've multiple batteries.

As with all Li-Ion batteries/cells, they are consumables with a definite life time. To increase the useful life of them you should store not them at full capacity, but more like 50-60% and really avoid draining them, assuming you are not using them in a professional capacity. The quality of the batteries depends on your manufacturer, of course.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Modern Li-Ion batteries can pack a punch, and then some: Not only have the capacity increased over the years but also the available current as well as a decrease in overall weight. Works fine for my rotary hammer drill when drilling in my apartment I also have an impact driver as well as a drill, all cordless, all of the same brand (Bosch Pro) with the same battery system. The charger can be set to only charge up to 80% or 50%, which is fine for my use as I've multiple batteries.

As with all Li-Ion batteries/cells, they are consumables with a definite life time. To increase the useful life of them you should store not them at full capacity, but more like 50-60% and really avoid draining them, assuming you are not using them in a professional capacity. The quality of the batteries depends on your manufacturer, of course.

It's just that over the years I've had my cordless tools, I can't recall a job I've done where I wasn't near an electrical outlet. And, while I certainly appreciate the convenience that cordless provides, there is still the requirement to charge/maintain batteries, as well as their relatively short lifespan. There are still quite a few corded drills on the market, but I can't seem to find any 1/4" corded impact drivers. I wonder if the market just isn't there for such a tool, or if there is any particular performance issue that makes cordless versions better.

 

[Alex2507]

1/4" corded impact drivers

The impact drivers weren't a thing until battery tech was well on its way ... so there never were any.

 

[GO-NAD!]

The impact drivers weren't a thing until battery tech was well on its way ... so there never were any.

Hey, monkeyman! I want my 1/4" corded impact driver!

 

[panteragstk]

Hey, monkeyman! I want my 1/4" corded impact driver!

The impact drivers weren't a thing until battery tech was well on its way ... so there never were any.

Sure they make corded impact drivers, the cord just has air in it...

 

[Alex2507]

Hey, monkeyman! I want my 1/4" corded impact driver!

Sure they make corded impact drivers, the cord just has air in it...

In 1/4"?

 

[Trell]

It's just that over the years I've had my cordless tools, I can't recall a job I've done where I wasn't near an electrical outlet. And, while I certainly appreciate the convenience that cordless provides, there is still the requirement to charge/maintain batteries, as well as their relatively short lifespan. There are still quite a few corded drills on the market, but I can't seem to find any 1/4" corded impact drivers. I wonder if the market just isn't there for such a tool, or if there is any particular performance issue that makes cordless versions better.

For my usage my cordless 1/4" impact driver would be more useful than a corded one for ease of use and access to different places where the cord would be in the way. For my rotary hammer drill a corded one would work just as well as I'm only using it inside, for now at least, but cordless is easier to handle.

I'm pretty pleased with this impact driver made by Bosch for my simple home usage. Works very well for small as well as larger screws/nuts with soft start, adjustable RPM, lights and so on. From added Bluetooth module I can change some settings in the driver as well. Fairly expensive but should last a long time for me.

To hold down expenses my cordless devices are from Bosch Pro series and use the same batteries along with one charger. The charger can be controlled via BlueTooth for access to some functions like charging to 50%, 80% or 100%, normal/turbo charge, status of batteries. The charger is noisy due to the cooling fans, but that helps with the batteries longevity.

GDR 18V-200 C Cordless Impact Driver | Bosch Professional

GDR 18V-200 C Impact wrenches | Excellent power-to-size ratio due to 200 Nm of torque and a head length of 126 mm, Bluetooth Connectivity option for active tool feedback, service information, and additional control, Equipped with a brushless motor with Electronic Motor Protection for high...

www.bosch-professional.com

 

[Trell]

In 1/4"?

There are adapters to 1/4", though.

 

[Alex2507]

For my usage my cordless 1/4" impact driver would be more useful than a corded one for ease of use and access to different places where the cord would be in the way. For my rotary hammer drill a corded one would work just as well as I'm only using it inside, for now at least, but cordless is easier to handle.

