Ryobi Power Tools from Home Depot

I had the same problem with ryobi cordless drill and shop vac combo from home depot. From my experience, ryobi = junk. You really do get what you pay for. Try to stick with name brands for stuff like that like black & decker, or makita. I'd just chalked it up as experience and ate it.
- Jammin' Jerry Z

I would not call black &Decker a quality tool. It might be better then Ryobi though. I find if it has a cord you can get away with off brand. Especially if you don't use it much. Good tools are usually made by Dewalt, Milwaukee, or Porter Cable. With cordless it is more important, the batteries are the key. Electric motors seem like they are easier for the off brands to make. With the batteries you get what you pay for. I do own many off brand tools, I buy them when I am not sure how much I will use it, or if it is to get one job done. If I find I need it and it takes a crap. Then I buy a Porter Cable, that's my favorite. Just got a new Porter Cable worm drive skill saw with laser and it is awesome. Would love to have there 18 volt cordless drill, but my dam 5 year old Ryobi just keeps going. I guess there is a place for both in the tool market.

I overheard a conversation in the hardware store yesterday, saying Ryobi owns Milwaukee. Who knows, but I told my husband to just junk the stuff and buy Makita. He insisted that lots of people use Ryobi and like them. Like ashultz said, the 5 year old drill just keeps going. But NOT ours. Anyway, thanks for the input. Probably won't bother trying to do anything with them.

One thing to remember with cordless tools is to not leave the batteries in the charger and to run them down before charging. I was told that the batteries last longer if charged in this manner. I've had good luck with Ryobi and at half the price of most of the other name brands I think they are a good value, but if you can afford the others go for it.

I have also had good luck with Ryobi. My hammer drill, circular saw and flashlight have worked fine for over three years. The chainsaw is almost useless though. Just not enough power.

My 14.4 volt Black & Decker cordless though is a piece of junk. Chuck won't hold bits securely, batteries die and can't be charged.

Jim

I herd Ryobi makes Craftsman I never herd the Milwaukee thing. I have seen no facts behind any of it though.

Juanita,
You mentioned that the you have gone thru four chargers. But still using the same battery(s)?
Maybe it is the battery and not the chargers?
A volt meter check on the charger would confirm if it is working or not, they are very simple things.
If the battery(s) are no good, they can ruin a charger.

I have a Ryobi 12volt drill and have had it a few years now.
It is good to run the battery to full dead before recharging. Put a rubber band on the trigger overnight and let her run down to zero.

No problem with our Ryobi tools.

Thanks for the posts. The guys at Gallow Bay agree about running the batteries down, so maybe we've just been doing it wrong. We'll see what happens now.