Does everybody have to hate Ozito???

[kiwigeo]

Bunnies up this way don't seem to stock Ozito any longer either, maybe they got sick of the the amount of warranty returns that had to do.

The dump fees were probably costing them a packet.

[SimonP]

Like most woodworkers I've had cheap power tools last for ages, and expensive presents to myself blow up with little use (and vice versa).
I've also had the expensive ones go missing on building sites (ouch!)

I now go for the cheaper end, including Ozito, but am careful of two things:

1. Don't use it for so long or so hard that the motor casing warms up
I suspect that the cheaper brands have either poorer wiring, wiring insulation or ventilation, hence a higher rate of burnout
If you need to keep working after the tool gets hot, get another one and swap back and forth - buying two will still be cheaper than a high end brand. You'll also have a spare "just in case".

2. Take them apart now and then and lubricate even "sealed for life" bearings, and especially plain bearings seen of some cheap routers.

Since doing the above, I haven't had one failure (in two years house building)

[Black Bear]

thanks for the replies so far!
If i bought only the best of everything then I would need to take up bank robbery as a profession. I cannot justify the need for an $8,000 machine for occasional use. I am not a tradesman and only need tools and equipment for hobbies and make my own furniture / projects. Surely with a three year guarantee the Ozito must be reliable otherwise the manufacturer would go broke replacing or honouring guarantees. Please do not take this as having a go at anyone. I do like to get others opinions before I purchase.

In regards to Bunnings and the 3 year warranty on Ozito, I have proved that both are honoring the deal.

I had a Swing arm MITRE saw by Ozito, cost $200.00. In the 21/2 years that I had it, i I was generally happy with the machine. I too, am a small time hobby woodie, and in the same financial boat as you.

I was talking to the Toolie at Bunnings, Coffs Harbour, and told him the saw was having little faults show up, like the plastic guard had worn through near the saw center, and would sometimes jam, a couple of other minor things as well.

He said if it is under 3 years bring it back and ".........We will replace it".

I took it back that afternoon, not wanting to miss the bloke that said to, and it turned out that they did not have anymore of the one I had purchased, instead they had a better (Two Arm) swing saw with a slightly larger motor and a couple of other refinements, and I could have that one for an extra $30.00.

"Not my fault that you haven't got the same saw to replace".

"OK you can have ti his one as a clear replacement" said he.

"What about the new warranty?" I questioned "This is a different model to the one I am replacing so I should have a new Warranty of 3 years".

"Oh! All right" he blurted, "Anything else?"

(Silly man) "What about pain and suffering?" I innocently asked.

"Get out, garn' get".

So I garn' and got. With the new saw, of course.

[artme]

I think I may have written about this in another thread, but here goes anyway.

I have an1100W Ozito drill. Large and heavy but with lots of grunt. I bought it to finish a fence I was building because my faithful25yo. B&D cashed its chips in. The Ozito would not move from reverse after I had Drilled 35 pilot holes and thendriven 4" batten screws into them. Went back to Bunnies - no problem, grab a new one is stillgoing strong. It does not work that well in hammer mode and is inclined ( when in hammer mode) to loosen the chuck's grip.It came with a label that clearly states it is NOT for trade or continuous use. Stick with that and you are right as rain. Cost was $99.

I needed to drill some holes in concrete to put in some Chemset bolts. I knew the "ordinary" drill would not do the job. I had seen a mate's Ozito Rotary Hammer at work, so off to Bunnies and $89!! later walked out with one. Talk about do the job!! I figured this way - $80 to hire one. For the extra $9 I drilled the necessary 16 holes and still had the machine. I have used it since for other jobs and expect it to be part of my kit for some time yet.

Would I suggest others buy these tools? Yes, BUT use them as they are intended.

[TP1]

I understand the need for cheap tools for the rare use they are designed for. But for every Ozito tool I have bought in the past, I have ended up buying a more expensive replacement for better function and accuracy.

The cordless drill was a stand out. Gutless, and wouldn't hold the charge for more than a day or so.

[Cliff Rogers]

I am on my second Ozito Rotary Hammer Drill, wouldn't be without it.

Mind you, even though I thought I couldn't kill the first one, it stopped drilling when I hit a bit of reo in a slab & it let me down when I was 450Kms from home.
Lucky I was nearly finished the job & I didn't have to go & get a new one to finish.

