Extensive ONE+ review including faults.

[python]

I have

- 2X 2 speed hammer drills.
- drill driver
- impact driver
- angle drill
- jigsaw
- circular saw
- recip saw
- 4" grinder
- radio
- wet/dry vaccum
- light
- caulking gun
- staple gun
- orbital sander
- 6x nicad batterys
- 2x lithium-ion batterys
- 2x nicad charger
- 1x nicad/lithium charger

Here is my overall thoughts after using them allot. I have used exclusively the ONE+ range for nearly two years for every battery tool there is in it. I look after my tools, and I look after my batterys.

As many people here will know, I am always saying the ryobi kit is excellent value for money. That isn't about to change. However, I have recently seen that there is a marked difference between these tools and the higher priced ones.

That being said, I still believe the ryobi are BETTER value for money. My 2speed hammer drill is the oldest piece of kit, and by far the most used, having been used almost every day for 2 years. It is starting to play up (I will describe below), but I can afford to bin it tomorrow, buy another and still be £100 better off than if I'd bought the makita or dewalt equivelant.

I'll now briefly outline my experiance with the kit below -

- 2X 2 speed hammer drills.

These are real workhorses for me. They have done thousands of hours of work for me. One is still going fine, the other sometimes dips in and out of power with the nicad batterys. I have only recently noticed this so don't know if it is a fault with the drill, or with one or two of the specific batteries. It's as if the battery suddenly dies (like a lion), then when I release the trigger and go again the power comes back usually.

As I say, I feel that even if I binned this drill tomorrow, it's more than covered it's value.

Overall, I am very pleased with them. They do all the stuff you'd expect a 18v hammer drill to do.

- drill driver

This is a great, lightweight piece of kit. I won't pretend I use it much, as I tend to opt for the more versatile drill from the back of the van first, and only seem to use this when I'm doing something like plasterboarding a cieling, (where the light weight is good), or when I want several drills set up at once with different bits in, or when I have several people on sight and they all need a drill. I have probably used it for ~100 hours only.

It has always performed whatever task I have asked of it.

- impact driver

This is my favourite piece of kit. I have only had it a few months, but am using it for most driving jobs. I just love it. It is powerfull, and is a great wreight and looks good too.

It has a small led light that points at the target that I originally thought was a bit gimmiky, but I have found it useful on several occasions now. In tandem with the lion batts it's a formidable piece of kit.

I challenge anyone to find something as powerful and seemingly reliable for the $51 it cost me brand new with a warranty (naked).

- angle drill

Again, something I don't use much. It's not the nicest drill to use imo. The lack of tourqe settings is a PITA, and it will destroy screw heads if you're not very careful. That being said, it was £60 (naked), and when I need it, I need it.

I have only used it a handfull of times, maybe 5-7 hours worth of continuous use. It is more suited to putting a spade bit through joists than fitting shelves in tight spaces, but it has done both satisfactoraly for me.

- jigsaw

Has a pointless laser, but other than that I like it. It doesn't kill the batterys too much, and feels nice to use. I have used it on all kinds of things and have found it a good piece of kit. Maybe 200 hours of continuous work. Again this is about 2 years old, and has never let me down. It shows no signs of failing in any way.

The blade drifts off by ~3 degrees, which is what renders the laser pointless, but this has never bothered me as I go with the blade in any case.

- circular saw

Very power hungry. Upgrading to the lion batts is a must if you plan on using this much. The only problem I have had is one time I was using the lion batts on a repeating cycle (basically using the saw non-stop) on some 50mm pine, and the motor started smoking.

To this day I don't know if it was the motor burning out, or some sawdust that got into there. I don't pretend to know how to repair, or diagnose faults with, power tools, so I simply stopped using it instantly and put it outside to cool down. It still works fine, but I am very wary of not using more than 2 lion batt cycles with it without a break as I don't think that it's man enough.

I count this as a fault, although I don't know how other brands would resopond to constant full powered use on 50mm pine for prolonged periods. It's quite possible it's simply me asking too much of it.

All that being said, I'm very happy with it, and the blade that comes with it is excellent and lasts forever too if you look after it.

** continued in next post **

[python]

- recip saw

Another piece of kit I don't very often use. But when I do, nothing else would do.

I am a very big fan of the recip saw. I have found it does more than I expect with 1 battery, but then I had low expectations of the runtime because of the nature of the tool.

I use good blades, which obviously helps. Overall, I am extremely happy with it.

- 4" grinder

This on the other hand, I almost never use. It simply cannot do much cutting because it kills the batterys too quickly. I tend to set up the 110v grinder I have as it's frustrating to keep running out of steam with the ryobi.

I haven't used the lions with it yet, maybe that will make a difference.

It is good if you only have one piece of 8mm threaded bar to cut, or if you need to take the burrs off of some bar that's protruding from the work, and of course it's a godsend in the middle of a field with no power, but I have found it's uses very limited.

- radio

Only picks up FM, so I can't hear radio 5.

Also the reception isn't excellent.

It is useful for depleting batterys.

- wet/dry vaccum

Crap. It has not enough power for any usefull application apart from depleting batterys, which it is goot for as it has an on/off switch rather than a trigger. Since the day I bought it and tried it out, this is the only thing I've used it for.

- light

The florescent light is truly excellent. I only bought it because I saw it for ~£10 on ebay, but it is really good.

I have built stone walls in the dark in the middle of a field with only this for light. As well as obviously using it for lighting confined spaces etc.

Just an excellent piece of kit.

- caulking gun

Takes some getting used to, but the more I use it, the more I like it.

