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Hi All

I have a lot of diy ahead of me in the coming years having bought a bit of a fixer-upper house and although I have a reasonable set of own brand tools, I would like to get something a little better and am looking at the Ryobi One+ range for the flexibility of the unified battery system, the range of tools available and tyhe increase in quality over thelikes of Wickes and Argos tool but also because I don't really have the money or need to be going for full-on trade quality tools.

I'm looking to start small and gradually build up a collection of tools, so have been looking at getting an impact driver, 4Ah batter and a super charger which together is about £160, however I have also seen a starter kit which has a combi hammer drill, impact driver, charger and two 1.3ah batteries and it's only a few quid more at £174 including delivery

I'm wondering which would be the better option part of me thinks having the two batteries and the combi drill would be good, but then another part of me thinks that having the high capacity battery would be more benficial down the line as it would give me the best running tiems etc from some of the more demanding tools like the saws etc.

What do people think would be the better option?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts :)

Get the starter kit...

Upgrade the batteries as and when funds allow.

4ah are around £75
if funds are tight starter kit with 1.3ah
for around £200 you can get 2x4ah and a drill "set"
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That kit is a bit of a bargain way to upgrade batteries and get a tool at the same time, think I will go for the starter kit.

What is the run time like with the smaller capacity batteries?

i would say a 1.3ah will have 25-30% off a 4ah battery
even less on a large draw machine as it will pull the voltage down disproportionately quick on a 1.3ah li-ion causing the battery to cut out to protect the battery

Is it likely to be long enough in the Combi Drill and impact driver for a reasonable amount of time doing something like building a shed or something?

i would use the impact only for say no8/10 greater than 2" or 4.5/5mm by 50mm
you can use it on smaller screws but you need to learn the tricks to avoid problems
i would get both batteries fully charged then assuming its in fairly constant use even if the most used hasnt flattened then every time its not in use for 10 mins put it on charge this assumes they are li-ions and not nicads and you will be working all day but with frequent battery swaps where as 2 x4ah will go all day without faffing about

That sounds pretty workable, think I'll get the kit ordered today.

I can't deny that impact drivers have more end power, but I've never needed one and I doubt any DIYer really does.

They're just noisy toys, imo.

Don't get hung up on having one just for the sake of it, a good cordless driver will do all you need it to with screws.

The main reason I'm interested in an impact driver is because I have a lot of projects planned one of which is to build a big area of decking for which the extra power of the impact driver will make for a much easier build, having seen my friend build his decking without one! :)

yes decking is spot on but you need a hammerdrill/percussion drill long before an impact

ok tools in order
hammer drill
jigsaw
circ saw
buzzy toy
http://www.ryobi-direct.com/ryobi-rmt18 ... 2x13900805
then the impact
where are you based ??

At the moment I have working cheap versions of all of those which, as and when they die, will be replaced with ryobi ones.

is your hammer drill battery??

Yeah, it's not brilliant but does the job most of the time, when it's not enough I have a knackered old corded one that is more powerful, but I'm not sure how much longer that one will last.

Oh and I'm in Maidstone BTW.