I LOVE my battery-operated RYOBI lawn mower! I'm 70 yr-old lady & cancelled my landscapers as they were coming too early in the week so by the time grandkids come to swim, there's tall grass, clover and bees! This was best decision! Now I need to find a video on how to use the weed whacker as I'm clueless. (but I'm a pro with the mower! And charging is easy-peasy!).
Ok folks- here's my take on this video. It's really good. Helpful info. I purchased 2- super chargers and 2 extra batteries-it is well worth the $- bought them on E-bay at a great price. Now- in the middle of leaf clean up season- the night before I'm going to start the leaf clean, I charge all of them. While I'm working- I have 2 extras ready to go; I just unplug- put it in the charger and start on batt #2 - then on to #3. Doing this I get blowers on high turbo and in about 2 hours- I get a lot done. Thanks for posting this! Live Free and Tool on!
I just got my first Ryobi product today, a walk behind self propelled mower. Thank you for this video as you were great at explaining the differences. It seemed a bit confusing to me before watching your video as to which batteries and charger I should buy. Thanks!
I have two 4Ah batteries that I use in my trimmer and blower. I can trim, edge and blow my 1/2 acre lot on one battery and still have two bars left. I alternate batteries when it dips to a single bar. When I first got my tools I thought about getting another battery but after using them I dont even need one. I use to also do my moms place before she sold it on the same battery. I would cut her yard and come home and do mine either that day or the following day on one battery. They are truly impressive.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It's interesting that the smaller charger is actually a little faster than the larger one, but both of those are actually a better option than the more expensive "fast charger". Battery life is largely determined by how much heat the chemistry inside the cells is exposed to. Heat is a result of ambient temperature and the actual chemical reactions associated with charging and discharging. The faster you charge or discharge any lithium battery, the fewer total charge/discharge cycles you will get from that battery. So, if you want the best life out of those batteries, charging them with the slower charger will help make that happen.
In 2022, Ryobi is packaging their 40V Auger tool with a 4AH battery and the small wall wart charger. I would buy the 3-battery quick charger (OP407AVNM) for those who need to charge multiple batteries (one at a time, sequentially) without having to wait to load the next battery into an open slot. This is ideal for overnight charging of 3 batteries.
The difference is input. The inputs are 90 watts vs 195 watts vs 295 watts. If you are charging from anything other than a 120 volt recepticle you pick the one that will work with whatever your power source is. When I am off grid camping I take all three chargers. A inverter plugged into a car or RV cigarette lighter/power port will blow the power port/lighter fuse if you use anything above the 90 watt charger. Gas generator output? Power station output? Solar panel output? Sometimes all you can do is slow.
Hopefully three years later you are still monitoring these video comments and will provide some feedback. I have two questions. 1. Is there a downside that you may be aware of, of repeatedly fast charging a high capacity battery in terms of damaging or otherwise reducing the battery effective useful life? 2. Are these Ryobi charger power supplies (coming from the plug) compatible with the usually standard voltage range at the plug of 110-240V? Asked another way, will these chargers work plugged in to a 220V outlet for those of us that might be using outside of the U.S.?
