Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 We've not started building yet but we will likely be doing a lot ourselves, and investing in a suite of cordless power tools to help. I'm sure Dewalt/Makita etc are better than the likes of Ryobi/JCB etc, but they are out of my budget. Is the Ryobi "one" selling point worth it? The tools look OK, nothing special, but the one set of batteries across a dozen tools would be a huge saving. E.g. I'm about to buy a cordless strimmer for our current house... Ryobi is £50 without batteries/charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Buy makita. The cost is a rounding error in the scheme of things and everyone else on buildhub can bask in their own smugness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Personally, I'd try to find the extra money for the Makita (my personal preference) or Dewalt. One way of reducing the cost is to buy them without batteries and get a well-reviewed 4Ah clone battery from ebay. I did that four years ago and the battery and tools are still going strong. When buying things like drills and impact drivers, I've tended to buy the cheapest brushless version. Two good sites for discount tools are FFX and ITS. I've used both with good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I have been using a Ryobi cordless drill for about 15 years. Now on it's third set of batteries. First time they died I replaced the cells, second time I bought a replacement pair from county Battery. The major cost is going to be batteries, you will be replacing them throughout the life of the tools. The Ryobi drill has been reliable but it is not startling performance, and it is a poor hammer drill (not SDS) though the new ones may be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Im still using a Ryobi One+ Set from the mid 2000s. The ni-cad batteries are toast nowbut I still persevere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 minute ago, ProDave said: ... though the new ones may be better. The way power tools seem to develop, it's possible they may be worse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) Suppose if I spend money on good tools that does take away another excuse for messing something up tho... So, would an 18v Makita impact driver take the same type of battery as an 18v SDS drill or circular saw? I have no problem trying out clone batteries and chargers either. Edited May 9, 2019 by Conor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) A British YouTube publisher known as Charlie DIYte is reassuringly sensible and understated in his presentation style. He is a full time pro handyman and has majored on Ryobi, if the brand is good enough for him it should be up to your expectations. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag I started with nothing and have locked into Makita for battery powered stuff mainly because I wanted their sexy pulse impact driver. Otherwise Bosch for big 240v drills and Screwfix's Erbauer for the other 240v stuff. Don't get too fixated on cordless for everything, sometimes a 240v powertool is more effective at 1/3 the price. Trade pro's attach more value to cordless because of their daily working practice, as a slower paced DIYmax self builder you can down tools at 6pm, leave the mains extension lead by the job and it will still be there in the morning. Edited May 9, 2019 by epsilonGreedy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Ryobi is part of Electrolux group as are Husqvarna and a couple of other brands. Ryobi One is reasonably priced but the tools are not that refined, and they feel clunky. My joiner has the One+ stuff and impact drivers compared, my Makita LXT out performs it and is quieter. There was about £10 difference between the two, Makita give a 3 year warranty though. You can buy buy a whole kit of stuff from FFX with 5Ah but unless you’re hammering the units you can use 3Ah batteries and a fast charger and won’t run out of juice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Don't get too fixated on cordless for everything, sometimes a 240v powertool is more effective at 1/3 the price. Definitely agree for higher-powered items like grinders and oscillating multi-tools - anything that uses a fair bit of power that you'll likely end up using for long periods. For example, I bought a nice cordless circular saw and ended up having to buy a cheap corded one because the cordless just didn't have enough grunt (and still drained a 4Ah battery at an alarming rate). For my money, a decent cordless impact driver and heavy-ish drill will go a long way on a building site. For the latter, I got the Makita DHP481Z on special for just over £100 and it's an utter beast. It's a bit too heavy for doing lots of lighter work like driving screws (although it will do that), but for drilling wood it's unbeatable. As an example, I had to drill 25 x 10mm holes into stacked softwood to the full depth of the bit, and it was effortless. I'd tried drilling fewer than half the number of the same holes using an el cheapo corded (but allegedly heavy-duty) drill and ended up burning out the brushes before I reached the last hole. Believe me, when you're trying to get a job done, the last thing you want is a tool that either doesn't work efficiently or craps out when you're halfway through something. 2 minutes ago, PeterW said: You can buy buy a whole kit of stuff from FFX with 5Ah but unless you’re hammering the units you can use 3Ah batteries and a fast charger and won’t run out of juice. I have clone 4Ah batteries, and for drilling/impact driver use, that's more than sufficient. The impact driver, in particular, just seems to go on and on with a single charge. A 4Ah battery takes less than half an hour to charge in any event, so worst case it's a cup of coffee while you wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Thanks guys. Seems 50/50 between the two options, with no major red flags. I'll price things up closer to the time once I know exactly what I need. I wont have 240v power tools on the site until fully waterproof... and want to avoid having to mess around with 110v power supplies and tools so battery powered for all but the heavy duty stuff - I've already got an SDS drill, chainsaw, chop saw etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Davies Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 27 minutes ago, Conor said: So, would an 18v Makita impact driver take the same type of battery as an 18v SDS drill or circular saw? Yes, if you pick the LXT models (which almost all the newish stuff is). I have SDS drill, combi drill, circular saw, jigsaw, multitool, angle grinder and impact driver all sharing the same three batteries. Makita would be impossibly expensive if you couldn't share the batteries. Sanders, reciprocating saw and one drill (Ryobi, as it happens, for use in a drill stand) are mains powered. As I have no mains on site I use either an invert running off my van batteries or a Lidl 1200W inverter generator when I need to use those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I was too mean to Makita, despite heavy pressure to do so. I bought ..... yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Ed Davies said: Yes, if you pick the LXT models (which almost all the newish stuff is). My most recent and also most used cordless tool is a Makita 14v/18v torch which accepts an 18v 3amp LXT battery which seems to last for ever on light duties. The torch = DML802. