ToolBane

Interesting situation. If you haven’t already I’d verify there is no possibility of disconnect between the holders and the brushes. Then is the voltage drop the same if the rotor is there allowing current to pass through to see if the problem is upstream in the circuitry or something.

Got this little guy for light-duty pruning around the yard

I just noticed they’re about to release a Flexvolt 10” sliding miter

Probably somewhere in the channeling is either prone to getting plugged up or just doesn’t flow well

Are you saying they didn’t?

Given that you hardly use it, I’m not sure how much you need to worry about the light not being in a more desirable spot. Having more speeds in my opinion is more important. My first impact similarly didn’t have any slower speeds available and it just didn’t take much to tweak the trigger too far and have the driver plow a screw right through some delicate piece I was trying to be really careful with. I don’t expect this latest XDT16 will be on any terribly remarkable sales any time soon, but if you’re going potentially months between use anyway I think that you already answered your own question ie-it isn’t costing you anything to wait for what you aren’t using.

Interesting if the 21700 batteries look big compared to other brands. They don’t look that big in pictures, but eh marketing. Given how fast they allegedly charge I would imagine ventilation could be a major reason.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-LXT-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-1-4-in-Cordless-Quick-Shift-Mode-3-Speed-Impact-Driver-Tool-Only-XDT14Z/300268141 Makita’s impacts pretty much all stick to the same power levels, so this one is more or less as strong as any of them, while including what I think is the most important basic feature, which is multiple speeds. So you don’t accidentally bludgeon more delicate projects.

Definitely do NOT tape over the holes. They are there to help heat vent out of the tools. Inadequate heat venting contributes to how a lot of tools break down in the first place. Not sure how big of an area you have to work around but you could have a tarp to cover ground it could fall on, or a length of rope on the drill to maybe your belt or something. But if you do that, think through any other potential safety concerns that could create ie...any work hazards that could for example yank on the drill while you’re on a ladder, pull you into machinery, etc. May be just better simply figuring a lost drill as part of your work expense.

I like that they are looking to go small but it’s surprising how long it’s taking. I’m guessing they either really want this to be awesome and are having a hard time deciding they’ve finished with what they have or they’ve run into design issues. Perhaps a little bit of both.

It’s even older than I expected

Rack and pinion has been used in all sorts of applications for decades. Actually without specifically googling it I would even expect centuries. It seems like a nice convenience and probably easier to keep fairly accurate for most purposes. Mostly just easier. Dewalt can get credit for being the first to use it on table saws, and it’s nice someone finally thought to try implementing it and before long everyone will be doing it. But to be fair, anyone using rack and pinion for anything is ultimately copying it off of someone else.

It’s more a consequence of material properties than it is any sort of designed feature, basically a fudge-factor they find useful for marketing purposes. Seems to usually be around 50% higher than the fastening torque rating.

It definitely won’t be XGT. XGT needs multiples of 10 cells and this is 32. 64V Max seems likely as Quazar suggests. 128V Max is also feasible for the number of cells.

Ask and you shall receive, or something https://m.facebook.com/MakitaToolsPage/photos/a.136919456336063/3230000550361256/?type=3&source=48

Assuming it’s brushless I suspect I’ll get this rather quickly

Not going to sit on their laurels while Milwaukee is making light equipment it appears

Is this the US catalog? There are a lot of little surprises in this one. Looks like they’re bringing back the 10.8V pod-style batteries and tools in this thing. And the subcompact range may be going to teal instead of all-black. Not the biggest developments on the planet, just unexpected. Other than that, yeah...familiar with most of the new additions.

On second thought I’m changing my answer to impact driver. Only because your terms didn’t say I can’t have a corded driver. The convenience of impact drivers for most of what I do is too hard to let go of. I can have a big heavy corded drill for the rare occasions I need a lot of torque delivered without the hammering.

Funny to me to think about. My first speculation is it would be the one I use the least...my heaviest-duty drill. Because it CAN do just about everything. But for the most part it’s not nearly as efficient as what I use most which is my impact driver, and would make just about everything more cumbersome to boot.

Nice comparison tests. The torque adjustment struck me as easily discernible. Although it slowed more than expected under light load, as you pushed it harder the degree of slowing down didn’t increase until much heavier loading. I picked up the brushed model about a year ago and then saw this on getting released and wondered if I would be lamenting not having it, even though this is not a tool I need often. I’m impressed with it but not dissatisfied just sticking with the older model I have.

There’s a guy who’s missing the point. Sure, changing batteries too often is inconvenient but an impact driver with even a 3Ah battery just goes and goes and goes. I’m actually planning to get a pair of 3Ah batteries at some point for this specific reason, even while they are the exact same size as the 5Ah.

I’ve wondered about this as they have a number of small, low-torque options for tight places, then the still-compact, low-mid torque one that actually looks really handy, then nothing between that and their uber-power wrench except this old brushed model that has no variable trigger and makes only 300ftlbs despite being quite large. I tend to suspect impact wrenches may not be the highest priority with Makita but additionally wonder if they just think mid-torque wrenches would be superfluous product in most applications.

It could be a lot more size and complexity than you may want to commit to. But you’d probably really like what you end up with if you do it right. I’d recommend going with a 12V RV-style system to reduce the complexity, cost, and inefficiency of inverters, especially if you do in fact intend to move the thing between job sites. The panels will retain the charge of however many deep-cycle lead acid batteries, which depending on how you do things can loosely be thought of as doing much of the actual charging for your tool batteries. You’ll have to buy Ryobi’s automotive charger, but that isn’t terribly expensive and in Ryobi’s case charges just as fast as their plug-in chargers. You’d want to do the math for how quickly you burn through battery charges, based on that decide how many deep cycle lead acid batteries you want, and then how many panels you’d need to keep them charged. Like a lot of things, overbuilding is better than falling short. I would shoot for a system where the lead acid batteries are never going to get below 50% charged (deep cycle or not). Be aware panel ratings are generally very close to “best-case” estimates and they’ll spend most of their time making quite a bit less power than their rating. Angle of the sun, cloudy days, etc. There will also be efficiency losses all over the place. So shoot for generously overbuilt. I have a small system (100W) that I use at Burning Man (a week-long festival out in the middle of a desert in Nevada). It powers lighting, ventilation, and I will use it to charge some of my lithium batteries for tools and other things as they die...which at my rate of usage out there isn’t very fast. Maybe a battery every few days. It’s plenty for that. But beginning next year it may have to power more for general camp operations so it will likely have to be expanded. But it’s very likable. Set it, forget it, no noise, refueling or fuss like with a generator. When something needs power just plug it in. But if your power needs are very large, you’d need a correspondingly large system. That may be a lot of hassle to build up and tear down constantly depending on how often you have to move it. A friend did a 400W system that he installed on his fifth wheel, panels permanently installed on the roof which has been serving him nicely. You have to protect the panels from wind. It’s not a trivial project to do right. But it’s awesome.

I agree that just because other people will make awkward decisions throwing oversized batteries on tools that won’t benefit from it doesn’t mean everyone else is obligated to do the same. Adding an 8 or 9 Ah battery won’t mean the 3-6Ah or even 2Ah batteries will suddenly no longer be offered or you aren’t allowed to use them anymore. It’s merely an available solution that would be extremely useful for some tools. In contrast to drills and impact drivers, stuff like the sander, handheld vacuum, etc actually do draw a lot of current for their size and a somewhat larger battery makes a lot of sense for those tools. While the X2 solution would not be justified, or would be a needless encumbrance. Oh...and how about the coffee maker? Gotta be able to make coffee. 😂