18 volt batteries and chargers

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m starting to accumulate a number of battery powered tools and batteries. Mostly Ryobi brand 18 volts. After a battery is fully charged, can I leave it in the charger indefinitely? Can I leave the charger plugged in without a battery? Do either consume significant electricity?
Thanks

[deces]

After a while a Ryobi Intelliport charger will go into a trickle mode, it's probably not the best idea to leave lithium batteries on a charger indefinitely. I think a ni-cad would be safe, but it would probably not be good for the battery either.

Almost a decade ago TTI made a line of outdoor tools for the Scotts brand. The batteries were almost identical to the ones from the Ridgid brand. They had a neat feature, the yard tools had charging terminals built into their bodies, after using the tools you could hang it with the battery up on a wall mounted charger and leave it there until needed again. There was nothing special about the batteries compared to the Ridgid counterparts. TTI generally makes safe tools and there were confident with people doing exactly as you mention, but I think it might come a marginal cost of the batteries lifespan.

https://youtu.be/eRjEBBlvvEo

[Lloyd Smale]

I’m starting to accumulate a number of battery powered tools and batteries. Mostly Ryobi brand 18 volts. After a battery is fully charged, can I leave it in the charger indefinitely? Can I leave the charger plugged in without a battery? Do either consume significant electricity?
Thanks

noy really nessisary with ni-cad. ive got probably two dozen dewalt and milwaukee batteries. i keep the in the barn. last winter i put them all in a box and put them in the loading room cause i heard cold isnt good for them. thi summer when i took the out i thought id need t top them off but none of them had even dropped enough to turn the charge light on. that was a good 4 months

[JSnover]

In the past it seemed like more of a problem. All the 18 volt ones (DeWalt, Ryobi, Kobalt) I've bought in the last five years don't seem to mind being left on the charger but I am a little leery of leaving them out where they might freeze.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

can I leave it in the charger indefinitely?
I don't.


Can I leave the charger plugged in without a battery?
I don't


Do either consume significant electricity?
Consume, Yes.
Significant, I doubt it.

These are my opinions. A manufacturer's manual will have better answers.

I have several Milwaukee Lith ion batteries and a few B&D Lith ion batteries.
Some are Factory tagged, some are aftermarket ones. The aftermarket ones that fit B&D are much better than factory.
As to Milwaukee, they each perform about the same, but the factory ones hold a full charge in storage for many months, aftermarket ones seem to loose the their charge slowly over a few months.

[Scorpion8]

I also have quite a few of the Ryobi 18V batteries. I never leave mine on the charger, but I do cycle them as to which one I am using. And some get rotated amongst always-on equipment like their USB/BT radio that has a clock. I've had had two that went down to zero charge and appeared "dead" over the years but I've been able to disassemble them and boost them back into charge mode and they work fine. YouTube has a few great videos on how to do this.

[TD1886]

I don't.


I don't


Consume, Yes.
Significant, I doubt it.

These are my opinions. A manufacturer's manual will have better answers.

I have several Milwaukee Lith ion batteries and a few B&D Lith ion batteries.
Some are Factory tagged, some are aftermarket ones. The aftermarket ones that fit B&D are much better than factory.
As to Milwaukee, they each perform about the same, but the factory ones hold a full charge in storage for many months, aftermarket ones seem to loose the their charge slowly over a few months.

Good advice!

[justindad]

Deleted.

[Scrounge]

I’m starting to accumulate a number of battery powered tools and batteries. Mostly Ryobi brand 18 volts. After a battery is fully charged, can I leave it in the charger indefinitely? Can I leave the charger plugged in without a battery? Do either consume significant electricity?
Thanks

You can, but you should not. It will eventually damage the batteries, and they won't get their full life. I've done that, and it didn't work out well. That was especially so for the 40V batteries, but also 18V.

Bill

[Winger Ed.]

I take mine off the charger when they're fully charged.
All of 'em. Tools, shavers, whatever.
If I haven't used them for a long while, I plug them back in for a little while.

After the shop I used to work for burned down from a fire started one night at the charging station
where electric screwdrivers were all plugged in--- I don't trust them to behave while I'm not around and close to them.

[GregLaROCHE]

So what happens if you leave the battery in and unplug the charger?

[TD1886]

So what happens if you leave the battery in and unplug the charger?

It charges back to your power company's power grid. NO NO NO, I'm only kidding, couldn't resist. To answer you truthfully I don't think it's a good idea as it may slowly discharge your battery. That's just a guess so don't bet on it. I don't know has anyone read the charger's instructions?

