RIDGID March / April Promo -- Buy a Select RIDGID Tool, Get a FREE 2Ah/4Ah Starter Kit -- Ends May 18th

ThunderToast wrote: ↑ Has anyone tried this to get the battery packs for free? I imagine they wouldn't let you return the tool without returning the battery

RFD really is the land of no shame.

I've been humming and hawing over getting cordless tools and I finally pulled the trigger. I managed to get one of the high torque impact wrenches, now I'm debating - do I return the battery and wait for a deal on a high capacity max (or octane if I can find one) battery, or just buy one of the max / octane batteries? Any reccomendations? I work on my vehicles and some of my older cars have rusty suspension bolts and nuts which this would be a god send for

Edit - Also does Ridgid not have anymore cordless ratchets?

repatch wrote: ↑ Damn, 150! My little toyota is only 85, and the minivan is 90.

I had a subaru that had lug nuts basically seized after a few months no matter what. Had a couple mechanics tell me it was common with them, for some reason. Took ALOT of force to get those lugs free, way beyond the impact gun I had. I got to the point where monthly I'd loosen and torque the damn things so come winter tire change time I wouldn't have to spend half an hour getting them free. Even the rims would 'weld' them selves to the hub sometimes, brutal!

OTOH, I was driving home one day after having attended a formal event, so suit and tie, and noticed a weird sound. Pulled into a parking lot and I could hand spin all 5 lugs on one of my wheels. Had some warranty work done by the dealer the day before, was NOT pleased to have to pull out the tire iron and tighten those things. Never went back there.

Such a simple thing, but often relegated to the most junior mechanic, and therefore the most prone to error. I HATE it when other people work on my car.

Get the Ridgid high torque impact wrench. It is a beast and will get any lug nut off. Even if get one of those CT guys that decides to over torque your lug nuts because you decided not get a brake job when you came for a free brake inspection.

x-batman wrote: ↑ I've been humming and hawing over getting cordless tools and I finally pulled the trigger. I managed to get one of the high torque impact wrenches, now I'm debating - do I return the battery and wait for a deal on a high capacity max (or octane if I can find one) battery, or just buy one of the max / octane batteries? Any reccomendations? I work on my vehicles and some of my older cars have rusty suspension bolts and nuts which this would be a god send for

Edit - Also does Ridgid not have anymore cordless ratchets?

I've resisted for a LONG time, after all, I have corded tools, no chance a cordless one will be any good.

Rigid changed my mind. The torque gun is a beast, I've never experienced such triviality are removing stubborn bolts.

I just purchased a cordless circular saw. It cuts through things so well my mouth was hanging open the whole time, the sawdust covering my tongue.

I'm VERY happy with this line. I have a small B&D impact driver I use for driving screws into wood which works great, but these Rigid tools are a step above. I've been missing out.

x-batman wrote: ↑ Edit - Also does Ridgid not have anymore cordless ratchets?

They just released some new ratchets!

question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Tools I already have
- I have a basic drill from BD which has been doing just fine for the house work
- I have a snow blower & lawn mower (got those as gift)

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

royaljatt wrote: ↑ question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Tools I already have
- I have a basic drill from BD which has been doing just fine for the house work
- I have a snow blower & lawn mower (got those as gift)

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

You should also consider Milwaukee, since they do offer a 18v blower and trimmer in their tool lineup. Ridgid doesn't have any outdoor landscaping equipment that I know of.
I have a Ryobi lawnmower, trimmer, and blower, as well as many other Ryobi tools. But I just recently got into ridgid with this promotion picking up the circ saw and mid torque impact wrench.

It's fine to get into multiple lines, it's just a bit annoying to have so many different batteries and chargers around.

royaljatt wrote: ↑question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

For what you'd need I'd recommend you go with both. Ryobi 40V for the outdoor/lawn tools and Ridgid for the rest. You can honestly skip over ONE+, though the beauty (catch?) with ONE+ is there are *so many* tools in it that it's quite hard to flat out say you need/want nothing in the lineup. ONE+ I got into after Ridgid 18V and M12 and I think I actually have more ONE+ things now than anything else, lol. I didn't even buy any heavier duty Ryobi stuff, like saws, drills, impacts--all that stuff is either Ridgid or M12. So that should tell just how many "other items" are in ONE+. Things like lights, fans, glue guns, polishers, and all kinds of useful things, are in ONE+.

As someone mentioned you could also go with Milwaukee M18, but you'd better have some deep pockets in that case--that stuff ain't cheap and even in "deals" and promos is usually still not what you'd call cheap, just a lot better than paying full pop.

If you really wanted to stick with just one "platform", I'd say go with ONE+, but as a word of warning most of the outdoor ONE+ stuff is not that impressive. That's why I said to go with 40V there. If you must stick with ONE+ though, for the more serious tools (drills, saws, outdoor) try to stick to HP Brushless tools whenever possible.

