Aftermarket Batteries for Makita

[Yellowtail]

I have several Makita 12VMax cordless tools and I am going to buy a couple new batteries. Has anyone had actual experience using the aftermarket batteries? 

 

They are significantly cheaper, but not know anything of the performance/durability that does not mean a lot. 

 

Anyone use a particular brand? 

[stoner]

they have a legit makita dealer in bkk. i think it was around 3 to 4k for the battery and charger. 

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, stoner said:

they have a legit makita dealer in bkk. i think it was around 3 to 4k for the battery and charger. 

The OP didn't ask that.

[stoner]

24 minutes ago, giddyup said:

The OP didn't ask that.

how astute of you. 

[VocalNeal]

Old Siam Plaza. Amorn will put new cells in for you.

 

Or, if you don't use them above your head stood on a ladder, disassemble the battery packs add a length of flex and buy or use a motorbike 12v battery which can be charged with a regular car charger. 

[retarius]

Not Makita but a similar situation. I have a Leica camera and it needs a new battery. Lazada prices Leica originals at $80 each and I could buy two copies for about $40. Stupidly, I bought the copies.....they don't fit.

[giddyup]

Lazada have quite a selection of generic batteries for several brands, pretty sure Makita is one of them, prices as low as 150 baht. Just type Makita battery into Lazada. You can read the reviews as to whether any good or not.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

I have several Makita 12VMax cordless tools and I am going to buy a couple new batteries. Has anyone had actual experience using the aftermarket batteries? 

 

They are significantly cheaper, but not know anything of the performance/durability that does not mean a lot. 

There are no bargains in the after market batteries. The cheaper they are the worse they are. You may get an equivalent to a brand name battery for about 20% less price but you don’t know if the quality is the same as the original.

The only lower price way to get an as good or better is to get a reputable company to replace the cells with top quality branded 18650s 

[GreasyFingers]

You have to be careful that there are not slight size differences in the batteries even though they are advertised as being a Makita substitute. The difference can be very small but they do not fit Makita tools.

[Yellowtail]

19 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

There are no bargains in the after market batteries. The cheaper they are the worse they are. You may get an equivalent to a brand name battery for about 20% less price but you don’t know if the quality is the same as the original.

The only lower price way to get an as good or better is to get a reputable company to replace the cells with top quality branded 18650s 

That's why I'm thinking. I know there are some decent aftermarket brands int he US, but they are not cheap. 

 

The batteries I have are okay, I just need a few more. Some of the tools I bought in the US and were "tool only". 

 

I will probably bite the bullet and just buy a couple new Makita batteries. 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

29 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

You have to be careful that there are not slight size differences in the batteries even though they are advertised as being a Makita substitute. The difference can be very small but they do not fit Makita tools.

Thanks, I think I'll got OEM. 

[sometimewoodworker]

FWIW I don’t have 12V tools, mine are 18V. I have one aftermarket battery the information on the advert and on the battery are the only fake things about the AM battery, it claims 6.0Ah but is clearly 3.0Ah or slightly less, it is fractionally lighter than the Makita one but only a smidjin, it is exactly the same size as the 3.0Ah and a genuine 6.0Ah is bigger and unobtanium in Thailand .

 

[Yellowtail]

38 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

FWIW I don’t have 12V tools, mine are 18V. I have one aftermarket battery the information on the advert and on the battery are the only fake things about the AM battery, it claims 6.0Ah but is clearly 3.0Ah or slightly less, it is fractionally lighter than the Makita one but only a smidjin, it is exactly the same size as the 3.0Ah and a genuine 6.0Ah is bigger and unobtanium in Thailand .

 

Yeah, the 18V stuff is supposed to be much better, but the 12V stuff is much cheaper. I started with the 12V max stuff and it's easier to stick with it. I have about eight tools and three batteries. 

[MangoKorat]

I can't help you with Makita specifically or where to buy aftermarket batteries in Thailand but I decided to take my Dewalt 18v Drilldriver to Thailand to replace an AEG that had died.  One of my Dewalt's batteries had died so I bought 2 replacements on Ebay for £23.91.  At this stage all I can tell you is that they charge on the Dewalt charger and fit/work on the drill. Genuine batteries for my drill were a crazy price last time I checked but they are now no longer available. I decided that it was worth risking a small amount instead of throwing a perfectly serviceable drill away.  I'll have a wait to see if I've wasted my money.

