Ryobi 1/2" impact

[thecantaloupeman]

So I'm in the market for a good impact. Both ryobi and ridgid have a promo for a free tool with the purchase of a 2 battery and charger kit. The ridgid is 169$ and makes 620 ft/lbs torque in reverse.

The ryobi is 99$ however and only makes 300ft/lbs max torque. I really like the ryobi platform because their batteries are cheap and they don't change the connectors. Meaning I will never have to buy a new tool because they either don't make batteries anymore or because they are too expensive.

I also have a ryobi drill and weedeater with batteries. I wanted to have interchangeable batteries to save space in order to not have two chargers and extra batteries to put in my toolbox, but I'm just not sure 300ft/lbs max torque will cut it for working on my truck. I plan to mostly use it at the junkyard for taking off really rusted on bolts. Do you think the ryobi will cut it or is it a better idea to get the ridgid?

 

[78C10BigTen]

Not so sure thatll cut it. My kobalt is something like 600 ft/lbs and ive found a few things it wont budge.

 

[legopnuematic]

Never have to worry about batteries with one of these:

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With that said I have an ancient Craftsman 1/2 corded electric gun that is pretty tired and is more of a novelty at this point:

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So I got one of these:

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Which is an excellent gun, but a little large and overkill for most of what I do (but should be very handy on steering and suspension stuff)
So I also got one of these:

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This thing kicks ass and takes names, small and compact for the small stuff, but still will take lug nuts off like no ones business. Sheared a 1/2 dia bolt with it.

Not sure if this helps with anything but

 

[Tjm1534]

I have the ryobi,it’s been good for 3 years but weak,I would spring for the HF earthquake xt. Lots of good reviews and very powerful.

 

[hunters628]

I have the Milwaukee 1/2 beast mentioned above. Worth every penny. I’m going to be buying the 3/8 impact above too for smaller stuff. I’ve only run across a few things my 1/2 gun won’t break but for the most part you’re good. It’s rated for 1400ft/lbs, hard to find anything that tight.

 

[thecantaloupeman]

Never have to worry about batteries with one of these:

You must be registered for see images attach

With that said I have an ancient Craftsman 1/2 corded electric gun that is pretty tired and is more of a novelty at this point:

You must be registered for see images attach

So I got one of these:

You must be registered for see images attach

Which is an excellent gun, but a little large and overkill for most of what I do (but should be very handy on steering and suspension stuff)
So I also got one of these:

You must be registered for see images attach

This thing kicks ass and takes names, small and compact for the small stuff, but still will take lug nuts off like no ones business. Sheared a 1/2 dia bolt with it.

Not sure if this helps with anything but

I like the idea of the Milwaukee a lot but it’s the investing in their tool line part that gets me. It

I have the Milwaukee 1/2 beast mentioned above. Worth every penny. I’m going to be buying the 3/8 impact above too for smaller stuff. I’ve only run across a few things my 1/2 gun won’t break but for the most part you’re good. It’s rated for 1400ft/lbs, hard to find anything that tight.

Okay so I purchased the ryobi. I could've got the ridgid for 70$ more but I figured 620 ft/lbs won't do a whole lot more than 300. If I come across something the ryobi can't break I doubt the ridgid would either. If anything won't come loose it probably needs either the high torque milwaukee or dewalt or a pnuematic. I am a huge fan of ryobi tools and they have a great variety at great prices. Used stuff is easy to find too. I bought my drill for 5$ and a charger for 3$ at a thrift store. My local pawn shop also has a ryobi sawzall for 20$. I don't make a living off my tools and don't beat them to death so for me ryobi most of the time does the job.

If my ryobi doesn't cut it at any point I can just buy a milwaukee or dewalt impact and continue to use ryobi stuff. I got the impact free with a battery kit that had 2 3ah Lithium+hp batteries and a portable charger. So either way I got some nice batteries and a charger for my drill and whatever other ryobi tools I get in the future.

 

[shiftpro]

I have the Milwaukee 1/2 beast mentioned above. Worth every penny. I’m going to be buying the 3/8 impact above too for smaller stuff. I’ve only run across a few things my 1/2 gun won’t break but for the most part you’re good. It’s rated for 1400ft/lbs, hard to find anything that tight.

My ass is rated for 1500ft/lbs.

 

[EvilGenius]

I have a Ryobi impact and it's been great for what it is. I've beat on my mine for a couple years now and it's held up great. It does have some stuff it can't take off, but it's not real common.

 

[RoryH19]

I've had a craftsman 1/2 impact for several years.
No complaints. Also have their other tools and can swap batteries between them.

 

[bedwards]

I just recently got the Ryobi. I've only used it a couple times but it sure made short work of rotating tires on my wife's truck and replacing the hub on my son's 4wheel drive. It seems faster and easier than my air wrench.

 

[Rickf]

I've used a 1/2" ryobi impact for a few years has not failed me yet. I also use a torque wrench on lug nuts, just in case.

 

[curbstone mech]

Like you, I didn't want to buy another charger and diff batteries. I already had Dewalt 18 volt stuff. I got a 1/2 in Dewalt impact. It doesn't break everything loose, but if I try to run the nut forward for a second, then in reverse it does ok most times. But as Leg mentioned, I carry a 1" breaker bar, adapters and SiliKroil to the junkyard. Always worked so far. Now, after all these years, the Dewalt 18 volt batteries are going bad .I saw an adapter on Ebay for 18 volt to 20 volt batteries. Maybe the same thing is available for the other brands

 

[tobiahr]

I have the Dewalt for the same reason as curbstone, i didn't want multiple chargers/batteries. IMHO you should spring for the largest version of impact that your battery platform will support. There is a huge difference between the 300+ ftlbs i get with my heavy DW059B compared to the 145ftlbs i got with the smaller DC820B