Care of Makita Li-ion batteries
Discussion
I've invested in some Makita cordless tools...for me it is a major purchase and the tools need to last a long time. I'll be using them for concentrated periods of heavy work but with frequent gaps where they will not be used at all...for periods of several months.
Question is what is the best way to care for the batteries so they last as long as possible? I have 2 5Ah batteries and a single charger...should I swap that for a double charger and leave them in the charger when not being used? or should I store them charged on the shelf? There doesn't seem to be any guidance in the manuals....
Question is what is the best way to care for the batteries so they last as long as possible? I have 2 5Ah batteries and a single charger...should I swap that for a double charger and leave them in the charger when not being used? or should I store them charged on the shelf? There doesn't seem to be any guidance in the manuals....
I tend to leave one in the charger and the other on the shelf, swapping them when I think of it if I'm not using them... which is probably every month or two in practice. I use them both in my lawn mower though, so they do get a significant work-out regularly, especially in the summer.
I've had them about four or five years now I suppose and they don't appear to hold appreciably less charge than when they were new.
I've had them about four or five years now I suppose and they don't appear to hold appreciably less charge than when they were new.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th February 20:52
They last quite well if you are anal about not overdischarging them, but as soon as a labourer or apprentice borrows the tool you are f
ked.
I actually found the hooky chinese high capacity batteries to last longer than the genuine ones though when abused, but that might be down to less stringent safety features.
Personally though for very heavy use I have found the milwaukee stuff to be more durable and survive a good hard kicking.
The makita battery pcb drains one of the cells in the pack even when the battery is out the tool and unused so i would give them a quick small drain then a top off charge every month or so.
ked.I actually found the hooky chinese high capacity batteries to last longer than the genuine ones though when abused, but that might be down to less stringent safety features.
Personally though for very heavy use I have found the milwaukee stuff to be more durable and survive a good hard kicking.
The makita battery pcb drains one of the cells in the pack even when the battery is out the tool and unused so i would give them a quick small drain then a top off charge every month or so.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Sunday 25th February 21:02
Worth noting that Makita changed the way the charge-management electronics work about three or four years ago (I think, it was certainly after I bought mine) which might have improved the way they deal with deep discharges. The more modern ones certainly power the electronics from all of the cells, they no longer discharge a single cell if left idle.
I've also read good things about non-OEM batteries though. If mine every die I'll probably go down that route unless the OEM battery prices have fallen considerably by then.
I've also read good things about non-OEM batteries though. If mine every die I'll probably go down that route unless the OEM battery prices have fallen considerably by then.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th February 21:04
Evanivitch said:
Makita (and many others) ship their batteries in a low state of charge (approx 30%), so I'd assume this is mostly to maximise shelf life.
How you can ensure they are appropriately charged I don't know.
Storing in a low state of charge used to be a thing with older lithium battery chemistries, its not so much the case now, the reason they ship them without much charge is safety, if they get damaged in transit the less stored energy they contain the better, less likely to be a massive explosion.How you can ensure they are appropriately charged I don't know.
kambites said:
Worth noting that Makita changed the way the charge-management electronics work about three or four years ago (I think, it was certainly after I bought mine) which might have improved the way they deal with deep discharges. The more modern ones certainly power the electronics from all of the cells, they no longer discharge a single cell if left idle.
I've also read good things about non-OEM batteries though. If mine every die I'll probably go down that route unless the OEM battery prices have fallen considerably by then.
Is that the ones with the star stamped in them? Good to know about the one cell idle thing, but the new ones still dont like being run until the tool slows to a crawl no matter how many times i tell the labourer not to push his luck he still does and goes though a few batteries a year. At least now he is paying for his own ones though as i gave him my makita stuff when I went all red. Once you go red your batteries are never dead.I've also read good things about non-OEM batteries though. If mine every die I'll probably go down that route unless the OEM battery prices have fallen considerably by then.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th February 21:04
OldGermanHeaps said:
Is that the ones with the star stamped in them?
I don't know, I just remember going through exactly the same thought process as the OP and finding out that they only powered the electronics from one cell, then a couple of years later reading that they'd fixed that. OldGermanHeaps said:
Never let them run out, destroys them.
They really need a way to set the charge point at which the batteries shut off. I'd happily have mine cut out at 50% if that was what was required to make them last - they charge in the time it takes to make and drink a cup of tea anyway.I've only had my lawn-mower for a year or so, it'll be interesting to see how well the batteries last because it's very easy to push them further than you intend to with it. It does have battery gauges built in, but they only show 3, 2, 1 or 0 bars so they're not very granular. Fortunately I can do my lawn without them dropping below 2 but I don't risk mowing the lawn then putting one in the strimmer to do the edges without a charge inbetween.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th February 21:16
Its usuall drilling a loooong 25mm hole with the big sds drill that kills it, just trying to push on through and finish rather than go to the van and get the other battery, then when it goes on the charger its the flashy lights of death. Sometimes jump starting them off another battery up to 16v before putting them on the charger rescues them, other times they are beyond saving.
OldGermanHeaps said:
Never let them run out, destroys them.
And I use them everyday and have just replaced it all with Hilti as has an offer? I have always run my batteries flat before recharge and never had a problem. How many trades check the battery power before using. They all wait till it stops then charge it. Most of my batts are 4 or more years old and are charged 3-4 times a week from flat. During my 4 month off they have always been off chargers and are 90% full when I start up again.
From what I read, I believe what actually destroys them (as in flashy lights of doom) is the cell which holds up the record of previous charging cycles dropping to the point where the battery loses its history. The way they've designed their charge control, if the battery doesn't have its log of previous charges, it will simply refuse to charge.
If that's the case, the more modern batteries which don't prematurely drain a single cell will probably be MUCH more resilliant to that problem because they wont end up shutting off their electronics while they still have enough power in the other cells to turn the drill.
Of course all of this is based on "things read on the internet" being correct.
If mine every fail I'll strip them down and see how they work, but I don't want to tamaper with working batteries.
If that's the case, the more modern batteries which don't prematurely drain a single cell will probably be MUCH more resilliant to that problem because they wont end up shutting off their electronics while they still have enough power in the other cells to turn the drill.
Of course all of this is based on "things read on the internet" being correct.
If mine every fail I'll strip them down and see how they work, but I don't want to tamaper with working batteries. Plenty of sparkys i work with all say the same, they have had loads of problems with makita batteries not taking a charge after being totally flattened, and thousands of others complaining online too, I wouln't recommend it. I personally witnessed myself 3 of the new genuine star marked batteries over the last year fail to take a charge after the tool was run until it stopped. He buys them off amazon now though and they are generous with their warranty so he just sends them back.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Sunday 25th February 21:39
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