Replacing Battery Powered Ridgid Tools

[tqwrench]

I've come to the end of a very long run on a few battery-powered Ridgid tools I bought new back in 2005, when I first became a homeowner. Even though they had a lifetime warranty, Ridgid no longer supports the 24V Li-ion models I bought back then. Battery assemblies are made of un-obtanium. There's a few refurbish options out there, but between the labor time sink and/or cost, I'm thinking go with something new & modern.

I had the Sawzall, 2-speed Drill, flashlight kit with 2-24V batteries from Ridgid. Now the Sawzall stalls when it hits any kind of high torque. Heck, it's 18 years old, doesn't owe me a dime. The battery just goes right flat.

Milwaukee seems like a good choice. I have Ace Hardware coupons to use, and can also buy at Rural King and get a little kickback. Thoughts?

Not earning a living with this stuff. Should I go to Harbor Freight? Any experiences to share?

[Randy Dupree]

did you check out the ridgid warranty?

[tqwrench]

Originally Posted by Randy Dupree

did you check out the ridgid warranty?

If you mean on the old stuff - yes, the Interwebz tells me they don't support them. Garage Journal guys ran it out. Ridgid gave them the Heisman. Even the original batteries inside the packs cannot be sourced, you have to heavily modify the innards by sliding replacements inside PVC. Looks like a huge time sink. A Chinese gal made a cottage industry of rebuilding them, selling, and shipping from China. Gotta give a gal credit there.

If on the new stuff, yes, looks good. Home Depot carries a bunch. Might have to run that out versus the horror freight equipment or the big upgrade to Milky Way.

[Randy Dupree]

i was thinking new stuff,if you register they have a great warrenty.
I have way too much milkyway to start over now,but....

[golfster]

Take them to Home Depot. Home does the warranty for them. I took one in there and they told me to go pick a replacement. It was that easy.

[Stretch44875]

I'm a Milwaukee guy, but dad has old nicad Milwaukee, old Dewalt, and 19.2 craftsman. With the battery adapters they have now I was able to power all his stuff with Milwaukee M18 lithium.
Being 24v, not much out there, might be adapters from another 24v style tool

[wandermore]

You can also just open them up and replace the cells or rewire it to a more powerful pack. An 18v saw will really get things done when you give it 28v of lithium. I did this in a pinch years ago and it worked perfectly. Just opened the pack, removed the batteries and soldered a pigtail with Anderson connector to the battery case in the inside. Ran it out a hold I drilled. Now I can use literally any batteries in this cheap toolset.

[jberger]

I bought $$$$ of Milwaukee for the guys when we had the business, and they always held up quite well and we could get them fixed locally when they did have issues.

I started buying Ryobi for my house since i knew there would never be a temptation for the guys to borrow them for the field and it's easy to bust them on it since they are bright green.

Before you buy anything, check Direct Tools Outlet and watch for deals, it's not uncommon to get 40-50-60% off the Home Depot price for Milwaukee, Ridgid and Ryobi.

I have been very impressed by the price/performance of the Ryobi gear and it's just a fraction of the price of Milwaukee. Especially if you watch Direct Tools Outlet for deals and the batteries seem to multiply like rabbits since the kits come with so many of them.
They are not robust enough for construction use, everyday, but they are great homeowner tools.

I don't think the Ryobi 18v battery shape would handle a fall from the ladder like the M18's do and the M12 pack is so small and light it's a great for drills and oscillator tools.

It seems like Home Depot has changed the policy on battery replacements with Ridgid, and they want them all mailed in for replacements, at least in my local stores.

[tqwrench]

Lots of good tips in here. Thanks guys. Once I land on a strategy, I'll follow up with what I bought.

[kg4rrx]

Ryobi 18v batteries are also backwards compatible, so brand new batteries will run 15 year old blue drills.