Personally, now having Ridgid 18V, Milwaukee M12, Ryobi ONE+, and Ryobi 40V, for cordless tools ... I don't think it's super realistic to be able to "stay in one platform", but if you must ONE+ is probably the way to do it as it's tough to find a type of tool the lineup doesn't include.

smatts wrote: ↑ They just released some new ratchets!

They did--pretty crazy they finally did this. But for many, it's a bit late--most already have other brands' ratchets. Also missing are extended-reach ratchets, which doesn't help considering Ryobi has them. I wouldn't mind getting a Ridgid extended as I don't have one of those yet, but before they ever bring those I bet I'll have bought a Ryobi (or an M12 if a stellar deal should roll around but unlikely). Ratchets are a welcome addition for sure, but wish they'd done it years ago.

EnyCe wrote: ↑The High Torque impact wrench is now on sale for -$100 off on top of the battery event. When OP posted this, it was at regular price.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001539115

If anyone wants a size comparison.

HT vs MT vs 3/8" Sub compact

royaljatt wrote: ↑ question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Tools I already have
- I have a basic drill from BD which has been doing just fine for the house work
- I have a snow blower & lawn mower (got those as gift)

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

Personally I am in the Ridgid 18v platform for small cordless tools. You can always expand your tools later as home depot has these promos regularly and the lifetime service agreement can't be beat. For bigger things such as trimmer and leaf blower I entered Kobalts 80v platform when they went on clearance. Imo for these bigger tools its best to go with another more powerful platform such as Greenworks/Kobalt 80v, Ego 56v or Ryobi 40v, all of which Ive heard good things about.

royaljatt wrote: ↑ question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Tools I already have
- I have a basic drill from BD which has been doing just fine for the house work
- I have a snow blower & lawn mower (got those as gift)

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

I have Ridgid for tools I use often/want something with LSA (drill, driver, sawzall, router, multitool, circ saw) and Ryobi for miscellaneous things that don't get as much use or don't need to be super durable (lights, inflators, 18ga and 16ga nail gun). For lawn tools I went with Toro 60v, not the most economical but they are very powerful.

royaljatt wrote: ↑ question for all you guys who use these tools
I am about to start my journey down this rabbit hole as I just became a home owner

I would need the following tools (I think)
- Leaf Blower for fall and winter
- Pressure Washer
- Impact Wrench in the future once I am ready to work on my cars (my be next year as the house need some attention)
- Maybe a trimmer

Tools I already have
- I have a basic drill from BD which has been doing just fine for the house work
- I have a snow blower & lawn mower (got those as gift)

Should I invest in Ryobi or Ridgid - I am by no mean a heavy DIY but I do like to do some small projects that can be completed within a day or two.
- build planter bay for the back yard
- fix the fence that is falling

I can't believe nobody has mentioned battery adapters!

I personally invested in rigid because of their lifetime service agreement on tools and batteries. I also bought a battery adapter that allows me to use my rigid batteries in ryobi tools, so it's the best of both worlds without having to carry 2 sets of batteries and chargers. I can pick up deals from either brand and also leverage ryobi's extensive line up..

If you're debating between the 2, grab a rigid set or tool with the free battery promo. Then get the rigid to ryobi battery adapter. @SquadG here on RFD makes them and many on here have bought from him.

EnyCe wrote: ↑ If anyone wants a size comparison.

HT vs MT vs 3/8" stubby

Thanks for this. I was really tempted to get the high torque because of the price, but seeing it now I think I'll still to the mid or even the subcompact.

It looks like the 3/8 and 1/2 subcompact have the same torque rating, could I just use a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to have best of both worlds?

Looking at videos online, the subcompact appears to be powerful enough for lugs, but would it also be strong enough to handle stubborn/rusted brake caliper bolts? I'm really liking the idea of the subcompact as it looks like it'd be great for fitting into tight places, just wondering if it's enough for removing bolts for brake maintenance..

Thx!

bpcrally wrote: ↑
Thanks for this. I was really tempted to get the high torque because of the price, but seeing it now I think I'll still to the mid or even the subcompact.

It looks like the 3/8 and 1/2 subcompact have the same torque rating, could I just use a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to have best of both worlds?

Looking at videos online, the subcompact appears to be powerful enough for lugs, but would it also be strong enough to handle stubborn/rusted brake caliper bolts? I'm really liking the idea of the subcompact as it looks like it'd be great for fitting into tight places, just wondering if it's enough for removing bolts for brake maintenance..

Thx!

Keep in mind the 1/2" sub compact variation is half the power of its original sized counter part, so you're sacrificing a lot of performance for size.

bpcrally wrote: ↑ Thanks for this. I was really tempted to get the high torque because of the price, but seeing it now I think I'll still to the mid or even the subcompact.

It looks like the 3/8 and 1/2 subcompact have the same torque rating, could I just use a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to have best of both worlds?

