RIDGID 7" OCTANE Grinder |
Will run on one battery |
Though we do not have the (official)
weight on this grinder yet, I estimated it to weigh around 8lbs. That’s not bad
at all considering how large this beast is, not to mention the build quality is
extremely heavy duty. The guarding alone on this unit is impressive, and will
rotate 360 degrees to help prevent sparks from flying back at you.
One of the coolest features that this
grinder has to offer is the swivel head that will rotate left or right (180
degrees). This allows you use this grinder without ever needing to twist your
wrist. All you need to do is push the release located inside the handle area
and turn. The head will automatically lock in, so no levers or bolts to tighten
when doing this. The trigger itself also has a lock feature that you can
release simply by pushing up on the release switch that’s attached to the
trigger.
Spindle Size 5/5" |
The new 7” grinder runs on the RIDGID
OCTANE smart batteries. It will run off of one battery, but two is recommended for
longer runtimes and power. The grinder will also run off of the standard RIDGID
18v batteries, but if you want the full abilities of this grinder to shine, use
the recommended OCTANE. Now that being said, do not be confused about the
voltage on this unit. Just because it runs on two OCTANE batteries don’t not
make this a 36v grinder. It’s still only 18 volts even with two batteries being
used at once. However, RIDGID does claim that it’s the most powerful 18V 7”
grinder on the market today, and I can’t really disagree with that statement.
As for the power this grinder does
deliver, let’s just say it’s impressive. I cut through ½” rebar, 1/8” thick
angle iron, ½” lag screws and ground some really nasty, rust infested metal,
and it never missed a beat. I noticed absolutely no power loss when
cutting/grinding, and never noticed any overheating when cutting/grinding for
long periods of time.
Another awesome feature that this
grinder has is that the handle attachment can me inserted on the left, right or
top of the unit. This makes the grinder extremely versatile and right or left
handed users can use it with ease, and also work in some really awkward areas.
The only issue I had with this grinder
was the wheel lock button. T was not the easiest to engage and was a bit awkward
to use. It’s a bit larger than I am used to, and doesn’t stick out of the
casing, so if you are wearing gloves, it makes it a real pain to press
downward.
Other than that, this grinder is a heavy
duty, well-built piece of equipment that will take tons of abuse. RIDGID definitely
had the pros in mind when they designed this unit, and you will notice the
quality build as soon as you pick it up for the first time.
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