Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
I was just looking at Comp56 post about the Ryobi combo kit. I happened to be looking at it on the HD site too!
I was wondering what people’s thoughts were on which Brand line to get into for a homeowner. I really am not invested in a cordless line, I have two Craftsmen 18V tools. I have a few things on my short list right now for jobs around the house: Garage Opener Install, Vinyl Fence Install, and in the near future finishing out a basement.
What do you all recommend? The $199 to start with Ryobi seems reasonable, not sure of quality overall. But I know Milwaukee seems to have numerous tools in their lineup that they seem to add too all the time.
Thanks!
I think for a homeowner, you can’t go wrong with Ryobi. There a few members on here the use Ryobi tools and love them. For the money you can’t be them. I have a few Ryobi tools and they work great.
If your looking for some for around the home you can’t beat the price. Considering for $199 for a big kit like that you will pay almost that for each Milwaukee…..justing saying
I had the Ryobi they have decent tools but I couldn’t get the batteries to last my dad had same prob and the batteries almost the same price as all the others. I went with porter cable they have been way more reliable for me. the tools are a lot better quality. but u do have to go to lowes for that lol..
Ryobi has a rather large lineup too. Milwaukee makes great tools and Ryobi(same parent company) does as well but they won’t be nearly as powerful…I’d really weigh how often you’d be using them and how hard you’re going to push them…keep in mind that if you need real power for a specific job, you almost always have the option to buy a use corded for cheap from CL or pawn shops. I am invested in Milwaukee’s lineup but I still have a corded circular saw, I don’t really have a reason to get rid of it and get the m18. I don’t use it a ton and when I do I’m not far from power.
I also did have issues with Ryobi batteries in the past and I don’t trust them but take a look at Kato’s videos, he seems to be doing just fine. I’ve also read plenty of others that haven’t had issues, this tells me it must have been a bad run or series of batteries and some of us just had bad luck.
If I had it to do all over I would go with the Milwaulkee M12 line….. Just about any cordless tool you need.
Thanks guys! I think it was Kato’s video that I was watching where he did a tour of his shop setup. Looked like he had all kinds of Ryobi. I’d say I wouldn’t be pushing the power too hard for my projects, but I will def look into the battery thing a little more.
ya maybe its hit and miss with the batteries it just put that sore taste in my mouth didn’t want to invest anymore with them. good luck to u on ur quest for good tools its rough with soo much to choose from. just wish could get them all lol
Hard to beat Ryobi,ridgid, or even Porter cable for home use and non home use really. when i was looking for cordless to use around the house I knew of all the brands out there. Ryobi,ridgid,and milwaukee share the same parent company. Porter cable is same parent company as dewalt.
Honestly its kind of hard to get a bad tool that wont do the job from any maker,so much is made nowadays of course there is gonna be a lemon or two here and there. Thats just how mass manufacturing is.
I really like the Porter Cable 20v line,plenty of power to do most any jobs around the house,I also use the Bosch 12v line and gotta say the compactness of them is what drew me to those. I too read about Ryobi battery issues,I also think Ryobi suffers from stigma of past issues.
Of course when you come to a site like this and most everyone is a contractor type they are gonna say milwaukee or Dewalt, or makita or whatever their favorite line is You dont really need all that power all the time to get things done,you just need the proper gear in general. in my opinion you should buy into the line that offers the most items that you will use most regularly,and of course you wanna compare the specs. i still use a fair amount of corded tools like drills and such,they never lose power and most of the time with a proper extension cord you are not far from an outlet. Cordless is nice for quick convenience.
Fazzman wrote:
11 minutes ago, Fazzman said:Hard to beat Ryobi,ridgid, or even Porter cable for home use and non home use really. when i was looking for cordless to use around the house I knew of all the brands out there. Ryobi,ridgid,and milwaukee share the same parent company. Porter cable is same parent company as dewalt.
Honestly its kind of hard to get a bad tool that wont do the job from any maker,so much is made nowadays of course there is gonna be a lemon or two here and there. Thats just how mass manufacturing is.
I really like the Porter Cable 20v line,plenty of power to do most any jobs around the house,I also use the Bosch 12v line and gotta say the compactness of them is what drew me to those. I too read about Ryobi battery issues,I also think Ryobi suffers from stigma of past issues.
Of course when you come to a site like this and most everyone is a contractor type they are gonna say milwaukee or Dewalt, or makita or whatever their favorite line is You dont really need all that power all the time to get things done,you just need the proper gear in general. in my opinion you should buy into the line that offers the most items that you will use most regularly,and of course you wanna compare the specs.
i know ridgid and porter cable seam to be geared that way but i am confident taking my porter cable to work daily doing kitchens or building decks. would feel same with ridgid the tools ive used of theres were nice. see them around jobsite more often now days
Yeah i use porter cable out at the shop and at home in the garage. Im a machinist/metal fabricator metal dust/debris can easily kill powertools. I never said anything bad about porter cable,in fact if you ever come across any other posts of mine I suggest them all the time.
They make good tools,and they are fairly priced. The porter cable 20v impact and drill and tigersaw I use all the time,nearly daily.