I bought a Ryobi Hedge Trimmer from Home Depot which came with the 40 volt Lithium battery as well as the small charger as shown in the video. The instructions specify to charge it prior to the first use. After initially connecting the transformer, the charger displays a red LED indicating power is on. Then it goes to a flashing red/green signifying an error. I called Ryobi and they told me to exchange the entire tool, not just the battery and charger. I did just that and am getting the same thing. Based on the user manual, you simply align the rigb on the battery pack with the grooves on the charger. This is a given since there is no other way to make a mechanical connection. Then is says to press down on the two units to make sure there is a connection. I did that, too. But Ryobi says a contradicting statement in that if it feels a little loose, that's normal. This is the second time I've encountered this issue. In the first case, I called Ryobi and they told me to take the entire tool back to HD, not just the charging apparatus. So I did just that and the same thing. Does anyone know the cause of this problem? Could there have possibly been a bad batch? While Home Depot has great customer service, all they're going to do is tell me to bring the whole thing back again just as the Ryobi representative did. While I can always get a refund, that's not solving the problem. Any suggestions (including perhaps a supplemental video on this subject)will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Well my guy, you've sold me! I think im gonna go with the 3 bay rapid charger, im about to go ahead and pick up another 6Ah battery as well. These tools are a beast! Especially the mower, im the only one who takes care of our yard, so when I gets to Thursday on my off day, and with the rain and summer sun of south Alabama, the grass tends to grow phenomenally! Only downside, is when the grass is thick, you can kiss the battery performance goodbye 😂 which is why im planning on getting the rapid charger with 3 bays and another 6Ah battery, ill be able to cut the grass at any height with not much downtime, so ill have 2 6ah batteries to use and the 4ah that came with the weedeater, and be able to charge them quickly (I would assume maybe 3 to 4 hours for all 3 batteries) and get back at it, perfect time to take a break! I also found that bagging VS mulching significantly increased my battery life (bagged when cutting the front yard, grass was 3-4 inches) I only used 2 bars on the whole front yard which I think is a 1/4 acre, some areas of grass were thicker than others as well. Ive had my mower and weedeater with its accessories for 2 years and they both perform as good as they did when new!
I have my solar panel system setup using the ryobi power supply as the power source. I use the medium size charger you have to charge the batteries. The book says 75watt but they only pull 40 watt. The part that makes me cry is I threw out the small chargers just assuming they won’t charge fast enough 😢. Thanks man, another good video.
Note that it's always better to use a slower charger whenever possible anyway. Fast charging just isn't as healthy for the battery just as fast discharging. The 40v 18" chainsaw discharges these batteries too fast.
It's not the speed that kills batteries, it's the heat. The rapid chargers include fans to help dissipate heat. While it likely doesn't overcome the heat generated by the fast charger, it's likely not noticeably significant over the lifespan of the battery.
Thanks for the video... Are the batteries holding up better than they did a couple of years ago? I've got one that didn't make it over 18 months before it failed. They did send me a new battery under warranty. I know how to take care of batteries, and was just debating buying another spare or switching to Echo, Stihl, or Milwaukee. I do like the convenience, but they have to do a better job on the quality of batteries to keep the public using them.
I've watched a couple videos today about failed batteries. If the voltage falls below 30V the charger will show "defective". Now each video shows similar but diff ways to revive it. I'm trying the straightforward way of docking the battery on and off the charger since each time the battery gets a jolt of charge. Eventually it should charge. Other videos take the battery apart (requiring a special TS15 bit - star w/hole in center), resetting with paperclip then wiring some trickle charging device. Another video soldiered a wire to the neg then led the wire out thru a hole drilled for ease of access next time. Again, I'm just going for little volts by popping it in and out of the charger. Some comments said the technique allowed the battery to charge after 10 mins, 26 mins, etc w/o the reset nonsense. MY battery has been in storage for 3 years and Ive been at it an hour....wish me luck! NOTICE: Monthly maintenance of charging these batteries should keep them from "failing". Do not leave them on the charger past fully charged or allow to fully drain. Think "lithium"...the crazy ones need attention.
It might be wherever you have it plugged because I have an aftermarket Outlet that I charge mine from and my small charger just like urs does it in 2hr and my big charger in 50min.
Great vid! I just bought a Ryobi 40v 4 ah trimmer. I charged it to full charge. My question: there are 5 LEDs on the charger - 1 says Power On, 1 says Charged / Ready but none of those LEDs light up; shouldn't the LEDs light up? Thanks
Those are icons to tell you what the indicator light means. There is only 1 actual light which lights up green or red depending on what the charger is doing.
I just bought my 2nd Ryobi 40v mower after 4 years and the new charger OP408 makes a hissing sound while charging. Is this sound normal, if so what’s making the sound? I’m concerned. Thanks.
lifepo4 batteries are a lot different than older tech they can charge very quickly and also be depleted lower without the damage older types of cells would have.
