Ryobi has come out with a new 18V One+ cordless air compressor, model P739.
The new Ryobi cordless air compressor is said to be perfect for roadside tire inflation, or for use with pneumatic finish nailers.
Advertisement
It delivers 120 PSI max, and has a 1 gallon air tank.
Additional features include a push-t-connect quick coupler, for easy one-hand operation, a locking regulator for keeping the pressure set at the desired PSI, a metal air hose wrap for on-board storage, and a rubber overmolded handle for greater user comfort.
Ryobi says that it can inflate a car tire from 0 to 35 PSI in 80 seconds, and it can inflate up to 9 car tires per charge when used with a 4.0Ah (P108) Li-ion battery.
There’s a tank drain valve (as expected), and clearly marked tank and outlet pressure gauges.
Price: $99 for the bare tool (you’ll need a separate battery and charger)
Update: The price was $129 as of 2/27/2019, and there is a new kit option for $158.
Advertisement
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Buy Now(Kit via Home Depot)
First Thoughts
There are two other cordless air compressors currently available – the Ridgid 1 gallon compressor, and Dewalt Flexvolt.
This new Ryobi cordless 1 gallon portable air compressor is less expensive than those other options, but its feature set doesn’t look to be compromised.
Check out the large feet on the bottom of the unit! Air compressors are typically noisy, and they vibrate a whole lot. Small feet can exacerbate things.
In this image you can also see the quarter-turn drain valve.
If you ask me, this has the potential to be a winner. If it performs as well as it looks on paper, it’ll be a great home workshop addition for Ryobi 18V One+ users.
One thing to keep in mind is that it is a 1 gallon compressor. Meaning, don’t expect it to run a 1/2″ impact wrench. The Ridgid, also a 1 gallon cordless compressor, is a great performer when paired with smaller air nailers, and so I’d expect the same from this one.
Redcastle
Unlike Rigid which has no footprint in the UK (occasional sighting of an AEG badged tool does not count) Ryobi has a good presence in B&Q (Home Depot) so perhaps we could see this over here.
My existing compressor is corded and while manageable inside it is a pain to use externally so I would be very interested in this.
Does TTI use Ryobi as a test bed for ideas as is sometimes seen with Bosch green?
Toolfreak
Ryobi is the DIY/Consumer line of TTi, Milwaukee/Ridgid are more the Professional/Commercial line. There’s more than a few cordless Ryobi tools that don’t exist in pro tool lines just because of who they’re targeted at.
Jared
Ryobi may have just talked me into a third battery platform. I really like the idea of the Dewalt flexvolt version. I use a small corded compressor frequently, but just couldn’t justify how much the Dewalt version costs to save having to run a cord.
When you want a tool but can’t justify the expense of the pro-grade version, Ryobi seems to do an excellent job filling the gap.
Tim E.
I may be a little nuts, but I have both the flexvolt one, and I picked up this Ryobi a few weeks ago when I saw it in Home Depot. I have a porter cable 6 gallon pancake in a detached garage, but have to be careful using it since it likes to trip the breaker for that garage building if someone else opens their garage door. I usually use the ryobi dual inflator for filling up car tires out there, which got more convenient when I pulled it out of the car trunk to keep the M12 one in there instead. But while great for tires, the high volume hose on it only goes so far being used like a blowgun. If I need to get some dirt or whatever out of tight spaces, or use a nailer that I don’t have in a cordless version out there on a project, I have to fire up the pancake. Even being fairly light comparatively, lugging the flexvolt one back and forth is annoying. I figured the ryobi would be a good fit in the garage, since I already have several ryobi items out there, the shop vac, fan, lights, etc. because they’re hybrid (except the shop vac), and a good number of batteries.
Even only having it for a short time, it’s been pretty good. Being used to the 2 gallon DeWalt inside, it wasn’t hard to set reasonable expectations for a 1 gallon. If you expect it to replace even a 5 gallon class pancake for every single thing, or refill as fast or as infrequently as a one of those, your expectations are too high. I leave a tire chuck on it usually so if something looks or feels low on the car or motorcycle, I can just grab it, turn the regulator, and I’m in business. I can also use an actual blowgun, for very short periods obviously or at low pressures, but that’s usually my needs anyway, just a few quick blasts to blow something out, I’m not cleaning vacuum filters out there usually. It runs my 16ga nailer just fine, and any of the smaller pneumatic guns if I take them out there instead of their cordless counterparts. I even ran my craft airbrush off it for a small project, and it wasn’t too bad. If I did that more, I might look into a holding tank to stabilize the airflow while the compressor is running, with the one gallon it definitely has a pulse to it when the compressor kicks on.
