Ryobi 18V tools OK but not heavy duty.

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  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    Ryobi 18V tools OK but not heavy duty.

    I just posted a thread concerning the installing of a privacy fence for my daughter in Ozark, MO.
    Last week, I spent most of the week at my daughter's house in Ozark, MO (10 miles from Springfield) putting up approximately 70 ft of privacy fence for my daughter. She has privacy fence around three sides but chain link to the house from both sides. With 3 large dogs, they bark when anyone walks on the sidewalk, so my daughter


    I took about a dozen of my Ryobi 18V tools to use while there, putting up about 70 ft of 6ft high privacy panel fencing. The brushless Impact driver works well and so does the 18V drill. But I found out that the Ryobi 18V, while good for general maintenance around a house, it does lack the power for day to day hard work. I have an 18V grinder that I needed to use several times, and while I have never rushed it at my home shop, I was pushing it when building the fence - cutting off 4 chain link fence posts that would not come up out of the ground with a post puller. The 18V grinder bogged down several times as I pushed it. I have the brushless 18V 7 1/4 circular saw also, when cutting wet 2x4s, the saw would not take pushing it. It would bog down. I pushed it as though I was working at a construction site - because I needed to get the job done on a schedule. I have an 18V impact wrench and that too bogged down more than I would have expected on tight fittings.

    Basically, I have used all of these tools at home when I take my time. They work fine for me like that. But when putting through the paces like at a construction site and on a deadline, they don't have the power. I am too old to change brands, but if any of you are in your 50's, or younger, go with Dewalt or Milwaukee or another good heavy duty brand.

    The Ryobi is good for small home shops but not for construction type of deadlines. I did not force or rush any more than I would have with corded tools, but the 18V just does not have the power that I have sen with Milwaukee and Dewalt.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    #2
    I have 18v tools by Festool, DeWalt and Ridgid, and the Ridgid impact driver, hammer drill and regular drill compete well with the DeWalt versions of the same tools. My son in law says the Festool drill must be charged with devil magic because the battery just never runs out.

    The only Ryobi tools I have left are a string trimmer and edger, both 40v.
    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.

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    • Carlos
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 1893
      • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

      #3
      You're never too old to change brands.

      But yeah, in 2013 I switched from all B&D tools (probably equivalent to Ryobi) to Dewalt lithium 12v/20v and never looked back. Even with big jobs I cannot kill the batteries or tools. Other than the grinder, which uses a lot of power, and I have had projects where it needs to be used for hours.

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      • Jim Frye
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2002
        • 1051
        • Maumee, OH, USA.
        • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

        #4
        I have about two dozen Ryobi One+ 18 volt tools that date as far back as the late 1990s (blue/yellow). Yes, I use them for home use, not trades work, but I have yet to have one fail. The 1/2" two speed "pro" drill and the impact driver have been used at least weekly, if not daily, and the circular saw has been heavily used. The saw performance improved dramatically by installing carbide blades on it. Ive built a couple of decks and a privacy fence all around our yard with them and used the reciprocating saw to tear one down and to cut a large maple tree down. I have gone through a half dozen NiCad batteries and rebuilding them each once before switching to a half dozen LiOn One+ batteries. The only tool I have found to be wanting is the nailer/stapler. It is really pretty gutless and jams easily. I recently replaced my old TroyBilt 4 stroke string trimmer head with a Ryobi 40 volt brushless head so I could use all of the TrimmerPlus and ExpandIt accessories I've accumulated over the decades. It works just as good as the gas trimmer. I can even till my garden with it.
        Jim Frye
        The Nut in the Cellar.
        ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

        Comment

        • leehljp
          Just me
          • Dec 2002
          • 8429
          • Tunica, MS
          • BT3000/3100

          #5
          Jim,

          I have not had problem with my Ryobi 18V overall and really appreciate the fact that with 9 batteries I can use 20 plus tools for hours on end. I too started with the blue/yellow tools but when the lithium green came out, I began buying them and giving my old blue/yellow to son-in-laws and grandsons along with a lithium battery for longer life.

          My problem with the Ryobi came when I was time limited in building the privacy fence, and I suddenly had to revert to (for me) a 50 - 40 year ago mode of "construction site" mentality of getting the job done. By that I mean - not carelessly rushing, but at the same time not in a "retirement mode - take your time" attitude. The Ryobi tools have been excellent for the "retirement mode" of not pushing it to the limits such as in a" time constraints mode of job site" work,- but, when I did enter the "construction site" mode with the time constraints, the Ryobi battery powered tools were pushed to the limits. I would have greatly benefited from my older corded tools, but I also feel that the heavier duty Milwaukee -Dewalt- Bosche-Makita may have delivered the extra power of what I was demanding in that specific situation.

          There is a difference in Home-Workshop tools and Construction site tools. Ryobi fits the home-workshop to the "T". But it is pushing it, IMO for Ryobi 18V to be used in a "construction site" type of work for a week or more, or in an every day all day job when "time is money".

          I don't see myself getting in that situation again on time constraints, so the Ryobi will continue to do just fine. IF I DO get into a time constraint again, I will just take my corded tools and a bunch of HD extension cords. My battery powered Ryobi will be the assistants.
          Last edited by leehljp; 08-02-2021, 05:43 PM.
          Hank Lee

          Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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