ATLANTA, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Competition is heating up in
the U.S. power tool market, with a new product line at Home
Depot Inc. threatening to take market share from established
players such as Black & Decker Corp. BDK, analysts said.
Home Depot’s HD U.S. and Canadian stores now carry more
than 30 new Ridgid brand tools for contractors, including
cordless drills, miter saws with laser guides and a table saw.
The world’s largest home improvement chain phased out
slower moving tools to make room for Ridgid, a partnership
between Emerson Electric Co. EMR and One World
Technologies, a unit of Hong Kong’s Techtronic Industries Co.
Ltd. 0669.HK
Analysts said the Ridgid roll-out was a big event.
“The largest retailer of power tools in the United States
has developed a house brand,” said David MacGregor of Longbow
Research. “For all the other people that are selling product in
this market, that’s impactful.”
Ridgid’s rivals, which include Black & Decker’s leading
DeWalt line, Bosch <ROBG.UL> and other brands, have responded
with heavy promotions, said MacGregor.
Bob Gautsch, director of business development for One
World, said early Ridgid “sales have been outstanding.”
He said Ridgid tools have features that rivals lack,
including a system that charges two batteries at the same
time.
While Home Depot is the exclusive retailer of Ridgid, the
line is also sold at industrial supply shops, Gautsch said.
Black & Decker this week played down concerns Ridgid would
cut into its market share.
“From an innovation standpoint, we have not been surprised
by the product and don’t think that it really hurts our
product,” Chief Financial Officer Michael Mangan told a
conference call on Wednesday.
Still, some analysts are taking a wait-and-see stance.
“We continue to have concern with the efforts at Home Depot
to drive share gains for Ridgid,” said Eric Bosshard of FTN
Midwest Research, who said Black & Decker is likely to see
“some share pressure” in the fourth quarter related to Ridgid.
Longbow Research’s MacGregor said Ridgid is enticing buyers
with better service warranties and lower prices than Black &
Decker’s DeWalt line.
“In the short term, DeWalt will feel this,” MacGregor said.
“After six to nine months, it will be some of these other
brands that feel it.”
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An unnamed source a Dewalt was quoted as saying " We are not worried about our market share, people who like bright shiny tools will always buy a yellow one, and since our tools are engineered to fail after 6 months of casual use, we will have an unending demand for our tools"
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
that might sound funny but couple years ago I broke a 100 ft stanley tape after about ten days. I complained to the factory and the guy told me " If stanley made their tape to last forever they go out of business, they want the tape to broke so we buy more, no guarentee" I am the proud owner of a lufkin tape now.
Just returned a RIGID Sawzall after 20 minutes of use.
The quick release lever is a total joke, lost 4 saw blades into a soffit because of it.*****Residential Carpentry Solutions******
Another reason not to buy the Rigid tools is none of them are made in America..well that's a good reason for me at least.
-Ray
WOW, great customer service, I wonder how long he lasted.
Mike
There is no way Ridgid will offer a lifetime warranty and not honor it. The way I see it, I have so many good tools with no-good batteries, you can't lose with this deal unless theyre absolute junk. If they last 2 years until the batteries are shot, I'll send every broken tool back with the batteries and get them replaced. If I get another 2 years out of them then great, my money was well spent. I was in the market anyways, why would I spend more for Dewalt or Makita junk when I know that I'll be out $300 for 2 new batteries in a year and a half.
I am a born cheapskate but having a tool down and unavailible for use is the really expensive part. Buying the tool is just part of the cost of doing business. I lean towards the tools with a track record for reliability if I am trying to save money in the long run.
Karl
I took a gamble about a year and a half ago on a Rigid jobsite tablesaw and am still in love with the thing. I bought it instead of a Bosch (my first choice at the time) cuz HD happened to have a recon for $379 with the cart. That tool rocks and it was a first generation model. I've come around the corner at the jobsite and caught the boys ripping sopping wet 2x8 PT on a 50 ft 14 ga cord....lost my mind, but the saw still rocks. Never made a single adjustment to it, and the fence is still dead nuts. Smooth action on everything a year and a half later. This things has seen some use/abuse too.