[Finster101]

With Lith Ion especially just take them out of the charger and leave them on the bench. They will stay charged for a long time.

[Handloader109]

My Ridgid batteries say not to charge to 100% unless you have to. Supposedly charging them to 100% every time you use them will reduce their lifetime. And for sure I'd remove them or have on a timer. I have my two chargers on a strip and I switch it off when charged. Btw, there are no new tools using nicad batteries any more, and it's been several years. They are all li ion. And way more prone to meltdown.

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[deces]

My Ridgid batteries say not to charge to 100% unless you have to. Supposedly charging them to 100% every time you use them will reduce their lifetime. And for sure I'd remove them or have on a timer. I have my two chargers on a strip and I switch it off when charged. Btw, there are no new tools using nicad batteries any more, and it's been several years. They are all li ion. And way more prone to meltdown.

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I believe Ridgid is still replacing Ni-cads with Ni-cad under their LSA.

[Bmi48219]

Lithium ion batteries should never be left on a charger unattended!
A month ago one of the members of our fishing club was in the habit of plugging in lawn equipment (in his garage) after he was done using, then removing from charger next time he needed to use. LSS, a battery caught fire late one evening, causing a fire that destroyed his automobile and nearly burned his home down. Fire department said the chargers & batteries were the cause of fire.
Last spring the wife’s friend’s husband was in the same habit. He was out of town when his wife woke up at 3:30 AM smelling smoke. Luckily the fire was more or less confined to one corner of the garage. It burned up the nearby breaker panel, all sorts of sorts of possessions, many of which contained plastics, and filled the attic and home with toxic smoke and fumes. The fire department used several extinguishing agents that also produced toxins. The fire inspector pinpointed the chargers / batteries as the source of fire. Also said they had to throw away their furniture, rip out carpeting, etc since it was saturated with toxins.
Luckily no one was burned but in both instances the fumes caused respiratory problems.
Since then I don’t recharge LI batteries unless I’m right there or have placed them outside the garage far away from anything flammable.

[trebor44]

Having had a ni-cad explode while charging and the BLM office that burned down because of "charging batteries" I would never leave the battery in nor leave the charger sans battery plugged in.

[MaryB]

ALL lithium batteries are in a fire cabinet, all metal and insulated to contain heat. Found it on an auction at a company that closed shop. Metal conduit for the power entering to the chargers so it can't burn outside the cabinet, metal box and cover for the outlet inside. Seals tight so any fire will O2 starve pretty fast. And I still remove batteries from the charger!

We used portable 2 way radios at the casino, lithium batteries... always had a pile of charged batteries to swap on... one night middle of my shift a battery in the pile went into meltdown. It wasn't charging but had just came off the charger and one of the guys said it felt really hot... I was in the shop so hit it with the CO2 extinguisher we kept in there(we had 6... working with bad electronics fires happen). Got the pile put it, the one bad battery ignited 4 more... after that all batteries went in a 2 drawer metal filing cabinet wen charged. Only thing allowed in that cabinet was the batteries.

Had another pack decide to melt down but each one had its own slot and was separated from the others by 4 inches so it didn't start any more on fire. Cabinet contained the heat and smoke mostly. Midnight shift opened the fire extinguisher port(Hole the size of the nozzle, sliding cover that could be knocked open with a tool) and dumped a bottle into it to put it out.

[MT Gianni]

I have a Ryobi drill with three batteries I use to run an ice auger. I have had batteries not need a charge in 9 months. It is 4 or 5 years old.

[GregLaROCHE]

With the technology today, why can’t they make a charger that turns off when the battery is fully charged ? When I am done working I want to put my tools away and not want to think about then until the next time I use them. Nor do I want to wait for a battery to charge before I can start work. There were flashlights mounted on the wall, always charging ready to go when needed.

[fiberoptik]

With the technology today, why can’t they make a charger that turns off when the battery is fully charged ? When I am done working I want to put my tools away and not want to think about then until the next time I use them. Nor do I want to wait for a battery to charge before I can start work. There were flashlights mounted on the wall, always charging ready to go when needed.

The better to sell you more battery packs, silly [emoji13]


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[poorman]

Here is what my Ryobi battery manual says about storage

https://manuals.plus/ryobi/18-volt-lithium-ion-battery-pack-manual
\
For battery pack storage longer than 30 days:

Store the battery pack where the temperature is below 80°F and away from moisture.
Store battery packs in a 30%-50% charged condition.
Every six months of storage, charge the pack as normal.

[MaryB]

With the technology today, why can’t they make a charger that turns off when the battery is fully charged ? When I am done working I want to put my tools away and not want to think about then until the next time I use them. Nor do I want to wait for a battery to charge before I can start work. There were flashlights mounted on the wall, always charging ready to go when needed.

