STINKO! Rigid R82007 12-volt Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver

rick7938 · 03-22-2008, 12:37 PM

Don't know if you've noticed, but Rigid is now offering a "Lifetime Warranty" on some of their corded, cordless (including batteries), and some pneumatics tools. When I saw that my local Home Depot had the Rigid 12-volt Lithium-Ion drill/driver on sale for $103 with a "Lifetime Warrant", I couldn't pass it up - fresh batteries for a "lifetime."

So, I drove 40 miles one way, bought the drill/driver, and brought it home. I put my first battery in to charge while I went on-line to register the tool - a must for the warranty to be in effect. Two hours later the 30-minute charger still had not charged the first battery. I put in the other battery, left it overnight, and in the morning the 30-minute charger was still blinking/charging. I reread the instructions on the charger and found that both the lights blinking simultaneously means that either the batteries or charger is defective.

I drove the 80 miles round-trip to exchange the drill. Before leaving the store, I tested the new charger. It was defective also. The tool aisle salesman tested a third one, and it was defective also. By this time, I had experienced all of Rigid's cordless drill/drivers that I wanted. So, I traded it for a DeWalt 12-volt cordless that uses the same batteries that have served me well for many years. Didn't get it for $103 though.

I e-mailed the Rigid Power Tool Customer Service explaining my problem. I would still buy one if the thing would work. It really seems to be a well designed drill and fits nicely in your hand, and is very compact. The Customer Service Rep expressed total disbelief that Rigid could experience such a problem and told me to check around with other stores until I found one that worked. At $3.25 for a gallon of gas, it would be cheaper to hire someone to drill the holes for me than look for a tool that works. Customer Service offered no solutions other than just keep looking and they could not believe it could happen.

CONCLUSION: If you live in the Fayetteville area and buy the above tool, be very careful. I am sure that they put the ones that didn't work back on the shelf. I have other Rigid tools that work fine, but this particular one STINKS!!!

Nativespec · 03-22-2008, 03:01 PM

I feel your pain.

I was not willing to pay for DeWalt in the past (I use to buy the cheap Craftsman and Firestorm), but I am a big buyer of the 18v Dewalt and the batteries are good quality. Your time has got to be worth something and mine aint too be wasted on poor quality.

David

junquecol · 03-22-2008, 11:12 PM

I bought one also this week. The batteries charged in the thirty minute window of time. The drill / driver is a handy little tool IMHO. Sorry you had a bad experience with yours. One thing I have learned from battery chargers, is to unplug them for about ten minutes. This allows the internals to reset. With the ninety day happiness guarantee (don't like it, take it back) I will run the ---- out of it and see if it lasts. If it doesn't, it goes back.

rick7938 · 03-23-2008, 08:39 AM

Glad that yours works well. I really, really liked that little drill. Also, thanks for the tip on the charger. I might give them another try. I have always found that 12-volts are all I need since most of what I do involves screws 2" or less. That's a really compact, neat little drill.

You give me hope. Thanks.

junquecol · 03-23-2008, 11:02 PM

I bought it to run "blue screws" into concrete and block walls. My Ryobi 9.6 V just don't have enough muscle to do this job. I didn't want to fight the weight of either a 12 volt, or 18 volt drill. Plus, inside some of my boxes there isn't enough room for anything bigger. I used it the other night on an install job and was well pleased. You may have just a run of bad luck. A while back, on another site, a poster complained about the cuts he was getting using a Delta 7657 blade. I have several of the same blade and like them better than my WWII's. The one trouble with Lithium- Ion cells is they don't run down- they just die instantly. But they do recharge in thirty minutes, at least mine do.

DavidF · 03-24-2008, 04:52 PM

Now don't laugh, but I needed a cordless drill screwdriver to take to a trade show next week and found an 18v 3/8" one at HF fro $15.99!!!! works just great and has the same 18v battery as the HF impact wrench I bough a few months back. A second battery for the impact was $12, so for another $4 I get a new tool!

sapwood · 03-24-2008, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by DavidF

Now don't laugh, but I needed a cordless drill screwdriver to take to a trade show next week and found an 18v 3/8" one at HF fro $15.99!!!! works just great and has the same 18v battery as the HF impact wrench I bough a few months back. A second battery for the impact was $12, so for another $4 I get a new tool!

Sorry David, but I'm laughing.
You're gonna blow your tool budget at HF

Roger

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