Buying drill for the house, Stay with same system/brand?

[Dave Lehnert]

My wood shop is located away from the house, Not far, but far enough, if I need a tool I have to grab a coat and flashlight and make my way across the field.

In the wood shop I have Ryobi tools. I like them.
I am going to put a small tool cart in the garage at the house to keep tools handy for when I'm assembling something like a grill, lawn tool etc.
Would you just stick with the Ryobi one plus as in the shop or would you consider another cheaper system?
What got me to thinking is Walmart now has their line of HART tools made by TTI (Ryobi). They have been running deals.

Again, I am looking at inexpensive for the house. Never fails I need at drill at the House, it is at the shop. Needed at the shop, left it at the house.

[Bill Dufour]

Stay with same battery if not corded.
Bil lD

[Mike Henderson]

Stay with same battery if not corded.
Bil lD

I agree. Only way I'd change is if I was dissatisfied with the tools I have.

Mike

[David Bassett]

I have always thought of Ryobi as the cheaper brand. That said they're good enough for me and I *really* appreciate the battery compatibility they've embraced. Other brands seem to change the mechanical connection with each generation of their tools (for no apparently reason.) That means you can't buy a new tool to use your old battery or, probably more important, vice versa. Somewhere on their website Ryobi talks about how many generations they've maintained compatibility. I forget the details, but old NiCad tools have compatible battery connections with their latest Li-Ion brushless tools.

(A thought. Upgrade your shop tools and use the old ones in your house cart?)

[Scott Winners]

Agree with Bill. If you love the battery Ryobi get another one. I have I think 4 corded drills right now, nothing cordless. One is pretty beat just for mixing paint and drywall mud. For piddly last minute stuff in the house I would think about a corded 3/8" drill in the 50-60 buck range. My DeWalt has lasted long enough (>5 years) I would check amazon reviews before I bought another one, but there ought to be a good 3/8 corded drill near that price.I am sure batteries have come a long way since I threw up my hands in disgust 25 years ago... but I like torque. If the drywall is still up a good 3/8 corded can handle it.

[Bill Dufour]

I have bought several corded millwaukee drills 3/8 and 1/2" for under $50 delivered from the bay. Might take a few months to get a deal but a lightly used made in USA milwaukee is better then the China stuff they sell now.
I think Royobi is owned by some one else and they share batteries. Does Dewalt have lifetime battery warranty?
That said I stick to Makita 9.6 volt stick tools. I have at least 6 drills, one right angle drill, jig saw, wet tile saw, flashlight, etc
Bil lD

[Eric Arnsdorff]

For me it’s all Ryobi cordless. They aren’t the top of the line but they are made well enough to last. I have quite a collection of Ryobi tools and batteries. I bought some items for the house and they’re Ryobi (cordless vac, extra drill, tire inflator, hedge trimmer and even the sprayer (I am very pleased with how well it works).

[Jim Andrew]

I had a couple of Ryobi tools, thought they were ok, then got a couple duds. Have they cleaned up their act?

[Jim Dwight]

I have two Ryobi drills and a lot of their other 18V and 40V tools (40V are yard tools). When I broke one and another wandered off I got two more. I have a Milwaukee 12V and a Bosch click. I like them too but for heavier duty work I use a Ryobi. I would either buy a click set for the shop and move the Ryobi in or get another Ryobi.

[Jim Becker]

Very practical to stay with the same brand and battery setup for obvious reasons...

[Warren Wilson]

I’d stick with the same battery system, but for a “house” drill I’d seriously consider a very light one — 12-volt if available. My buddy bought a little deWalt like that just for light jobs, but now he brings it to the job site and it is his go-to for a lot of work: fits in small spaces, plenty of power, light to carry.

[Tom M King]

I use Milwaukee in the mechanic shop, and Makita for everything else. They were two different setups on purpose, because I didn't want to get them mixed up, and end up using one that had been used with greasy hands in a house. Otherwise, they would have all been the same.

[Jon Snider]

I’ll take a different angle at this. Eventually, some (although maybe not the OP) will succumb to that new, bright shiny tool from a different platform, like I did, that you absolutely had to have. A terminal disease, I admit. Next thing you know your shop had three or four different battery platforms. Not the end of the world.

[Robert D Evans]

As long as Ryobi is working for you, I'd stick with the same platform. I went with Rigid because of the lifetime warranty on the tool and batteries. I keep two in the shop and one in the camper. Having multiple batteries that fit all of your drills and impact drivers is convenient.

[Jon Endres]

I have a similar situation where the shop is about 50 feet from the house and it's a pain in bad weather to head out there and get the tools I need. I have been meaning to do the same thing, since I use my impact driver more than any other cordless tool I own, I've been meaning to get another for the house. I also keep a small Kennedy roller cabinet in the house for other hand tools, so that I don't have to go to the shop for anything "normal" - I keep a decent collection of most hand tools in the house and the majority and specialty tools are in the shop.

I have a sizable collection of Ryobi cordless tools. Probably 30 different at the moment, and 9 or 10 batteries. I keep one battery charger and a couple batteries in the house, and the rest in the shop. I have never had a Ryobi tool fail, although I've lost a couple of batteries along the way. Started my collection in 2004, still use the first tool, my sawzall, on a regular basis. So saying that, I'd stick with Ryobi.

[Bill Dufour]

If I had a separate house drill I know the battery would be dead when I went to use it. So having the same batteries is good since I should always have at at least one charged one.
In the 80's? I had a Ryobi cordless drill that would only hold a charge for a day or two. No replaceable battery in it. I switched to Makita 9.6 stick batteries and gave the ryobi to my father. He liked it for his uses of drive a couple of screws up a ladder for home repair. Being retired he planned and got his supplies ready the day before anyway so charging before each use was not a problem for the most part.
It was a big improvement compared to his cast aluminum single speed 1/4" corded drill which is older then I am and still going strong.
Bil lD

[Rod Sheridan]

I would buy a corded drill for the house, no worries about a dead battery and electricity is available everywhere in the house...Rod.

[Jim Dwight]

I actually keep a Ryobi impact driver and drill in the house and have another Ryobi drill Plus a Milwaukee drill and impact in the shop plus the Bosch click. I also have a Skill cordless impact drill in the shop. I have a Milwaukee 18V grinder so I have a bunch of different batteries. Sometimes it saves me a few steps to have the stuff in the house bit it typically requires other stuff from the shop to do what I want to do (despite a drawer full of tools in the kitchen).

[Derek Meyer]

I have Dewalt 20V cordless tools in the shop/garage (attached), so I don't need a set for the house, but when I wanted a set for my tool bag that I take to work, I ended up buying a 12V Dewalt cordless set. I chose this set because the batteries are compatible with my existing chargers (and if I decide to get the laser level I've been eyeing for a year, it uses the same batteries), and they are lightweight. I was surprised at how much lighter they are, yet they seem to have plenty of power. I used the drill to drill a 3" hole in a double-thickness laminate countertop (1 1/2") and it felt pretty much like my 20V drill. I was impressed.

The set I got was an impact driver, drill, two batteries, charger and soft bag for $159. The drivers are both brushless as well.

Derek