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I've got a whole herd of tools that use this same battery, so that kinda locks me into them.
(drills, impacts, saws, grinders, string trimmers, etc)
It seems I'm buying batteries every time I turn around-though, 2 of the original 4, 1.5ah are going on 7 years old.
The 3ah ones, seem to last a year or less-in hobby use-not professional.
they aren't cheap, so I am considering 2 options-
Generic batteries
Does anyone have any experience with them? I've always bought (and paid dearly for Makita branded).
I've tried to different chargers-both the old green/blue ones-is the new black charger any better?
The batteries all run fine, but then fault when I put them on the charger.
From looking on-line, I can't find anyone who rebuilds these.
any other ideas or suggestions I've missed?
Thanks
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Location: Western NY
I have not tried this, but I see several people suggest it.
I tried not believing. That did not work, so now I just believe
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Location: Dishman, WA
We have several 18 volt tools on our installation vans. We have never had a problem with the batteries or the charges. Makita has a very good reputation for standing behind their products so my suggestion would be to contact makita and see what they have to say.
With that said I just bought a new dual charger with 2 batteries and 2 free bare tools on a special promotion. Reading the instructions I see where they have added some circuitry to the batteries to shut down the tool if it is under too much load. I wonder if the old batteries fail or something?
The new ones have a star on them to identify them..
Dave
"Amateur Putzing in Shop."
Northern Wood on Norm 5/07
"Dave's shop is so small you have to go outside to turn around"
Big Dave on my old shop
So I built a new shop. (Picasa went away so did the link to the pictures)
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(09-22-2017, 11:37 PM)Just_Dave Wrote: We have several 18 volt tools on our installation vans. We have never had a problem with the batteries or the charges. Makita has a very good reputation for standing behind their products so my suggestion would be to contact makita and see what they have to say.
With that said I just bought a new dual charger with 2 batteries and 2 free bare tools on a special promotion. Reading the instructions I see where they have added some circuitry to the batteries to shut down the tool if it is under too much load. I wonder if the old batteries fail or something?
The new ones have a star on them to identify them..
I have a Makita drill and circular saw that use the same battery. Early on, one of the original two batteries stopped charging. I bought a generic one through Amazon, and it has been just fine.
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I have five Makita tools; three use the 3ah, the drill and impact use either. I have been very "brand loyal" but......tried an Amazon deal on a pair of "no name" 1.05ah. One of the pair caused the charger to show a defective battery on the second charge. I took the battery out, then replaced it and it charged fine. Maybe two charges latter I got the "defective" signal and it has not charged since.
At this point I will not buy another "no name" battery. All of the original Makita batteries lasted since Makita first came out with the 1.5ah set (maybe 8 or 10 yrs now).
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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My old charger wouldn't charge any of my batteries and would show a fault. A new charger fixed it in my case.
Do all your batteries show fault or just some?
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I've had makita chargers go bad, but you could smell the burnt electronics, or they do nothing (no lights, no fan). The Ad that showed after the video was for 2- 3.0 batteries for $75...thats a pretty good price.
Al
I turn, therefore I am!
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The last few years i bought into the Makita buy two bare tools get two 4.0ah batteries free deal. The first year I bought two sets of led flash lights @$30 ea to get the batteries. The next time they did it they wised up and I had to buy two $40 coffee makers to get them ? . Anyone need an lxt coffee maker? They are cool as you get an adapter that you slide the battery into that would make rewiring it for something else easy.
Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.
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Also I bought the 4 bank makita charger. Its sweet.
I have damaged two makita drills now. I need to get another.
Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.
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Thanks for all the feedback-it got me started looking, and I'm going to take the 3 that showed bad yesterday to the local service center, and see what they say.
Beyond that, I'm going to upgrade my charger, and keep better records of when I buy the batteries-so I can be more prepared when one fails, to claim it back to Makita.
I'll post back here, what happens.
