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Battery charging and storage query


ps2user

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Hi everyone.

I've decided to treat myself and purchase a dhp481 / xph07 since I need a new cordless drill. This will be my first cordless makita and first lithium ion battery set up. I will only be occasionally using the drill. What's the best way to make sure the battery doesn't drain too low, so it doesn't make it an expensive brick? Should I just charge the battery once a month to keep it topped up or can I leave it every 2 months or even longer? And should I leave the battery disconnected from the drill when not using for a long period of time? Also anyone have good experience of the cloned batteries on eBay? Will the makita quick charger still work and fast charger it? I'm also thinking of getting a smaller battery bl1820 to keep the weight down, but will this power the dhp481 / xph07?

Sorry with all the questions.

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Welcome to the forum, I keep all my batteries fully charged and disconnected from the tool. Modern technology is great with the lithium batteries it won't hurt to leave them connected or half charged, don't leave them dead though. Best bet is just keep them charged.

Jimbo

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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If you storing a lithium battery long term its best to keep it around 80% The big thing is you don't want to leave a battery with a low charge sit too long lithium ion batteries still self discharge. If that happens the charger won't let you charge the battery pack. Makita had a bit of an issue with that on the older LXT batteries the newer packs have corrected the design fault. Some one on Instructables discusses it in more detail.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Makita-18v-LXT-Lithium-ion-Battery-Repair/

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Dont keep batteries on the tool for weeks without use.

Dont keep batteries on the charger for days. If theyre full --> take them off.

And empty batteries should always be charged before putting thema away for long times.

Altho a Bl1820 compact battery will work on that big drill it will not to the drill justice. The dhp481 needs quite some amps for heavy tasks and a small battery cannot provider those amps. Youll trip the overload protection suite quickly if you're doing heavy drilling/ driving. You will need a fat pack for those tasks.

If you are only doing light duty work a small battery will be okay. But saving 200 grams on a 2.2 kg drill isnt the big difference :P

Go get yourself a Nice 12v. Max drill to go with the dhp481 and you will have all bases covered :)

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I'm in agreement on the battery size too. If you can get the larger cap batteries the performance is going to knock your socks off. And by the way, welcome to the forum. Keep asking away, the members here have a lot to offer and an unseemingly unlimited cash flow when it comes to spending your money for you. We also have a divorce support group ;)

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Thanks to everyone for your responses [emoji106] it's great to have lots of advice and I think the smaller battery route is stupid since the weight difference isn't much. I will need to find out the weight, size and charge time difference between a 3 and 4 amp battery to decide which to get. I will make sure the battery is charged before storing so I don't have an expensive brick.

I still haven't purchased the drill, battery and charger yet. Will need to purchase soon as I have a few small diy jobs to do around the house. My thought is that having a powerful drill should make drilling around the house easier than a lesser one in power. Just need to make sure I use the super long handle so my wrist is safe since I'm a weakling [emoji12]

I will hope buy more makita stuff, but I need to be sensible and keep the missus happy first.

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3 4 5 amp are all thesame size and weight.

24 minutes charge time for 3 amp. 36 minutes charge time for 4 amp. 45 minutes charge time for a 5 amp.

I Dont know where you plan to buy your batteries and charger but 2 things you want to look out for.

1. Make sure you get the fast charger. Makita model dc18rc.

2. I suggest a 4 amp at the least. If you buy a 3 amp online you can not be sure if its a ' modern ' 3 amp battery with modern cells and protection circuits. 3 amp batteries from a few years ago didnt feature these things.always possible some online seller is selling 3 amp batteries from old stock. Im very paranoid about online buying but if you go atleast 4 amp you will always have a modern battery.

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If you still neef everything a kit will be prefable ? That will give you everything in 1 go :)

Cheap and fake batteries are hit and miss. They will almost always feature lower quality cells which will not be able to provider the amps or will wear sooner.

