Metabo HPT (Hitachi) 4-Port 18V & 36V MultiVolt Battery Charger - Single or Simultaneously UC18YTSL

Metabo HPT, who used to be Hitachi Power Tools, has a new 18V/36V 4-port battery charger (UC18YTSL). The battery charger can charge any Hitachi 14.4 or 18-volt lithium battery or Metabo HPT 18V or MultiVolt slide-type battery. The best part is that it can charge them one at a time or simultaneously. It will fast charge the batteries one at a time or slowly charge each one when charging them all together. You can mix or match batteries in this charger without issue.

The charger also features 2 USB charging ports with a 2 amp total output and 2 AC outlets (2-prong) with a total output of 10amp. Metabo HPT says that you can use the AC outlets to power additional electronic devices, but the 2-port non-grounded ports will likely limit your options.

In Rapid Charge mode, the charger can recharge up to 4 batteries one at a time. In rapid mode, the charger can fully charge an 18V compact 3.0Ah battery in 30 minutes. So, you can plug in 4 batteries and put your first one back to work in 30 minutes. The charge takes 120 minutes to fully charge 4 compact 3.0Ah batteries in sequential mode.

There is also a simultaneous charging mode, but it’s slower. In this mode, it will charge all 4 batteries at the same rate, and as with sequential mode it can handle batteries of different capacities, 18V and 36V MultiVolt. It will take 120 minutes to fully charge 4 compact 3.0Ah batteries.

Basically, the 4-port charger is a single charger with 4 ports. In sequential mode, it rapidly charges the batteries one at a time. In simultaneous charging mode, it delivers 1/4 of the current rate to each charging port. This results in more batteries being charged at the same time, but with longer charging times. The button on the top allows you to choose how you want to use the charger.

The charger is 10″ long and weighs 3.3 lbs without batteries.

Charging Rates
18V Compact 3.0Ah: 30 mins each in Rapid Mode, 120 mins for 4 batteries
MultiVolt 2.5/5.0Ah: 32 mins each in Rapid Mode, 128 mins for 4 batteries
MultiVolt 4.0/8.0Ah: 52 mins each in Rapid Mode, 208 mins for 4 batteries

This is a great tool for end-users as they can decide if they need a single battery quickly or if they would rather slow charge each battery in more of an overnight setting. Rapid charging of batteries is not always good for them. it is not talked about much in the tool world as batteries are an expense of work completed. In the RC car industry, most will opt for slow charging if there is not a need for the battery in a short period as the battery will typically have a longer lifetime when slow charged.