We already told you that a new, or rather first-ever, Ridgid brushless drill was on the way. Today we received official details about the hammer drill, but also news about a new 18V brushless impact driver and a higher capacity 5Ah battery pack.
There are 3 new products – a Ridgid R9205 brushless hammer drill and impact driver combo kit, the R86116K brushless hammer drill previously hinted at, and AC840089 18V 5Ah Li-ion battery pack with fuel gauge.
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Unfortunately, it looks like the combo kit is the only way to get the new Ridgid brushless impact driver. The hammer drill is available in a kit, but not (yet?) as a bare tool.
Read This: Why the heck would I want power tools with brushless motors?
Ridgid R86116K Brushless Hammer Drill
The new Ridgid brushless hammer drill is said to be a “fully powered hammer drill in a compact size.” In addition to the brushless motor, which typically provides more power and longer runtime thanks to greater efficiency, you get a new micro clutch.
Ridgid says that the drill’s micro clutch is a premium clutch design that allows pin-point accuracy with over 100 torque setting.
Wait, what? 100 torque settings? Looking at the product image, there are 100+ numbers on the clutch ring. That might mean an electronic clutch, which you’ll find in some other new brushless drills, such as the 2nd generation Milwaukee M18 Fuel drills.
You also get a hammer mode selector switch that is completely separate from the clutch, leaving your setting intact.
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- Max torque 700 in-lbs
- 0-550 | 0-2100 no-load RPM
- 0-7,150 | 0-27,300 BPM
- 1/2″ chuck
- 7-1/2″ length
- Weighs 3.75 lbs
- Comes with an auxiliary handle
Price: $179 for the bare tool (2) 2.0Ah battery kit
ETA: Nov 2015
Ridgid R86037 Brushless Impact Driver
The new Ridgid brushless impact driver doesn’t look to have fancy differentiating features like the new drill with its micro clutch. It does have 3 speed and torque settings as you would expect to find on a premium brushless impact driver.
Surprisingly, the Ridgid brushless impact driver is more powerful – at least on paper – than Milwaukee’s latest M18 Fuel 2nd generation impact driver.
- 2250 in-lbs max torque
- 3 torque and speed settings
- 500 in-lbs | 1200 in-lbs | 2250 in-lbs
- 0-1100 | 0-2100 | 0-2750 RPM
- 5-3/4″ length
- Weighs 2.5 lbs
- “Tri-Beam” LED worklight around housing for shadow-free illumination
Price: Not available separately (yet?)
Ridgid R9205 Brushless Hammer Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit
The new combo kit is the only way to get the new impact driver, at least at launch time.
It comes with both tools, (2) 4.0Ah Li-ion battery packs, a charger, starter bits, and a carrying bag.
Price: $279
ETA: Nov 2015
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Ridgid 18V 5Ah Battery Pack
Ridgid has also come out with a new 18V 5.0Ah Li-ion battery pack (AC840089). It’s compatible with all of Ridgid’s 18V tools (except for specialty plumbing power tools), and their dual-chemistry chargers.
Price: $119 (on sale for $99)
ETA: Oct 2015
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Mike
I think the following is OK with Stuart to post:
ATTENTION: CPO is selling recon blue Makita 18v Impact and drill/driver combo with (2) batteries(3aH), charger and bag for $150. Pretty good deal, it seems. Disclosure: no affiliation with CPO. In fact, I don’t even shop there. My endorsement, of lack thereof, will not affect their juggernaut sales anyway.
Stuart
Okay, but what do reconditioned Makita tools have to do with these new Ridgid brushless tools?