@@fathergratwick Great...so to make that information useful please tell us which manufacturers are using these batteries in their power tools and outdoor power equipment?
@@mellowjammer most use lithium ion which is also pretty tolerant to fast charging with minimal stress but you'll have to do your own homework for more detailed info because I dont have it. Most of these battery packs end up failing from one cell that fails or takes the pack out of balance, not typically from fast charging.
Too bad you didn’t have the Ryobi 40 V charger that charges three batteries one at a time I would be interested in seeing how long that charges each battery but again you did a great job on your video very helpful
Since it took 1.5 hours to fully charge the pack the average charge rate was .66C, that's actually being very gentle to them, if you could keep the discharge down to 20% SoC they'd last thousands of cycles, or more than most Ryobi tools.
Ego seems to have this figured out. The batteries are vented. The charger has a cooling fan system, and monitors each cell to determine maximum battery life and longevity, along with temperature monitoring. The batteries are even packed in a more efficient manner. Ryobi is largely a simple, unventilated, unsophisticated, brick. I like and have Ryobi. I also have a Kobalt 40V mower system. I had to upgrade to Ego for my commercial lawn care business.
@davidhildebrand1075 I'm interested in knowing where that info came from. Ryobi emailed me stating that any 40V charger (including my old OP400) will work, regardless of Ah.
Guess I just don't have any interest in fast charging. Faster they charge the more heat they produce and the faster it seems to wear the battery out. I think it's better to have more slower ones than one fast charger unless you want to buy batteries more often.
Unfortunately when you mansion Acco Ryobi can not keep up with the batteries it would take at least six of those four amp hour batteries to last as long as one of their batteries but keep in mind Ryobi does have a 7.5 amp hour battery if you got two of those you would notice a big difference unfortunately Ryobi is about 10 years behind the competition they still have not come out with A 12 amp hour battery which is what they would need to come out with to compare with the next best competitor of course even that wouldn’t compare to Echo you did a great job on this video and you did a great job comparing their charges but their charges are OK it’s simply the size of the battery they need to work on and how much power they can produce but that seems to be an ongoing thing but their competitors are already there hopefully in the next 5 to 10 years Ryobi will catch up just so you know I do like Ryobi products And I think they’re awesome it is the battery power that needs to change
I got the large one with my carbon fiber trimmer. The large one also has a fan to keep something cool (the battery? The internal circuits of the charger?) I really prefer the smallest one with an adapter though, which comes with the non-carbon fiber trimmers. The faster it charges, the faster it wears on the battery. More wear, shorter overall life.
![Ryobi rapid charger face off! [Watch this before you buy!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ks0TMEpUxz8/mqdefault.jpg)
I LOVE my battery-operated RYOBI lawn mower! I'm 70 yr-old lady & cancelled my landscapers as they were coming too early in the week so by the time grandkids come to swim, there's tall grass, clover and bees! This was best decision! Now I need to find a video on how to use the weed whacker as I'm clueless. (but I'm a pro with the mower! And charging is easy-peasy!).
Ok folks- here's my take on this video. It's really good. Helpful info. I purchased 2- super chargers and 2 extra batteries-it is well worth the $- bought them on E-bay at a great price. Now- in the middle of leaf clean up season- the night before I'm going to start the leaf clean, I charge all of them. While I'm working- I have 2 extras ready to go; I just unplug- put it in the charger and start on batt #2 - then on to #3. Doing this I get blowers on high turbo and in about 2 hours- I get a lot done. Thanks for posting this! Live Free and Tool on!
Very good video, straight to the point and explained in laymen terms. Thanks for taking the time on the difference in the chargers.
I just got my first Ryobi product today, a walk behind self propelled mower. Thank you for this video as you were great at explaining the differences. It seemed a bit confusing to me before watching your video as to which batteries and charger I should buy. Thanks!
