Ryobi R18CS-L40S Circular Saw

After borrowing Keiths' (my brother-in-law) Ryobi Circular Saw to cut some of the floor and roof joist that I were given to me by the Contractor on the building site behind the boundary wall to my plot, I've looked into the different circular saw options from Ryobi. 

Having determined from that trial with Keith's equipment that I needs a heavy duty powerful battery, the viable option was a no brainer really I had to go for the R18CS-L40S Starter Kit that comes with the Circular Saw, 4.0Ah Battery and Charger plus a carrying case. 

At the time of purchase it had been reduced to £152 but what I didn't realise was that now I'm over 60 I can get a white B&Q Over 60 card and on a Wednesday get an additional 10% off. Now I know, that is what I will be doing when I want to add any more Ryobi tools to my collection or buying anything from B&Q.

At the moment the 4Ah Battery are on offer at B&Q at £70 down £10 from the RRP of £80 but they are £58.99 at CBS Power Tools

There are six batteries of different capacities and thus longer durations, B&Q appear to only currently stock 3 sizes but all are available from CBS Power Tools and are cheaper and delivery is Free on order over £100, plus they sell twin battery packs that are further discounted. So if I need additional batteries I know where I shall be looking.  

The battery has a four stage fuel/ charge gauge that displays the remaining power at 100,75,50 & 25% at a press of the button, so you know when it's time to recharge. 

The 18V +One Fast Charger which is compatible with all ONE+ 18V Lithium ion batteries normally retails at £50 but B&Q are selling at £48 at the moment and CBS Power Tools at £44.95 

The carry case is £9.95 so that means your actually paying around £24 for the circular saw

I do have to say that I was a little disappointed that the carry case was not big enough to accommodate the batter charger as well as the power tool, the clue is in the name "Starter Kit" and it would be nice to keep everything together, as not everyone is going to mount the charger on the wall or on a bench or add to a huge collection of Ryobi tools they already have. The larger case is £27 and I'm guessing it's just keeping the cost down that stops Ryobi supplying an ample case for the job. 

If you visit the Ryobi One + web site for the UK and search for information on Ryobi batteries you find that Ryobi tools can be purchased from four outlets in the UK 

What's sad is that the same search facility to find out where you can buy and who has the item you want in stock does not operate on all product pages.  

By visiting the four outlets web sites I found that not all outlets sell all the range of products CBS Power Tools and Amazon don't appear to stock the R18CS-L40S, however Amazon did sell other similar and I'm guessing older version LCS1801 which only cuts to a depth of 45mm and appears to be supplies with a low capacity battery, as there is feedback that the battery only lasted 30 minutes. 

Looking at the shape of the bag supplied with this version this appears to be the one my brother-in-law purchased but he was lucky enough too have a few Ryobi batteries of various strengths and durations for me to try before I buy.

When I unpacked the box I nearly missed the fact that an Edge Guide is supplied with the saw as it does not appear on any of the images on the box or the web sites, and is so well packed in the cardboard packing that you could throw it away once you have unpacked and placed the Circular Saw in its supplied canvas bag, if you are not careful.

I have charged the battery and once I have visited my allotment and cut up as many joists into bed lengths as possible I will update this post and let you know just exactly how many cuts I managed to get before the battery could do no more, or how much power was still left in the battery by time I had finished. 

Starter Kits are the way to go to get your foot on the Ryobi ladder and you can add further starter kits or purchase when the company has bundles they are selling at Christmas to build your collection.

Ryobi ONE+ One Battery fits all over 50 different tools for the home and garden with the same Lithium + battery. As you may recall I recently replaced the trimmer I used on the allotment with a B&Q Own brand 18V Li ion product for £35.

I looked on the B&Q website and no ONE+ Trimmers were to be found at all, however the One battery Fits All brochure I picked up from there shows three trimmers and a bush cutter, which are just the kind of tools that Allotment Plot Holders and Gardeners look for.

I did however find the One+ Line Trimmers on the CBS Power Tools web site

I think I may just contact Ryobi and CBS Power Tools to see if they would like to send me these and perhaps some other tools for evaluation and review? Let's face it if you don't ask you don't get!