The protection circuits may be lacking or even missing thus the overload/ over heating and over discharge protection may not be working possibly leading to problem in the future.

Not all cells from the cheap fake knock off batteries can take the high current from Makita fast charger. So fire or even a fake battery exploding are possibilities.

Youll also loose out on warranty because the smart powertools of these days know that you put a fake battery on the tool thus voiding warranty.

And last: you're gonna spend quite some cash on a top of the line drill. The Engineers at Makita have put in the neccesairy protection circuits so your tool will have a long life. That also includes good batteries. I do not think you should gamble with that by saving some money on fake batteries.

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3 4 5 amp are all thesame size and weight.

24 minutes charge time for 3 amp. 36 minutes charge time for 4 amp. 45 minutes charge time for a 5 amp.

I Dont know where you plan to buy your batteries and charger but 2 things you want to look out for.

1. Make sure you get the fast charger. Makita model dc18rc.

2. I suggest a 4 amp at the least. If you buy a 3 amp online you can not be sure if its a ' modern ' 3 amp battery with modern cells and protection circuits. 3 amp batteries from a few years ago didnt feature these things.always possible some online seller is selling 3 amp batteries from old stock. Im very paranoid about online buying but if you go atleast 4 amp you will always have a modern battery.

Thanks for the info [emoji106] greatly appreciated [emoji482].

I was going to buy separately to save some money and purchase the body only from a reputable seller so will have the 3yr warranty for peace of mind. Managed to get the fast charger dc18rc at a good price but was let down by another seller for a 3amp star battery which was faulty so going through a refund [emoji20] . I think I'm going to just get a kit bundle as there isn't much price difference to what I was trying to do separately. It just depends how long I can keep myself waiting, as I like a new present for myself [emoji3]. also need to decide if I want the kit in the makpac or carry case. Shame the makpac doesn't have a side carry handle.

I thought clone batteries are similar to the mobile phones and laptops, but since the quick charger throws that much current, I don't want to blow something up. Will see how the makita batteries hold up first and hopefully will last from the advice everyone had given me.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

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In my experience kits are always cheaper than individual parts if you look in the right places, and that's before various sales which usually also hit kits before individual pieces.  Of course with special cases like a makpac, lbox, tstack, systainer, the price for the kit may be higher than the individual pieces if you don't include the case.  Make sure to check what exactly comes in the kit.

 

Even though they're cheaper, I'd worry more about the warranty on the batteries than tools.  Not that the new ones have problems, just that there's not much that can go wrong with a drill and even less that you can't fix yourself.

 

Lithium ion batteries are just as likely to fail during charging as discharging, and even more likely when they charge faster than you use them.  Just look at those "hoverboards" that keep exploding.

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Thanks for the all the info guys. Purchased a kit in the end and now can't wait to test the beast out over the weekend :D purchased with the new 4amp batteyr which has a battery gauge so will check periodically when i need to charge. Will remember to take the battery off the drill after use as mentioned.  Hopefully I will be able to resist buying anymore power tools.

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Hi everyone.

I've decided to treat myself and purchase a dhp481 / xph07 since I need a new cordless drill. This will be my first cordless makita and first lithium ion battery set up. I will only be occasionally using the drill. What's the best way to make sure the battery doesn't drain too low, so it doesn't make it an expensive brick? Should I just charge the battery once a month to keep it topped up or can I leave it every 2 months or even longer? And should I leave the battery disconnected from the drill when not using for a long period of time? Also anyone have good experience of the cloned batteries on eBay? Will the makita quick charger still work and fast charger it? I'm also thinking of getting a smaller battery bl1820 to keep the weight down, but will this power the dhp481 / xph07?

Sorry with all the questions.

Reading the instructions is the best thing to do. I always read instructions on anything new. It makes you a better user of the tool and it will last longer. Or go to the Makita website and mesage them and ask. But with the new batterys you don't have anything to worry about really. They take care of them selves. I just wouldn't keep it where it geets really cold or really hot.

Millerz

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