RYOBI RC18240 ONE+ Dual Port Charger, 18 V, 4.0 A - 5133005579

RYOBI RC18240 ONE+ Dual Port Charger, 18 V, 4.0 A

RYOBI RC18240 (article 5133005579) is a two-bay battery charger for the lithium-ion packs of the ONE+ 18 V platform. Both bays work at the same time - that is the whole point of the machine. With one battery in the charger, that pack gets 4.0 A; with two, each one gets 2.0 A. Both figures are printed on the housing itself: 1 x 4.0A on the panel in front of the left bay and 2 x 2.0A on the panel in front of the right one, with ONE+ PARALLEL CHARGER between them. This article is the charger on its own - no batteries are included.

What it is for

A two-bay charger earns its place in one specific situation: when you work with more than one battery. On a single-bay charger the packs queue up - the second one starts only once the first is finished. The RC18240 charges them in parallel, so at the end of the day both batteries go in together and in the morning both are full, with no trip back to the workshop to swap a pack over.

The second case is simpler - the RC18240 also works as a faster charger for a single pack. With one battery inside the current is 4.0 A, double the 2.0 A of the compact chargers in the same system. RYOBI states that a 4.0 Ah pack charges in 60 minutes and a 6.0 Ah pack in 90 minutes.

Parallel charging: what actually happens

The current is not the same in the two modes, and that matters for expectations. With one pack, all of the output goes to it - 4.0 A. As soon as you add a second, the charger splits the current and both bays deliver 2.0 A each. In other words, two batteries are not charged twice as fast; they are charged at the same time. What you gain is not total charging time but never having to come back and swap the packs over.

Charge status is read from LED indicators, with the legend for what each combination of lights means printed on the housing, so you do not have to look the meaning up anywhere else.

Charge time by battery capacity

For the RC18240, RYOBI publishes the following charge times for ONE+ 18 V batteries:

These are the manufacturer's published figures. RYOBI does not state how many bays were occupied when they were measured.

Energy Save Mode and wall mounting

The charger has an Energy Save Mode that cuts consumption while it is neither charging nor maintaining a battery. That counts for a device which is normally left plugged in all the time.

The housing is also ready for wall mounting. In a workshop that is the most practical place for a charger - it frees up the bench, the cable stays out of the way, and both batteries sit in plain sight and always in the same spot.

Compatibility

The RC18240 works with every RYOBI 18 V ONE+ lithium-ion battery. The ONE+ platform is built so that one and the same 18 V pack powers the entire range - drill drivers and impact drivers, saws, angle grinders, vacuums, lights, trimmers, hedge trimmers and garden machinery - and so that the same pack fits every charger in the system. If you already own ONE+ tools, the batteries you use with them will work with this charger.

Technical specifications

What is in the box

• 1 x RYOBI RC18240 charger, ONE+ 18 V, two bays, with its mains lead
• No batteries - 18 V ONE+ packs are bought separately
• No tool and no case

The batteries visible in some of the photographs are there only to show how the two bays work. There are no batteries in the box.

Tips for use

• When you are in a hurry, charge one pack at a time. A battery alone in the charger gets 4.0 A; add a second and the current drops to 2.0 A for each.
• Put both batteries in overnight. That is exactly what the charger is built for - in the morning both packs are ready, with no swapping in between.
• Mount it on the wall. The bench stays clear and the batteries are always in the same place.
• Let a hot battery cool down first. A pack straight off heavy work is warm, and charging a cooled battery is gentler on the cells.
• Let it breathe. Stand the charger on a hard, clean surface - not on cloth and not in sawdust - and do not cover it while it is working.

Questions and Answers