Cordless drill comparison - DeWalt and Ryobi

Posted by brewman_63 on August 12, 2005, 8:04 am

I'm looking to replace an old (and not very good) Black and Decker
14.4v cordless drill with another cordless. I think I have my
selections narrowed down to either the Ryobi P220C or the DeWalt
DC759KA. The DeWalt is $199 and the Ryobi is $138.94 (after I add in
for the battery charger and two batteries). I like the compactness of
the DeWalt but it looks like the Ryobi has a few more
bells-and-whistles (not sure if I would need them, though). It would be
used primarily around the house - everything from light to moderately
heavy duty. Both are 18v - the DeWalt has 450 in-ilbs of torque, I
don't know what they Ryobi has. I guess my concern is with Ryobi's
quality and the fact they are available only at Home Depot. Does anyone
have an opinion on either drill (or any other for that matter). I'm
leaning torwards an 18v with good torque power for those occasional
heavy-duty jobs. And I also like the 1/2 chuck so I don't have to worry
about bits being too large.
Thanks.

Posted by Ken on August 12, 2005, 8:25 am

brewman_63@yahoo.com wrote:
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Well, I don't know any of the specifics about either drill, but I
wouldn't buy a Ryobi anything. I'm surprised the Ryobi costs that
much, I rate Ryobi right at the bottom of the line there along with
B&D. And for that matter, DeWalt is owned by B&D so I'd exercise
caution when buying any DeWalt tool. Personally, my experience with
DeWalt is so-so. I have a palm sander and 3/8" corded drill which both
work fine, but I have a jigsaw that broke (the main casting that holds
everything just broke) and the part is not available to fix it.
Fine Woodworking had a review on cordless drills recently:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00164.asp
Unfortunately you can't read the article online, you have to buy a back
issue.
If I were you, I would look at Porter-Cable, Makita, Milwaukee, and I
hear Panasonic cordless drills are very good. I'm sure others will
offer plenty of opinions on this one.
Ken

Posted by . on August 12, 2005, 8:41 am

x-no-archive: yes
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I have the Ryobi 18V that you mention. I have used it both commercially and
in the home. It's a middle of the road tool. But the price was right, so I
bought it. I have had no problems with it. And the first commercial job I
did with it was to screw in over 2500 3.5" screws, often working in the
rain. I also put in about 300 6" lag bolts into PT lumber that was not
pre-drilled and it screwed them in just fine, plenty of torque, enough that
I had to hang onto that drill with both hands. I've loaned the drill out to
other people and it still worked just fine when I got it back. Right now a
friend has in on a job and hopefully, I will get it back still working :)
I would buy another, just because of the price and the fact I had no
problems with this one. It's a year old now.

Posted by rider89 on August 12, 2005, 7:13 pm

I had a Ryobi 14v that was mediocre quality, but I now have an 18v Ryobi kit
that acually isn't bad for the price.
The $138 you mentioned for a Ryobi seems high, though, for just a drill.
Generally you can get a 5 piece kit with 2 batteries, etc
for just a little more.
Bill
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Posted by MrC1 on August 12, 2005, 10:23 am

Check out Consumer Reports. They did a battery power tool comparo recently
(maybe as much as a year ago, however) and the Ryobi came out on top from
what I remember.
Make sure you price replacement batteries while you're at it. I remember
that the CR article pointed out large price differences between brands.
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