Glad it helped!
I have two 4Ah batteries that I use in my trimmer and blower. I can trim, edge and blow my 1/2 acre lot on one battery and still have two bars left. I alternate batteries when it dips to a single bar. When I first got my tools I thought about getting another battery but after using them I dont even need one. I use to also do my moms place before she sold it on the same battery. I would cut her yard and come home and do mine either that day or the following day on one battery. They are truly impressive.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It's interesting that the smaller charger is actually a little faster than the larger one, but both of those are actually a better option than the more expensive "fast charger". Battery life is largely determined by how much heat the chemistry inside the cells is exposed to. Heat is a result of ambient temperature and the actual chemical reactions associated with charging and discharging. The faster you charge or discharge any lithium battery, the fewer total charge/discharge cycles you will get from that battery. So, if you want the best life out of those batteries, charging them with the slower charger will help make that happen.
Thank you for this comparison. I ended up with a mess of Rio, be chargers that I didn’t need, this helped me narrow down which one I will keep
In 2022, Ryobi is packaging their 40V Auger tool with a 4AH battery and the small wall wart charger. I would buy the 3-battery quick charger (OP407AVNM) for those who need to charge multiple batteries (one at a time, sequentially) without having to wait to load the next battery into an open slot. This is ideal for overnight charging of 3 batteries.
The difference is input. The inputs are 90 watts vs 195 watts vs 295 watts. If you are charging from anything other than a 120 volt recepticle you pick the one that will work with whatever your power source is. When I am off grid camping I take all three chargers. A inverter plugged into a car or RV cigarette lighter/power port will blow the power port/lighter fuse if you use anything above the 90 watt charger. Gas generator output? Power station output? Solar panel output? Sometimes all you can do is slow.
Hopefully three years later you are still monitoring these video comments and will provide some feedback. I have two questions.
1. Is there a downside that you may be aware of, of repeatedly fast charging a high capacity battery in terms of damaging or otherwise reducing the battery effective useful life?
2. Are these Ryobi charger power supplies (coming from the plug) compatible with the usually standard voltage range at the plug of 110-240V? Asked another way, will these chargers work plugged in to a 220V outlet for those of us that might be using outside of the U.S.?
I bought a Ryobi Hedge Trimmer from Home Depot which came with the 40 volt Lithium battery as well as the small charger as shown in the video. The instructions specify to charge it prior to the first use. After initially connecting the transformer, the charger displays a red LED indicating power is on. Then it goes to a flashing red/green signifying an error. I called Ryobi and they told me to exchange the entire tool, not just the battery and charger. I did just that and am getting the same thing. Based on the user manual, you simply align the rigb on the battery pack with the grooves on the charger. This is a given since there is no other way to make a mechanical connection. Then is says to press down on the two units to make sure there is a connection. I did that, too. But Ryobi says a contradicting statement in that if it feels a little loose, that's normal. This is the second time I've encountered this issue. In the first case, I called Ryobi and they told me to take the entire tool back to HD, not just the charging apparatus. So I did just that and the same thing. Does anyone know the cause of this problem? Could there have possibly been a bad batch? While Home Depot has great customer service, all they're going to do is tell me to bring the whole thing back again just as the Ryobi representative did. While I can always get a refund, that's not solving the problem. Any suggestions (including perhaps a supplemental video on this subject)will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Well my guy, you've sold me! I think im gonna go with the 3 bay rapid charger, im about to go ahead and pick up another 6Ah battery as well. These tools are a beast! Especially the mower, im the only one who takes care of our yard, so when I gets to Thursday on my off day, and with the rain and summer sun of south Alabama, the grass tends to grow phenomenally! Only downside, is when the grass is thick, you can kiss the battery performance goodbye 😂 which is why im planning on getting the rapid charger with 3 bays and another 6Ah battery, ill be able to cut the grass at any height with not much downtime, so ill have 2 6ah batteries to use and the 4ah that came with the weedeater, and be able to charge them quickly (I would assume maybe 3 to 4 hours for all 3 batteries) and get back at it, perfect time to take a break! I also found that bagging VS mulching significantly increased my battery life (bagged when cutting the front yard, grass was 3-4 inches) I only used 2 bars on the whole front yard which I think is a 1/4 acre, some areas of grass were thicker than others as well. Ive had my mower and weedeater with its accessories for 2 years and they both perform as good as they did when new!
