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SOAK: Ryobi Cordless Drill Blues
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Posted by: ehopper

About a year ago, we bought a (cheap) Ryobi cordless drill (7.2 Volts). It was about $35.

Well, the battery soon started failing to charge (after just a few cycles). Flash forward a year, we need the drill again. We went to Home Depot (which the Lowes guys say is the exclusive Ryobi outlet, at least for that model) and looked for a replacement battery. It was $23!!! Well, we decided not to throw good money after bad and used our old cordless drill instead.

Advice please on cordless drills in general, and with particular attention to the staying power of their batteries. Can I find an inexpensive cordless drill for occasional minor projects around the house without spending more than, say, $50? Will the battery recharge reliably? Are these drills equipped to avert overcharging?

Posted by: packerfan

If you are looking to spend apprx $50, I would go w/ the black and decker 14.4 volt. I bought mine for almost twice that 3 yrs ago, but it seems that they have gone down substantially in price.

Posted by: Philosofy

The lowest quality name brands are Ryobi and Black and Decker. I've had some bad luck with B&D cordless screwdrivers. DeWalt is the same manufacturer as B&D, but different quality. Kind of like Honda and Accura. For reliability, go for Porter Cable, DeWalt, Delta, Milwaukee.

Posted by: avaloncourt

I'm quite pleased with my DeWalt but I don't know what their lower cost drills are like. I think mine was $250.

Posted by: randyf

Black & Decker > Firestorm > Quantum Pro > De Walt is the order of quality for the B&D stuff.

My buddy bought a Quantum Pro from the B&D outlet store, and has been pretty happy with it.

For light, occasional use though, the B&D will probably be just fine for you, and you can get batteries ANYWHERE for them..

Posted by: bgreen5

quote:
Originally posted by ehopper
About a year ago, we bought a (cheap) Ryobi cordless drill (7.2 Volts). It was about $35.
...
We went to Home Depot (which the Lowes guys say is the exclusive Ryobi outlet, at least for that model) and looked for a replacement battery. It was $23!!!

Did the Home Depot droid not point you to the sale on the Ryobi 7.2V drill kit?

It's only $25 with bit set (including battery pack and charger).

I've got an 18V Ryobi that kicks butt. Never had any problems with the drill or batteries in 5 years I've had it.

(btw, I wonder if it's your battery or the charger that went bad?)

Posted by: Saturn

I swear by my Porter Cable 14.4V drill. But it wasn't cheap.

Posted by: ehopper

quote:
Originally posted by bgreen5
(btw, I wonder if it's your battery or the charger that went bad?)

There was no real charger, just a wall wart.

Posted by: doom1701

Sounds like bgreen has the way to go, but if you're looking for other brands, I have liked my B&D versapack tools. The standard batteries don't last forever (although I've had a couple for 5+ years now, and they still hold a charge), but the gold batteries that you can buy for them seem to last forever.

Posted by: Darin

I have to wonder if either the Ryobi batteries are sub-par, or if it's the fact that their standard chargers are not regulated (at least I'm assuming they aren't). I have an old makita 9.6v cordless drill that is still ticking after 10 years (even it's three batteries, which I've had the entire time). The charger died a few years ago, which I replaced. I have a Ryobi 12v hedge trimmer, and the battery died after a couple of years. Home Depot had a 12v Ryobi drill kit that came with two batteries, a charger, and a drill, for about $50. One 12v battery alone was something between $30-40 so I got the kit. I'm being much more careful about how it's getting charged. Ryobi does sell a better charger (that turns off after the battery is charged, like my Makita does), but it's not what came with the drill or the trimmer.

Posted by: ehopper

I do think the charger is the big issue. What amazes me, however, in this error of "too many lawyers" is that there is not a disclaimer on this drill or on other, similar products, cautioning people against overcharging the batteries.

I know my wife left the drill plugged in for days, and that's what toasted the battery, but, at the same time, one reason she did that was the absence of any caution against it. I can't think of how many dust-busters, cordless brooms and so on we have tossed because of that.

Posted by: LiveBlues

I have a Craftsman 14.4 that I got almost 3 years ago for $99. It came with 2 batteries and a flashlight that takes the batteries too. The flashlight has come in handy many times with power outages, and the drill kicks butt. The batteries hold their charge well. I believe the price has come down on them considerable as the more powerful drills have come out since.

Posted by: steuert

I bought two B&D drills when their factory store here went out of business a couple of years ago.

I have one of their VersaPak drills - takes 2-3.6 volt batteries. I bought 4 of the gold batteries, and keep them in the charger all the time. When I want to use the drill, I put the batteries in it, so I always have fresh batteries, and if I use up one pair I can pop in another. However, these batteries are getting expensive and hard to find - I'm not sure B&D is whole-heartedly supporting the VersaPak line currently.

The other drill I bought was a B&D Firestorm 12v, with two batteries. It is of course MUCH more powerful than the 7.2v VersaPak drill, and the batteries seem to last much longer in normal use.

If I were buying a new drill I would look for a 12v+ drill with charger and two batteries, which you should be able to find for $50 or so. I suspect low-voltage batteries are inherently more troublesome than higher voltage units. IMHO, brand probably doesn't really make much difference unless you will be using the drill commercially. B&D, Sears, Ryobi, or Makita should be OK. Harbor Freight carries some very cheap tools; they are made in China (despite names like "Chicago") and are a little rough around the edges, but usually work OK.