Idiots guide to Makita LXT

[casemx 270]

Hi interested in buying some Makita LXT 18 volt tools, my main question is if it's 18 volt and LXT are the batteries all interchangeable regardless of amp hour power ? Any other positive comments would be helpful. Thanks

 

[phillipe]

Hi interested in buying some Makita LXT 18 volt tools, my main question is if it's 18 volt and LXT are the batteries all interchangeable regardless of amp hour power ? Any other positive comments would be helpful. Thanks

Watch out for the new type of battery ,they have a bit of grey on them ,the black batteries fit most things .buy brushless,i have 9 bits of makita ,and about 8 batts all 5 ah

 

[Shovelhands]

Yes, any new Tools you buy will take any of the batteries. Only some of the older Tools will only accept the 3ah batts only. But won’t be a problem to you if your just getting into them.

We have found the brushless models to be superior in performance over the brushed models. But that’s not to say the brushed ones aren’t reliable.

If you are looking at combi drills, then there are a lot of different models! The more expensive ones, will more likely be brushless, more compact and better all round.

 

[Shovelhands]

Watch out for the new type of battery ,they have a bit of grey on them ,the black batteries fit most things .buy brushless,i have 9 bits of makita ,and about 8 batts all 5 ah

Is it some different kind of 18v battery, not called LXT? Can’t recall what it is? Think I saw it in a catalog the other day, it said that the batteries weren’t compatible with LXT.....can’t understand why they have done that?

 

[casemx 270]

Interested in a combi drill and a impact driver to start with and then a impact wrench later on

 

[phillipe]

these blighters

 

[Shovelhands]

View attachment 633854 these blighters

Truly....WTF!

 

[phillipe]

Interested in a combi drill and a impact driver to start with and then a impact wrench later on

The combi i have is a metal cased one ,i tend to buy bare units and batterys when on offer ,ffx had 3 x5ah for 150 over christmas,a brushless combi about a 100 bare unit ,a impact driver brushles around 70 for a bare unit.there are some resonable offers arou d which include a fast charger

 

[Shovelhands]

Interested in a combi drill and a impact driver to start with and then a impact wrench later on

You will get a deal on them as a pair, with a couple of batteries

Then buy other bits as body only.

If we need/want a new tool, then I always look at if it’s available with a battery or two, some are just as economical to buy with a battery or two, if you need extra batteries. That way you expand your toolkit and get extra batteries, which are always useful. And avoid buying batteries individually. But still by body only Tools as and when, some are only available as body only.

 

[blackieman83]

Is it some different kind of 18v battery, not called LXT? Can’t recall what it is? Think I saw it in a catalog the other day, it said that the batteries weren’t compatible with LXT.....can’t understand why they have done that?

View attachment 633854 these blighters

Think they are called the G-Series, they are a cheaper range of tools aimed more at DIY or occasional use than the LXT Range which is more directed at the professional user.

 

[David.]

Pay the extra for the brushless tools, 3ah will run most things OK, except the 4" grinder, but mine is not a brushless one.

 

[Shovelhands]

Think they are called the G-Series, they are a cheaper range of tools aimed more at DIY or occasional use than the LXT Range which is more directed at the professional user.

I can understand it in a way, but it’s only going to devalue the brand in the long run I fear...
The likes of Screwfix ect already punt out the base model drill, with 1.5ah batts, admittedly they are sometimes not as cheap as they should be, but that would be better than creating a new line. With such a huge range of tools, and many units available as body only, in tge LXT range, then I can’t see why you would create another range , rather than encouraging a customer into the current one.

I suppose it’s just marketing and the way things go, all the other big brands do the same kinda thing....but they just buy up other brands to aim at different levels of customer.

 

[Shovelhands]

Pay the extra for the brushless tools, 3ah will run most things OK, except the 4" grinder, but mine is not a brushless one.

I think it was you @David. , that convinced me that making the bigger batteries fit the older Tools would be ok. After a minute or two with a sharp chisel, getting 4&5ah batteries on our old brushed grinder, was the best thing I did with it! Absolutely transformed it, much more useable now, still not a patch on the brushless one, but quite acceptable.
And it means that I no longer need to make sure that I have 3ah batteries in the mix....no thing worse than going to work with a bag full of tools and realising that you’ve not bought any 3ah batteries ....which is what led me to modifying the grinder in the first place....

 

[Greenbeast]

View attachment 633854 these blighters

Worse than that, i got the LXT impact driver and drill set about 7 years ago with 3Ah batts. Last year bought a pair of 5Ah lxt batts and the drill doesn't take them (i knew this at the time) . But as said above if you're just buying new it won't be a problem

 

[phillipe]

I did see a 18v makita wheelbarrow the other day

 

[Mur Huwcun]

Anyone using the Hitachi range? Borrowed an impact few weeks ago, couldn’t fault it. We have hitachi cordless drills ar work but only the 2.5ah batteries, they now do 6ah batteries. Very good offers on them now on web abd very tempted

 

[blackieman83]

Worse than that, i got the LXT impact driver and drill set about 7 years ago with 3Ah batts. Last year bought a pair of 5Ah lxt batts and the drill doesn't take them (i knew this at the time) . But as said above if you're just buying new it won't be a problem

@David. and @Shovelhands will be able to explain how to modify your drill to take the newer batteries, think its a matter of removing one of the tabs underneath.

 

[TripleSix]

Anyone using the Hitachi range? Borrowed an impact few weeks ago, couldn’t fault it. We have hitachi cordless drills ar work but only the 2.5ah batteries, they now do 6ah batteries. Very good offers on them now on web abd very tempted

A lot of hire shops run Hitachi gear...

I run three mains grinders and can't fault them.

The Hitachi Koki company are currently in the process of rebranding all their powertools under the name of "Hikoki"

I kid you not...

 

[David.]

Hitaki would've been better.

 

[TripleSix]

Hitaki would've been better.

I really think they're shooting themselves in the foot with such a rebrand.