New RYOBI USB 2A/3A Lithium Battery Tests and Charger Hack

RYOBI has come out with new 2A & 3A USB Lithium batteries (FVB02 & FVB03). They now have a charge status button and you can now use the USB-C port to both charge and to power other devices!

Ryobi says that their FVCH01 3 Battery Charger is 80% faster than charging with the USB-C cable (It's not!). It is faster though. Unfortunately you need AC to use it. It turns out that it is pretty easy to hack to use a 12V cigarette lighter, USB-C, or power port.

Our tests show that the Type-C port can take 1.35A for charging and driving other devices. I could not get the USB-C output port to negotiate anything but 5V. We also test the charging/discharge times and battery capacity.

Things we used to test:

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[TheResistorNetwork]

Nice to see that this generation can be used to charge other USB-C devices! I might have to pick up a set of these. Great video, thanks.

[robdewhirst]

Thanks for taking the time to test this!

[mrhalfstep]

I just recently invested in this battery system, so, you bet!, this video was helpful! I think I must be on an unconscious mission to own every battery tool that Ryobi makes. LOL The Combo Kit that they came out with for the single 4 volt battery is what started me over the edge and it was all downhill from there. These little tools are just plain handy, IMO. A half dozen of them and some batteries and a charger can be kept in an incredibly small maintenance kit, almost anywhere, because of the size. They can't do it all, but they can do plenty in a pinch. Just too cool.
I was facing a bit of buyer's remorse when you discovered that the capacities on the batteries were so far off. I'm grateful that you went on to test the performances with actual tool usage, as that is what concerns me the most. I'm comfortable with the numbers you got under those circumstances.
I appreciate the hacks for 12 vdc and solar charging because of the ease with which they can be incorporated into the maintenance kit that I mentioned earlier. Also, a heartfelt thanks for being so thorough in your endeavors. Half-assing things seldom helps anyone!

[jeremywhitesell]

Thanks for this. I had this in my hand yesterday. 2 pack of 3 amp batteries. Put them back. But now i want the batteries but not the charger.

[rogertyler]

I Foundout When I Use A Cell Phone Charger To Charge My Batterys It Used To Take Atleast 3 To 5 Hours To Recharge Each One.
But When I Seen The Ryogi USB
Battery Charger Slashed From
$74.99 To $39.99 I Whent & Grabbed It When I Did.& I'm Glad I Did.

[gd.ritter]

80% faster than a standard 5v1A USB port that you may use with a USB cable which is older usb 2.0 wall adapters (not that common anymore these days, most now will easily output 2.1A at least)

[dondiego]

I picked up a six pack of the first gen 2 ah battery for something like $36 I received them about a month before I found out they were coming out with the 3 ah batteries, lol. Great video thanks.
If you need ideas for new videos maybe you could do a a video of the batteries charging other devices like a phone or a headphones .
Also maybe you could make a the tiniest Ryobi 4V battery power station.

[fleebee]

I wish the batteries were made to fit the Tek4 tools. Ryobi completely abandoned that line. I realize they're not the 18V tools but it doesn't go along with their ONE+ guarantee commitment.

[psW]

Good information … turn down/off the music

[dmo]

Recently got into 18650 batteries and cheap charge controllers, jus the boards. U can do so much with these from power banks to pretty much anything that needs power.

[TheTuneAce]

This battery platform seems perfect for modifying small tools that originally ran on nicad batteries. Although it's definitely cheaper to buy cells and a charging board separately, these are an off-the-shelf option. Have you tested enough to know if these batteries also have low voltage protection built in?

[jdp]

Maybe I missed it but did you test/say if it does only 5V output from USB-C or does it support negotiating higher voltages via PD?

[dylangrimes]

where did you buy the adapter at 9:00?

[johnhorner]

Have you done a disassembly of the various Ryobi 4v battery packs tested? It would be interesting to see what is actually inside. Your videos are so interesting that kind of wish I hadn't already standardized on other battery platforms. It is intensely annoying that every power tool brand locks a person into their "system". This is even true when the same company owns multiple brands. TTI, for example, owns Ryobi (in the US), Milwaukee, Hart, AEG, Hoover, Oreck, Homelite and more. All of these brands sell battery powered tools/equipment .... and each one uses unique batteries. As a counter example, Makita seems to be one of the few power tool companies which sells everything under one brand name and, at a given voltage, has only one battery pack design.

[snwpuxy]

I enjoy seeing where these Ryobi 4v tools have to offer. Could you make a glue in adapter for this line and the TEK4, where we could use these batteries in other 4 volt tools?

[nucleochemist]

The rollout of these "4v" or "USB" ryobi products in Australia seems really weird. They dont offer any batteries or chargers for sale, and the only way to get batteries is buying them (1 at a time) with the skins. There also seems to be some confusion at the main ryobi retailer here (Bunnings) whether these are marketed as 4V or USB. Its possible that this product line will not go very far, many of the non-18V and non-36V (40V in USA) products get dropped after 1 or 2 years.

[da]

I'm guessing the 80% increased charging claim is likely when using a USB-A to USB-C charging cable on a 5W brick when compared to the 3 port charger.

[AmsterDanTheAmerican]

That up to 80% is probably across 3 batteries. Question, how much could one of these charge up a cell phone?

[lunchie]

The words UP TO mean a lot here. UP TO 80% faster than other charging methods. Now if you think harder, what's the WORST way to charge these?

Oh yeah, 500ma USB ports exist. Reading and thinking are awesome tools.

[milododds]

The problem with using them to charge your phone, they get hot. Sure they are useful in a pinch but there are better and safer ways to charge your other devices. I am going to try their 18V USB connector to charge our devices with their new ones that run cooler, just like what you are doing as your test source. Yeah nice you can charge 3 at a time for these smaller 4v batteries. With the 2 amp/h I get about 80% charge on my iPhone 15. Ryobi posts misleading stats on things, for example their 1800 Watt power station is only 1600 Watts but cam run 1800 Watts for up to 3 minutes. I wish they were more forthcoming with their stats.