7 year old Makita imapact driver: Buy new batteries or replace driver itself?

[fishnaked]

I bought a LXDT04 impact driver in 2014. It has been great! However, the batteries don't hold a charge nearly as long as they used to. This weighs on me a bit as I'm getting ready to build my new home.

 

I see that 2 new 18v batteries can be had for around $37. Looks like they may be from China...but I'm not sure on that.

 

Is it worth spending that on batteries of possible unknown quality...on an impact driver that's seen a fair bit of use? Or.......would it make more sense to just invest in a new driver and keep this one, with its old batteries, as a back-up/spare?

 

Though I'm not made of money, I sorta like the idea of just investing in a new driver. I used a friend's newer Makita 2 years ago and the difference in power and drive speed compared to mine felt pretty substantial.

 

Advise/thoughts please.

 

Thanks!

[Biggie]

While some people seem to have success with knock off batteries, I personally would steer clear.  A lot of times the performance doesn't match the amp hour rating like a genuine battery.  Then there are some safety concerns such as does it have the technology to not fry your tool or burn down your house while charging.  Not saying that they will and I'm sure there are some that are just fine but to me it's not worth the risk.  If you go this route I would just make sure to read reviews and try get somewhat reputable knock offs.

 

Genuine batteries alone aren't cheap and more than likely if you go this route you're probably better off getting a new driver as a kit with batteries if you're kind of leaning that way anyhow.

[fishnaked]

20 hours ago, Biggie said:

While some people seem to have success with knock off batteries, I personally would steer clear.  A lot of times the performance doesn't match the amp hour rating like a genuine battery.  Then there are some safety concerns such as does it have the technology to not fry your tool or burn down your house while charging.  Not saying that they will and I'm sure there are some that are just fine but to me it's not worth the risk.  If you go this route I would just make sure to read reviews and try get somewhat reputable knock offs.

 

Genuine batteries alone aren't cheap and more than likely if you go this route you're probably better off getting a new driver as a kit with batteries if you're kind of leaning that way anyhow.

 

Thanks. I haven't kept up on who's doing what in the impact driver world. Can you or anyone else recommend a good replacement for mine?

[Biggie]

I know makita seems to be the king of impact drivers and release a new model quite frequently, but I'm not in the makita battery line so I don't know the model numbers.

[ToolBane]

Makita like most companies has combo kits with a driver, battery, and charger that are often on sale for about $100. The drivers typically are decently powered but don’t have much in the way of features. Most directly important for some would be lack of speed settings. If you have much work that requires fine control, you will want one that has them but they will cost a bit more. If you mostly do rough work it won’t matter so much.

[fishnaked]

Thanks, you two.

 

Seems I paid around $200 for mine back in 2014. If I could get a new one that was as powerful as mine, or even more powerful (fast) in the $100-$150 range, that would be great! However, after using my friends much faster driver, I'd really prefer to have something faster than mine.

 

When comparing different drivers, how does one determine which is going to drive faster?

[Jjwillac]

The XDT16 (TD171 outside US) is the best out there right now (in the US at least) and can be had in your price range (typical store price is $180, but can get on-sale and many new on eBay etc for $150 or less). If you are okay with a few less features to get the price down a little more, look at the XDT14 which is around $130 normally. Both are great.

[Eric - TIA]

I am not a huge fan of knock off batteries.  Just haven't heard good things about them over the years.  When it comes to Impacts, Makita is King (Yes my opinion).  They offer anything from a simple featureless impact that you use just the trigger to feature packed impact drivers that have speed selectors and a button for metal screws to sub-compact drivers so it's hard to identify which one is wright for you.

 

My one complaint about Makita is their kits.  I wish they would offer a kit that has a 2Ah battery and a 5Ah battery in the same kit.  I love the 2Ah for drywall and work above but the 5Ah is much nicer when running bigger lags.  

 

 

 

 

[Jjwillac]

I agree with Eric on the 2ah.  I rarely use anything else in my impacts and use them all day.  Gives good balance and makes them a breeze to hang on your belt if working up high. Plus they charge so fast!

