Third party replacement batteries

[HJC1972]

Just wondering if anyone has tried any of the cheap third party replacement batteries available on eBay for Makita drills?

Usually I’m of the opinion that when batteries fail it’s time to ditch the tool
and simply buy a new one. And this would certainly be the case with this one, if it was to be original Makita batteries that I was buying. However, a pair of PA18 compatible batteries on the bay can be had for around 25 quid. And they’re 3Ah as opposed to the original ones that came with the drill being only 1.3Ah.

Even if I get a new drill I’m wondering if it’s 25 quid wasted or well spent to keep a back-up drill?

 

[Lons]

I bought a couple of the 14.4v 3 amp Ni Cads for my DeWalt and they've been fine for the last 2 years.
I considered the alternative of buying replacement cells and doing it myself but didn't seem worth the effort and in my case as I have 3 of those old drills all backups it didn't make sense to throw them all away.
My newer 18v Li-lon is a much better drill though so might be worth upgrading if yours is an ni cad.

ps
one of those drills is over 30 years old now and the other two about 20.

 

[sunnybob]

Theyre a lot cheaper now than when I bought some 3 years ago :roll:

They work well. I bought three, 1 is well past its best but will still work for a while, the other two are good. Shame the drill died this year!
Due to the ridiculous price of makita here I had to go buy a worx 24 volt, which is good, but of course means I now have three batteries and a charger thats no good to me.

I would offer them to you but at that price they are hardly worth taking back to the UK and posting to you. (hammer)

 

[HJC1972]

Thanks for the replies. I’ve ordered a couple so I will see how it goes and if they’re not up too ouch at least I’ll have a back up to a brand new Brushless Makita when I eventually order one.

 

[Raymond UK]

I would recommend sticking to Makita branded batteries. Yes, they're not cheap but the aftermarket ones aren't brilliant.

I bought one of the aftermarket ones for my torch so I can find my way back to the house from my workshop at the end of the garden and it's fine but if I use it in my Makita hoover I'll probably get 15 minutes out of it.

 

[Doug71]

I get the feeling it's a bit hit and miss. I got a couple of third party Festool NiCd batteries at least three years ago which have been as good as the originals but I have also heard a lot of bad things about some of the third party Makita Li ion batteries.