Can You Charge Ryobi's Old NiCad Batteries With An 18V One+ Charger?

Ryobi has been making battery-powered tools for a long time. The company has produced several generations of cordless products, with a marked growth in efficiency between models. It isn't just the tools themselves that have been upgraded, however. The batteries that power them have also changed over the years.

Older cordless Ryobi tools were powered by nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries. These types of batteries have been popular for use in all kinds of electronics for years due to their high energy density, which allows them to provide a lot of power without taking up a lot of space. But, as efficient as NiCad batteries are, Lithium-Ion batteries are even better. They offer a longer life cycle, faster charging, and even more energy density than NiCads. That's why Ryobi switched to the new One+ battery system which powers all of the company's current products, although they don't work in older Ryobi tools.

That said, there are some Ryobi collectors out there who might already have an ample surplus of the older NiCad tools and their respective batteries, and many of them might not be in a hurry to spend a bunch of money migrating to a new battery system when their current tools are working just fine. But if you're old NiCad charger dies, you might find yourself wondering if one of the new 18V One+ battery chargers would work in its stead. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Ryobi's 18V One+ chargers are pretty versatile. Both the regular charger and the fast charger can juice up any Ryobi One+ Lithium battery, no matter the amperage. However, 18V One+ batteries are the only batteries that they are rated to work with. The instruction manual for the charger specifically states that you should "Charge only Ryobi lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs. Other types of batteries may burst, causing personal injury or damage." This includes the older NiCad batteries. So not only will charging older batteries on the One+ chargers not work, but attempting to do so could actually be dangerous.

It's worth noting that it also doesn't work the other way around. "Older Ryobi chargers (typically grey or black in [color]) were designed before Lithium batteries existed within the range so therefore won't charge Lithium batteries," Ryobi states. "If a Lithium battery were to be plugged into such a charger, the protection electronics within the battery won't allow it to be charged for safety reasons." So you can't charge the new lithium-ion batteries on your old NiCad chargers either.

Just because you can't stroll into the Home Depot and pick up the newest charger for your old Ryobi batteries doesn't mean you have to throw them out just yet. There are still a few places where you can find the old NiCad chargers online. Used chargers frequently go for sale on eBay, and many of them can be found quite cheaply. 

Just be sure that you are getting a functional charger from a reputable seller. Those willing to pay a bit more for a new charger can also still find unopened 18V NiCad battery chargers for sale on Amazon. They can be a bit on the pricy side and will likely only grow more expensive since they have been discontinued, but buying one this way is still currently a whole lot cheaper than investing in an entirely new battery system.

Another option is to get a third-party charger like those from companies like Gonocop and Vinida. These are not made by Ryobi itself, but they are marketed as working with older Ryobi batteries. Just make sure to check the exact model number of your batteries and make sure that they're compatible with whichever charger you choose before plugging it in. It also may be worth checking out reviews in order to ensure that they have worked properly for other users with the same battery.