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YACordlessToolThread

Lately I've been considering switching from Craftsman C3 to Ryobi One+ tools. The very idea is somewhat painful because I'm so invested in Craftsman C3 tools. 15+ tools plus batteries and a 4-battery charging/maintenance station.

I'm actually quite happy with the tools I have, no complains and it all works great. So what's the issue you ask? It appears the Craftsman C3 line is being abandoned or perhaps just neglected now that Sears sold Craftsman. Some tools I wanted are no longer available. There are other cordless tools made by other companies that just never made it to the C3 line. Add in the fact that stores that carry them (Sears/Kmart) are few and far between and soon to be no more.

My first thought, Ryobi one+ and Craftsman C3 are for the most part the same. Different color plastic, and batteries that are just barely different enough not to be interchangeable (fawkers). As much as I hate the idea of adding a second set of batteries and tools, at least Ryobi is reasonably priced. It also appears they have quite a bit more tools than the C3 line.

Before I start buying tools, anything else in the similar price range I should be looking at? Any new tool lines on the horizon?
 

JLS

JUOT Refugee
VIP
I like my DeWalt drill, trimmer, and leaf blower. 20V versions, didn't want to spend the $$ on the 60V variety.
 

BobKid

Bite me!
VIP
Decide exactly which tools you'll end up needing, and then narrow your search down to only those lines that have all the tools. Some lines were missing some of the tools I was going to need and I had to spend a lot of time searching to narrow it down.
 

miwico

Stalker of Brock
VIP
If you're creative you can do much more with these batteries. I made a simple device that takes the 18vdc battery and outputs about 14.6vdc for running things like my portable fridge, inverters, etc. It's kind of like a universal power supply. It has an SAE plug, already used it to jump my MC among other things. I just used an old charging base.
 

Ralph

VIP
Do it. I'm all about the Ryobi One+ stuff.

Craftsman has always been about the lowest bidder in cordless tools. ****ing things change every couple years when they get the bug up their ass to change vendors.
 
I do like the DeWalt stuff, but I just don't know if I want to spend the extra money. While I'd eventually want to replace all my existing tools and be back to one battery tech, my short term purchases would be:

sliding compound miter saw
edger - not string trimmer, an actual metal bladed edger.
sander - I'm torn between belt and "mouse" corner style.

As far as tools I already have, for the most part they are standard tools that all the major brands have versions of. Tools that may be harder to replace depending on who I ultimately go with are my wet/dry shop vac and my tire inflator.
 
Do it. I'm all about the Ryobi One+ stuff.

Craftsman has always been about the lowest bidder in cordless tools. ****ing things change every couple years when they get the bug up their ass to change vendors.
I've actually been quite happy with my craftsman C3 stuff. Too bad they seem to be discontinuing products and not bringing new ones out. It just seems like being owned by failing Sears, then Sears being bought by Kmart and now the Craftsman brand being sold to Stanley Black & Decker has just killed innovation and less popular or profitable tools. Their 20v stuff was a flop, not sure why they'd even try that when the C3 stuff was already (claimed) 19.2V. Then again, in addition to the 18v One+ line, Ryobi has a 24v line, a 40V line and are now expanding the 18V one+ line to include 36V one+one tools (2 18v batteries).

I hear a lot of "Ryobi is cheap" type comments, people saying the shit falls apart and such, but it seems like those are all from people who own the expensive "professional" brands and don't actually own or use Ryobi tools. No question, if I needed these for professional work I'd be looking at DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee or possibly Ridgid. Ridgid actually started as an early favorite until I found out they have zero lawn tools.

At this point I've almost committed to Ryobi, but I thought I'd throw it out for discussion, give you guys a chance to sway me. For all I know Ryobi is on the edge of bankruptcy or about to abandon their one+ line, or Lowes is about to release 50 new tools in their Kobalt 24v line, or maybe Craftsman C3 is about to come storming back.. None of these seem likely, Ryobi appears to have great bang for the buck, and they certainly have a huge line of tools that cover pretty much everything I want.
 

miwico

Stalker of Brock
VIP
I've used all the brands, sure the Milwaukee is just nicer but the equivalent tool is 3 or 4 times as much and still made in S.E. Asia.
 

miwico

Stalker of Brock
VIP
If you're creative you can do much more with these batteries. I made a simple device that takes the 18vdc battery and outputs about 14.6vdc for running things like my portable fridge, inverters, etc. It's kind of like a universal power supply. It has an SAE plug, already used it to jump my MC among other things. I just used an old charging base.


Turned into this. Works amazingly well and for many things .
 

frank_c

lost in the jet stream
VIP
If you're creative you can do much more with these batteries. I made a simple device that takes the 18vdc battery and outputs about 14.6vdc for running things like my portable fridge, inverters, etc. It's kind of like a universal power supply. It has an SAE plug, already used it to jump my MC among other things. I just used an old charging base.
I didn't think of that. I have an old charger I could mod. I bought one of the cheap "power meters" with the intention of modding it to run the DSL modem during an outage. Or really anything that needs 5 to 12 VDC.

I haven't had any problems with my Ryobi stuff. I dropped my old drill off the ladder a few times while putting up the garage door, still works great. I did upgrade to the green drill and impact set though, but the older blue stuff I still have has been trouble free.

Never bought any Craftsman cordless. Local store is closing and it's farther than Home Depot anyways. I rarely venture to the mall any more.
 
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whiskey tango

warmonger
VIP
You may want to consider giving B&D time to make some changes to craftsman. I'm still holding on to the hope that B&D brings craftsman back to what it was 20 years ago. Especially the tools like wrenches, screwdrivers etc.
 
You may want to consider giving B&D time to make some changes to craftsman. I'm still holding on to the hope that B&D brings craftsman back to what it was 20 years ago. Especially the tools like wrenches, screwdrivers etc.
Thought about it but it's not just a question of no new offerings, they have apparently stopped production on a bunch of stuff as well. It's certainly possible that B&D will bring Craftsman C3 back to what it used to be - new tools, improvements and possibly even getting them into Home Depot or Lowe's or whatever other stores would be more convenient than just Sears/Kmart/Online.

However, for now Ryobi just makes more sense for cordless tools so I've started making the switch. For now I just have a 6 port charger, 2 of the large One+ Lithium+ batteries, 2 of the smaller batteries, a sander and a sliding miter saw. The saw and to a lesser extent the sander is why I decided to make the jump. I need a sliding miter saw, I wanted a battery powered one, Craftsman doesn't make a battery powered sliding miter saw and the non-sliding one appears to be out of production, and finally Ryobi makes a great battery powered sliding compound miter saw. It's actually the first tool in their one+one line (unless you count the lawn mower which is a bit different), which takes 2 18v batteries for a 36v tool. :thup2:

I also picked up a 3 speed drill / work light combo at a yard sale so I'm up to 4 tools now.
 
I was looking for Ryobi Labor day sales, but surprisingly enough I'm not finding anything online. I may pop into the local Homey D and see if they have anything going on in person.
 

miwico

Stalker of Brock
VIP
Two of these are paralleled, and the display is getting all of it's info from basically a shunt. Again, the body is an old 18vdc Ryobi charger. 10A output seems to self regulate around that...
 
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