Problems with Makita LXT batteries ?

[chippy1970]

here's a link for the axy ones http://www.axminster.co.uk/axion-18v-li ... rod837305/

I think I would stick with the original Makita ones and theyre not a lot more than that price anyway I think I saw 2 for £130 the other day. Me and a few guys at work are thinking of buying a few maybe 6 see if we can get the price down Ive got a Makita sds (bare drill) on order so might need a couple more batteries.

 

[mailee]

Thanks for that Chas. The ones I had looked at were the battery replacement compainies on the 'net' On another note I have an old (15 year old to be precise) 9.6V Makita driver with the Ni Cad batterys and one of the batteries is the original and still going strong! I have only had to replace one of those batteries. I bought a 12V Ni Cad drill driver just over a year ago and all three of the batteries have given up along with the chuck! I now have the 18V Li Ion so am hoping I get better service out of this one. Fingers crossed. :wink:

 

[CHJ]

I bought a 12V Ni Cad drill driver just over a year ago and all three of the batteries have given up along with the chuck!

That's not something that instills much confidence, I too have a 3 batt 12v Makita, hope I have more luck than that. Mind you mine gets very light usage compared with you working boys.

 

[Max Power]

Ive seen a number of non working batteries on ebay bid to good money , which would indicate either , the bidders are idiots (a distinct possibility given its ebay) or there is some way to repair them :?

 

[toolguru3]

Hi fella's,

I have had my Makita lxt600 combi kit for about 4 months and have found that the batteries were letting me down. I have read the posts below and i can say that i think taking the batteries apart etc is way too technical for me. I am happy using the tools etc but taking them apart i`d rather take them to a shop and get them replaced. This leading me to my point, when i bought my combi kit from SCR*WF/X i had 2 batteries go down within 2 weeks. So i went back with my receipt and the complete kit in the same box as purchased and when i asked for a replacement under the warranty, i was blatantly denied. To simply put it, i was told "NO, You have to deal with Makita for that". So i spoke to a few lads on site and was told that they should replace them for me free of charge. I went to another tool store local to me A One Tools & Fixings Brighouse, and was absolutely amazed when i asked if they could help me with any advise and they told me to bring the batteries in for them to look at and if they were deemed faulty, that they would swap the batteries out for me with brand new ones under the warranty claim. This to me was the biggest blessing about buying this kit, aonetools helped me out so much regarding this and i`m just wondering if anyone else had has this scenario where they were blatantly told to go away but then found that another company would help them with there warranty claims??

 

[buffalobill]

Problems with the makita lxt batteries are well known problem here alot of carpenters change to dewalt becouse of this. I have had 3 batteries that i had to return one had only been charged 15 times, but i get new without any question.
Where i buy my tools they have a device they check to see how many times they have been charged, i was told less than 1000 and you get new.

 

[kostello]

I think axminster will give you 10% off anything if you buy 10

 

[mailee]

Ah, update on my Makita with the LXT batteries. One has already bitten the dust. I bought two cheapo ones from e-bay and one of them has also bitten the dust but the other is still going strong....so far along with the other Makita battery. I have also been thinking of changing to De Walt in the future.

 

[sbk]

One of the best drill drivers I bought was a 18v Aeg From screwfix for £80 with a 3 year warranty ! Dont think I will ever
need to buy another one ever.

 

[kreed]

I bought some new 18v kit from a guy 3 years ago: still not used the jigsaw. But of the four batteries only one now works. To be honest, I think I'll sell it all. I can't afford new batteries & I like hand tools. From the above, I've no chance of getting the other batteries replaced.

 

[ColeyS1]

I bought some new 18v kit from a guy 3 years ago: still not used the jigsaw. But of the four batteries only one now works. To be honest, I think I'll sell it all. I can't afford new batteries & I like hand tools. From the above, I've no chance of getting the other batteries replaced.

How often are you using them ? I'd be a bit pee'd off as well if I had that ratio dying :shock: welcome to the forum by the way ;-)

 

[morfa]

I had been thinking of buying some Makita 18v drills, think I'll give it a miss. What would be the recommended, sensibly priced (i.e. about £100 or so) ok quality for a keen DIYer brand?

My Makita 10.8v drill driver doesn't last long, only 20 mins or so before it needs a charge, but I just assumed that was cause it was such a small battery, which only gets used infrequently.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Look around for a 18v 1.5ah lithium ion Hitachi. Great tool for the money.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've got the LXT set...no poblems whatsoever with either tools or batteries...bullet proof

 

[Hivenhoe]

I have several failed li ion batteries that fail to charge but still show just under the stated voltage eg. 18v is 17.5v. I wonder is it the charge/safety circuitry that's failed and not the cells?

 

[kreed]

I bought some new 18v kit from a guy 3 years ago: still not used the jigsaw. But of the four batteries only one now works. To be honest, I think I'll sell it all. I can't afford new batteries & I like hand tools. From the above, I've no chance of getting the other batteries replaced.

How often are you using them ? I'd be a bit pee'd off as well if I had that ratio dying :shock: welcome to the forum by the way ;-)

Hardly at all, just for circular saw & drill. most weekends is all.

 

[ColeyS1]

I suspect thats probably part of the problem - not being charged/discharged regularly enough. I had similar happen with a spare drill for home. Its lack of use killed the batteries. The only thing I think you could do is buy some more kit that might use the same batteries :lol: radio- for the bathroom,
Hoover- for the crumbs from your dining table,
Torch...........for finding the hoover :???:

You know it makes sense

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

How are you using the batteries? Lion technology is different, it might be worth reading up on how to treat them!

Regular top ups are good, don't drain the battery right down then keep trying to use it to finish that last screw, it's not good for them,,, as soon as it stops, pull it out and charge it, your going to have to anyway...

 

[No skills]

+1 on the above, have killed a few Li-ions at work and I think the keep using it even though its stopped once routine is to blame.
Stopping for a cup of tea? stick the battery on charge etc

 

[Ollie78]

I must add my experience to this thread.

I purchased a kit of Makita 18v lithium ion tools over 5 years ago including 2 drills, , grinder, circular saw, reciprocating saw, impact driver and torch. The kit came with 3 batteries and about 6 months later I purchased a jigsaw with 2 more batteries.

My usage of these tools can be described as quite heavy. Using the drills exclusively and the jigsaw and circular saw have replaced my mains units for all but the heaviest cuts. I use these tools 5 days a week most of the time.

Since purchasing my kit, only one of the batteries has died. This happened after about 3 years of use and god knows how many cycles of charging and discharging. Recently one of the other batteries has begun to lose power faster than it should.

I think that the way the kit and its batteries has lasted is quite remarkable given the abuse it takes. I have replaced the brushes on the circular saw once and the switch on one of the others, can`t remember which.

If you look at the value for money of the batteries and tools it is very good. Once the next weak battery dies I will have no issue purchasing a couple more.

Also as a side note. I asked about the Axminster replacement batteries at my local tool shop ( a Brimarc dealer) . They said they got a couple in and tested them on some drills, Both of which burnt out. They found out that the copy batteries are missing an electronic component that prevents overloading. They said they would not sell them.

Ollie