The Ryobi 18V cordless inflator/deflator has recently become part of the ONE+ range. We reviewed a similar Kobalt 120-volt tire inflator last year and really liked it. Ryobi P731 adds wireless freedom with ONE+ battery. Just put the battery on and you're good to go. Walk around the house and pump up an inflator, or walk around the truck and fill up the tires. That's okay – you can move about freely. You might think that the Ryobi 18V ONE+ Dual Function Inflator/Deflator gets its name from hybrid battery powered/12V powered tools. you are wrong. This one has only the battery.
The Ryobi P731 is suitable for bicycle, motorcycle and car tires and also doubles as a high volume inflator. This is the unique dual function. This means the Ryobi cordless inflator can switch from high PSI mode to low PSI, high volume applications. So you could, for example, use it to pipe for a day at the lake. Or you could blow up your wife's exercise ball or the air mattress you now have to sleep on because you deflated her exercise ball for a product review. You can even blow off the top of your workbench quickly. all good.
The versatile Ryobi 18V Cordless Inflator/Deflation has a beautiful blue LCD display on top. It gives you easy-to-use controls and also lets you see exactly what's going on when you inflate. The Ryobi P731 inflator allows you to input the exact pressure you need. It shuts off automatically when you reach that pressure. More details on how it does this.
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More Features for the Ryobi 18V Cordless Inflator
And if the dual inflation mode isn't convenient enough, the Ryobi also gives you built-in storage for hoses, nozzles, and adapters. Hose wraps on each side and the nozzle/adapter is stored on the right side of the tool. I like this because it adds to the convenience of the tool. It's really a grab and go process. That's more convenient than the powerful Milwaukee M18 compact vacuum, which doesn't have any storage space for parts. You load the ONE+ battery into the bottom, like all ONE+ tools, any ONE+ battery will do. Nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion, nuclear…whatever. Right now in Ryobi there is a lawyer who is terrified of someone who might try to build a fission powered inflator… Relax, we used a 4 Ah Lithium battery pack in our tests – that's what we recommend.
know when to quit
The Ryobi 18V Cordless Inflator has a nice automatic shut off. This allows you to set any pressure from 10 to 150 PSI in 1PSI increments. It will basically do your work for you. Digital LCD pressure display accurate to +/- 1 PSI. The center rocker switch controls whether the implement is in high pressure (II) or low pressure (I) mode. Put it in the center to start and read the current tire pressure.
Ryobi uses separate hoses and nozzles for high volume and high pressure modes. The diameters make it easy to know which is which, and they plug into separate ports. The right output is for high voltage and the left rear output gives you low voltage. The bleeder just lets you move the hose to the leftmost port. The low-pressure hose has a convenient twist lock so it won't accidentally fall out of the port during use.
Only concern is that the low pressure hose seems to be really flimsy. We've seen it wrinkle a bit when installing after initial use.
The Ryobi P731 inflator is really easy to use and requires little explanation. At the risk of insulting you, I will briefly review my experience. The first use was to inflate the tires of a Jeep Liberty. I do a lot of testing with these units on my used car because the tires don't contain ~100% Nitrogen like my 2015 Ford F-150 work truck.
The coolest part about the Ryobi 18V Cordless Inflator is the digital gauge readout. The LCD acts as your PSI gauge. You press the mode button to activate it, then use the plus or minus buttons to set the desired pressure. That pressure setting is only held in gauge memory for 3 minutes, which means you have 3 minutes to go from one tire to the other. Connect the hose to the tire with the unit turned off. You get an immediate reading of your current tire pressure before you hit the switch.
Start Ryobi P731 Inflator
Next, start the inflator. When the tire reaches an i PSI higher than your setting, the Ryobi cordless inflator will shut off. You can then recall the last PSI setting by pressing the plus or minus button during that 3 minute window. You can also reset the pressure setting by pressing and holding the mode button for about 6-7 seconds.
After the Jeep was done, we went to work on our neighbor's Mercedes. It was a great day for the community as I hunted around for tires to fill up. This car needs only 30 PSI in the rear and 28 PSI in the front. I adjusted the target pressure and got to work. It gives about 3 PSI per minute (give or take) on a 30 PSI tire.
To test the low-pressure, high-volume mode, I set up the hose and grabbed the aforementioned medicine ball. I deflated it and quickly re-inflated it. Jobs that used to take a long time with high pressure inflators are done in just a few minutes. This tool will really come in handy.
enough hot air
While Ryobi doesn't offer an alternative power source for this cordless 18V inflator, they did manage to make an efficient, easy-to-use battery-operated model. We also like the convenience of this tool. It will be available as an easy add-on for anyone on the Ryobi platform. Honestly, though, no matter what brand of tool you already own, the price can't be beat. Professionals and anyone else will find this very convenient.
Ryobi P731 Inflator Pricing and Final Thoughts
I learned that the Ryobi P731 is smart. Since it's a full PSI over the set pressure, it explains the end process that tends to lose air. You can lose extra PSI by removing the hose. The nozzle can really grab your stem, so it might take a few uses before it wears down a bit. After my third tyre, I barely lost any pressure. I also compared my results to a standard tire pressure gauge. In each case, the measurements were within 1 PSI. From a $55 tool, this is accurate enough for me.
Ryobi sells the 18V ONE+ inflator/deflation unit as a bare-bones unit for less than $55. You can store it in the garage and pull it out when you need a top-up or an air mattress. It is also a deflator. When the trip on the lake is over, you can easily deflate the tube or raft by simply moving the hose from the rear to the left (inlet).