Cordless Impacts and Batteries

[Kent A Bathurst]

........... the current state-of-the-art in 18v impacts it is the Makita BTD144........On medium power it is about equal to.....small battery BTD142. On low power it is about equal to the 12v max impacts.

Neighbor has the 142 [his wife came to me for items to put on on his Christmas gift list - she went "Full Monty" - black series impact driver, flashlight, drill/driver, 2 chargers,4 batteries - If I had known she was gonna get him everything on my list, I'd have added more stuff]]. The 142 is pretty nice. My other stuff started dieing out, so I got the black series drill/driver - 452. It's good. Then, when the second of the old ones cashed out I got the 144 impact driver, and the 454 LXT drill.

Observations:
1] The 144 impact driver is great. the 3 speeds fit the range of tasks. However.........
2] The 142's single speed range is, IMO, right between the 144's low and medium.....and seems to be dead-nuts in the "sweet spot" for driving screws in furniture. Kinda like Goldilocks - 144 low is too little, 144 medium is too much, 142 is just right. BUT - the 144 on medium and high can do stuff the 142 cannot do. I have actually considered adding to the herd with a 142, but that is a pretty low priority for me.
3] On the [compact] batteries that come with the 142 and related black series family of tools.............they are lightweight, in both definitions of the terms. They are very easy to use, because of the "pounds and ounces" factor. But - their charge life is not all that much. Makita did not lead me astray - I'm just commenting on my experience. Plus - be aware - the bigger batteries fit into the "green" products [144, 454, etc] and into the "black" series [142, 452], but the reverse is NOT true - the compact batteries from the black series do not fit into the green series. I figure they don't have enough muscle to run them.

So - after a year or so experience, if I had it all to do over again, I would do it all over again - same stuff. Which includes 2 chargers, 3 big batteries, 2 small batteries, and a flashlight, to go along with the 452 drill, 454 drill, and 144 impact driver...................I'd still like to get that little impact driver, tho

Understand, please, that this is the first Makita stuff I have bought............and I'm a now fan for sure....bought some other Makita stuff since then, due to my experience.

[Ben Abate]

thanks Kent,

Nice review, not to slam any of the others and my experience is only with DeWalt and Makita so it's limited but my DeWalts batteries die fast after they have been charged a lot in the first year of use. I've had them rebuilt by Battey Rebuilders and they lasted a few months and now need constant recharging. I've had my Festool drills for at least 3-4 years and they still hold a charge for a reasonalbly longer time. I see that Festool is now offering an impact but the price and I don't believe they are building them with higher voltages. Any way it would kill me to be beating up a $400.00 plus driver, plus the Makita and other brands are easily accessible at the big box stores and other local retailers. Since this is going to be an impact I think I'll go with what most of you are recommending the 144....

Thanks again for your imput

[Carl Beckett]

Ben,

On Amazon there is a VERY detailed user review of the choices in this category (just look up the Makita 144 and read the reviews - nicely done), and the reviewer puts the 144 at the top of the list.

Enjoy the new toy!

[Kevin Stricker]

The 14.4 Panasonic will outperform an 18v Makita. Brushless, variable torque, and batteries that last 2-3 times as long as Makita Li ion.

[Ben Abate]

Carl and Kevin Thanks for the replies. I'll check out the reviews. I went to the Blue big box store yesterday to look into a 144 but they don't carry Makita. At least in the Pittsburgh stores they don't. I'll have to go to the Orange one to see one in person.
I see that the 144 isn't a common tool that most stores sell. The local hardware that carries a pretty good supply of tools didn't have it either.

[Greg R Bradley]

Carl and Kevin Thanks for the replies. I'll check out the reviews. I went to the Blue big box store yesterday to look into a 144 but they don't carry Makita. At least in the Pittsburgh stores they don't. I'll have to go to the Orange one to see one in person.
I see that the 144 isn't a common tool that most stores sell. The local hardware that carries a pretty good supply of tools didn't have it either.

The big box stores don't have customers that know the difference between the 141/142 and the 144. Any real tool store should have them.

My local tool store has a Makita section that is about 1500 square feet, about the size of the entire tool section in any of the Lowes or Home Depots. The Milwaukee and Dewalt sections are about the same, the Bosch section is a bit larger with one of the walls being Glide saws in boxes stacked 3 rows high

[rick carpenter]

I have a Bosch 18v with slimpack batteries. I can do drywall all day to about 2-3 pm before needing a new battery. It's light enough not to wear you out but heavy enough to handle properly. Love it.

[Jim German]

I've also been wanting to buy an impact for lug nut removal when rotating tires or going from season to season.

Keep in mind that an impact driver is not the same tool as an impact wrench commonly used by auto mechanics. Impact drivers impact not only twisting, but also forward too. This is great for driving screws as it prevents cam out. An impact wrench only impacts radiallly, and generally put out much higher torque. For instance the BTD144 (which has been discontinued btw) is only rated to 118 lb-ft, while a good impact wrench will go to like 300+ lb-ft of torque. An impact driver with only 118lb-ft of torque probably will have difficulty removing lug nuts, particularly if they've been over-torqued by your friendly neighborhood mechanic.