Still wanna get the PC nailer at some point since i have plenty of batteries.
Like i mentioned i dont get to go to jobsites like you construction guys,wish i could thou just to see whats around. I do know alot of guys here in the Norcal area really like Makita and Dewalt.
if it is not for a trade or for making a living it is economics, I am 100% Milwaukee but also have invested $1000’s vesus $100’s so ya if you don’t need it why pay premium….I used to say get the best it will be worth it in the end but I don’t bother telling people that because they may only use the tool 4 times so what out knowing it best to go with quantity
Fazzman I know u didn’t say anything bad sry if I came off that way. I have seen ur post and see u like the pc 20v line. in my head dewalt, Milwaukee, and Makita are at the top. Ryobi, black and decker, and masterforce are at the bottom Ryobi does have a nice tool selection tho. then ridgid, porter cable, and bosch fall in the middle great diy stuff but good enough to use on the jobsite also. it did take Stanley b&d a lil bit to catch TTI on tool selection but they seam to be narrowing the gap fast.
As these guys have mentioned, you don’t need commercial duty cordless tools. I would like to mention I had Black and Decker tools for years and I built a lot of projects with them. If you take care of your tools the only maintenance items are the batteries. If my batteries were lithium I would still be using them, but I upgraded to Milwaukee. I started with the M18 brushed hammerdrill and impact set with the 3.0 batteries and the power blows away Black and Decker tools. That being said, you only need so much power to get a job done. I bought into the M12 line because I wanted the M12 Hackzall since it was more compact then the M18 and HD had a drill hackzall combo with 2 batteries for $99 so I couldn’t beat it. After that I found a M12 impact kit at a discount store and it really opened my eyes to the M12 line. For most of the jobs I was doing it had more than enough power, until the TIACREW talked me in into buying the M12 Fuel hammerdrill and impact set! The M12 Fuel line has more power then my B&D 18v did by far. For running screws, drilling holes and other misc projects the M12 line is the way to go in my book. I find myself grabbing them over my M18 all the time and the only time I used my M18 recently was to drive 5/16″ x 3.5″ lags. The M12 probably could have, I had it setup with a different bit.
Moral of the story, the 12v lines are not what they used to be and for running deck screws, drywall screws, etc the lighter weight and lower price, you can’t beat it. Plus you can mix and match with brushed and brushless. If you go with Ryobi, Porter Cable, etc get the 18/20v lines, they will work fine for you too. If you want outdoor power equipment too go with Ryobi, I don’t think PC has any OPE and I know Milwaukee doesn’t.
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Bottom line is this: If you want inexpensive tools that will work perfectly, buy Ryobi. If you have tons of money to spend, buy something else. Otherwise there’s little difference. The big brands might have more power, but all drills drill, all impacts impact.
I used Ryobi in the workplace for years, never had an issue. I used Makita drills that broke in half, I’ve used DeWalt drills that have gone through speed selector switches, triggers, bodies. I’ve used Milwaukee saws that broke in half, motors died. I have yet to actually break a Ryobi tool in any way, shape, or form. The brand has been perfect for me, which is why I own so many Ryobi products.
If all you’re gonna do is light/medium-duty stuff at home Ryobi will be perfect because you’re not going to spend a lot of money. It’s also a great brand for the homeowner because you won’t need different batteries for different tools, all of their batteries fit all of their tools. Plus, if you ever do have an issue Ryobi and Home Depot both are easy to deal with, you can get your tool replaced with probably little to no hassle.
But. like the phrase goes: Opinions are like…well, you know. Everyone has an opinion, and that’s all it is, an opinion. You have to choose and use what you think is best for you
Well said. You feel about Ryobi like I feel about Black and Decker 18v line. Cheap and they do the job.
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Wow guys…I never expected this much conversation with my question! I think I really this tool forum thing, glad found TIA on YouTube. Thanks for all the advise. I think I’m taking a trip this evening to have a look at the kit….maybe I’ll come with it…maybe I’ll wait a bit.
CFBush2 wrote:
14 minutes ago, CFBush2 said:Wow guys…I never expected this much conversation with my question! I think I really this tool forum thing, glad found TIA on YouTube. Thanks for all the advise. I think I’m taking a trip this evening to have a look at the kit….maybe I’ll come with it…maybe I’ll wait a bit.
You’ll get that here, we are all tool nuts…..
You definitely won’t be disappointed with Ryobi tools. They have such a verity of tool and lawn equipment too.
The lawn equipment is def a selling point for me. We are moving and the next yard seems to be the perfect size for battery powered OPE.
I too once had ryobi and had battery issues. Went to Porter cable 18 nicad so when it was time to upgrade I went to there parent company dewalt. Porter cable has now gone lithium in a 20 volt line that I hear is very good and very reasonably priced too. I think it is all about batteries and ryobi and Milwaukee have same parent company I’ve seen a lot of problems with Milwaukee batteries too jimbo got one to overheat it looks like in a video driving lags or well one lag. My cousin killed two on a grinder. But others are very happy with both brands. So my dime says look at porter cable before going ryobi. I do like that they have 70+ tools in the ryobi line maybe now they have stuff tweaked out and straight. Just look at what seems to work best for you. I’m sure any choice you make you’ll do a lot of research on. Good luck
From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW
Yea, I’ve been doing research for a while. That Ryobi deal just kinda sparked a little more want/need to figure something out.