[Jronman]

I would go with Makita since you already know Makita. The new Makita 40v max stuff is good so I have heard and it includes an impact driver. You will get more power than 18v but with it being such a new offering you won't have as many tools to choose from. The newer 18v stuff is nice as well and you can sometimes find 18v x2 kits with 2 free batteries which is a great deal. The 18v impact I would get is the XDT171 or you could wait for the new model Japan just got to come out (I'm guessing it will be called XDT172 in the United States). I would try and find a 2 free battery deal for a makita x2 kit. Maybe get an x2 saw kit and a drill and impact combo kit and you would be set.

[fishnaked]

Thanks, guys!

 

I'm a bit confused by talk of "kit" though. What does that mean, exactly?

 

Initially, I thought "kit" meant you were getting an impact driver plus another tool....like a drill. And....it was a given batteries and a charger were included.

 

Now, with what little searching I've done, I see impact drivers being sold alone. No batteries. No box. No charger. Nothing but the driver.

 

Does a "kit" these days mean driver, batteries, and charger????

 

When I bought my two previous drivers, I got a box, driver, charger, and two batteries.

[Jjwillac]

I don't see the XGT platform as a great option if you mainly want an impact driver. Yeah, they have one on the platform, but that is a convenience for the folks using XGT for the higher power tools, not really a reason to buy into the platform. 

 

When you see the driver alone that is a "bare tool" (model number ends in "Z"; e.g., XDT16z). Kits can either be a single tool with batteries and a charger or they can be "combos" that include multiple tools, batteries, and a charger (sometimes accessories also). If you need the tools anyway and don't want to shop around a ton, combos can be a good deal.  For example, I'm not sure if the deal is still going, but recently HD had the top tier impact driver (XDT16) AND top tier hammer drill (XPH14) in a kit with four 5ah batteries (2 in the kit plus two more on promotion), a charger and an XPS bit set for $399. While expensive overall, it is much cheaper than buying all the pieces separately.

[ToolBane]

By “kit” I do mean with a battery and charger. Just about every tool company sells them on frequent sales of $100, while coincidentally also selling “bare tools” for $100 all by themselves. So of course you’re going to get a kit, right? It’s how they rope you into their platform.

[ToolBane]

I’m going to give myself extra license to play uncommissioned salesman on this occasion, on account of some sales that just happen to be going on right now that you might find useful.

 

Home Depot happens to have these sales every so often, where you get a pretty powerful dual-battery circular saw plus four total batteries and a dual-battery charger for a knockout price:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-X2-LXT-Lithium-Ion-36-Volt-Brushless-Cordless-Rear-Handle-7-1-4-in-Circular-Saw-w-BONUS-5-0Ah-Battery-2-Pack-XSR01PTBL1850B2/303210533 (blade left rear handle)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-X2-LXT-36-Volt-Brushless-Cordless-7-1-4-in-Circular-Saw-Kit-5-0Ah-with-Bonus-18V-LXT-Battery-Pack-5-0Ah-XSH06PTBL1850B2/313490057 (blade right)

 

Since you’re talking about building your home, these are some pretty powerful circular saws on a combo deal that in my opinion is pretty compelling. They are on the heavy-duty side which also means heavy in general...not sure if you would find that to be an impediment at all relative to a compact single-battery unit...which Makita sells but not in these swinging awesome package deals.

 

You may still prefer to get an impact driver in a combo package that adds another battery, but either of the above combos gives you a pretty burly charger and extra batteries, after which purchasing a lone impact driver that’s a little more refined than the bare minimum isn’t as much extra cash:

 

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

 

It doesn’t appear Makita happens to have the “usual” combo sale I mentioned above going on at the moment. It comes and goes, as do similar combo packages that include a compact brushless drill. Not sure what timeline you are operating on with your upcoming home build.

Edited April 14, 2021 by ToolBane
Wrong link originally posted

[fishnaked]

12 hours ago, ToolBane said:

I’m going to give myself extra license to play uncommissioned salesman on this occasion, on account of some sales that just happen to be going on right now that you might find useful.

