Do you have older 18 volt Ryobi tools that work well, but the original battery is shot? That’s what happened to me. But thankfully there is a solution that can save you from buying hundreds of dollars of new tools, and that’ll keep lots of old tools out of the scrap yard.
So if you’re wondering if new Ryobi 18v batteries work in old Ryobi tools, read on…
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Will Ryobi ONE Plus batteries work in older Ryobi 18 volt tools?
Thankfully Ryobi has made their new lithium ion 18v ONE Plus batteries backwards compatible so these new batteries do work in older 18v Ryobi tools. It will help keep lots of perfectly fine tools out of the landfill.
The new lithium batteries do require a new charger though – you can’t charge a Ryobi lithium ion battery in a charger that was designed to charge older Nickel Cadmium batteries.
My Ryobi Tools situation….
I had a set of older Ryobi tools that worked well for my DIY and home improvement projects. (shown below.)
The problem though was the battery.
The original battery died: it wouldn’t hold a charge anymore.
So a couple of years back I bought a generic, replacement 18-volt Nickel Cadmium battery that fit my tools. You can see the yellow and black generic battery in the picture below.
It worked well for a bit, but then it was losing its charge too. It could barely screw in a 2-inch screw after fully charging.
What was I going to do?
Buy another replacement NiCad battery?
Or…
Buy a whole new set of new tools and batteries?
Thankfully, when you have Ryobi tools, you have a third option.
Ryobi made their new Lithium ion batteries backward compatible…
When Ryobi produced their new 18 volt ONE+ line of batteries and tools they did a good thing. They made the batteries backwards compatible with their old tools.
This means you can buy a new 18 volt battery – a lithium battery – and use it in your older 18v Ryobi tools.
I was happy to learn this because even though my tools were older they still worked well. I didn’t want to have buy new tools.
My older Ryobi Tools given new life with a new One Plus Lithium battery
Below is the list of old blue Ryobi tools (18volt) that I have that work well with a new lithium ion ONE Plus battery. Not only does the new battery fit into these older blue tools, they give them more pep.
Plus, on their FAQ page Ryobi states that all 18 volt batteries will work on all their 18 volt tools with the exception that you can’t charge the new lithium batteries on an old Nickel Cadmium charger.
Circular Saw – model P501
Reciprocating Saw – model P510
1/2-inch Cordless Drill – model P201
Ryobi HD1800M 1/2-inch cordless drill
I also have a Ryobi HD1800M cordless drill that works with the new battery.
Flashlight/work light – model P700
I don’t use this light very often but it does work with the new battery.
My trip to Home Depot to check compatibility
I had read that information on the Ryobi website about interchangeability, but before I ordered a new battery online I wanted to verify for myself.
So I brought my old cordless drill into Home Depot.
I asked a worker if they had a demo battery I could try just to make sure it’d power my old blue drill. She dug out a battery from a cupboard and handed it to me.
Sure enough the new battery clicked right in and powered my drill.
You can buy just the batteries by themselves – without buying new tools – but make sure you get a new charger too since you can’t use an old charger for your new lithium battery.
When I was at Home Depot they happened to have a sale on a compact impact driver with two batteries and a charger. It was on sale cheaper than I could have bought a generic NiCad battery (6Ah) on Amazon. (And I didn’t already have an impact driver.)
So I bought the set show below.
It does only have the 1.5Ah batteries, but they work well for my home improvement and DIY projects.
Conclusion
Yes, Ryobi ONE Plus 18 volt batteries do work in the older blue 18-volt Ryobi tools.
And for this I am thankful. I don’t have to save up for brand new tools, and I don’t have to send my old tools to the scrap yard.
Thanks for checking out my article.
Tim
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