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Think I'm sold on the Makita... good range of 18V tools and seem high spec for the money. I'll start with the combi drill and impact driver set from screfix. Good value. I guess brushless is a must if in the budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 15 minutes ago, Conor said: Think I'm sold on the Makita... good range of 18V tools and seem high spec for the money. I'll start with the combi drill and impact driver set from screfix. Good value. I guess brushless is a must if in the budget? Check the cost on the websites above - they're often quite a lot cheaper than Screwfix. Both Screwfix and the sites above do regular sales, so maybe wait unless you need to buy now. I like the way brushless tools operate, but theoretically there's more electronics to go wrong with brushless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, jack said: Check the cost on the websites above - they're often quite a lot cheaper than Screwfix. Both Screwfix and the sites above do regular sales, so maybe wait unless you need to buy now. Indeed. Each time I visit Screwfix and pay their regular list price I consider it a personal planning failure. Screwfix is a self builder's local convenience store that provides impulse retail therapy at a price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 We've just had a Toolstation open near us (Screwfix opened nearby about two months after we finished the build ). I find the variance in pricing amazing. I don't recall ever buying a power tool from either place - they're just never cheap enough, even on sale. Screwfix can be good value at times. I remember needing a pressure sprayer recently, and Screwfix was the cheapest place I could find one. Even ebay was no cheaper. But then I needed some stainless screws at short notice and Toolstation was 30-40% cheaper for what looked like very similar screws. Still, better than B&Q or Homebase for just about everything. It makes me angry how expensive those little blister packets of crappy quality screws are in those places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 20 minutes ago, jack said: We've just had a Toolstation open near us (Screwfix opened nearby about two months after we finished the build ). I find the variance in pricing amazing. I don't recall ever buying a power tool from either place - they're just never cheap enough, even on sale. Screwfix can be good value at times. I remember needing a pressure sprayer recently, and Screwfix was the cheapest place I could find one. Even ebay was no cheaper. But then I needed some stainless screws at short notice and Toolstation was 30-40% cheaper for what looked like very similar screws. Still, better than B&Q or Homebase for just about everything. It makes me angry how expensive those little blister packets of crappy quality screws are in those places. Being in Northern Ireland, we've less choice from DIY retailers... local builders merchants sell at full RRP.. Screwfix is a godsend tbh. And most online shops charge a fortune to ship to NI for anything bigger than a thick envelope. I've just priced the Makita impact driver and combo drill pack, £300 in screfix and £275 at FFX. £12 postage brings it up to £289. If I was in a hurry I'd be happy to pay the extra 5% to be able to pick it up in 10mins I think I'll keep an eye out for better deals in this case. Agree re B&Q... unfortunately I've one less than 5mins drive so I end up there way too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 22 minutes ago, Conor said: Being in Northern Ireland, we've less choice from DIY retailers... Ah, fair enough, I didn't realise location was an issue. I'm surprised FFX is only that much cheaper, although I think Screwfix sometimes does do a good deal on Makita drill/impact driver combos. Do check that you're comparing apples with apples as regards the battery size, number of batteries, and model of the tools themselves. The one criticism I have of Makita is the huge variety of similar tools they sell. Often, superseded models seem to hang around for years after their replacement is released (or there's a lot of old stock being sold). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, jack said: Ah, fair enough, I didn't realise location was an issue. I'm surprised FFX is only that much cheaper, although I think Screwfix sometimes does do a good deal on Makita drill/impact driver combos. Do check that you're comparing apples with apples as regards the battery size, number of batteries, and model of the tools themselves. The one criticism I have of Makita is the huge variety of similar tools they sell. Often, superseded models seem to hang around for years after their replacement is released (or there's a lot of old stock being sold). Noticed that, it's not clear what the differences are between some of their products! Screwfix do have 10% off a lot of the combo packs at that's just one I selected at random really. I did see the "new version" pack a solid £40 more.... but spec looks the same. I'll research it thoroughly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Screwfix will price match with a fight. Just need to point out that FFX have a store and it’s less than 10 miles from Screwfix.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexphd1 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Don't forget fleebay for (new) tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Davies Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Also worth checking Amazon. Got quite a lot of my stuff through them, often cheaper than any I could find on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Gobsmacked to see Costco flogging JCB cordless sets! https://www.costco.co.uk/Home-Improvement/Power-Tools/Cordless-Tools/c/cos_8.1.1 I thought they only sold top brands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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