This article was written on May 24th 2017 when the Ryobi 18V 6ah and 9ah and Compact 3ah batteries were first spotted. I had reason to believe they were using larger 20700 cells due to better performance claims that sound a lot like the same claims made by other manufacturers with batteries using 20700 cells. However I got confirmation from Ryobi themselves that the new 18V 6ah and 9ah and Compact 3ah batteries from Ryobi are not using 20700 cells but instead are using same size 18650 cells. Refer to the original article confirming this news by clicking here.
I will leave the original article below however as mentioned in the above paragraph, the new Ryobi batteries are not using 20700 cells. You may read the original article if you wish.
Original article dated May 24 2017:
Just recently the news broke out about a new mysterious P194 Ryobi battery that got the tool world puzzled as to what it may be. It seemed tall enough to pack 3 rows of cells which made all of us question if it may be the 9ah battery of legend. Thanks to Rob who originally shared info with us about the P194 battery, he’s dug up some more high capacity battery info from Ryobi. According to Rob’s sources we now have concrete evidence that a Ryobi 9ah 18V battery is real, but the awesome news doesn’t stop there – there’s also a new 6ah battery as well that’s around the size of the current 4ah batteries, maybe slightly bigger (more on that below), and there’s also going to be a high capacity compact Ryobi battery with 3ah (18V)!
We know parent company TTI has the tech to make 9ah batteries as they created the first 9ah battery for Milwaukee and recently we found out they made a 9ah battery for Ridgid as well so at this point it was only a matter of time that they would share that tech with Ryobi.
What’s also interesting about the three new batteries mentioned in this article is that Ryobi calls each of them a High Energy Battery. Rob also dug up a video that explains what their High Energy batteries are all about which basically says that Ryobi is using larger cells that are more efficient at harnessing battery juice and run cooler than regular cells that are smaller and can provide much longer runtime. In the video it shows the compact 3ah battery and it says that one high energy compact 3ah battery has the runtime of 3 compact 1.5ah batteries. If true this is impressive to say the least.
Ryobi. High Energy Battery from Anmeko Production House on Vimeo.
If the cells are larger in the new High Energy batteries, this leads me to believe that they are most likely the new 20700 cells that have been showing up recently that also claim to offer more runtime, less heat, and even more power (performance) than regular tried and true 18650 lithium cells. Its a fact that the 20700 cells are larger than current 18650 cells so it’s probably what’s inside the new high energy batteries. No where in the documentation does it say they’re using the newer 20700 cells but come on, connect the dots.
What further proves that they probably are newer 20700 cells is that Ridgid is already using the larger 20700 cells in their 5ah batteries. Other manufacturers are moving over to the new 20700 cells as well such as Dewal, Bosch, and Metabo for the added benefits that 20700 cells provide.
We can also see that the 6ah battery appears to be slightly larger than the current 4ah Ryobi battery which makes sense since batteries using the newer 20700 cells are larger than similar batteries using 18650 cells.
I will admit I know the P194 battery exists here in the USA and that it’s a 9ah battery but the High Energy batteries in this article were spotted outside of the USA. The 6.0 ah ( RB18L60 ) and 9.0 ah ( RB18L90 ) batteries were spotted in Russia and the 3.0 ah ( RB18L3 ) was spotted in the UK and all have different model numbers than what would exist here in the USA. I’m not sure if the P194 USA spec 9ah battery is the same as the High Energy battery found in outside of the USA. We’ll have to wait soon for more info.
I really wish ryobi would release ALL of their tools worldwide instead of bringing all this tech to only specific regions, then here in the US we would get the high energy batteries with the brush-less compact drills, impacts, and circular saws that the prosumers crave. I mean i love ryobi and how affordable they are but i really want to have the confidence that my tools will run as long (if not longer) than some of these pro tools that everyone keeps trying to convince me to switch over too.
My family has always used Makita and while I LOVE MAKITA tools, I really love supporting the underdog and going with a tool manufacture that i know will give me the best deal i can find.
bosch and metobo were first brands that put 20700 cell in their battries
actually in the US the order is first Metabo, then Ridgid, then Dewalt, and last to market Bosch
I need to know if a ryobi 18 volt battry is the same in russia as in america I am wanting to ship some tools to russia but shipping the battries seem to be a problem.
Just spotted a picture of a 9ah Ryobi battery in a 18v brushless blower vac on the online Australian bunnings site.
I live in the US and have the 6 pack charger, but I am going to Australia where they already have the 9ah battery on sale. Anyone know if it will work with the US charger or if there is some type of smart circuit in the US charger that will prevent it from charging the higher capacity batteries?
Sorry Kevin, these new 3ah, 6ah and 9ah batteries have not been released in Australia. Unfortunatley, the Ryobi brand is not as well managed as AEG/Milwakee/Ridgid etc, the other brands made by Techtronics. I did a full tool refresh, 6 months ago and i really regret the Ryobi path, as there are many tools that would benefit from the 9ah battery packs. Out of the Techtronics brands, Milwarkee has the best range and the 9ah batteries, in Australia at least.
I recently picked up a P193 6AH battery, it really adds a lot of power to tools over the older fantastic P108 4AH batteries. I took it apart and it impossible to see the cells without destructive demolition. The cells are held in a clam shell carrier withe the welded on tab holding it closed. It has 10 cells that are defiantly 650mm in length but look like they may be slightly larger diameter than 18mm. Probably something similar the LG HG6 20650 30A Flat Top 3000mAh Battery. They are in a staggered configuration to allow the cells to fit in the same length package while growing the battery vertically.
Did you get it here in the USA
learn what’s inside the ryobi 6.0ah battery here: https://toolcraze.net/ryobi-6-0-ah-battery-is-larger-than-4-0/