In the wake of our 18V heavy duty drill shootout, we came across the Ryobi P1812 One+ hammer drill kit. Boasting 600 inch pounds of torque at just $129 from The Home Depot, we wanted to see what kind of performance to expect. We didn’t even have our rigs torn down yet, so I decided to put it through some of the same tests the big boys did.
Now to be fair, I certainly don’t expect the Ryobi P214 hammer drill to have performance levels up there with the Heavy Duty class, even when using a 4.0 amp hour battery over the kitted 1.5 amp hour compacts. It’s the incredible value Ryobi offers that makes it so attractive to DIYers and some tradesman. The question we’re always left with in a high value tool is what we can reasonably expect it to do (without voiding the warranty).
Ryobi P1812 One+ Hammer Drill Kit Specifications
- Drill Model: Ryobi P214
- Power Source: Ryobi 18V One+ Battery Pack
- Chuck Size: 1/2″
- No Load Speed: 0 – 375/0 – 1,600 RPM
- Blows: 0 – 5,600/0 – 24,000 BPM
- Torque: 600 inch pounds
- Clutch Positions: 24
- Weight: 3.2 pounds bare, 4.8 pounds w/4.0 amp hour battery
- Length: 8-15/16″
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price $129 at The Home Depot
Ryobi P1812 One+ Hammer Drill Kit Key Features
- 2-speed motor
- 3 modes: drill, drive, and hammer
- Magtray magnetic holder
- LED light
- Included in kit: Ryobi P214 Hammer Drill, auxiliary handle, depth rod, (2) 1.5 amp hour 18V One+ batteries, 30 minute charger, tool bag, manual
The Ryobi P1812 hammer drill kit is paired with two 1.5 amp hour compact batteries. The 30 minute charger should keep you going all day with drilling and driving tasks. Aggressive tasks will drain the battery more quickly, but just keep a case of beer in the fridge and take a break if there’s some overlap—unless you’re on the jobsite—your manager will probably frown on that.
The 2-speed motor offers the best of its 600 inch pounds of torque in low speed at 375 RPM. Low stress applications are performed more quickly at 1600 RPM in high speed. Twenty four clutch positions help dial in the exact amount of torque you need for driving applications without damaging your work surface. The clutch-overriding drill and hammer drill modes handle the rest of the job, including light masonry/concrete drilling.
A standard bottom mounted LED light helps illuminate darker work spaces and Ryobi’s Magtray offers quick magnetic storage of fasteners and bits on the tool.
Ryobi P1812 One+ Hammer Drill Performance
I gave Ryobi’s hammer drill the opportunity to perform the same tasks to which the heavy duty class were tested. While I was curious about what kind of results it would get, I was really interested to see if I could effectively use it for the same jobs and how it would feel in the hand during some tougher types of drilling and driving.
First up was simple hole drilling with Milwaukee’s 1/4″ Titanium Red Helix Shockwave twist bit. Drilling 12 holes in 4 stacked sheets of 3/4″ plywood yielded solid results. It took 33.3 seconds to get it done, which is actually in the range of what the big boys did—and pretty impressive given the lower specifications.
Using those 1/4″ pilot holes, I then flipped the drill to low speed to drive some 3/8″ x 3-1/2″ lag bolts. When it comes to driving lag bolts, some drills have a hard time just completely driving them to the work surface. The Ryobi P214 didn’t have a problem, driving each lag bolt flush to the wood in an average of 5.69 seconds.
Staying in the same material, I installed a 1-inch spade bit to try boring some larger holes. I prefer to drill with these in high speed and feather the bit through material rather than forcing it through in low speed. This limits the stress on the tool which reduces heat build up and extends the battery life. It took just over 20 seconds (20.11) on average to make it through.
Finally, I wanted to give the Ryobi P214 hammer drill a chance to chew through 1-1/2″ of plywood with a 3″ hole saw. Admittedly, this is beyond what it is rated for—but I still wanted to see if I could do it. Using a 4 tooth tungsten carbide tipped hole saw, this was a tough task. In my preferred high speed, there was a lot of stop and go, so I tossed the results as being too inconsistent. There was plenty of power to chew through in low speed though. 24.52 seconds was the average time it took to break through.
This was where my only real issue with the Ryobi P1812 kit came up. I had a hard time keeping the drill stable with the auxiliary handle in that final test. I’d like to see it extended maybe another couple of inches to help push against the high toque in tough tasks. I’ll qualify that statement though—the handle was certainly adequate for the other drilling we did. I get the impression that it may be designed more for the benefit of concrete drilling than hole boring.
Ryobi P214 Hammer Drill Conclusions
Ryobi offers up solid performance at this price point. Heavy users will notice a more rugged experience over most Pro models, but the Ryobi P214 hammer drill is certainly going to get the job done. Given the fact that the Ryobi P214 completed each of the tasks I asked of it, there’s really no reason for DIYers and homeowners to pass this up.
At the moment, this hammer drill is available only in the Ryobi P1812 kit. However, if Ryobi decides to pair this drill in a 2-tool kit (with an impact driver) or make it the core of their 4-tool general contractor’s kit, it’s only going to make the value proposition even greater.
