The 18v LKT (BHP453SHE)sells for £159 with 2 batteries charger and plastic case. But I noticed in B&Q another similar model with identical spec for £98 with 2 batteries charger and canvas case. What's the difference? Have Makita gone the way of all good suppliers once B&Q get their claws into them?
It might be different here, but I got caught buying a cheaper Makita drill with 1.3AH batteries. These won't work in most of their other tools, circular saw etc. The BL1815 and BL1830 batteries will - buy a drill that uses the latter and you've left your options open.
The budget ones are NiCad. I had sworn never to use them again but ended up getting seduced by the cheap Makita and, to be fair, they have been fine after a year of fairly hard use.
Also cheaper ones tend to be 1.3 AH, more expensive 2.0. But, with the good fast charger on the Makita I've never run one down before the other is re-charged. And the smaller ones are significantly lighter, which makes a difference if you are a weekend diy-er rather than a full time builder.
I was in the market for some new drills a couple of months back and on a forum populated by several professional woodworkers opinions were split on makita lithium batteries. The older ones were still going strong with good battery capacity whereas one bought in the last year or so were suffering from falling battery capacity. Opinion - not backed by hard knowledge - suggested that the lithium cells were now being procured from an inferior source and that was the cause of the trouble.
Several of the pros were gravitating back to DW for their drill/drivers
I ended up buying Hitachi when they were on offer and time will tell how they last. 1 drill, 1 driver, 2 x 18v @ 1.5ah batteries & charger plus holdall type bag (ugh) was £150 at screwfix
By way of interest, a mate bought a top end Mak combi 14.4 some years back, and for whatever reason[1] the cells started to fail after a year of so of heavy use (given I had bought the 18V version a year earlier and that was still going strong - this was suspicious). We contacted Makita and told them about it - saying it did not seem to be up to their usual standard. They asked to see the full kit for checking. They checked it and returned it with three brand new NiMh batteries at no charge.
[1] He was probably not taking care to avoid charging still hot batteries, or not to carry on using one that is almost flat etc.
I had to decide what to do with mine a while back - either ditch my older style 18V tools (combi and ID) or get new cells. In the end I got new genuine Makita bats (£150 for a three pack). The original ones lasted a for a good number of years of use, so hoping these will too.
I think the Makita Li-ion batteries to avoid are the ones without a star on the bottom, in these the cells aren't individually monitored during charging and use.
Couple of years ago I asked a Makita rep. why there was only a 1 year warranty; predictably, he said because Maks are reliable (begs the question: why not a longer warranty, as the cost would be negligible?). IIRC DeWalt have a 2 or 3 year warranty, as do blue Bosch. I don't know how they compare otherwise.
"LXT Brushless Advantages Makita 18V LXT Brushless tools are engineered for longer run time, increased power and speed, and longer tool life. The efficient Makita BL? Brushless Motor is electronically-controlled to optimize battery energy use for up to 50% longer run time per charge. Electronic controls constantly monitor the changing demands of each application, regulating and adjusting the flow of current to the BL? Motor in real time and delivering optimum energy output from the battery so you get increased RPM and torque when you need it. And with no carbon brushes, the BL? Motor runs cooler and more efficiently for longer life. BL? Motor tools are part of Makita?s 18V LXT line-up, with over 50 tools powered by one fast-charging 18V Lithium-Ion battery. "
The LXT by itsself doesn't imply brushless, I think it's just the prefix for their 18V Li-ion cordless range, the LXT BL are relatively new additions, and the 4.0Ah instead of 3.0Ah batteries are new too.
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