See here for a more comprehensive review - ryobi-one-caulking-gun-t21813.html

- staple gun

Very recent purchase. Seems fine. Nothing special, but it appears to do what it says on the tin.

- orbital sander

Again, excellent piece of kit. Very powerful, very comfortable. Feels a bit heavy, but I don't have anything to compare it to.

Another recent purchase, so I don't have mush to say about it as yet, but it was cheap (<£30 delivered iirc) so it will have to fall apart to not represent value for money.

- plane

Really, really good.

see here for a more extensive review - ryobi-18v-planer-t2949.html

- 6x nicad batterys
- 2x lithium-ion batterys
- 2x nicad charger
- 1x nicad/lithium charger

I'll review these together as I have allot to say, and ufortunately here's where I have some problems.

The lion batterys are excellent firstly. If you are going to wind up with more than a couple of the tools listed above, you need to seriously consider getting the lion batts. It was the equivelant of upgrading every piece of kit in this review. The run-time at full power, the ability to part charge, the fast charging times, the way the batterys hold their charge, it all adds up to less hastle, less worry, more power and more convenience.

However DO NOT CHARGE YOUR NICAD MATTS IN THE LION CHARGER. It will ruin them after a few cycles. The lion chargers are sold as a multi function charger, but don't do it.

Also, my lion charger is currently back with ryobi while they repair/replace it. It simply stopped charging my lion batterys. Watch this space for a customer service report.

The nicad chargers have been reliable, as have the nicad batts. Although 1 is knackered because of the lion charger.

I think it's pretty bad to send something to the market and say it does something, when that something is actually going to damage your property. This is my biggest fault with the Ryobi range - the lion charger.

You can see which charger in my photo in this thread - ryobi-t519-15.html page 2, the one on the right.

________________________________________________________


They are not perfect, but in my opinion they are good, reliable tools. But most of all, they represent value for money that simply cannot be touched.

[ultimatehandyman]

Good honest review, Thanks Python

[Sparky James]

I have '
'
Drill driver

good tool after the rubber bits fell off the chuck


Angle drill

Bloody handy when you need it


Grinder

Just back from repair needed a new armiture after a short while kills batteries but bloody handy for cable tray work.


Impact driver

As good as the hitach I have but bulky


And the new Kid on the block


1+ SDS hammer drill

A bit of a lightweight ok for 5.5 and 7mm drills


Dont own any NICads but have both sizes of Li-ons they work real well and the larger ones have a long discharge time if you not using the grinder.


My company also has 3 of the 24v SDS drills they have been used an abused even being dropped 3m onto the chuck on one occasion and still work a treat a good tool as good as the more expensive brands

[big-all]

i have charged several nicads on the lithium charger without problem
faulty charger perhaps

the point about the saw i would suggest 50/50 use/rest is pretty much full trade use and perhaps 40 on and 60 off would be about right
remember these are diy tools that can tackle most trade jobs

i have a gripe about the jigsaw appart from the same wander the plastic clamp lever is too soft and fairly useless so am assuming a batch issue

the funny thing about the recip saw is the motor is mounted at 90% to the blade just infront off the handle so could probably be shortend by 2 or 3 inches if you remove the pretend motor housing in fron off it

i have the combined staple/pin gun and find it brilliant for light pinning ideal for fixing 9mm v tounge and groove '6mm furniture backs 'upholstering with staples and many light duty internal jobs

wet and dry do you mean the dust buster type or the 2/3rd sized henry hoover type!!

[python]

i have charged several nicads on the lithium charger without problem
faulty charger perhaps

possibly, but not the first time I have heard of this happening.

i have a gripe about the jigsaw appart from the same wander the plastic clamp lever is too soft and fairly useless so am assuming a batch issue

Do you mean the lever that holds the blades?

Mine is fine, although I imagine you have used yours much more.

the funny thing about the recip saw is the motor is mounted at 90% to the blade just infront off the handle so could probably be shortend by 2 or 3 inches if you remove the pretend motor housing in fron off it

yeh, you've mentioned that before. I don't know if it's for ease of handler operation (more leverage/more comfortable) or for extended reach. Either way I think shortening the tool would reduce it's capabilitys. Albeit only marginally.

i have the combined staple/pin gun and find it brilliant for light pinning ideal for fixing 9mm v tounge and groove '6mm furniture backs 'upholstering with staples and many light duty internal jobs

Yes, that's the one I wanted/am going to get. I bought the stapler in error.

wet and dry do you mean the dust buster type or the 2/3rd sized henry hoover type!!

Dustbuster. I assume the henry one isn't ONE+. I have other ryobi tools than those listed here, (like the sds, a drywall gun etc), but these are my ONE+ tools.

[DIY_Johnny]

Thanks python, comprehensive review.

[big-all]

tis a one plus "hoover" brilliant bit off kit narrow enough to sit safely on the stairs

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=146380

[python]

can you still get them al? Ryobi-direct don't have them in their 'Ryobi Wet & Dry Vacs / Extractors' section.' -

http://www.ryobi-direct.com/acatalog/Ry ... _Vacs.html

also no results on ebay.

do you have one? You say it's brilliant. Is it up to domestic hoovering of stairs?

[big-all]

the one i have says specialy made for for homebase
a year ago they where selling them off at homebase for £45 including batteries and charger
i got mine from ebay for around £40 naked
hoovie had 3 he was going to sell on e bay about a year ago dont know how that went!!!

i would probably rate as 60 to 80% as a normal vacuum you get a full 8 part plastic hose set it does an excelent job
the only place its let down slightly is the tools are a bit plasticy but well worth £50 ish in my humble opinion

[big-all]

one there now python you could try them direct they are fairly good

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