That said, I was skeptical at first of the new tool line. I thought my feelings were confirmed when a known bufoon on the jobsite showed up with his new 18volt (I believe) Rigid drill. He was "helping" me install Mylar (sp?) sheets in a commercial freezer, we were both lending a hand to a mutual friend. Well, after I had smoked both my own Dewalt 18v POS batteries (they're old, but have always been garbage) I had to swallow my pride and grab his new Rigid. It was about as heavy as the Bosch 18v, but I gotta say it felt like a pretty well made tool. Good run time on the batteries (although brand new). Nice action. Good fit and finish. As has been said, only time will tell. Gotta say though, my first impression upon using the drill was that I liked it. Just felt good, solid.
I had no idea they were offering that kind of warranty. I've known that Rigid offers a lifetime warranty on their tools, but on batteries?! That's unheard of.
This is what scares me though....I started buying Rigid ladders from HD a few years ago. They were competitevly priced and fairly well built BUT they had a lifetime warranty. I think I bought two each, 6' steps, 8' steps, and 24' extensions. I think I ended up swapping out one each of the 6' and 8'. All they ladders are still in service now. BUT right around the time I would have traded the other two steps in, Home Depot stopped selling them! Same deal then as they are offering now, these ladders were supposed to be their "house brand". I took that to mean that as long as their was a HD, there would be Rigid ladders there. NO such luck. Hope they don't pull this crap with the new tool line in a year or two.
The warranty isn't through the store, but rather through a mail in deal....so having HD stop selling them should be of no consequence.
Sled, I am trying to figure out the logisitics of this as I recently bought the ridgid drill myself.
You say it is a mail in deal. I assume you got two batteries with your kit. Will you send them in one at a time preemtively so you don't experience any downtime without tools while waiting for the replacements to arrive? If you send both and it takes more than a week wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a new battery than to try making it through a week of work without the tools?
I had assumed hd would have batteries sitting on the rack and I could just swap them out as they died at no charge. I can imagine though they will be out of stock frequently, if I am in a rush I will be checking inventory at other HD stores and driving around town trying to find one. At that point it seems like it would have been much cheaper to buy Milwaukee, Makita or Dewalt so I could have just bought a battery anywhere.
I stated earlier my only defensible rationale for trying this tool is that it will be for my helper to use so he will leave my panasonic alone. If the ridgid is dead for a week or two while waiting for warranty to be honored it won't stop the rest of the work in its absence.
I do somewhat second Dieselpigs positive observations having played with the thing for a few minutes. I need to drill a series of holes to see how the batteries hold up. It does seem bulky and heavy compared to my panasonic and the fan noise in the charger definitely caught me by surprise.
If I get around to doing an endurance drilling test with it, will do a similar test with the panasonic for endurance.
You seem quite sold on the ridgid concept so far and I am glad to hear it. Just surprised no one else has ventured to buy one.
Karl
We buy DeWalt factory refurbished stuff for our fabrication plant. The fact that there is such an enormous quantity of factory refurbished DeWalt stuff on the market should be a clear indication of the initial quality (or lack thereof) of the tools- but by and large, the ones we buy are reasonably well designed and we get acceptable service from these tools for a really good price- and with a refurb, at least you know that the tool has been inspected ONCE prior to shipment! Nobody warrants the tools for industrial service, so warranty is a moot issue for us.
In our experience, even the best quality drills and angle grinders don't stand up forever in our industrial setting- everything gets chewed eventually. Why? Because they're being subjected to very hard use mostly by non-tradesmen employees. People who own and respect their tools treat them better and hence tend to get longer service out of them regardless of brand choice. But what we're after is availability and dollar per hour of use. We'd rather have two adequate but cheaper drills on the shop floor than to have two guys fighting over one good quality unit, since eventually either choice will have to be repaired or replaced anyway.
