Ryobi shop vac self-charger quality: is it "smart"?

lumen aeternum

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Wondering if it is the same quality as the stand-alone charger they have for the tools. Can I leave a battery on charge? It would be nice if I could regard it as another charger that I can use to keep a battery topped off.
 

Lynx_Arc

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Unless the batteries are Nicads or non LSD nimh I see no reason to need to leave a battery on a charger to keep it topped off as LSD nimh and lithium ion batteries don't self discharge enough over a year sitting to warrant needing a standby charger.
 

lumen aeternum

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The vaccuum battery DOES stay in the charger all the time. I'm asking if the charger turns itself off or keeps working the battery continuously.
 

Lynx_Arc

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The vaccuum battery DOES stay in the charger all the time. I'm asking if the charger turns itself off or keeps working the battery continuously.
Few "pack" chargers completely turn themselves all the way off when the battery is fully charged from what I've heard. Most of them pulse the battery to check if it needs to be charged or not occasionally and this pulsing can actually overcharge a battery over a long period of time in some circumstances and battery types/chemistries. This is why I never recommend leaving any charger plugged in with a battery in it after the battery completes it charge. If the power goes on/off the charger may start charging again when back on and some chargers may drain the battery when there is no power to them also. Basically if the manual doesn't say it is ok to leave batteries charging then likely it is not a good idea to do so. Typically only nicad battery packs are ok with being left on chargers indefinitely.
Simply speaking if the battery is NOT a nicad one I would take if off the charger when it completes charging the same day. leaving it on a charger for a day probably won't hurt the battery much if it is still trickle charging it somehow but longer term trickle charging will slowly damage nimh batteries and if lithium ion I definitely don't recommend trusting any charger to leave one plugged in long term.
 

Gauss163

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Few "pack" chargers completely turn themselves all the way off when the battery is fully charged from what I've heard. Most of them pulse the battery to check if it needs to be charged or not occasionally and this pulsing can actually overcharge a battery over a long period of time in some circumstances and battery types/chemistries [...]

The OP's vac appears to use a Li-ion pack. Li-ion chargers don't work that way (except possibly very cheap / poorly-designed units). They don't do a continuous trickle or float charge since that causes much degradation for Li-ion cells. They may restart the charge if the pack drops a significant amount - but normally that would take a long time to happen. Even so, it is always safer to remove the pack from the charger (assuming that is an option)
 

Lynx_Arc

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The OP's vac appears to use a Li-ion pack. Li-ion chargers don't work that way (except possibly very cheap / poorly-designed units). They don't do a continuous trickle or float charge since that causes much degradation for Li-ion cells. They may restart the charge if the pack drops a significant amount - but normally that would take a long time to happen. Even so, it is always safer to remove the pack from the charger (assuming that is an option)
Basically there is no "topping off" lithium ion batteries by leaving them on a charger that is worthwhile so leaving one on a charger accomplishes nothing as the self discharge rate of these packs is negligible if in good condition.
 

Gauss163

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Basically there is no "topping off" lithium ion batteries by leaving them on a charger that is worthwhile so leaving one on a charger accomplishes nothing as the self discharge rate of these packs is negligible if in good condition

But you claimed otherwise in your 2nd last post (hence my reply). Do you actually know of any (let alone "most") such Li-ion charger that can overcharge (Li-ion) batteries if you leave them on the charger after the charge finishes? This would be very poor design, and I am highly skeptical that such a charger would be sold by a respectable company.
 

lumen aeternum

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The 1st generation of Ryobi chargers were not "smart" -- you should not leave a LiIon battery in the charger. The current generation, you CAN.
So I'm asking if the charger/storage cradle for the current generation shop vac is "smart" or not. Obviously they INTEND for you to leave it in the cradle. But no data is given on how the charger decides whether or not to initiate a charge cycle, and if it "floats" a fully charged battery correctly.
 

Gauss163

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^^^ Please clarify what you mean by Gen1 was not "smart", but the current gen is. "Smart" is a highly overloaded term.
 

vadimax

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This is what RYOBI 18V P117 Charger manual says:

 After charging is complete, the green LED will remain on while the charger is in Maintenance mode.
 Charger will periodically wake from Energy Save mode to ensure the battery pack remains in a fully charged state.

But that doesn't mean all of them work like that. Before buying this one I have studied reviews and they claim that "default" small chargers (that come in kits) may be described with one word — pathetic. This is a situation when paying a little more makes a huge difference.
 
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