Looking at videos online, the subcompact appears to be powerful enough for lugs, but would it also be strong enough to handle stubborn/rusted brake caliper bolts? I'm really liking the idea of the subcompact as it looks like it'd be great for fitting into tight places, just wondering if it's enough for removing bolts for brake maintenance..

Thx!

spoil yourself and get both!

the subcompact will be good for 95%+ of the time and the lightweight is so much more convenient.

Weight savings might not be a huge deal if just working on one car, but if doing for family members, it starts to make a big difference when doing 5+ cars during swap overs etc.

EnyCe wrote: ↑ Keep in mind the 1/2" sub compact variation is half the power of its original sized counter part, so you're sacrificing a lot of performance for size.

I found the 1/2 subcompact to be quite disappointing to be honest. I'm still keeping it since I'm sure it will be useful eventually, but it doesn't have much power.

bpcrally wrote: ↑ Thanks for this. I was really tempted to get the high torque because of the price, but seeing it now I think I'll still to the mid or even the subcompact.

It looks like the 3/8 and 1/2 subcompact have the same torque rating, could I just use a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to have best of both worlds?

Looking at videos online, the subcompact appears to be powerful enough for lugs, but would it also be strong enough to handle stubborn/rusted brake caliper bolts? I'm really liking the idea of the subcompact as it looks like it'd be great for fitting into tight places, just wondering if it's enough for removing bolts for brake maintenance..

Thx!

I have the Octane Brushless 3/8" Impact Wrench that was on clearance last year for under $100. It's rated at 225 or 250 ft lbs. IIRC. I use a 21mm 1/2" socket with a short adaptor for tire changes and can easily get all my lugnuts off in seconds even at Setting 2. With the Auto Mode I have 3 X 2 = 6 settings available.

I had a tire repaired at a garage in the Fall and I saw that they jammed it on with a big airgun, no torque wrench. When I did my seasonal tire change I had to use Setting 3 to loosen the lugnuts on that rim.

bpcrally wrote: ↑ Thanks for this. I was really tempted to get the high torque because of the price, but seeing it now I think I'll still to the mid or even the subcompact.

It looks like the 3/8 and 1/2 subcompact have the same torque rating, could I just use a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to have best of both worlds?

Looking at videos online, the subcompact appears to be powerful enough for lugs, but would it also be strong enough to handle stubborn/rusted brake caliper bolts? I'm really liking the idea of the subcompact as it looks like it'd be great for fitting into tight places, just wondering if it's enough for removing bolts for brake maintenance..

Thx!

The 1/2” subcompact was great for my brake maintenance. Small and powerful enough to remove front caliper bracket bolts torqued to ~75 lbf-ft without extensions, adapters, u-joints, etc. Got them off in ~1-2s each with no struggle for power or space. I did turn the wheels out to make life easy.

Sadly the rears are a pain on 1st gen Venzas. Access is a struggle even with hand tools because of the sway bar end link position, so I couldn't use any power tool there.

Couple notes:
- It takes slightly longer on auto mode, as it first impacts seemingly on level 1 for about a second before giving full power. Doesn't bother me but if you want more instant power, use level 2 or 3, no hesitation there.

- Be very very sure to have it in reverse especially if removing slide pin bolts, as it will sheer them off if tightening. It is easy to accidentally move the selector switch to forward when gripping the tool.

P.S. After removing 4 wheels x 5 lug nuts and 4 x slide pin bolts and 4 x caliper bracket bolts and reinstalling gently with a fully charged 2Ah battery, it still shows 4 bars (75%+) after the job.

repatch wrote: ↑ I've resisted for a LONG time, after all, I have corded tools, no chance a cordless one will be any good.

Rigid changed my mind. The torque gun is a beast, I've never experienced such triviality are removing stubborn bolts.

I just purchased a cordless circular saw. It cuts through things so well my mouth was hanging open the whole time, the sawdust covering my tongue.

I'm VERY happy with this line. I have a small B&D impact driver I use for driving screws into wood which works great, but these Rigid tools are a step above. I've been missing out.

Seems like I made the right choice!

So I got the high torque with the 4ah battery.

I'm debating picking up this drill / impact drill kit: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001528346
along with the sub compact 3/8" impact wrench https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001528347

OR

Just the sub compact 1/2" impact wrench with free ah battery: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001598224

Debating on which one. I don't use drills too often where as I know for a fact the impact wrenches will be used a lot more.

recently got the 1/2" subcompact with the free regular 2ah battery. it kind of sucks with the 2ah battery. struggled with some lug nuts on my summer only car.

x-batman wrote: ↑ Seems like I made the right choice!

So I got the high torque with the 4ah battery.

I'm debating picking up this drill / impact drill kit: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001528346
along with the sub compact 3/8" impact wrench https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001528347

OR

Just the sub compact 1/2" impact wrench with free ah battery: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid ... 1001598224

Debating on which one. I don't use drills too often where as I know for a fact the impact wrenches will be used a lot more.