Mike
Oh nothing really. Just the common impact/drill combo format. I just figured if someone is interested in the orange drills of the near future, they might be interested in the blues of the recent-ish past. Sort of like some of your older posts about Woot deals, back when such things existed. My impression of ToolGuyd protocol/etiquette is that things are fairly ‘open’ around here, and info, tips, opinions, stories, etc. are tolerated fairly and pretty broadly. I am not a would be thread hijacker, and took a chance. I guess I could have shot an email request over, but there is no way I’d believe that you’re not already busy enough as it is. I find solace knowing that you have a ‘delete’ button far more powerful than my puny ‘enter’ key. Just wanted to pass along the info, as a participant/observer. No intentions beyond that. No agenda. I shudder at the thought of spammers. Those instances where HD shills(or whatever company) are outed, or semi-outed, are burned into my memory. I mean HD makes billions, literally billions of dollars. But not enough billions, I guess. Advertising is already gross, but undercover spam? It’s like a military campaign of psy-ops, except the enemy population is also the domestic constituency. Sorry for my initial tangential comment. Double sorry for the current rant. And double-plus sorry that you gotta check IP’s and all that. Even with my cynics hat on extra tight, I am unable to view ToolGuyd as a profit driven venture. It seems like a hobby at worst, but more of a service really. Clearly, many people find value here, and you have my full support. FWIW, I didn’t think it was accurate or fair to label this site as a secret agent for Milwaukee. They promote big-time all over the place, it would be crazy NOT to post about their seeming hundreds of new products they pump out. And I say this as a Bosch guy who has no lost love for Milwaukee. My only ‘criticism’ is just this suggestion: get your hands on something drill-ish from Metabo with the new LiHD batts. I know not all brands are equally accessible, but I also KNOW that if you actually review a Met-drill, it will become your new go-to. It’s like Knipex pliers-wrench or Festool track saw. Even though there was a time when you lived w/o them, can you imagine life w/o them? So sorry for the loongest post of all time. Thank you, and have a nice day.
Stuart
It’s not a big deal, or I would have hit the mighty delete button. My message was more of a general announcement to help prevent a future where every post is derailed by 10 deal posts and off-topic discussions.
I might still have to delete it in a couple of days. Otherwise, 6 months from now when someone is looking up info about these tools, there will be question comments and even emails about a Makita deal that is likely long-over.
It’s more chaos management than anything else.
I am pretty lenient about tips, insights, and other stuff mentioning in comments, but you didn’t mention anything at all about the tools or brand this post is about.
Mike
Is that a vertical button on the lower front of the handle stem? For the light maybe? Also, Ridgid drills promoting themselves as “compact size” makes me scratch my head. They offer drills(up until now at least) that are compact only if you don’t compare them with other brands of drills. And by “size” I mean weight. Obviously. Those Generation 4 drills, or x4, or whatever they call ’em weigh so much I’d swear they are imported from the 1990’s. I’m just used to my Bosch ps41 and ps31. If those two can’t get the job done, I jump right up to the Bulldog….. A/C powered SDS still works for me.
BTW, with all the new shiny batteries…any rumors of cordless worm-drive saws? THAT is a tool I’d like to see, especially from Metabo or even Bosch, though if it ever does arrive, it’ll prob be red, unless the tool market trends differently in the future. But that would be crazy, right?
Stuart
Good question. I think your guess that it’s to control the LED lights is a good one.
No rumors of a cordless worm drive saw just yet. I’d bet that, if there is to be one, Milwaukee will be the first to market.
NERemodeling
My guess would be Makita for the worm drive.. In their 18v x2 platform.
Duncan
My concern about Makita being the one for a battery-powered inline saw is that Makita use hypoid gears in their 5377MG, for example. Hypoid gears back drive and thus bog down more under heavy cutting than worm gears do, so I think Makita should just go with worm gears and not hypoid gears. Also, it would be nice to add an electronic speed control feature so when the saw starts cutting, the controller automatically gives the motor some more juice to keep it going.
Stuart
Yup, that’s a toggle for the LED worklights, which also have a 10-second timer delay.