There's no consistency in regard to brand over time in my experience. My father was an auto mechanic and had an aluminum B&D professional 3/8" high speed drill, purchased in the '40s, which finally gave up the ghost in the mid to late '80s after incredibly hard use. He bought a replacement (one of the black B&D "professional" ones, prior to the big yellow invasion) and it was fried inside of two weeks. He took it back and bought a Makita, which is still going strong. But Makita has turned out some real junk in the past few years, including an abyssmal cheapo 1/2" hammer drill which I have the great misfortune to own...
The old axiom is still true- according to Murphy, you seldom get what you pay for, and never more. If it's cheap, it's cheap for a reason. If it's expensive, it may not be expensive for any good reason- somebody may just be exploiting their brand reputation. How do you tell the difference? That's what this forum is for- so we can benefit from others' experiences!
Since I suppose you'll be switching your batteries back and forth like the rest of us they will probably fail about the same time. What will you do for a drill during the 30 days it takes to process and mail your replacements?
I'll use my corded drill or one of my other cordless ones with crappy batteries, I'll tell you what I won't be doing though....BUYING a new drill or batteries :)
I'm in the market for a cordless drill. So far 12v has been my voltage of choice. Trade off of cost, weight, power, run time per battery has militated toward 12v.
I looked at Ridgid's offerings. They have two models in 12v. One is a bit heavier duty looking than the other. The HD version comes with a charger for two batteries at a time. Might be nice for the overnight charge rush before a job. Chuck looks a bit heavier duty also.
Overall I'm impressed with the feel, heft, solidity, perceived durability of either model. Maybe a bit more on the HD version. Given their lifetime warranty for both drill and batteries if I buy before Jan 01, 04 I am leaning toward getting one.
Maybe it is just the fancy color, I am partial to burnt orange, or unjustified optimism but these units seem superior to B&D, DeWalt and Bosch drills in the same price range and voltage. Though none of the features, little things like a light backlighting a symbol of the tool on the cord cap, are certainly not central to the tools function they are amenities that give an air of consideration to the companies offerings. They are simple and, I'm sure, cheap to implement but why haven't others done this?
I may get my Ridgid drill but I might not know for years how well I have chosen. The company advertises the heavy duty fittings, bearings and general construction of their tools. Other companies do the same. Often laughably as they tout the durability of their "Heavy duty sleeve bearings". Sounds good unless you know a bit about bearings or understand that "heavy duty" often means that it will last through the second, and maybe third, use. Heavy duty industrial roller and ball bearings are a good start. That is they are a good start if in fact they are truly used. To my mind only time, use and wear will tell.
Ridgid is touting this line as near-industrial-grade, a step up from commercial-grade tools aimed at contractors, at commercial-grade prices. If Ridgid is all that it is advertised to be the other companies are going to have to dance a jig to keep up. I don't think they would be putting on sales and specials if they were not concerned if not worried.
Rigid tools have been sold here in B.C. at HD for a couple of years. They are also the best represented brand on the shelves of my local tool repair shop.
bought the 4 pc set today, the drill and saw look very well built, sawzall is unimpressive, but with a lifetime warranty i cant pass it up. I have too many milwaukee and dewalt tools with dead batteries or broken POS chucks etc that im not buying another one. Ridgid has always made top notch stuff, i can't see why these would be any different.
1. Never buy the 1st edition
2. Rigid electric tools (Emerson) is not the same Rigid hand tools. Name only.
3. All Mg'd off shore.
4. Emerson is most famous for vaccum motors and old Sears electric tools..
5. After they get their foot in the door ... Watch the program change
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
I was under the impression that the Rigid power tool line, and the partnership between HD and Emerson, grew out of the choice by Sears to go to cheaper, off-shore alternatives for their craftsman series. I thought the same folks who now make Rigid are the ones who used to make Craftsman back when it was a decent tool line.
Am I wrong?
You are right.