[Black Bear]

Have you ever really read the Warranty conditions....It says...The Warranty is void if the tool is used in industry, ( Something else) and if the tool is USED TOO MUCH...Love that one.

However, Bunnings have honored a warranty claim by me.

BB

[Cliff Rogers]

Read the warranty conditions????

Is that anything like reading the manual or one of those new fangled map things?

[mike_h]

Have you ever really read the Warranty conditions....It says...The Warranty is void if the tool is used in industry, ( Something else) and if the tool is USED TOO MUCH...Love that one.

However, Bunnings have honored a warranty claim by me.

BB

I work in a Bunnies tool shop, and we (at least the toolies at our store) try to match the tool to the user's needs as far as possible. I am happy to recommend a cheap tool to someone who just wants to do a few simple jobs. On the other hand, if someone plans major renovations or is serious about what they are doing, I will recommend that they spend more to get better value for their $s.

The Ozito and XU1 warranties are always honoured, provided that the tool was used for DIY purposes. The packaging and the warranty clearly state this limitation. If tradies bought the tools using their trade acount (getting trade discount), or if the tool has been obviously mis-treated or worked to death, then the tool was not DIY.

If you buy any tool (or anything else of value that has a warranty), always keep your receipt. Without proof of purchase, no retailer has to honour any warranty. As stated earlier, the Bunnings receipts tend to fade with time, so keep them away from light. If you can, photocopy or scan them.

Mike

[leyton01]

I have had my fair share of experience with Ozito - mostly just buying cheap tools to get a job done and not being able to justify more expensive tools for simple DIY projects.

I think this has been said a bit here but I have an Ozito 1100W hammer drill and the thing is a beast. Eats up concrete and brick without missing a beat - never seems to struggle. Very happy with this sub-$100 tool. Great buy.

Orbital sander - used it for about 10 mins to see if it gave a better finish than a 1/3 sheet sander I was using. It didn't but more importantly the pads wouldn't stick, unbelievable that somehow they managed to manufacture it with defective velcro (pretty basic stuff). Bunnings took it back for a full refund when the tool guy sent a pad about 5m testing it. Crap - no money lost.

Multi tool - heaps of power, has done quite a bit of work and is a very useful tool. No problems with it so far. Is compatible with the bosch bits which are widely available. (Definitely get them from ebay as Bunnings gouges you for accessories). Great buy.

I had a positive experience with another generic brand - Icon from mitre 10. Bought an 18v Li-Ion drill for much less than any other name brand, renovated a house with it. Beat it to death building a retaining wall (drilling + batten screws!!). Thing still worked but after 1.5 years the trigger wouldn't completely disengage. Amazingly I took it back to (local small old-school) Mitre 10 without the receipt, they looked up the sale from my credit card transaction date, gave me a new one on the spot, complete with new 2 year warranty. You just don't get service like that any more. I still use it along with my AEG 18V and sometimes prefer it as it is significantly lighter for long jobs and the battery seems to last longer :S

Ozito-like brands have their place - DIY. Sure they break at times but have a decent warranty (wonder how many people would buy them if they only had 12 months). You can get some ripper tools for cheap as well but sometimes you just throw away your money.

[rogerjenkins]

G'day guys, Over the years I have had a mixture of cheap and expensive power tools,- from GMC, to ROK, to Ozito, plus Ryobi; Bosch; Makita; Hitachi, even Dremel.

A GMC cordless drill lasted one battery charge, then blew, " Blue smoke." and stopped dead! Went back to our local Thrifty-Link hardware & got a replacement, which died after about 6 months of general use
Currently have a ROK cordless drill with 2 batteries which I paid $76. for 12 months ago, and is still going strong.
My Dremel Moto-Tool, which is just out of warrenty, decided to play up the other day,- variable speed suddenly became," One Speed, - S-L-O-W," Rang a couple of Adelaide-based repairers, and discovered that it was cheaper to buy a new one than to get my Dremel repaired !!! Both of my Bosch Drills are over 10 years old, and still in the land of the living, same goes for my Makita 3hp Router, & Power-Planer, and other woodworking equipment I have acumulated over the years.
My neighbour has owned several Ozito drills, & circular saws, all of which have, " Blown Blue Smoke," after a few small jobs, and a local retired Farmer, who should know better, recently bought a cheap," Woolworth's Router," ( so to speak ), for about $50. all up,- including bits, brought it round to me, bragging about it, saying how cheap, and good it was, etc.,etc., compared to my expensive stuff !! Famous last words as it turned out,- week later he was in hospital,- with a gashed leg, plus an electric shock!! Seems he was using his, "Bargain-basement router," to shape something, when the cutter he was using suddenly disintegrated into pieces, which embedded themselves deeply in his right thigh, and at the same time the motor shorted out, giving him a nasty electric shock, cooked the wiring, and blew the shed safety switch as well. He's not bragging about his, " bargain," now. -
Can't imagine why !!!
Roger