It definitely cycles a lot, which you would expect from a 1 gallon tank, but it fills quickly, and isn’t annoying in its sound like some of the smaller compressors can be (ever heard the tiny Husky hotdog, or the cheap little hdx 2 or 3 gallon HD used to have? Ugh.). My only complaints with it is it feels like ryobi quality. Not bad necessarily, but definitely a step down from the DeWalt for example. The font panel could be beefed up a tiny bit IMO or maybe the mounting for it tweaked for less flex, and that would help quite a bit.
Hopefully now that both ryobi and rigid have cordless compressors, it means we’ll see a Milwaukee one…
Jared
I appreciate your feedback. I’m genuinely interested in this Ryobi unit – though I’d also consider picking up the Flexvolt if I found it on sale somewhere.
I have a big compressor in my shop and a wimpy little 1-gallon Mastercraft that I grab when I’m using the brad nailer, filling up car tires etc. My expectations therefore aren’t big and, from the specs, the Ryobi sounds like it is fully capable of replacing it.
Eric
Supposedly the Flexvolt unit got clearanced out of area home depots, I wish I had found one.
I am interested in getting this. I made a Ryobi to Dewalt battery adapter out of an old Ryobi battery and the Dewalt “18-to-20” converter, would probably be perfect for this.
Adam
Surebonder makes adapter for Ryobi to Milwaukee, DeWalt, or Makita. About $30 shipped on eBay. $20 each, $10 shipping, so if you have buddies to defray the shipping, I’d go in together.
I have to find my pictures I took, but I swear both Ryobi & Ridgid have forced air heaters. The battery powers the fan, but you are still using propane. I believe the Ryobi used the bottle sized tanks, though I’m sure you could use an adapter to a 20lb tank, where as the Ridgid uses standard size tanks
Only saw them displayed in one store, and never saw them mentioned again
Nate
The ryobi heater just came out and it’s a hybrid, can use small bottle or bigger tanks and it can be plugged in to electricity.
PETE
I saw one of their heater in store the other day. I KIND of want one but at the same time i know my buddy heater is about as good as it gets. Dewalts new buddy heater looks awesome too.
Eric
Surebonder does make an adapter, but there are no low-voltage electronics in it, so I would not recommend using one. Making one with the DeWalt adapter and an old battery is quite easy.
AngryDrumGuy
^ This now has me curious, as I noticed about a month ago the HD closest to me had all of their minimal felxvolt stuff jammed into the clearance section. It didn’t last long and there’s currently nothing on the shelves.
Greg
For whatever reason Flexvolt stuff doesn’t last long at my local HD. I think they hold onto it long enough to meet some corporate guideline but not a day later it’s off to the clearance section. None of the local contractors buy it I guess?
In this regard the local HD has lost money on me based on my flexvolt purchases. I have the top end 12″ dual bevel miter saw kit (which at the time had the free rolling stand offer that counted with the clearance pricing), the 60v table saw (again with the free stand offer at the time), the angle grinder, the 120v power source using dewalt batteries which included a few, the hole hawg kit, and the circular saw kit, and finally the combo kit with the flexvolt hammer drill / impact driver. All told it’s cost me about $1100 in two years of consistently checking the clearance isle every weekend believe it or not. I think full retail we’re talking about $3k+ had I bought everything like that.
I’m sure I’m part of some running joke between the staff because of my frequent visits and purchases but whatever.
I have noticed though the Flexvolt compressor hasn’t made it to the clearance isle yet but when it does I’ll likely buy it.
Nathan
It looks nice but I have to image it’s wanting for umph if you were to do anything other than punch in a few small 18-16 gage nails.
I do like the gage setup and the look of that with the hose wrap. But I don’t think it’s for me. I’ve gotten use to the capability of my 6 gallon PC corded machine and I don’t know that I can go backwards here.
Framer joe
Ryobi .5 scfm at 90psi… Ridgid 1 scfm at 90psi… dewalt 1.3 scfm at 90psi….Ryobi 79 Decibels… Ridgid 77 decibels….
The Ryobi is definitely not made as well as the Ridgid. Nor does it have the air capacity of the Ridgid…it’s also louder..
