RIDGID releases their all new RIDGID OCTANE 18V Brushless 4-1/2" angle grinder (Model R86042B) and we had a chance to review it. Was it really more powerful?

RIDGID OCTANE 4-1/2" Angle Grinder Model# R86042B

Many of our subscribers had been waiting for the new RIDGID Brushless/Cordless OCTANE 4-1/2” grinders to hit the market, and Tool Review Zone was one of the first to

Many of our subscribers had been waiting for the new RIDGID Brushless/Cordless OCTANE 4-1/2” and 7”grinders to hit the market, and Tool Review Zone was one of the first to get their hands on them. If you’ve read our previous reviews on the RIDGID OCTANE Tools, you already know that the RIDGID OCTANE batteries work in conjunction with the OCTANE tools buy sending more power to the tools when needed. This in return prevents the grinder, and other OCTANE tools from bogging/slowing down on even the most heavy duty jobs.

We tested this grinder on a few different applications that included cutting ½” rebar, 1/8” angle iron and a couple 1’ railroad spikes.  We also ground heavy gauge railroad steel that had been sitting outside for over 80 years! The steel had a very heavy coating of rust that looked as if it would never come off. I placed the provided RIDGID grinding disk on the tool, and popped in a 9Ah OCTANE battery. As soon as I applied the wheel to the steel, the rust stared flying off. This grinder was providing up to 10,000 max RPM, so the task was super easy to complete, and absolutely no power loss even when applying a lot of pressure to the grinder.

The next thing I did was change out the grinding wheel with a metal cutting wheel. It’s super easy to do as they added a wheel lock button and provide you a wrench to loosen/tighten the when. After the cutting wheel was in, I grabbed the railroad spikes, a few 1/2” lag screws and angle iron. The lag screws weren’t even a challenge for this grinder. It literally took about 4 seconds to cut through each one, and was amazingly easy to do. Even the angle iron and railroad spikes were not a challenge. The spikes were a little over 1” thick, but again, I was able to cut through them in seconds. The Angle iron was also really easy to cut as I let the 4.5 LBS of the grinder do the work for me.

As for feel, RIDGID has really stepped up their build quality. This grinder feels extremely well built and heavy duty. The rubber over-mold feels great in the hands, and really helps mitigate the vibration on the grinder. They also added three different handle attachment areas to this grinder (Left, Right and Top) so you do not have to twist your wrist while working with it.

As for safety, the guard is made of very thick metal, and also very easy to rotate. To keep the sparks going where you want them, RIDGID added a push level so you can adjust the guard position 360 degrees. This really helps prevent the sparks from hitting you or items in the immediate area. I also wanted to see if the head of the grinder got overheated from the heavy cutting, but it stayed cool to the touch.

All in all, this grinder is a little monster. It’s definitely made for the professional, and carried a LSA with free parts and service for life once you register it on the RIDGIG.com site. Not to mention it feels like it has the power of a corded grinder.You simply can’t beat that!