makita mxt

[gregers]

well ive just replaced my makita mxt 18 volt 3.0ah battery drill approx 2 years old,had a battery replaced(for a huge ammount of dosh) about 2-3 months ago due to 1 of the old 1s not charging properly and getting extremly hot,and would you adam and eve it the other orriginal battery has gone the same way,my govenor decided that it was better to change the drill for a new 1 then to keep replacing batteries every few months,
iiv now got my hands on a bosch 18 volt lithium drill 2.6ah.

i think the plumbing apprentice is now going to get his mits on the makita.

memo to self dont buy makita C.R.A.P again.
anybody else with the same drill suffered/ing the same problems.

rant over.

 

[neds]

Yep got the same drill, in all its not a bad piece of kit. Unfortunately there was a bad batch of 3.0Ah batteries that were duff this is well known. I went through two sets before I got a set that were holding charge properly. I wouldn't let this one experience put you off Makita. All my kit is makita!

 

[gregers]

so neds did makita aknowledge this problem?and if so what was the outcome.your probaly right about makita i do own a 110v screw gun that ive had for about 14 years bought at a boot sale.i used to swear by dewalt mmmm NOT ANY MORE. now elu thats a different kind of animal if only they still had the name,most of my corded stuff is bosch so i thought id go for the cordless drill and see how many years i get out of it.

 

[Paul Barker]

It's ok stuff but not a patch on nicad or nmh. My nimh Hilti 15v drill is far more powerful energetic and long lasting than my 18v liion mxt Makita.

But the li gear is light so it serves a purpose.

I feel that you have to compromise with li regarding longevity of useful charge and torque. If you can accept slightly weaker tools which bug out of the work all of a sudden, and have sufficient batteries charged and ready to take over, all good and well.

Whereas for low power work like self tapping screwdriving and impact driving the li stuff has a clear advantage due to size and weight.

I am not going to get rid of my Hilti nmh pistol drill. It walks all over the mxt and keeps pace with an sds drill for brown and red plugs all day long.

bearring in mind for me tools are not a hobby or a toy to enjoy. they serve a purpose. If they don't serve me well they go. If they do they hold pride of place as they put food on the table.

 

[gregers]

i was lead to believe that the new fangled lithium batteries were the dogs dangiles because they have no memory,thus preserving the batteries etc
unlike the nihm and nicds which do???

like you paul im in the same boat,but as my tools wear out they have to be replaced by the peeps i work for.so for me if it aint any good then it gets changed at there cost not mine,i personally wouldnt of bought the mxt in the first place but after having 2 brand new dewalt 18v in 6 months it was felt that a change was needed thus the mxt turned up.which is a shame coz my last dewalt lasted nearly 5 years but ive heard that dewalt have down graded the internals and i proved it(or i just had 2 that were CRUD).

now hilti do some very good gear but a tad expensive for the common man a bit like festo the best a man can get lol.

 

[Paul Barker]

I found the dewalt 18v gear not hard wearing enough. The Hiltis are very hard wearing and economical in the long run.

Although I found the li 36v Hilti inadequate so sold it some time ago. If I need a drill that big I use power and if there isn't any power I take my generator.

As far as I am conscerned li is great for lightness when there is a low torque requirement but as soon as you need some welly forget it. It isn't a suitable battery type.

 

[swbjackson]

The bosch 36v Li is great. My SDS is just as capable as the 240v one. I only get the 240 out if I'm doing a lot of chiselling.

 

[Paul Barker]

It seems there is inconsistency with Li battery experience.

my experience of two 36v hilti batteries and two 18v makita batteries is that i am not confident in the battery type where torque required.

Perhaps the four batteries from two trusted manufacturers were by a freak all faulty?

 

[swbjackson]

I've core drilled a 5" hole with my 36. Not as good as the 240 core drill but the sparky had got the power off.

 

[Paul Barker]

my Hilti te7a would have never done that, it wouldn't even have done it with both batteries fuly charged to begin with. Clearly the batteries were duff. My mates te6a with nicel was the same power (yet it is rated quite a bit less than the 7a, and the batteries lasted longer, though they were rated lower, my 7a batteries were the largest capacity available and very expensive)

So I was clearly pioneering LI with some duff gear. but I lost confidence in it.


However I am delighted with a small Makita impact driver with tiny little batteries for undoing boiler screws and have an amaising little AEG 12v liion drill which defies the above experience I have drilled 16mm holes in joists with it and the batttery isn't much bigger than a match box and just as light.

So I clearly had some really duff batteries. I supose the moral is buy from a local dealer where you can go back.

My mate has all the mxt stuff and has had to change one battery under guarantee so far.