I'm pretty pleased with this impact driver made by Bosch for my simple home usage. Works very well for small as well as larger screws/nuts with soft start, adjustable RPM, lights and so on. From added Bluetooth module I can change some settings in the driver as well. Fairly expensive but should last a long time for me.

To hold down expenses my cordless devices are from Bosch Pro series and use the same batteries along with one charger. The charger can be controlled via BlueTooth for access to some functions like charging to 50%, 80% or 100%, normal/turbo charge, status of batteries. The charger is noisy due to the cooling fans, but that helps with the batteries longevity.

GDR 18V-200 C Cordless Impact Driver | Bosch Professional

GDR 18V-200 C Impact wrenches | Excellent power-to-size ratio due to 200 Nm of torque and a head length of 126 mm, Bluetooth Connectivity option for active tool feedback, service information, and additional control, Equipped with a brushless motor with Electronic Motor Protection for high...

www.bosch-professional.com

At work the impacts are preferred due to smaller size/weight but at home in a condo/multi family structure, using a drill for home projects even irritates my g/f less, never mind everybody else.

Your hammer drill must have a drill only setting that you could use to drive screws, right?

There are adapters to 1/4", though.

They probably did have 1/4" air ratchets, I might have even seent one ... but the 80's were a bit of a blur.

 

[Trell]

At work the impacts are preferred due to smaller size/weight but at home in a condo/multi family structure, using a drill for home projects even irritates my g/f less, never mind everybody else.

Your hammer drill must have a drill only setting that you could use to drive screws, right?

Yes it does, and it even comes with two chucks so I can use SDS Plus bits or just normal ones. But the rotary hammer drill is fairly big, so for normal drilling or even driving some screws I use a cordless drill/driver.

With cordless impact driver, drill/driver and a rotary hammer drill I should be set for all the travails in an apartment for a very long time

GSR 18V-110 C Cordless Drill/Driver | Bosch Professional

GSR 18V-110 C Cordless drills/drivers | 110 Nm maximum torque and brushless motor make the tool extremely strong, Full-metal chuck makes drill driver highly durable and capable of handling even the toughest applications on the jobsite, Bluetooth Connectivity option to connect directly to a...

www.bosch-professional.com

 

[Trell]

Earlier this year I donated most of my hand tools that I had acquired over the years as they where of variable quality, getting bad and quite simply too many. This included my old corded drill. Through a friend of my they found a new home with a poor man fallen on hard times due to illness.

New tools where mostly from the German manufacturer www.felo.com
Now I got a nice, but smaller, collection of high quality hand tools that will last for a very long time.

 

[highfigh]

In 1/4"?

1/4" pneumatic impact wrench? Sure- they have made those for decades. The battery type is widely available, too.

 

[Trell]

Below is a picture of my (manly) cordless tools, just for size comparison, along with batteries. The tools are marketed towards professionals but my usage is simple home use in an apartment.

The batteries on the top row is of the same capacity but the newer model is smaller, lighter and can provide more current (got the older one for free). With the newer model much more care has been taken to give better cooling, so they can perform better in high drain situations, and some of the newer cordless devices needs the new batteries to perform maximally (current demand). Improved cooling is useful to extend battery lifetime during charging, especially if one use some kind of "fast-charging".

The rotary hammer drill at top have a drill-only mode but it's not what I'm reaching for when drilling a small hole. The drill/driver at bottom right is mostly used for drilling while the impact driver on bottom left is what I reach for when screws and nuts are involved.

They all have soft-start, which is quite handy for an amateur like me. Both the rotary hammer drill and the drill/driver are powerful and do have kickback-control as a required safety feature for me.

As @Alex2507 wrote above, an impact driver is preferred by professional due to weight/size compared to a drill, which makes totally sense if you use the tool all day long.