Ryobie is making Sears now.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Ryobi is now making Rigid. Ryobi does not make nearly as many tools for Sears as many seem to think. Many of the stationary machines are made by Orion Industries which has strong ties with Delta.
Just my opinion, but the Craftsman tools being Emerson or Ryobi is much to do about nothing. 6 of one, half a dozen of another. There is no substantial difference.
Going to HD(lowes) to buy tools is like going to Sears to buy tools. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Expecting experienced and knowledgable help is, "too funny!"
The unfortunate fact about most tool sales is marketing and convienence sells the things(tools) and not informed consumers making reasoned decisions. It's utterly amazing to hear some of nonsense that spews out of the mouths of too many box store salesmen. It's even more amazing how many people accept what they are hearing from borg salesmanwomen.
Just as a side note, It's funny to hear people discuss the good old days of Craftsman tools being Emerson. Anyone remember when King Seely was making Craftsman tablesaws and the trashing EmersonCraftsman took? My father was in this group.---This comment is not to suggest any validity one way or the other to the comments. Just identifying the irony of, "What goes around, comes around!"
Hey, I'm not trashing Rigid or Craftsman here. I'm trashing uniformed consumers who become informed the hard way.
Don
"Just my opinion, but the Craftsman tools being Emerson or Ryobi is much to do about nothing. 6 of one, half a dozen of another. There is no substantial difference."
Exactly. They are both tools you'd buy for your kids to use. I haven't seen a pro using either brand in 20 years.
Rick,
Basically true, and the same for Rigid. Tools for the hobbiest and Weekend Warrior.
Don
Emerson made the stationary power tools for Sears. I don't know about any of the hand tools. I have the Rigid/Emerson small jointer. I like it. Much better features than the small Delta or Sears units. I would expect problems with the first run of a new offering of this size. But, Emerson engineering seems good. We'll see what they look like in a year. Virtually none of the American brands are made in the US anymore, so you can;t go by that. Even with the "good" brands, the real inexpensive Harbor Freight junk and the better stuff is made side-by-side at the same factories. The Far East factories can make quality stuff if you want to pay, and they can make disposable trash if you want it cheap. They're quickly learning to make fairly good stuff. Ryobi is made in China. Not generally commercial grade, but very inexpensive for the quality.
Hope the set works out for you. I've been caught with dead Emersons at bad times once too often. Elu and Makita work for me, reliably.
Hope the set works out for you. I've been caught with dead Emersons at bad times once too often. Elu and Makita work for me, reliably.
I hope so too, I've had junk tools before, Ryobi, etc...and they lasted a few months, then I threw them away. I also know fellow contractors who've bought "junk" tools like the MasterCrap 18v drills and theyve lasted years and are still in good shape after everyday use, dropping, beating....overloading....so It's a tough call. I also know that most contractors around here have dewalt tools and I have a few of them too and I'm not overly impressed, these look to be every bit as good or better than their dewalt counterparts, I'll know soon enough. My dewalt jigsaw was a POS, cordless drills are junk, chucks fall apart, batteries die early, sawzall chuck broken multiple times, the only dewalt tools I have been impressed with are the circular saws, seem to last forever no matter how many times you drop them. I still have 3 old black and decker circular saws (identical to the dewalt) and theyre hanging in there just great.
One thing I can tell you is that the drill and circular saw in this kit appear to be very well built, the sawzall looks a little wimpy and I really don't care about the flashlight. I almost bought the kit without the sawzall but I thought what the heck. I already have a milwaukee 10A. super sawzall and milwaukee 18v cordless sawzall (who's charger died on me a couple weeks ago....$150 for a new one). I have the biggest problems with chargers and batteries, no matter what brand I buy, with this set I'm guaranteed never to buy another battery or charger again. BTW, this charger kicks butt, fan cools the batteries, the batteries have vents on the back side and the charger cools the cells down while charging. Also....charges 2 batteries in 30 minutes.