Daniel deAndrade
The light toggle at the bottom of the handle is awesome, I have two tools out of the ridgid line both more expensive that I wish had these. Ridgid is a bit heavy but it’s a solidly built piece. The new gen5x drill pretty much handles anything I throw at it. Just today I did 16 holes in hardened steel truck frame double frame, pilot hole 1/4″ and 5/8″ holes on one battery with some juice to drill the 16 holes on the brackets also 5/8″ and steel but just regular 3/8″ angle. I did 3 3 1/2″ hole saws into 5/16″ aluminum and 3 3″ holes into 1/2″ aluminum and oak through the the floor of a box truck. I fabricate oil trucks and ever since this came out every other drill in the shop has been put aside and everyone has a gen 5x kit. I’ll be getting one of these if they are a bit smaller the brushed while powerful at times can be a bit too big. And also the clutch at 100 settings is not electronic, the brushed version has the same. It’s awesome how well you can tune the setting to exactly where you need it every time.
Toolfreak
These official details sure did follow pretty quickly after that previous post.
BikerDad
Too bad they aren’t offering it in a kit with the Rigid Pro Small Organizer Tool Box rather than a soft bag. Still, depending on timing, I may get one of these as a gift for someone for Christmas.
Stuart
Different companies make those products. If they were offered in a Ridgid Pro organizer, the cost would probably be kit price + tool box price.
BikerDad
That different companies make the products really doesn’t matter that much. I doubt very much that Rigid, or TTI, makes the bag either, they sub it out. Festool doesn’t make their Systainers, Craftsman doesn’t make squat, etc. Technically, DeWalt doesn’t make their Tough Boxes, their SBD sister company (Zag??) over in Israel does it. While it’s easier to bundle when everything is produced in the same factory, the wonders of the modern industrial production system means its still easy even when things aren’t made in the same factory.
I’d venture that Home Depot / Rigid sell more combo kits than Pro Boxes anyway, so they’d likely be able to get a killer deal. The fact that DeWalt is bundling with Tough Boxes, in Home Depot no less, will either encourage bundling the Rigid or kill it outright. Depends on the contract DeWalt has I suspect.
Jacob S
Hmm I believe the brushed version is rated with more torque? I’m not sure I see where the brushless version fits in. I have the Gen5X kit and the drill/impact seem very solid in it. Maybe a bit heavy though. Its the drill I lend out when someone needs to borrow it.
Stuart
Yes, the Gen5X brushed motor drill is rated to 780 in-lbs.
That means that, with everything else being equal, this brushless drill should deliver longer runtime than the brushed motor. If not, then maybe the advantage is in a smaller and lighter drill. It’s hard to say without testing, but I would think that the brushless drill offers runtime and size advantage compared to the brushed motor drill which offers a power and peak torque advantage.
Diplomatic Immunity
Interesting that Ridgid cordless tools seem like they are on par with price and quality as the Milwaukee cordless tools. I understand both are made by TTI but you would think there would be some quality difference between the two.
I always figured it would be Milwaukee then Ridgid and then Ryobi at Home Depot in their hierarchy of cordless tools. This seems more like Ridgid is on par with Milwaukee now except they don’t have Milwaukee’s extensive lineup. Maybe I’m missing something?
Nathan
once I took a closer look at the ridgid battery and items – it seems more like the ridgid stuff is the motors, batteries, and probably other pieces that don’t make full spec for the milwaukee item and then put in the orange shell.
IE – motor should make 16000 rpm at 15V regulated and 2.5 amp draw while registering 300 inch lbs torque. however it draws 2.71 amps and only 271 inch lbs. place motor in bin 3, test next motor . . . . . . . .
it’s close but not 100%, so we make a different tool with it. for most people it’s probably still plenty kick azz.
I almost bought into ridgid because I felt they were decently built – but someone gave me a dewalt device and it was made in the USA so I ended up in that battery eco-system.
If I bought into another cordless system I’d look hard at the ridgid line.
Stuart
That’s not how tools are manufactured.
