Ridgid cordless tools | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ridgid cordless tools

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Does anybody have experience getting a battery replacement under their lifetime warranty?
I'm looking to replace my old cordless drill and really like the idea of lifetime battery supply. I don't use mine that often and pretty much all my batteries die from idle old age than over use.
At least my corded tools all work when it take them out.
 
You have to register the tools when you purchase them, failure to do this and no battery for you. You also have to keep the original reciept.

hint; its a thermo printer reciept that will fade out in about a year, photocopy it so you have a reciept.

you also have to go to an authorized repair center where they determine if your battery is pooched, check online how far you may need to travel.

Their battery technology in Li-ion isn't the greatest, but you can get a free new battery.
 
Watch for the definition of lifetime. I bought a clamp on ammeter from a major manufacturer and it had a lifetime guaranty.

In the fine print lifetime was defined as a normal working life expectancy for the particular type of tool.
 
Watch for the definition of lifetime. I bought a clamp on ammeter from a major manufacturer and it had a lifetime guaranty.

In the fine print lifetime was defined as a normal working life expectancy for the particular type of tool.
Even the best brands are sketchy with their battery warranties. I've got a set of the brushless Makita drills and the batteries pooched within 100 hours ( 1 year) of use. They wouldn't replace them under warranty due to them being stored in my car where it reaches less than 32F. Santa was nice this year with 2 new batteries and a dual bank charger though!
 
I wouldn't pick tools based on lifetime battery warranty. Pick the ecosystem that has the tools you want. Ridgid does have some cool tools so I'm not saying it's a bad colour for everybody, but I would pick red blue or yellow before orange. In the past I was all yellow but too many failed gearboxes pushed me to red. I've had great luck with them. The oldest stuff is over 5 years old and all the batteries are still working reasonably well (~a half dozen 12V and about the same 18V). They don't get used daily anymore, but they go through a big project every few years without complaining.

I think everyone is just using 18650's in their battery packs now. It's not hard to replace them yourself.

Look hard at 12V before you buy 18V. 12V has come a long long way (the cheap stuff is roughly equivalent to the best 18V stuff 20 years ago). If you are just thinking drill/driver and impact and aren't planning on buying things like cordless circular saws 18V has way more disadvantages than advantages. Just for reference, using a 12V right angle drill (https://www.amazon.ca/Milwaukee-12-Volt-8-Inch-Cordless-2415-20/dp/B002SQK996) I was able to auger 1" holes through pressure treated joists. I thought for sure it would either completely give up or grenade but it's still kicking (many many holes later).
 
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I wont speak for the OP, but if his batteries are pooching out from sitting in a drawer for years, reb/blue/yellow wont really help. Buying higher end equipment may mean better tools but cycling the batteries are what they like, the search for faster charge/longer life has lead to batteries that don't sit around well.
I have 20yr old Makita stick batteries around here that still work (7.2, 9.6V), 5yr old Dewalt looking to go to the recycler , and a 50lb box of chinese product batteries that are from 5yrs old to brand new, about to be recycled.

Unless you make a living with tools , shop value for you.
 
In the fine print lifetime was defined as a normal working life expectancy for the particular type of tool.

I keep pulling this one out to use now b/c the cordless ones are dead. It's light and right sized for most of the small jobs around the house. Old tools don't wear out, people just want the NEW shiny one.

I've gone thru most of the main colors in the rainbow and they all ended up the same way. Tool is still good, battery pooched. I'm nowhere near 100 hrs runtime in a year on batteryIMG_3884.JPG. Maybe 2~3 hrs /yr. Just putting holes in walls, assemble/disassemble furniture, etc.

I also have traditionally powered tools for the bigger jobs that come about very infrequently.
 
^ yup
a decent quality 110V corded drill still has a place for me
if you gotta drive a bunch of long screws - like for a deck
battery powered stuff wastes time
 
I'm still using a 50 year old Milwaukee corded screwgun, so I can't add anything to this conversation.
 
You have to register the tools when you purchase them, ..... you also have to go to an authorized repair center where they determine if your battery is pooched

Home Depot(s) are the repair centres now. And yes you do have to register them (online) within the original 2-3 year warranty.

I bought a dual-drill set in 2007 and just went through my 2nd round of battery replacements, no issues and no charge.
 
This experience was what I was looking for. So now you can just go to HD to trade-in for a new battery. Sounds good! Ridgid's service center in Mississauga is not too far from me either.
 
A buddy of mine has Ridgid tools and has got a few batteries swapped out. For him it was a smooth process, and tried pushing me to buy them though I went with Milwaukee. I don't see the battery lifetime warranty as a plus as by the time most of my batteries start to die, their ecosystem and batteries will have changed and I would have had to buy all new tools anyways.