Edited 10/26/2003 12:29:04 PM ET by SledBC
If you want to reliably solve your batterycharger issues, go with Panasonic. I know, seems and sounds like an off brand and tools to be leary of, but they are fantastic.
Don
I think I agree with your conclusion. Ridgid power tools, best in show or oddly shaped paper weights. Time will tell.
I suspect that like other companies their product line will be uneven with a few being good. A good example is Milwaukee, their cordless drills, IMHO, are unimpressive but I hear they have improved, while their reciprocating saws are the best. Even in this narrow category the low end is mediocre, no better than many other companies, but the top of the line Super Sawsall is the real deal. IMO there is none better.
If we, construction folks, are lucky Ridgid might have one or two good products in their line. If really lucky maybe, just maybe, one outstanding model. The first question is how many models will people have to go through to find the jewels in the dung.
The second question is will they evolve. Few first attempts are above average. Good companies take feedback and use it to improve their line. Of course if the companies fail to support and back their products the good working folks can give up on the entire line faster than the company can regain their good will. Time will tell.
4lorn1,
I decided to do a little comparison testing on the Ridgid 12v drill I bought friday. It is the heavier duty of the two 12 volt models. I started with a freshly charged battery and chucked in a 1/2" brad point drill bit.
I drilled holes in a old sun baked piece of 2x douglas fir framing lumber nonstop until it quit.
It drilled 75 holes.
I then charged up the battery for my 3 yr old panasonic 12volt drill. It is a 3Ah nimh battery. I chucked in the same drill and drilled nonstop until it quit.
It drilled 155 holes.
Additionally the ridgid charger spent 1/2 hour in "evaluate mode" prior to starting its charge cycle. I assume this was to allow it to cool down. (Both drills got pretty hot with the nonstop drilling). The fan on the ridgid charger is not obnoxius but in my 1200 square foot house, you can hear it running from any room in the house. Kind of like a bath fan noise.
I did a quick search and amazon sells the panasonic 12volt with a 3.5ah battery for 179. I paid 159 for the ridgid plus the CA sales tax.
My two year old son is quite eager to start work with either cordless and the panasonic is no problem for him to lift. The ridgid gives him a real challenge to pick it up or move it. The ridgid is also very bulky, both the drill and the case compared to the panasonic.
To be fair I suppose the 18v ridgid would be able to keep up with the 12 volt panasonic in terms of holes drilled and it probably has more torque. The weight would be a huge deterrent for me and the extra torque a non issue as I would use a corded drill for anything larger than 1/2 holes.
I seem to recall you posting in the past about rebuilding battery packs. I tended to agree with the naysayers who claim it is a waste of time. Now as I reflect on how much time I have wasted contemplating ownership of a ridgid drill, I realize the time spent rebuilding a battery pack is of little significance. I still don't know how much time I could end up consuming getting repairs done for "free" or getting "free" replacement battery packs.
My panasonic came with two 3.0 ah batteries. One died six months ago. the other is going strong with more than three years on it. I did buy a replacement 12 volt nicad for it for 60 dollars at the local lumberyard.
The old phrase "pennywise pound foolish" comes to mind as I consider my purchase of the ridgid. I think I will pack it back up and return it next time I am at home depot. If I want to burn anymore time I will experiment with rebuilding the dead panasonic battery pack. Any future cordless tools will continue to be Panasonic for me.
At least I confirmed my faith in Panasonic and don't have to wonder if I should be stocking up on Ridgid before there lifetime warranty expires.
Karl
This weekend, 11/29/03, a relative asked about what I wanted for Christmas suggesting that they could swing for a power tool. Nice people. Curious, dubious and a little attracted to the Rigid guarantee I took the risk of suggesting a 12v drill, the heavy duty 1/2" model #R82015. My relation, lacking a poetic and romantic side but being quite prosaic, handed me the box and said "Merry Christmas". I will, if someone would be so kind as remind me or post further questions, update my impressions.
