5 40V Ryobi Tools Worth Buying A 12AH Battery For

Out of the various tool systems manufactured and sold by the Ryobi hardware brand, some of the most muscular are those included in the 40V system. As opposed to the leaner, more compact Ryobi 18V tools of the ONE+ line, this range is mostly made up of heavy-duty, outdoor labor implements like leaf blowers, lawn mowers, earth augers, and more. These battery-powered tools purport to have output comparable to their gas-powered counterparts, but running such feisty machines with batteries does have a bit of a drawback: runtime.

As with the ONE+ system, the 40V range offers battery options from 2Ah up to 12Ah. Although the batteries share the 40V platform, their capabilities can vary, with Ryobi claiming enhanced power output from its 12Ah pack. The smaller 2Ah and 4Ah batteries will naturally require more frequent charging compared to their larger-capacity counterparts. For some outdoor tasks, this can be particularly irritating. 

This is why, for a certain subset of 40V tools, you might want to invest in the top-shelf option of a 12Ah battery in order to maximize your uptime between recharges. We break down five Ryobi 40V tools where the upgrade pays off.

In terms of power draw, leaf blowers are notoriously thirsty for juice. In order to generate the cubic feet per minute (CFM) or air displacement necessary to actually move leaves and small lawn debris around, it takes a surprisingly large amount of power, and while Ryobi's leaf blower can produce that level of output, it definitely won't last forever. By Ryobi's estimates, its 40V 475 CFM Blower will exhaust a 4Ah 40V battery pack in about 85 minutes. That may be okay for a smaller lawn or quick, partial cleanup, but if you've got to de-leaf both yards, it may not be enough.

Based on that approximate runtime for a 4Ah battery pack, upgrading to a 12Ah 40V battery would get you around four hours and some change of continuous leaf blower operation. That's more than enough to completely clean up both your front and back yards of their fallen leaves, possibly with some power left over to shorten recharge times. If you're clearing away foliage on a blustery fall day, it'd definitely be preferable to make your work as efficient as possible, so you don't have to spend any longer out there than you have to.

Speaking of lawn care and thirsty tools, lawn mowers are another exceptionally power-hungry implement. According to Ryobi, its 40V HP Brushless 20" Push Mower delivers more raw output than a 150cc gas-powered lawn mower. However, delivering that kind of power, including running the motor and spinning the blades, is a very energy-intensive endeavor. This is why this particular model of mower is only considered optimal for yards measuring half an acre or less, with an estimated runtime of just 50 minutes using a 6Ah 40V battery pack.

If you have a larger lawn to take care of, or need to hit both the front and back yards, that runtime definitely isn't enough. Lawn mowing is a very time-consuming task even in the best of conditions, and it'll only be worse if you're running back for another battery every 50 minutes. Upgrading to a 12Ah battery pack will extend that out to a healthier 1.6 hours of runtime, based on those estimates, which can provide a little extra leeway for properly mowing the entire lawn. 

If you've got one of Ryobi's highly rated battery chargers, like the 40V Hyper Charger, you may be able to charge another pack in the time it takes to run down your current one, reducing downtime further.

Despite how easy they make it look in movies and cartoons, it's surprisingly difficult to just make a hole in the ground with a shovel. Even just digging a few feet down could take up to several hours, depending on how wide it is and how large your shovel is. Not everyone has the time or physical capability for that, which is why tools like Ryobi's 40V HP Brushless 8" Earth Auger exist. It uses a brushless motor and spinning drill to make quick, deep holes for fences, landscaping, and soil preparation.

Unfortunately, while this auger can make one or two holes easily, if you're looking to bore dozens of holes to, for example, lay a full perimeter fence, that might be tricky. A fully charged 4Ah battery, by Ryobi's estimates, gives you sufficient capacity to dig around 30 holes, assuming optimal conditions. On the other hand, upgrading to a 12Ah battery would get that up to 90 holes, which should give you more than enough leeway to dig as many holes as you could need for just about any purpose.

When the winter arrives and the snow starts falling, the lawn mower goes away for the year, and its cold-weather counterpart, the snow blower, comes out to play. Ryobi's 40V Auger-Propelled Snow Blower is designed to tackle thick snow. The machine features a built-in auger that grinds up the snow and feeds it into the throwing mechanism. For the purposes of clearing a single parking spot in front of your house, it's great, but if that was all you were doing, you probably wouldn't have purchased such a heavy-duty tool.

By Ryobi's estimates, the 40V snow blower can displace approximately 20 car spaces' worth of snow when drawing from an 8Ah battery pack. If you're using this snow blower for labor purposes, like cleaning a full parking lot or a longer driveway, that might not last long enough, especially if the snow is unusually deep and thick. 

Upgrading to a 12Ah battery pack would increase that space estimate to around 30 car spaces' worth of snow, which is helpful for both the obvious reason and because it would give you a little extra leeway to clear whatever remains in the event of thicker snow.

In a similar vein to digging a hole, you never realize how hard cutting a tree is until you try it for yourself, even if it's something as relatively simple as sawing through a single branch. This is why chainsaws are often some of the most powerful gas-powered outdoor tools, as they need to be in order to efficiently and safely chop through thick logs and branches. 

According to Ryobi, its 40V HP Top Handle Chainsaw boasts more cutting power than a 31cc gas-powered chainsaw, and when equipped with a 40V 4Ah battery pack, can make approximately 129 full cuts on a single charge. That's a bit of a vague estimate, however, especially considering that different types of wood may have varying densities that affect how long a single cut takes, not to mention ambient conditions like the cold.

While 129 cuts certainly isn't nothing, if you're concerned that it's not enough, then upgrading to a 12Ah battery pack would get you a hearty 387 cuts on a full charge. This way, not only would you be able to cut far more timber in optimal conditions, but if the wood is especially thick or has been partially frozen by low temperatures, you'll have a little extra juice in the proverbial bottle to slice through it without diminishing your overall efficiency.