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runtuff · 10-24-2004, 04:40 AM

I've had good luck with the 18Volt Ryobi, so much so I just bought a second set for the barn. Home Depot had a great set fro $169 which included drill, 5 1/4" circular saw, light, vac. and a reciprocating saw all in a carrying case.
I've not had good luck with the Black and Decker or the Craftsman tools. Craftsman stuff continues to slide in both quality and guarantee.
Go witht the 18 Volt.
Incidentally Consumer reports rated the Ryobi cordless drill a best buy in May of this year.

Cordless drills: Power for less Here is a bit from the web site:

"High-voltage power at a low-voltage price is the biggest news at your local cordless-drill aisle. You'll also find faster-charging batteries, stud finders, and other features as marketers refine America's best-selling power tool.

While many 18-volt drills still cost $200 or more, a few CR Best Buys from Ryobi and Skil cost less than some 12-volt models, once the top-selling category. And even the priciest 18-volt drills cost and weigh less than 24-volt models that have recently come and gone, yet offer similar performance.

Better batteries explain some of those gains. While most cordless drills still use nickel-cadmium batteries, a few, including Panasonic, now use nickel-metal-hydride cells, which delivered longer run time in our tests. Less environmental risk is another benefit over nicads, which contain toxic cadmium and must be discarded at designated collection centers.

Other drill brands are stretching conventional battery power in other ways. Some are also adding features that deliver fewer benefits than they imply. Here are the details:

Quick charging at a cost. The Home Depot is marketing a new line of Ridgid drills that offer charging in as little as 20 minutes, rather than the usual 60 minutes or more. One Ridgid model, the 14.4-volt R83015, offers dual-battery charging, letting you run the drill using both batteries back to back, recharge both cells at the same time, then quickly get back to work.

Both new 14.4-volt Ridgid drills we tested lived up to their quick-charge promise. They also had the power of 18-volt drills (we'll judge 18-volt Ridgids in a future report). But the price for that speed and power is relatively little run time per charge, which means you'll have to stop work more often to charge the batteries."

10-24-2004, 04:40 AM	#23 (permalink)
runtuff Crazy	I've had good luck with the 18Volt Ryobi, so much so I just bought a second set for the barn. Home Depot had a great set fro $169 which included drill, 5 1/4" circular saw, light, vac. and a reciprocating saw all in a carrying case. I've not had good luck with the Black and Decker or the Craftsman tools. Craftsman stuff continues to slide in both quality and guarantee. Go witht the 18 Volt. Incidentally Consumer reports rated the Ryobi cordless drill a best buy in May of this year. Cordless drills: Power for less Here is a bit from the web site: "High-voltage power at a low-voltage price is the biggest news at your local cordless-drill aisle. You'll also find faster-charging batteries, stud finders, and other features as marketers refine America's best-selling power tool. While many 18-volt drills still cost $200 or more, a few CR Best Buys from Ryobi and Skil cost less than some 12-volt models, once the top-selling category. And even the priciest 18-volt drills cost and weigh less than 24-volt models that have recently come and gone, yet offer similar performance. Better batteries explain some of those gains. While most cordless drills still use nickel-cadmium batteries, a few, including Panasonic, now use nickel-metal-hydride cells, which delivered longer run time in our tests. Less environmental risk is another benefit over nicads, which contain toxic cadmium and must be discarded at designated collection centers. Other drill brands are stretching conventional battery power in other ways. Some are also adding features that deliver fewer benefits than they imply. Here are the details: Quick charging at a cost. The Home Depot is marketing a new line of Ridgid drills that offer charging in as little as 20 minutes, rather than the usual 60 minutes or more. One Ridgid model, the 14.4-volt R83015, offers dual-battery charging, letting you run the drill using both batteries back to back, recharge both cells at the same time, then quickly get back to work. Both new 14.4-volt Ridgid drills we tested lived up to their quick-charge promise. They also had the power of 18-volt drills (we'll judge 18-volt Ridgids in a future report). But the price for that speed and power is relatively little run time per charge, which means you'll have to stop work more often to charge the batteries."