So far I like the power to weight ratio compared to what I need, the reason I like 12v. Haven't had any problems with run time but the capacity is less than what I, ideally, want. I trust, as noted in the manual, that this capacity will increase as the batteries are broken in. As I said in my previous post 'Time will tell' but I'm willing to take the risk at least with a gift. It will also be instructive to see how HD handles any issues with free replacement for 'life'.
4Lorn1,
You are a Lucky guy with relatives like that! A word of caution is that when I was checking out the warrantee the sales gal at HD emphasized you had to have the ORIGINAL sales reciept to collect on it.
It will be interesting to hear if the battery life does get longer as you run through a few cycles. The only benchmark I could come up with was to take a 1/2 forstner bit and see how many holes I could drill through a piece of 2by framing lumber. If I recall correctly the drill I tried would drill 75 holes in an old dry piece of douglas fir.
Enjoy the new drill!
Karl
I logged on to this thread because I just bought a Rigid sawzall from HD and wanted to see if i did the right thing. Yeah, that might be considered backwards, but thats how it goes this time. Anyway, the price on the thing was $89.00! It has to be pretty bad for that to be a bad deal, or just break on me. I bought the rigid jigsaw, and the 14 V drill and have been happy with both for a couple years now. As a plasterer, I know I fall into the weekend warrior catagory when it comes to carpentry tools, so I am more interested in how well a tool works, with longevity being 2nd place. The rigid sawzall did give me that intuitive message that it was nothing to brag about, for any of you who have tools that talk to you claravoiantly, ( but we won't dwell on that subject).
Anyway, for a tool tip from a plasterer, I have a 1/2" dewalt (corded) that I have used to mix mud for about 6 years now, and lots of it. I don't mean taping mud either. All my work is sand and cement and interior gypsum plaster. For small jobs where I do not want to deal with washing out a mixer, I just use the drill. The dewalt has outlasted every VSR drill I have used. The variable speed is important, so I cant just use a hole hawg.
Ron
I've burned through my share of cheap tools too. My Dewalt 14v cordless drill and saw will be the next to go; bought them for about half price as remans seven or eight years ago and they've earned their keep, but 7 batteries in that time and now I need at least three new ones at $90 a pop. My kit has slowly been turning Makita as other brands break and I really like their small 12v drill so have been thinking about going that way. The Rigid deal sounds just too good to be true - free batteries for the service life of the tool - but I'll look into it before springing for the Makita.
Hey those chargers have a fuse in them just like a gutar amp, and you can replace the fuse for cheaper that 150 bucks
Jason
Ohh, And I bought the Rigid 14.4 a month ago and I love it so far. The charger is fast, and it so far out performs the boss's brand new BOSCH. I went out looking for a panisonic and ended up with this Ridgid, I like it. The first week I used it I ended up doing a Pro Panel roof and that's when I noticed the entire thing is covered (batterys included) with rubber deals that keep it from falling of the roof. I dropped my old dewalt 14 off three roof's and it finaly broke falling of a sawhorse. The Rigid would sit anywhere on that slick metal roof without moving, The boss finally left his new gun on the ground and used mine. The battery lasted two days. I love this drill so far, but I have to agree with everybody that time will tell
Jason
I have two problems with the whole Rigid rollout.
1- The house of Depot. Too hit and miss for me. True, they can be very accomodating at return time, if you get the right person at the right time, and the line isn't too long. But I have had to return more tools bought from them than any other retailer. (I only buy from HD when I have a sudden need for a tool, and need it NOW!)
2- Massive product line introductions scare me. If you were a company and you had to engineer test, manufacture, test, package and market 25 brand new tools at once, wouldn't you be be stretched a little thin? True, you could hire lots of designers and engineers, consultants and so on, and you could get it all tested and done right. But I think the odds are better in a more controlled build up.
That said, they could have a massive budget, be making tools that are overbuilt, and be buying market share with low prices. Which means now is the time to buy. Me? I'm just gonna watch it all for a while!
Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
The new Ridgid power tools are made by Emerson Electric which is the same company which made Sear's crappy power tools for so many years. I quit using Sears power tools 25 years ago when I realized that their "professional" power tools were junk. A lifetime warrenty is great but is only as good as the company which issues it. Only 2 types of tools could be covered by a lifetime warenty, well made tools or cheap junk. The cheap junk tools can be covered because they cost so little to produce that they can be replaced for very little. Knowing how HD operates it's an easy guess where the Ridgid brand falls. I don't know of any well made, expensive tools covered by a lifetime warrenty. I would rather pay a little more and buy proven tools that I know won't quit on me at 11:00 AM. I'm a professional and want tools that are professional grade. Considering how long good power tools last a few bucks makes little or no difference. I am still using the same Sawzall I bought 30 years ago. Would I have been better off to have saved $50.00 then and bought a cheap imitation which I would have replaced 3 or 4 times?
I believe I read recently that Dewalt had closed their last American plant.
Rick, Very well stated. I can't refute your argument on the two types of tools with guarantees.
That said there is a brand new unopened Ridgid 12 volt drill in the van right now. After getting home last night I did start to feel a little buyers remorse and felt a bit like I had prostituted my values. For $110 more I could have bought a Panasonic multidriver (online at Coastal Tool) and I have had great luck with panasonic for the past ten years. Come to think of it for the time it takes to get to Home Depot (hoping they have a product to exchange for the broken one-- in stock) I could probably rebuild a dead battery pack. Honestly the only thing that suckered me in was the lifetime free battery replacements so I am probably better off buying my tool of choice and learning to rebuid battery packs.
I almost stopped myself in the store and bought a Makita 12 impact driver for 199 (40 more than the questionable ridgid) but figured if the Ridgid really is a POS I will return it and tell them that.
I looked around and saw no replacement batteries for any of the ridgid tools. I guess if one battery goes bad I will have to swap it for an entire brand new kit??? I wonder what will happen in honoring the guarantee when they have changed models/designs in two years and mine is obsolete. I typically get about 24 to 30 months out of a panasonic battery pack with the kind of use I subject it to. Thus by the time I get around to wanting a battery they won't be availible.
The only reason I can justify buying the thing is I frequently end up with my helper using my cordless and the next day I go to use it and find both batteries dead. This way I have a cheap drill to let the helper, my brother, etc use/abuse and I can implement a hands off policy on my panasonics. If the ridgid breaks, I can then burn an afternoon reminding the home depot mgr that "yes I am entitled to a new replacement". That is provided I have my original sales reciept and a copy of the lifetime warrantee in my possession. The cashier says they wont accept a photocopy of the sales reciept.
Feeling a bit like a sucker
Karl
Ridgid amy turn out to be the greatest tool made...........or they may turn out to be total junk, However, with a lifetime warranty I don't see how it could cost but some time to find out. The fact that the warranty is a mail in program actually reassures me. HD is terrible for pumping products and then changing vendors when they can save a buck. I've bought dozens of window air conditioners of whatever brand they were selling the day I needed one. 6 months later I go back looking for a filter only to discover that thye have changed brands and no longer carry filters for the brand I bought. When I ask where I can buy the filters I get the blank stare. I've heard complanits that HD has poor customer service but that would be wrong, they have NO customer service after the sale. I've bought 3 yard sprayers form them in the last 4 months. Not one of these sprayers has lasted more then 30 days. I have to have the original receipt to return them and they carry no spare parts. Ibuy no tools at all from them any more but deal with a very professional tool dealer who honors warranties on th espot and has in-house repair facilities and loaners. They carry tools that HD doesn't know exist and the salespeople actually know what they are talking about. Their prices are maybe 10% higher than HD's which I gladly pay. We do a lot of work on the islands here and if I have tool fail any savings go out the window by the time I get back to town for that "free" replacement. I see 2 battery drills at Big Lots all the time for $19.00 bucks, now there's a big savings............