They are off... internal chemistry causes leakage current. All batteries suffer from it.

[WRideout]

I take mine off the charger when they're fully charged.
All of 'em. Tools, shavers, whatever.
If I haven't used them for a long while, I plug them back in for a little while.

After the shop I used to work for burned down from a fire started one night at the charging station
where electric screwdrivers were all plugged in--- I don't trust them to behave while I'm not around and close to them.

I keep my drill-driver and charger out in my shed. Just for safety sake I unplug everything before I close up the shop.

Wayne

[Finster101]

Many stories and thoughts on the battery situation. I can tell you that before I retired from being a dealership tech the shop was full of batteries and chargers of many different makes and voltages that were never unplugged and at times on a charger for a week or so because we all had extra so not to have a tool stop mid job with no battery. I never saw one explode or burn and I am talking quite a few years here. From Nicad's to lithium's not a single issue.

[Handloader109]

Many stories and thoughts on the battery situation. I can tell you that before I retired from being a dealership tech the shop was full of batteries and chargers of many different makes and voltages that were never unplugged and at times on a charger for a week or so because we all had extra so not to have a tool stop mid job with no battery. I never saw one explode or burn and I am talking quite a few years here. From Nicad's to lithium's not a single issue.And? You and the shop were lucky. Nothing more. They all won't go down in flames, but you only need ONE. Guy on another forum (tractor) lost well over $100,000 building and to him priceless tools and other mementos stored in his shop. Battery did it. Building was less than a year old. Unplug them at least.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Bmi48219]

A pallet of lithium batteries caused a fire in the cargo hold and took down UPS Airline Flight 6 in 2010. The batteries weren’t anywhere near a charger.

[elmacgyver0]

Those EV cars with their lithium batteries are a really great idea, aren't they?
They even make charging stations for your garage.
They kind of scare me, think I'll just stick to my old infernal combustion engines.

[Winger Ed.]

A pallet of lithium batteries caused a fire in the cargo hold and took down UPS Airline Flight 6 in 2010. The batteries weren’t anywhere near a charger.

Catching fire is pretty rare considering how many of them are out there.
However-- Not taking precautions with them is a bet where you have little to gain, but potentially a lot to lose.

It's enough of a concern that the Post Office won't take them if you want to mail something that has one.

[dverna]

With the technology today, why can’t they make a charger that turns off when the battery is fully charged ? When I am done working I want to put my tools away and not want to think about then until the next time I use them. Nor do I want to wait for a battery to charge before I can start work. There were flashlights mounted on the wall, always charging ready to go when needed.

Buy a timer. My Dewait batteries charge in about an hour.

[GregLaROCHE]

So should we not leave cell phones plugged in either?

[Lloyd Smale]

So should we not leave cell phones plugged in either?

the one my wife MADE me get has been sitting on the counter with the charge cord hooked to it except one day she made me take it to camp for a year and a half and id about bet its still sitting there a year from now plugged in

[dverna]

So should we not leave cell phones plugged in either?

I rarely leave my tablet or cell phone plugged in. Frankly, I am not sure about it, and am a bit paranoid. Maybe it is OK 99.99% of the time but why risk it if it is easy to avoid?

[Bmi48219]

So should we not leave cell phones plugged in either?

That’s a good point. Certainly not by plan but when my cell phone and tablet are charging, they’re on the nightstand next to where I’m asleep. I don’t know if these devices have lithium batteries. I’ll have to look into that.
I know for awhile US airlines banned certain models of cell phones on their flights, I believe because those phones had a propensity to ignite.

[MaryB]

the one my wife MADE me get has been sitting on the counter with the charge cord hooked to it except one day she made me take it to camp for a year and a half and id about bet its still sitting there a year from now plugged in

This battery came out of a Motorola phone, it was at 290 degrees and on the way to a fire when I unplugged the phone. It split the phone open!

https://i.imgur.com/Xeg43zD.jpg

[firefly1957]

I do not leave batteries on the charger longer then to charge there is always a small drain of power to a plugged in charger and a risk of fire .

I have used rechargeable AA batteries for years and have had two over heat and damage the chargers one was Ni-cad the other a early hybrid high output that may have been Lithium . Thankfully no fires.

I have often wondered just how much current we put in batteries for what we get back in use I saw one report on electric cars that showed 30% of charging power was waste that would never be used to run the vehicle. In other words for every 130 Kilowatt hours into the battery only 100 KW hours could be utilized . That was reported in the last couple years so I doubt it has changed .