Some stats in the reviews and comparisons help a lot…while I own many Ryobi cordless tools ,this would not be one of them for any size air tool… inflating tires ok…..buy the Ridgid or even better the dewalt for use with finish guns….but the Ryobi inflator for tires..
Curtis
The Ryobi inflator is great for tires, within reason. It pumps bicycle tires up to 100 psi just fine, but an 80 psi truck tire will eventually burn it out.
Toolfreak
This seems like a cool idea, but I’ve stayed away from the hot dog style of compressors since learning the weld seam on the bottom is a failure point.
The moisture that accumulates in the tank, even what’s left after draining the air every so often, eventually weakens the weld from the inside and if you’re lucky the tank just develops a leak, if you’re not so lucky the tank bursts. Not fun.
Think I’ll stick with pancake style compressors from now on.
Kyle Hughes
Well that’s why they’ve got a drain valve bud
Curtis
I’ve got the DeWalt flexvolt compressor and it’s been super handy. I’ve run coil nailers and even a texture sprayer on it. Yeah, it’s not great in either role, but it is adequate, and if I’m just putting some three tab down on a shed or texturing a single wall it’s way more convenient to grab the flexvolt than to haul out the big compressor and run a power cord. Basically for those high flow kinds of tools I have to give it about twice as long to charge as with a larger compressor. Maybe three times as long with the texture gun.
I’m not sure if a 1 gallon, 18v compressor would be adequate in either of those capacities. For inflating tires and brad nailers sure.
Tim E.
I’d definitely be hesitant to use this on anything bigger than a 15/16ga, I feel like you’d get just a couple shots then have to wait for it to recharge, so less time savings than convenience and not worth it. For a crown stapler or 23ga (or 18ga even), it would be okay. Using it with the 16ga the other day it kept up, but paranoia about not wanting to redo nails let me wait for it to recharge here and there if I was shooting a lot in rapid succession.
Oh, and if your guns leak, this compressor doesn’t work so well. My 18ga leaks around the trigger and I haven’t got around to fixing it, it makes this compressor cycle a LOT, even being a semi minor leak. Same if your hose connection to the gun leaks, I have one hose with a bad end and it also made the thing cycle noticeably more, probably because the tank is so small there’s no buffer for that sort of thing.
Curtis
With the Dewalt, I found it worked pretty good for one guy with a coil nailer on a very small porch roof. I’d fire four shots and it would start to cycle. Then I’d get the next shingle set up and fire another four shots. At that point I’d reach the end of the roof and would have to cut the shingle to size and it was fully charged again by the time I was done and ready for another row. It didn’t really slow me down at all in that role. I’m pretty sure the Ryobi could do the same, but I suspect the smaller tank and lower air flow would slow you down and it would probably just make more sense to use a hammer.
Running the texture gun it did slow me down significantly. I was texturing a 10×20 room including the ceiling and I had to regularly pause to let it recharge and also had to swap batteries three or more times in the process. Having it there saved me the trouble of driving 10 miles to get my full size compressor, but even factoring that in I don’t think I saved any time by using the DeWalt. I would use it again for texturing a single wall or two, but that’s about it and I don’t think the Ryobi would work in that role at all.
Tim E.
Yeah, I love the DeWalt one, the extra gallon and higher CFM help. Used it for a framing gun at habitat to shoot some blocking because we could, and both the contractor guys and myself wanted to see how it’d do. Wouldn’t use it if you’re a full on framer shooting anything more than a few shots, but it worked great to shoot up a block, go measure and cut another one, put it in, etc. Same as the coil nailer only got 3-4 shots before it would recharge, but it would be well done before we could cut the next block to put in.
Around the house, it’s even more of a champ, since I’m not running framing guns. It runs all my pneumatic guns fine, airbrush for hobby painting, blowgun for cleaning filters and stuff, filling tires when I used to use it for that, …
CobraJ
This would be better it they had their Hybrid system 110v or 18v. I have their fan that runs on 110v or 18v and would buy this compressor if it ran on both.
Humberto Macias
I use to buy ryobi, but never ever again. If it breaks, its hard to get the warranty processed its all done by third party and i have had my tools stolen from these third parties, we are talking $300 tools. If you know you use your tools endlessly all day buy harbor frieghts, on the spot warranty switch out and you can still buy a warranty on the same item again. Ryobi as a company is a complete waste. Don’t care how good their tools are, if you really use your tools you know they always eventually break, ryobi knows they can get away with charging you extra for a warranty you’ll never really be able to fully render at the place you originally bought it from. Wasteful.