Can You Use An 18V Battery In A 24V Ryobi? Here's What You Should Know
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If you have a large selection of Ryobi tools, you might have a bunch of spare 18-volt batteries lying around. The vast majority of Ryobi tools utilize an 18V battery or 40V battery, but there are some out there that'll require the services of a 24V option. If you've picked up something like the 24V Hedge Trimmer, then you might be wondering if you can use one of your older batteries in place of the 24V one. Unfortunately, that's not the case and your 18V batteries will be limited to their 18V counterparts. On the bright side, Ryobi doesn't have a ton of 24V products out there, so it's not going to be a problem you run into very often.
Ryobi has since discontinued the 24V products, and the choices for new tools and machines are now between 18V and 40V. If you're looking for a replacement 24V battery, it can get pricy on the used market. Due to the relatively low price of the Ryobi line as a whole, it's probably best to simply replace your machine that uses the 24V battery with a new one entirely. Tracking down a replacement will be a headache that's just not worth the time. Your older 24V Ryobi will be perfectly fine in the meantime, but you'll eventually have to buy a new product entirely once the battery breaks down. Even things that seem like they could've utilized 24V batteries, like a lawnmower, have switched to the 18V or 40V option.
Can the 18V battery be used in 40V Ryobi?
Your 18V battery won't work with a 40V Ryobi tool either. There are some roundabout DIY ways to make your 40V battery compatible with the 18V options. However, it's not worth the trouble of making that happen. In general, you don't want to be mixing the voltages like this nor physically modifying the batteries, so it's best to just find a matching battery for your tool. Both 18V and 40V batteries are readily available from Home Depot, the distributor of Ryobi products.
If you have 18V and 40V batteries that need to be charged, you can opt for a single dock that charges the two of them at the same time. That's pretty much the only type of crossover you'll be seeing between the two battery sizes. The bigger batteries are typically used for bigger tools like log splitters. Your 18V batteries are usually found in things like a cordless drill.