 

Home Depot happens to have these sales every so often, where you get a pretty powerful dual-battery circular saw plus four total batteries and a dual-battery charger for a knockout price:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-X2-LXT-Lithium-Ion-36-Volt-Brushless-Cordless-Rear-Handle-7-1-4-in-Circular-Saw-w-BONUS-5-0Ah-Battery-2-Pack-XSR01PTBL1850B2/303210533 (blade left rear handle)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-X2-LXT-36-Volt-Brushless-Cordless-7-1-4-in-Circular-Saw-Kit-5-0Ah-with-Bonus-18V-LXT-Battery-Pack-5-0Ah-XSH06PTBL1850B2/313490057 (blade right)

 

Since you’re talking about building your home, these are some pretty powerful circular saws on a combo deal that in my opinion is pretty compelling. They are on the heavy-duty side which also means heavy in general...not sure if you would find that to be an impediment at all relative to a compact single-battery unit...which Makita sells but not in these swinging awesome package deals.

 

You may still prefer to get an impact driver in a combo package that adds another battery, but either of the above combos gives you a pretty burly charger and extra batteries, after which purchasing a lone impact driver that’s a little more refined than the bare minimum isn’t as much extra cash:

 

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

 

It doesn’t appear Makita happens to have the “usual” combo sale I mentioned above going on at the moment. It comes and goes, as do similar combo packages that include a compact brushless drill. Not sure what timeline you are operating on with your upcoming home build.

 

Hey, thanks for that! Looks like a real good deal! However, I recently purchased not one but two new circular saws. So... I'm pretty set there.

 

Re my timeline....if I'm real lucky, I'll be able to start on my place by mid June.

[fishnaked]

Is the only difference between a 2 amp and 4 amp battery run time? Or.....is a 4 amp battery more powerful too?

 

Also....will the charger from my old 2014 LXDT04 work with these newer batteries?

[ToolBane]

Makita’s 3-6Ah batteries use two sets of five cells in series while the 2Ah batteries only use one set. Two sets running in parallel will have less difficulty producing the instantaneous current demands of the tool, so larger batteries do as a general rule help tools perform better.

[fishnaked]

I have found this driver plus two 4 amp 18 v batteries for $156. I contacted Makita and they said my old charger will charge these batteries.

 

I don't think I need many bells and whistles. That said, is this a good deal? https://www.ebay.com/itm/265072807363?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3D83836fbb6c5d4a84b1fd26a530491ccc%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D265072812487%26itm%3D265072807363%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseUnbiasedWeb%26brand%3DMakita&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851

[ToolBane]

Solid deal for what you get. Only thing to me is, it’s Makita’s most basic brushless impact driver. IF you do anything where you need to be gentle, you’re relying entirely on your control over the trigger, while all of Makita’s higher impacts have speeds to help limit how hard it goes for you. Then again, the price you have there is a decent deal on a pair of batteries with an impact thrown in almost for free.

[fishnaked]

I've never used an impact with any features other than a variable speed trigger....and a light. It never donned on me to have or need a gentle setting. Always viewed the thing as a tool to drive screws in as fast and easily as possible.

 

At any rate, it sounds like this may be my replacement. Appreciate your help!

[fishnaked]

Ok. I was delayed on building my house. I'm ramping up again soon though. Who wants to help spend my money on a new impact driver?

 

The selection out there is overwhelming to me. I've narrowed it down to Makita.

 

I want to keep the price down to around $250.

 

I want good batteries.

 

A hard case is nice but not a deal breaker.

 

I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I want power and speed.

 

I don't need a hammer drill. I don't need a new saw of any kind either. But I do not have a cordless drill. So I would take a driver/drill combo if that's what it came to.

 

Something compatible with my old charger which charges BL1815 batteries would be nice....but not a deal breaker.

 

I like ebay because I have money sitting in my Paypal account. But, I'm not opposed to buying elsewhere is it's a better deal.

 

What do you guys recommend? Links would be much appreciated!