Glad it helped
@@livefreeandtoolon For sure! ill have to run to Home Depot later to get them lol
@@huntershortrepairs check this out ruclips.net/video/ks0TMEpUxz8/видео.html
You can get the rapid charger with HP tools too. Buy one of those and you don’t have to sink $100 into the charger alone.
I have my solar panel system setup using the ryobi power supply as the power source. I use the medium size charger you have to charge the batteries. The book says 75watt but they only pull 40 watt. The part that makes me cry is I threw out the small chargers just assuming they won’t charge fast enough 😢.
Thanks man, another good video.
Thanks
Note that it's always better to use a slower charger whenever possible anyway. Fast charging just isn't as healthy for the battery just as fast discharging. The 40v 18" chainsaw discharges these batteries too fast.
Great video! just what I was looking for!
Slower balanced charges increase battery life.Fast charging all the time kicks the bag out of the batteries.
It's not the speed that kills batteries, it's the heat. The rapid chargers include fans to help dissipate heat. While it likely doesn't overcome the heat generated by the fast charger, it's likely not noticeably significant over the lifespan of the battery.
Fantastic Video!!! GO DEWALT!!!
fabulous video...answers a lot of questions~ Thank you!!!
Glad it could help
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the video... Are the batteries holding up better than they did a couple of years ago? I've got one that didn't make it over 18 months before it failed. They did send me a new battery under warranty. I know how to take care of batteries, and was just debating buying another spare or switching to Echo, Stihl, or Milwaukee. I do like the convenience, but they have to do a better job on the quality of batteries to keep the public using them.
Yes my batteries are holding up great, I did get one wet and it failed but that was my fault
I've watched a couple videos today about failed batteries. If the voltage falls below 30V the charger will show "defective".
Now each video shows similar but diff ways to revive it. I'm trying the straightforward way of docking the battery on and off the charger since each time the battery gets a jolt of charge. Eventually it should charge.
Other videos take the battery apart (requiring a special TS15 bit - star w/hole in center), resetting with paperclip then wiring some trickle charging device. Another video soldiered a wire to the neg then led the wire out thru a hole drilled for ease of access next time. Again, I'm just going for little volts by popping it in and out of the charger. Some comments said the technique allowed the battery to charge after 10 mins, 26 mins, etc w/o the reset nonsense. MY battery has been in storage for 3 years and Ive been at it an hour....wish me luck!
NOTICE: Monthly maintenance of charging these batteries should keep them from "failing". Do not leave them on the charger past fully charged or allow to fully drain. Think "lithium"...the crazy ones need attention.
would have been good to give mfr/model numbers
Battery in general, your battery runs longer with a slow charger. Does this apply to your ryobi chargers comparison?
It might be wherever you have it plugged because I have an aftermarket Outlet that I charge mine from and my small charger just like urs does it in 2hr and my big charger in 50min.
Thanks for the info. I have the little charger for my chainsaw and trimmer and that works out just fine for me
Great vid! I just bought a Ryobi 40v 4 ah trimmer. I charged it to full charge. My question: there are 5 LEDs on the charger - 1 says Power On, 1 says Charged / Ready but none of those LEDs light up; shouldn't the LEDs light up? Thanks
Those are icons to tell you what the indicator light means. There is only 1 actual light which lights up green or red depending on what the charger is doing.
I just bought my 2nd Ryobi 40v mower after 4 years and the new charger OP408 makes a hissing sound while charging. Is this sound normal, if so what’s making the sound? I’m concerned. Thanks.
