Ryobi PEX Crimper: What You Need To Know Before You Buy

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For anyone embarking on a plumbing project, you may be looking for a tool to save your hands from the endless soreness of crimping pipes, such as the Ryobi 18V ONE+ PEX Crimp Ring Press Tool. As part of the Ryobi 18V ONE+ system, you'll benefit from its battery's compatibility with the hundreds of other products in the official lineup and even some non-Ryobi power tools. 

Ryobi claims it's capable of doing more than 300 crimps on a full charge. With jaws that fit an inch ring, this Ryobi crimping tool works with ⅜-inch, 1/2-inch, ¾-inch and 1-inch PEX sizes. Although, in its operator's manual, Ryobi cautions that you'll need to buy the ⅜-inch option separately. The manufacturer estimates that it can do a crimp in 5 seconds or less. The tool itself weighs 4.5 lbs or even less than a package of letter-sized paper. Even with the battery, it's light enough for the average adult and can be operated with one-hand. Additionally, you don't have to guess when the job is done, since there's an indicator light and a built-in go/no go gauge feature. But take note, Ryobi recommends always running a gauge test cycle each time you use it. Out of the box, it also ships with a belt clip and pouch. As for warranty coverage, the tool itself falls under Ryobi's three-year limited warranty.

Priced at $229, the 18V ONE+ PEX Crimp Ring Press Tool is half the price of the costly DeWalt PEX Crimper Tool Attachment. While it doesn't have a lot of reviews as of this writing, early feedback has been positive with an average rating of 4.7 stars. Some of the common things that people praised included its long battery life, clean crimping, and overall value for money. Several loved that it can be used with little effort and only one hand. One user noted how it was the perfect tool for their RV re-piping project, wherein it was not possible to do manual crimping due to limited space. 

When it comes to things people didn't like about it, some buyers said that they wished it had additional attachments and a smaller head. Likewise, one buyer thought that the push spring could be improved. On Home Depot, it has generated a lower average rating of 4.2 stars from over 170 reviewers. On other hand, a listing for refurbished models of this crimper on Amazon has a slightly lower rating of 4.1 stars from 250+ reviewers. 

Although, we suggest you take this with a grain of salt, especially feedback related to missing parts and quality control. There are a lot of reasons why you should think twice about buying Ryobi products on Amazon, especially since it could be from unauthorized dealers.