That’s a nice graphic Kato!
Granted the ryobi line is great personally I would go and buy ridgid because of the lifetime service agreement but it all depends on your budget
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I can’t comment on warranty, the only tool that failed me was the original “blue” leaf blower, and it was built to fail. Plastic flywheel on a blower…dumb, dumb, dumb idea. It was past any warranty, and they had shit for parts back then. I tried to track down a replacement flywheel, but after a while decided to just ditch it and went with a corded Black&Decker. I had a 1/4 sheet sander that was the subject of a recall. Sent it back and they sent a new one. No problem there, the experience was fine. I have another recall now, with one of their original “blue” drills, which I have two of. They’re boxed up and waiting for FedEx. I expect this recall to go smooth too.
The drills were working fine for me, I never had an issue with either one. But, I’m not going to pass up getting two new ones.
Screw all them brands! It’s all about drill master and its sparking personality, that drill will literally smoke any other drill it comes near!!!
Jimbo
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JimboS1ice wrote:
4 minutes ago, JimboS1ice said:Screw all them brands! It’s all about drill master and its sparking personality, that drill will literally smoke any other drill it comes near!!!
Jimbo
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on the first hole lol
Kato wrote:
3 hours ago, Kato said:I can’t comment on warranty, the only tool that failed me was the original “blue” leaf blower, and it was built to fail. Plastic flywheel on a blower…dumb, dumb, dumb idea. It was past any warranty, and they had shit for parts back then. I tried to track down a replacement flywheel, but after a while decided to just ditch it and went with a corded Black&Decker. I had a 1/4 sheet sander that was the subject of a recall. Sent it back and they sent a new one. No problem there, the experience was fine. I have another recall now, with one of their original “blue” drills, which I have two of. They’re boxed up and waiting for FedEx. I expect this recall to go smooth too.
The drills were working fine for me, I never had an issue with either one. But, I’m not going to pass up getting two new ones.
Yea had the same problem my blower was the green version of the same thing you had except in blue. The fan just up and exploded on me one day. Wasn’t a bad little unit for light yard cleanups after mowing and edging though.
I have M12 and M18 lines.
For the 12s I have fuel drill/driver, impact, and a non-Fuel hackzall. I also have the M12 lantern.
For M18 I have the Gen 1 Fuel combo, and 6.5″ circ saw.
From work I have a Dewalt framing nailer.
At home collecting dust I have a non-Fuel M12 kit.
Im thinking about getting Dewalt for home because of the framing nailer but also because of the outdoor tools. I have a crap mower, a crap weedwacker (that might be blown up), and an ancient corded Bosch hedge clipper that looks okay but I’ve only moved it around the shed.
The nice thing about Dewalt is the outdoor lines. At the same time I’m not sure how the 20V compares to the 40V. I almost think I’d want to go 40V for outdoor.
I really like my Fuel stuff. The only problem I’ve had is shearing the screw that holds the chuck on. **Pro tip… If your drilling something and the bit binds and gets stuck if you just throw it in reverse you’ll likely shear that screw as it’s not rated to take much torque.
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If you are going to say HD to scope stuff out make sure you like how the tools feel in your hand. Comfort while using them can go a long way to liking them more.
In todays tech there’s no room for bad ergonomics imo of course. the PC line has nice grips and balance in my hand.
Fazzman wrote:
If you are going to say HD to scope stuff out make sure you like how the tools feel in your hand. Comfort while using them can go a long way to liking them more.
In todays tech there’s no room for bad ergonomics imo of course. the PC line has nice grips and balance in my hand.
That’s what’s great about PC they share some of the Dewalt style gripping.
JimboS1ice wrote:
33 minutes ago, JimboS1ice said:That’s what’s great about PC they share some of the Dewalt style gripping.
B+D too, PC has a weird texture. I do like the PC drills for a non-professional but their lineup isn’t nearly as big as some of the others. I think B+D’s basic 20V drill is the better choice for the homeowner because B+D has a pretty good lineup for around the house and in the yard…just don’t buy the Autosense! One good thing is it seems that it’s rather easy to modify either the tool or battery to use the Dewalt/B+D/PC batteries in the other lines’ tools. Generally it’s just cutting off a plastic tab, which obviously voids your warranty.
This is virtually the same reason why I think Ryobi is the better TTI brand for the homeowner.
BMack37 wrote:
B+D too, PC has a weird texture. I do like the PC drills for a non-professional but their lineup isn’t nearly as big as some of the others. I think B+D’s basic 20V drill is the better choice for the homeowner because B+D has a pretty good lineup for around the house and in the yard…just don’t buy the Autosense! One good thing is it seems that it’s rather easy to modify either the tool or battery to use the Dewalt/B+D/PC batteries in the other lines’ tools. Generally it’s just cutting off a plastic tab, which obviously voids your warranty.
This is virtually the same reason why I think Ryobi is the better TTI brand for the homeowner.
You mean the black and decker nonsense?