I’m surprised by the results. The quick charger boasts a 4x faster time yet, it was only 2x faster than the slowest charger.
But doesn't a slower charge make your batteries last longer? (lifespan, not run time)
lifepo4 batteries are a lot different than older tech they can charge very quickly and also be depleted lower without the damage older types of cells would have.
@@fathergratwick Great...so to make that information useful please tell us which manufacturers are using these batteries in their power tools and outdoor power equipment?
@@mellowjammer most use lithium ion which is also pretty tolerant to fast charging with minimal stress but you'll have to do your own homework for more detailed info because I dont have it. Most of these battery packs end up failing from one cell that fails or takes the pack out of balance, not typically from fast charging.
Too bad you didn’t have the Ryobi 40 V charger that charges three batteries one at a time I would be interested in seeing how long that charges each battery but again you did a great job on your video very helpful
Charging at 290 watts vs 80 watts will wear your battery out faster. With the cost of these batteries you really have to NEED the quicker charge time.
Since it took 1.5 hours to fully charge the pack the average charge rate was .66C, that's actually being very gentle to them, if you could keep the discharge down to 20% SoC they'd last thousands of cycles, or more than most Ryobi tools.
Ego seems to have this figured out. The batteries are vented. The charger has a cooling fan system, and monitors each cell to determine maximum battery life and longevity, along with temperature monitoring. The batteries are even packed in a more efficient manner. Ryobi is largely a simple, unventilated, unsophisticated, brick.
I like and have Ryobi. I also have a Kobalt 40V mower system. I had to upgrade to Ego for my commercial lawn care business.
Part numbers next time would be great.
Does the 40v charger compatible W/ all V battery’s to charge?
I am to get the quick charger for free when I registered my mower and battery charge combo. I just wonder how long it will take them to mail it.
You need to use charger model numbers, OP406 AND OP408 are the models used with 6ah battery's. Didn't tell me anything...
@davidhildebrand1075 I'm interested in knowing where that info came from. Ryobi emailed me stating that any 40V charger (including my old OP400) will work, regardless of Ah.
Guess I just don't have any interest in fast charging. Faster they charge the more heat they produce and the faster it seems to wear the battery out. I think it's better to have more slower ones than one fast charger unless you want to buy batteries more often.
Unfortunately when you mansion Acco Ryobi can not keep up with the batteries it would take at least six of those four amp hour batteries to last as long as one of their batteries but keep in mind Ryobi does have a 7.5 amp hour battery if you got two of those you would notice a big difference unfortunately Ryobi is about 10 years behind the competition they still have not come out with A 12 amp hour battery which is what they would need to come out with to compare with the next best competitor of course even that wouldn’t compare to Echo you did a great job on this video and you did a great job comparing their charges but their charges are OK it’s simply the size of the battery they need to work on and how much power they can produce but that seems to be an ongoing thing but their competitors are already there hopefully in the next 5 to 10 years Ryobi will catch up just so you know I do like Ryobi products And I think they’re awesome it is the battery power that needs to change
had any issues with 40v batteries blink x 4 and having to reset them?
Hey....how come I can't by a T- shirt for ladies =size- M? Chicks like freedom and use great tools, too!
What ever you want just let me know. Message me on Facebook
There is a 6 Amp battery now
I got the fast charger with my tiller.
Model number of the one in the middle?
I'VE just charged my 5 ah on the fast charger from dead to full in 50 min
what model numbers do you have there?
My battery 🔋 charge in 45 mins fully dead 40v 4a.
Amp × volts = watts
a battery cost $179
5 Batteries at $179 buys a hell of a lot of gas. Pre- Joe Biden...
I got the large one with my carbon fiber trimmer. The large one also has a fan to keep something cool (the battery? The internal circuits of the charger?) I really prefer the smallest one with an adapter though, which comes with the non-carbon fiber trimmers. The faster it charges, the faster it wears on the battery. More wear, shorter overall life.