Makita LXT battery graveyard

[Jerry Ingraham]

LI batteries do not perform well when running a motor...... I know......, I know,...... they are stylish but my Makita NICAD's lasted 10 years with almost daily use. NICAD's are much more durable. And cheaper. I finaly had them rebuilt at a cost of $22

Where did you have them rebuilt for that price?

[Ryan Lee]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but has anyone used these guys?

http://www.batteryship.com/htmlos/ht...odel=BTD140SFE

[John Coloccia]

FWIW, I've gotten decent life out of my Makita batteries.....not great life, but not terrible, either. I use mine a lot more than the average weekend warrior, but not as much as a contractor. Mine are starting to die, now, and I have to decide to replace them or move one. Honestly, the drill chuck on the Makita was never that great. The impact driver is the perfect size for shop work, though. Not really sure what I'm going to do. I loved them when I first got them, but the entire experience has left be lukewarm.

[phil harold]

The Makita LXT Lithium-ion battery has a limited one-year warranty
because lithium batteries have a shelf life of 3 years
so if you use them or not they will be reaching the end of their life cycle in three years

Nicad and Nimh last much longer

[John Coloccia]

The Makita LXT Lithium-ion battery has a limited one-year warranty
because lithium batteries have a shelf life of 3 years
so if you use them or not they will be reaching the end of their life cycle in three years

Nicad and Nimh last much longer

That explains it. Mine are just about 3 years old.

[Ryan Lee]

I went on a deployment to Afghanistan for a year and I came back to one of my two batteries going dead. The one that went bad worked for a short period and now it just makes the funky sound on the charger and indicates a bad battery. I have the white makitas and the reason I got the set was to drill and drive without having to switch bits.....So I'm in the market for a new battery. What is my best option. Amazon? "Real" makita? The link I posted above?

[Greg R Bradley]

I'm really amazed at the thought that Makita LXT batteries have a high failure rate. I bought several sets in 2005-2006, followed by several individual and bare tools, extra batteries over the next few years. Recently I've bought the 3 speed Brushless Impact. Between business use, employees, and personal use, I have 20-25 batteries. About half of those are charged more than once a week and some probably 20 times a month. I have had exactly TWO batteries fail. One seemed to be a very old one and failed after a good 5 years of use. The other failed pretty quickly after purchase and was replaced under warranty. One of the very early chargers failed but that was no big loss as the later quick chargers are nicer anyway. I used to buy the extra batteries during the Makita events at my local tool store or when they had sales where a tool included an extra battery. For example, when I bought the Brushless Impact, it came with two batteries and the sale was a third battery at no cost. I know I only paid $100 ONCE for a Makita 3.0ah battery. I think I've paid around $80 when the batteries were on sale. I've never bought the compact white tools with the 1.5ah batteries.

I think there is an occasional bad battery that fails pretty quickly. In my experience with my son's battery powered RC cars, there is an occasional dud unless you buy the really expensive tested/matched sets designed for serious competitors that cost a lot of money.

I have heard complaints about LXT batteries going bad when used after sitting overnight in extreme cold or when run hard in extreme heat. Extreme cold doesn't happen where I live and I don't leave batteries sitting outside much when it is 100+ so maybe that is a factor.

I do know that you cannot rebuild the LXT batteries by replacing the cells since there is a sensor/chip that is triggered when the batteries go bad. I don't know if anyone has figured out a way to reprogram that sensor/chip.

[Carl Beckett]

Thanks for this post Greg. Glad you have had a positive experience. I thought about this post for a day and came back here to advise that if I were starting from scratch, I would NOT choose the makita again. I like the tools, but have just had bad experiences with the batteries (and at over $100 to replace this just gets painful)

But you have had a different experience s thus is good to hear.

I guess my conclusion is....... I just don't know if I can recommend them. (still using them, two drills, the small white impact driver, circ saw, and now a right angle drill..... They all work great!). Have had a good run of about a year now with no battery failures... Maybe it was early stuff causing the issues.

[Carl Beckett]

I am thinking it is the ehavier tools that may be causing issues. my batteries have died after using the skillsaw and the last one right after using my new reciprocating saw. that one drained the battery in 5 minutes or so. Thats a big drain on the batteries.

There may be something to this..... I haven't been using the circ saw as often as I once was.

[Clint Baxter]

I got the LXT 4 tool set back when it was first introduced way back when and they threw in a free reciprocating saw with the deal. Have picked up many additional items since as well as some additional batteries. Now have seven batteries that I use until they run out of juice before I plug them back into the charger. I use them as a general contractor and they see the greatest use in the impact driver and the circular saw. The reciprocating saw and the angle grinder are the two hardest tools on the batteries and I will often grab a corded tool in their place, (if available). I have probably only replaced maybe four of five batteries since I started using the LXTs. I still have at least three of the original batteries working that I got in the first year of use. I try to keep them relatively warm during our frigid winters here in ND, and we don't really have that many days where we worry about the 100+ degree days, (but we do have some.)

I still like my LXT tools better than any of the other 18V offerings out there, more for their comfort of use than for any other reasons, but have picked up some of the M12 offerings now for their compact size and some of the unique new tools they have for that platform.

I've heard some of these complaints about the Makita 18V batteries from some of my other compatriots on the job site but just haven't experienced it yet. Until I start having issues such as those mentioned, I'll continue to buy and use the LXT line.

Clint

[Ron Kellison]

Cordless tools are like those inkjet printers which are free most of the time when you buy a computer or such and then you pay hundreds of dollars to buy the ink they suck. Only difference is that with the cordless tools, you pay for the tool too unlike printers.
I have a few Bosch and Ryobi drills/drivers. I gave up on the Bosch long time ago. I had five pre-LI batteries for the Ryobi. Only two are in "working" condition.

I have a bosch 12V Li-ion kit (drill, driver, impact driver) that has worked exceptionally well for the past 3 years. I also have a Ridgid $100 drill (18v Li-ion) which includes two batteries, a charger and (most importantly) the LSA agreement which says I won't be spending money for batteries until they stop making them. I've had the Ridgid for 3 years now and I've replaced both of the original batteries with no arguments, bureaucratic grief or delays. For those things where I need some real torque I have an Hitachi corded drill that feels like it could snap my wrist!

My gut tells me that the higher voltage Li-ion battery systems still have some development work to be done.

Ron

[phil harold]

Li-ion battery systems still have some development work to be done.

Ron

I think you need to tell that to Boeing and the FAA

[Leo Graywacz]

Pretty sure Boeing knows this already

[Nick Williams]

NiCads have a runaway self discharge temp of about 550 degrees. Lithium about 165. Most professional rebuilders won't even touch them.

[Nick Williams]

Lithium batteries are made throughout the world as there are no heavy metal by products involved. Nicads are the ones only produced by a few (5-6) manufacturers.