I came across a Ryobi USB charger that looks to be incredibly difficult to misplace, due to its hi-viz neon yellow color.
All of my USB chargers tend to be white or black, and they sometimes blend in on my desk or benchtop. Even though I have designated charging areas, my USB chargers sometimes walk away, and it can be a chore to find them again.
This Ryobi charger, model RYIAC30120V, looks very conspicuous, and I imagine it’ll be a lot harder to lose in the home or workshop.
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I suppose that also depends on whether you’re in a Ryobi-filled workshop or a space that’s lacking in neon-yellow tools and accoutrements.
The AC/wall charger features folding travel-style prongs, an 18W USB-A port, and a 30W USB-C PD port.
It’s advertised as a 30W charger. If following how competing products are typically advertised and rated, this suggests that the max wattage is split between the two ports.
Price: $19.97
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Rog
I know its comparably priced to all others on the market but sheesh, $20 for a wall brick just feels ridiculous.
jsbson
Depends on it’s saftey ratings. Many cheaper USB chargers have none.
Goodie
I understand what you mean, the price is certainly higher today than a few years ago. However, I will push back just a bit.
Most of the USB wall bricks sold up to about 10 years ago had very low output. Modern day USB bricks can push (like this one) 30watts or more. I have some for laptops that are pushing 65 watts. USB C really changed the game on power delivery and there is a material cost for that capability.
This Ryobi one is actually priced quite reasonably considering its’ output capacity.
JoeM
Seems smart to mark that as like a “Guest Charger” so to speak. You can have power bricks all over the place, but when someone suddenly calls out “My Phone’s about to die!” You just point to the neon see-it-from-space brick and say “It’s right there, charge as needed! It’s glowing and hard to miss! Feel free!”
This could be in one’s house, or even on a commercial property of some sort. Always know where to plug in, because it’s the one you can’t miss if you tried. Decent/okay amount of power on it, but if you need more than that, you’ll likely have a bigger wattage one somewhere near to it for that. Very reasonable device. Dunno about the price though. You can get 65 and 100 watt bricks with similar features, for the same price. Canadian pricing in fact!
Nate
I have this brick because it came in the kit with the 150W inverter with bi-directional USBC. This is the most powerful brick I own now (more a reflection of how slowly I upgrade electronics). Very handy for when I bring the inverter on trips for USB devices (kids sound machine, phones, watch, etc) – use the USBC output to charge 18V battery and USBA to charge phone at the same time.
You’re right, it’s hard to lose!
Saulac
What would happen if I plug in both end of a USB to USB-C cable? Asking for a friend.
Al
Did this once with a lipstick battery that lacked a logic circuit. One of those “I wonder if…” moments.
Started melting the insulation where we couldn’t remove the cord. Burned the internals enough to make it permanently non-op.
You’d think that manufacutrers plan for stupid things…but not always.
jsbson
This one is UL listed so it should proterct itself. But still
best not to check.
Rick
Your friend will be relieved to know that nothing bad will happen because “Power is not applied to the USB Type-C host or hub receptacle (VBUS or VCONN) until the Source detects the presence of an attached device (Sink) port”. That’s from section 2.3.1 of the USB-C Specification.
Put more simply, when your friend plugs both ends of the cable into the charger a handshake is initiated to make sure that the power source is properly connected to a device before proceeding. That handshake fails because there is no attached device, so nothing happens and no harm is done.
Kent hanson
Great way to articulate this. I recently got a charging block that has a couple of USB-C and USB-A ports and the USB-C ones light up when a device is connected to the cable but goes out when the device is disconnected so even though the cable is plugged in its waiting for the handshake to be made before engaging with the cable.
Carl
If there were a more powerful version of this I’d probably get one. A nice GaN charger perhaps, at least 60W but preferably 100.
This looks like they just put a fitted silicone case on an existing charger, I don’t think you’d want to take the same approach on higher power adapters.
elias
We need some 100w built USB C wall receptacle options. So few and super expensive
Andy H
Aohi and Volcan are two brands that sell 65+ Watt GaN chargers in bright colors, including hi-vis yellow.
Jared McBeth
I’m going to check those out. Thanks for suggesting them.
I think this Ryobi is a bit weak for me to bother with. I have the 65w wall charger from the Dewalt USB-C battery charger – since I got that I can’t imagine going back to something slower.
It’s nice to charge my phone, tool batteries and even my laptop in a pinch. It’s not gigantic, so I don’t see why I’d buy a lower-wattage version except if you needed a budget option.
Jared McBeth
Stuart, I don’t pay attention enough to know if my existing chargers are the same, but are you saying you need a “Y” cable, like 2-into-1, to use the charger at 30w?
E.g. this part:
“It’s advertised as a 30W charger. If following how competing products are typically advertised and rated, this suggests that the max wattage is split between the two ports.”
What about the 65w power supply in my DCB094K – does it charge batteries at 65w?
Stuart
With *most* USB chargers, there are 2 ratings – max power for the charger, and max power per port.
Consider a typical charger that is rated at 50W, and it has 1x 45W port and 1x 20W port. Usually, the 45W port would only be rated as such when a single device is connected to the charger. If 2 devices are connected for simultaneous charging, the total 50W power would be split between the two parts. In that scenario, maybe the 20W max port might deliver 20W, and the 45W max port might deliver a max of 30W.
If we take that as standard behavior, this 30W charger, I assume that one canNOT charge 1 device at 30W and the other at 18W at the same time. It could be that both ports each deliver 15W power if 2 devices are charging at the same time via the 2 ports.
You should NOT be using Y cables, splitters, or similar unless a device and charger is specifically designed for that.
Jared McBeth
Ha! Ok, I won’t try that. I was trying to figure out how a 30W charger could be rated that way if 30W wasn’t possible – but I guess you’re saying it is possible, just split between two devices.
I’ll have to pay more attention to the wattage rating for each port next time. Sounds like the manufacturers (or marketers) are taking advantage of sloppy-shoppers like me who just relied on the advertised wattage.
Stuart
It depends on the design and engineering.
The question isn’t whether the 30W port can deliver 30W, but whether it can do that when the 18W port is also in use. Ryobi doesn’t specify, and my experience with other brands’ devices suggests that the 30W port will deliver lower current when both USB ports are in use.
It’s kind of like how a residential circuit might have multiple 15A receptacles, but you can’t plug high draw equipment into all of them for use at the same time.
Some brands, such as Anker e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4YTB56H/?tag=toolguyd-20 will have diagrams that show the max power output for single or multiple port charging scenarios.
Jared
That makes sense. Thank you.
Bogs
Well, it’d be nice if this Ryobi 30-watt USB charger were actually available at Home Depot, but so far, in Southern California, despite what it says on said company’s website, there’s not a one to be found. And writing Ryobi / TTI accomplishes nothing, as it itself has not a one for sale online, any more than Home Depot. (In fact, order one for immediate delivery by Home Depot and watch said order be cancelled within hours, at most.)
Stuart
Looking at zip codes near you, they have a bunch in stock for free delivery. If they’re cancelling your orders, it sounds like your store has some in stock but can’t find them. That happens sometimes with a lot of stores, and yes it’s frustrating and even infuriating.