We get asked a lot of questions about Ryobi batteries and especially about compatibility. Below we explain exactly what you need to know about Ryobi batteries and chargers for their cordless power tool range of products. The good news is that when compared to other tool brands, Ryobi is the easiest of all to understand when it comes to battery and charger selection.
The Ryobi Brand
The Ryobi brand is a hugely popular brand with the trade professionals. If you look on any construction or building site in the UK, you will find it littered with Ryobi branded tools of all kinds.
Ryobi is a Japanese company that makes a wide range of products for the automobiles, electronics, and telecommunications industries. It also owns and manufacturers under many other brands such as AEG, Dirt Devil and VAX.
They began making power tools in 1968 and that still their core business after all these years.
In the UK they sell through retailers that include Screwfix, RS Components, Travis Perkins and many others, though these days a high percentage of their sales are on line.
What Battery Voltage Sizes do Ryobi Have?
Batteries are vital for doing any work away from a mains power source. All Ryobi batteries are lithium powered batteries and have a 4-stage fuel gauge which handily displays remaining power at 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% so you know when it's time to recharge. A lithium battery is the best type really to go for.
Ryobi make tools with just two battery voltage sizes:
- 18 Volts ONE+ - Ryobi battery compatible with 150 cordless tools
- 36 Volts - used for lawnmowers, some grass trimmers, some hedge trimmers, chainsaws, jet blowers and brush cutters
- 18V ONE+ - The most popular Ryobi battery by a huge distance is the their 18V ONE+ option which is fully compatible with 150 other tools in their well know ONE+ system. They make these 18V batteries in a range of Ah ratings.
- 36V - Their 36V batteries are used for the heavier equipment as we have shown above.
Ryobi Battery Ampere Hours Explained
Whereas voltage measures the potential energy of a battery, it is the Ah rating (usually 1.0Ah to 6.0AH) that measures the capacity of the battery. As a general rule, the larger this number is, the longer your battery will last for on each charge and you should always use a lithium battery.
For example a 5.0Ah Ryobi battery will last much longer than a 1.0Ah battery, but not 5 times as long as there is always a slight decline. Where you can afford to, you should always buy the biggest Ah rating that you can afford as this will give you the longest battery life.
Their batteries are either sold as a single battery and sometime they offer a twin pack as it is always handy to have one battery in use and the other one charging.
18V Ryobi ONE+ Range
- 18V ONE+ 9.0 Ah battery
- 18V ONE+ 5.0 Ah battery
- 18V ONE+ 4.0 Ah battery
- 18V ONE+ 2.5 Ah battery
- 18V ONE+ 2.0 Ah battery
- 18V ONE+ 1.5 Ah battery
36V Range
- 36V Max Power 9.0Ah battery
- 36V Max Power 6.0Ah battery
- 36V Max Power 5.0Ah battery
- 36V Max Power 4.0Ah battery
- 36V Max Power 2.0Ah battery
Ryobi Range of Battery Chargers
18V Ryobi ONE+ Battery Chargers
The Ryobi brand have a few different chargers to pick from:
- Ryobi RC18150 charger - Average cost of £60 - (18V ONE+ fast charger) - compatible with all ONE+ batteries (Our Recommendation)
- Ryobi RC18627 charger - Average cost of £110 (6 port battery charger for charging up to 6 batteries) - compatible with all ONE+ batteries
- Ryobi RC18120 charger - Average cost of £45 (compact fast charger)
- Ryobi RC18115 charger - Average cost of £40 (compact fast charger)
- Ryobi RC18118C charger - Average cost of £50-55 (In-car battery charger) - plugs into a vehicle's 12V DC outlet
The main differences in these chargers is they rate or speed at which they charge. We have explained this in the table below.
Charger Type | 2.0Ah | 2.5Ah | 4.0Ah | 5.0Ah |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RC18150 | 30 mins | 40 mins | 50 mins | 60 mins |
RC18627 | 45 mins | 60 mins | 90 mins | 120 mins |
RC18120 | 60 mins | 75 mins | 120 mins | 150 mins |
RC18115 | 80 mins | 100 mins | 160 mins | 200 mins |
RC18118C | 70 mins | 80 mins | 120 mins | 150 mins |
36V Range of Ryobi Battery Chargers
Ryobi have 2 battery chargers in the 36V range:
- 36V MAX POWER 6A Fast Charger - Average cost of £70 - charging rate of 6 amps per hour (Our Recommendation)
- 36V MAX POWER 1.7A Ryobi battery charger - Average cost of £60 - charging rate of 1.7amps per hour. There's not much point in going for this slower model for a £10 saving.
Ryobi 18V ONE+ Range of Batteries
These are all slide on Lithium-Ion batteries. They work with all power tools that feature a yellow connector plate or have a star on the connector plate.
The only real difference is the Ampere Hour (Ah) rating of the battery. The bigger this Ah size is the longer the battery will last, as this figure measures the actual battery capacity.
Best Ryobi ONE+ Battery
- The 5.0 Ah Ryobi battery is the most popular one as it provides a good length of battery time and is still light enough to use regularly.
- It has a really quick 55 minute charge time
- Weighs 794 grams
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Works with all power tools that feature a yellow connector plate or has a star on the connector plate
- Suitable for tools like saws, blowers and trimmers
- One charge in a Ryobi drill would screw in around 1500 32mm wood screws
94% buyer satisfaction based on 6,000+ reviews
This model of Ryobi battery pack is available in 1.5Ah, 2.0Ah, 2.5Ah, 3Ah and 4Ah as well. The cheapest is just under £50 so I think you are better spending the extra to get the 5 Ah model.
Ryobi 18V ONE+ 9.0 Ah Battery
- 36 Volts Lithium Ion Ryobi battery
- 9.0 Ah
- 45 minute charge time
- Weighs 1.2Kg
- Includes a battery capacity indicator LED so you know how much charge is left.
- Works with all power tools that feature a yellow connector plate or has a star on the connector plate
- Made for outdoor and gardening tools mainly
- One charge on a push mower would cut a 1200 Sq m garden
96% buyer satisfaction based on 7,000+ reviews
Ryobi Battery Voltage Explained
As you can see Ryobi have many different batteries available. Why do manufacturers like Ryobi make different voltage of batteries?
The answer to this gets highly technical and is best explained by scientists.
In the simplest of terms, a battery’s voltage tells you how much power the cell generates in perfect conditions. The voltage signifies the maximum energy potential of a battery.
Higher voltages such as 18V and 20V are required to power heavier use power tools like hedge clippers, impact wrenches, cordless drills etc.
Smaller voltages can operate smaller power tools like cordless screwdrivers, rotary tools and light use drill/drivers. In all cases a lithium battery is the best choice.
Those batteries with larger voltage sizes are heavier than smaller voltage batteries and that is always a consideration for manufacturers depending on the actual use of the tool.
There can buy an aftermarket battery thats a lot cheaper but we tend to stay away from these as really you dont know what you are buying. I hope this article has been some help to you in understanding about lithium ion batteries for Ryobi tool. Thanks for reading.
I have a 12v Ryobi keyless chuck drill using a 12v battrery CS0843. I am looking for a battery charger that accepts this battery. My regular chargers from Ryobi do not fit this battery. The tool is great if I can charge the battery. The numbers on the drill body are CS 0843 336 36.
Hi, any chance you could send me a picture of the battery