Motors are going to be closer in performance, or at least they should be, than things like CPUs and memory that are manufactured alike and then binned according to performance.
That said, to my knowledge, TTI’s in-house teams handles Ridgid power tool development, Milwaukee Tool’s in-house teams handles Milwaukee tool development. Given that the tools are probably in constant production, they’re probably not going to share production lines.
Jerry
From my understanding, motors make a certain amount of torque based upon current, and the number of windings it has. It is highly unlikely (perhaps even impossible) for an identically wound motor to draw more current, and produce less output, unless something is horribly wrong, like a stuck bearing, or bad brush (or controller, in a brushless motor)
Nathan
Next time you go through a plant – and you see people pulling motors out of a bin and putting them in something – ask where the motors come from and source supply.
You can’t tell me you don’t believe companies under the TTI umbrella don’t share vendors for parts. like batteries, circuit boards, etc.
Same for SBD, Bosch, etc.
I used to work for a company that made fractional HP DC electric motors – this is exactly what we did. one bin was for company X, another for Y, and another for Z – the motor design was identical the test requirements were variable.
Jerry you’re mostly correct. differences in magnetic flux of permanent magnets (for non brushless) , differences in copper quality , circuit boards, bearings, armature weight etc.
either way though I still say ridgid is quality product and competition is good all around.
Stuart
Share vendors? Yes. Common parts? Maybe?
But I really don’t think they build and then bin motors to determine which power tool brand gets which motor.
John Ryan
We have had 6 A/H batteries for 6 months in New Zealand, under the AEG branding.
devin
It seems strange to me that they just came out with the 5x set and then they come out with this brushless set. I wonder why they didnt make the gen 5x set brushless. What are your thoughts?
silvo
Pries. from Slovenja
Joe G
No mention of brushless 12V tools? I’m disappointed that there isn’t more competition out there for the Milwaukee 12V brushless tools. Sure, Bosch sells their drill separately, but they haven’t even brought over the impact driver that goes with it. If Bosch put out a brushless 12V kit, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.
Any word on when such a thing might happen? I’d half hoped Ridgid would jump in with a moderately-priced brushless 12V option.
will
I noticed that you put the price for the bare tool at $179 but that’s for the kit with 2 2.0ah batteries along with the bag,charger, auxiliary handle, belt hook and a bit. That’s what I’ve seen elsewhere anyways.
Stuart
You’re right, my mistake, thanks!
I’m so used to seeing solid numbers for Ridgid power tools, and letters denoting whether a tool is a bare tool that I somehow got it into my head that this was a bare tool and not a kit.
Thanks for the correction!
I also updated the specs for the impact driver. I received an email today from Ridgid with new values for max torque and each of the 3 speed and torque settings.
Justin
Any idea/reason why they reverted to a light on the base for the brushless drill and not keep the chuck lights like the Gen5x brushed drill? And any word on weight in comparison to the Gen5x hammer drill with or without batteries?
Simon
Why even bother is my question. I understand the desire for a company to make different tier products like Toyota Lexus and Scion. But I guess brushless is becoming a premium feature available for a mid grade brand. So they can persuade nubs or avid diyers to buy in? Then upgrade to Milwaukee/Lexus so they end up spending even more money?
What I don’t like about the Rigid tools are the deep grooves on the body and unnecessary bulges. How fun is it to clean between those things when they get dirty? Probably not as bad as Porter Cable. A flashy design by a marketing department but an inefficient tool design for anyone who really uses them.
” What’s that? You want me to pour concrete footing? Let me use that drill to mix the concrete. Oh yes. The grooves allow dirt/dust to get trapped in the grooves so I can maintain my grip on the tool. What’s that? The client wants me to install white blinds and white curtains on his window of his white wall? Let me wipe the drill down. Okay finished. Oh no!! Why are there fingerprint marks everywhere?”
garyn
Unboxing video (not mine)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6EDMyoXRkU