[bedbug]

Thanks a bunch Guys. I've just set up my boyhood dream, almost 60 years later and because of a rotten DVA pension I was basically forced to choose "cheap" from Bunnings mostly.

My scroll saw is a Ryobi. I saw it was mentioned in the same breath by a few as an Ozito. It wasn't sub $100.00 but it came with a very handy flexible Dremel like arrangement which plugged into the side of the saw. Plus over 100 bits of sanding/grinding/cutting hobby type bits.
My Router is an Ozito and came with 25 very complicated looking bits in a proper display stand
I made a mistake and left a feeler bid on Ebay for a new GMC router with another 25 less complicated bits $26.78. with carry case and edging gizmo.
A belt/disk sander which I just noticed had no bloody name at all. New from Ebay.
A Ryobi Jigsaw
A Ryobi Battery drill
A no name drill press
An Aussie 10" wood vice which I have to fit wooden jaws to. Home made I assume.
A can't remember name Circular saw
A Ryobi angle grinder
A Crazy Prices vacuum cleaner $39.00 And a set of 8 clamps for $45.00 from mitre 10.

So now, after reading this thread I'm expecting a firework display every day. OK there's no way anything will be used every day and the scroll saw won't be switched on for longer than 30 minutes to sytop my spine from locking up.

But did you have to be so harsh. As you can see, my entire shop is in the bracket most of you have condemned. Being on that lousy pension was the deciding factor on what I bought. Bunnings were the only sellers who actually had the decency to refer me to their senior salesman and he helped me and answered dozens of dumb questions (well to me they weren't dumb but I'm sure he's heard them all a thousand times) He seemed very genuine in his advice and he really did give me big discounts when he found out I managed 3 hours at our Mens' Shed occasionally when the body was willing.

My doctor has absolutely condemned my actions and has told me if I continue I will spend the rest of my life in bed. Hey DOC! I've just spent 8 years of my life in bed so big deal. What started out as making wooden platforms for my boats has now grown into that boyhood dream and after Trevor very kindly arranged to have 5 x 20kg packs of Parquetry delivered for free. A distance of over 300k I intend to make small signs for children's bedroom doors and 3d name plates for office desks. Plus hopefully toys for kids who's parents can't afford an Ozito. My dreams are shattered. I thought I as getting good deals and I thought Ryobi was a top Aussie Company. So the tool man wasn't being helpful he was getting me to buy 3 times more equipment than I thought I could buy on my savings and the whole lot could end up in flames. My ticker's not the best as it is. I don't know if I could take some going BANG and shooting flames.

Anyone care to do a test run? (
Stu (very disheartened) and jealous of you guys who have the money to buy the good stuff.

[Bushmiller]

Bedbug

Just be certain to keep the receipts safe and you'll be right.

Regards
Paul

[matthias47]

I have an Ozito 12v drill more than 10 yrs old with original battery. Still working. In the meantime it has outlasted 2 XU1 drills, and a Bosch 240v drill. Other Ozito and GMC equipment I have has performed extremely well. All gear is basically used DIY and for hobby work.

[stevenj]

Ive had mixed results, I had a bosch sander, cost me $120 and lasted <18months....went into Bunnings and saw the ozito, thought about it but what the hell, cost me $35 and lasted 3.5 years....do the math....bought a second still going 2 years later......

On the bad, I got a 1/4sheet sander blew in 5mins, got another never revved up took it back and Bunnings did me a deal on a blue makita....

I want a biscuit cutter, $135 for an ozito with a 3 year warrantee v >$700 for a makita....cant justify it for DIY have a friend who has one says its fine.....

regards