My dad has had Ryobi 18V stuff for about 10 years now. NiCd batteries from 10 years ago are long gone, but the lithium ones have held up well. We've built more sheds, garages, decks, walls, and done more home renos than you can shake a stick at with them. Really good tools for the price, and one of the most diverse tool line-ups out there.

I have Milwaukee M12 stuff. Really like them for their more automotive oriented tool line-up and lightweight. Depends on what you're doing with them, I'd say stick with 18 or 20V. Biggest issue with the M12 drills and drivers is that they are super easy to stall out. You'd never drive a 2.5" wood screw into a 2x4, or drill a hole through one to run a wire through it, they just don't have the power. I'm going to grab some M18 FUEL stuff next time its on sale, but if you don't use them much they are just way to much money.

I hate corded tools with a passion. Anything without an electric brake is useless to me, and it's very uncommon to get a corded tool with a brake.
 
cordless impact driver if your putting in screws, that drill/driver is a better drill, the drivers with the hex shank chuck are a builders dream.

A lot of my side hustle work is done where corded drills are just not practical or safe. I have boxes of Ryobi stuff because it never gets stolen. And it works OK , if a little heavy.
 
I have a bunch of Ridgid cordless stuff, and I'm very happy with all of it. It all works very well. Truthfully though, the only reason I went with Ridgid was because I got a steal of a deal on the first few drills/batteries that was too good to pass up. If that hadn't been the case I think I would have gone with Dewalt or Milwaukee because they are much more readily available. Warranties are nice, but when you're trying to get something done it's better to have a replacement available from almost anywhere so you can complete the job. The warranty replacement comes later. Ridgid being only available at Home Despot can be a problem, while Dewalt and Milwaukee are found almost everywhere.
 
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Biggest issue with the M12 drills and drivers is that they are super easy to stall out. You'd never drive a 2.5" wood screw into a 2x4, or drill a hole through one to run a wire through it, they just don't have the power.

Something is seriously wrong with your drill. Do you have the screwdriver one? https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....dless-14-inch-hex-screwdriver.1000492168.html It has half the torque of the proper drills. It still doesn't make sense though. The right angle drill only has 100 in-lbs and can easily drive deck screws (it does stall occasionally with a 3/4" auger bit).
 
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Something is seriously wrong with your drill. Do you have the screwdriver looking one? https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....dless-14-inch-hex-screwdriver.1000492168.html

Yeah I have the exact one. Nothing wrong with the screwdriver. I did just put a screw through a 2x4 right now, so I'm not sure what I was doing before, but I did stall it out putting some sort of screw into a 2x4. If it wasn't covered up by drywall now I'd be able to tell you. Works great for drywall screws though.

I got the drill to smoke when I tried to use a 5/8" spade bit through a 2x4. It doesn't have enough torque to do it, so it kept jamming up. 4 or 5 times in a row and it smoked a bit. Still works now though. And just last week I needed a precise hole in some sheet metal so I put a 8mm drillbit it in and it kept jamming up on the bur on the other side of the hole. No smoke that time though, just heat. https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.38-inch-m12-hammer-drilldriver-kit.1000736180.html
 
The tech including batteries is marching on .... whether the tool will work or not or battery is still replaceable under warranty is really irrelevant for most, because you end up buying a new combo for 149.99 with two new batteries packing more power than the last combo had ...... Nothing is made anymore to last anyways, not in the prosumer grade anyway. It just doesn't make sense, because it's not a shoe or hand planner.
 
I got the drill to smoke when I tried to use a 5/8" spade bit through a 2x4. It doesn't have enough torque to do it, so it kept jamming up. 4 or 5 times in a row and it smoked a bit. Still works now though. And just last week I needed a precise hole in some sheet metal so I put a 8mm drillbit it in and it kept jamming up on the bur on the other side of the hole. No smoke that time though, just heat. https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.38-inch-m12-hammer-drilldriver-kit.1000736180.html

It's 12V piddly toy .... Milwaukee or not, 12V is 12V ... I'd use it to drill holes for shelves in my cabinet, as far as I'd go .... 8mm hole into sheet metal? Don't think so ...
 
That M12 linked above is a lightweight screwdriver, rated at 100 inch pounds. It's not a drill, so you're probably using it outside of its intended design. The 3/8th M12 drill that I've got is rated at 275 inch pounds and it works great, and there's a brushless M12 drill rated at 325 inch pounds if you need more. But if I'm driving screws into lumber I use the M12 impact driver. Love that thing!

The energy density of the lithium battery packs continues to get better and better. The cheapo batteries that came with my drill and impact driver kit were 1.5 A/hr each, but they now have 3.0 A/hr batteries in the same compact form factor, or up to 6.0 A/hr in the larger extended form factor.
 

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