Extensive ONE+ review including faults.
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 7:59 pm
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 **
- 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 **