 

There was a large amount of replacement batteries for sale on Ebay and the problem with them seems to be that none of them are branded. I decided on which ones to buy based on the price - jusy hoping that the more expensive ones were maybe better - time will tell. I'm sure there will be similar batteries available on Lazada for a Makita tool.

 

Ignore the price on the photo below - I paid £23.91 for 2 batteries that claim to have a much higher amp/hour than the originals.  Prices are also all over the place - large variations for what look like identical products.

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Ignore the price on the photo below - I paid £23.91 for 2 batteries that claim to have a much higher amp/hour than the originals.  Prices are also all over the place - large variations for what look like identical products.

The claimed Ah numbers are fake. The prices are likely to be a better guide. However it is far better to get the battery cells replaced as then you have a far better chance of getting a good result.

[MangoKorat]

6 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The claimed Ah numbers are fake. The prices are likely to be a better guide. However it is far better to get the battery cells replaced as then you have a far better chance of getting a good result.

Not sure I understand - get the cells replaced. Do you mean I can get the cells replaced in the original batteries?

[sometimewoodworker]

25 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Not sure I understand - get the cells replaced. Do you mean I can get the cells replaced in the original batteries?

Exactly, though some butchery may well be involved.
 

You should use batteries that no longer hold much charge as the replacement will destroy the existing cells.

[MangoKorat]

57 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Exactly, though some butchery may well be involved.
 

You should use batteries that no longer hold much charge as the replacement will destroy the existing cells.

Thanks for that, I had no idea it could be done.  As I have already bought the aftermarket ones I'll obviously try them first but I still have the two old ones - one of which still works.  These power tool manufacturers have a lot to answer for, I'm pretty sure that they don't need to keep changing battery shapes and fittings but of course, they sell more new tools that way. Other than the duff batteries there is nothing at all wrong with my Dewalt drill.

 

I'm also sure that they don't use the best of batteries in the first place.  Only recently I took a failed battery off a BMW that was 12 years old and original.  I can honestly say that I have never known any other car battery last so long, 4-5 years is the norm. I am fully aware that BMW don't make batteries but they clearly demand (or demanded) good quality batteries from their O.E. supplier.

 

I also have a Phillips electric shaver that is over 25 years old and still gives me 3 shaves between charges.  Those two examples prove that it is possible to make decent quality batteries

[hotchilli]

On 10/14/2023 at 11:53 AM, giddyup said:

Lazada have quite a selection of generic batteries for several brands, pretty sure Makita is one of them, prices as low as 150 baht. Just type Makita battery into Lazada. You can read the reviews as to whether any good or not.

Sometimes the reviews are fake... don't trust them

[VocalNeal]

18 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Sometimes the reviews are fake... don't trust them

😲

[alanrchase]

I bought a cheap replacement on Lazada for a hedge trimmer knowing it would not be very good as I wanted the case. I then bought real 3,000mah 18650 batteries and replaced the ones in the case. New spare battery pack for about 600 baht. Been using it every week for over a year and it is still going strong.

[transam]

You can bring a "dead" non-chargeable one back to life if you have a spare good one to do it with.........😋

[transam]

21 minutes ago, transam said:

You can bring a "dead" non-chargeable one back to life if you have a spare good one to do it with.........😋

Yes, do not throw a "dead" one away, for the bloke that laughed, watch this easy fix............😉

 

 

[Yellowtail]

17 minutes ago, transam said:

Yes, do not throw a "dead" one away, for the bloke that laughed, watch this easy fix............😉

 

 

Nice tip, thanks! 

[alanrchase]

27 minutes ago, transam said:

Yes, do not throw a "dead" one away, for the bloke that laughed, watch this easy fix............😉

 

 

For safety reasons the brand name chargers will not charge a battery pack that is below a certain voltage. All that is being done in these videos is zapping a bit of power into the battery pack to get the voltage high enough for the charger to work. May be no problem but if the battery pack voltage is lower than it should be there could be faulty cells in it and then there is the possibility of it catching fire.

[transam]

1 minute ago, alanrchase said:

For safety reasons the brand name chargers will not charge a battery pack that is below a certain voltage. All that is being done in these videos is zapping a bit of power into the battery pack to get the voltage high enough for the charger to work. May be no problem but if the battery pack voltage is lower than it should be there could be faulty cells in it and then there is the possibility of it catching fire.

Well do it in the garden then.................😂

Many vids on YouTube showing the same procedure........🤭

[KhunLA]

@Yellowtail Personally, though more expensive, I really would stick w/Makita's.

 

All the toys I have, no after market batteries were worth the lower price.  As one poster stated, fit is important also, as you do want a tight fit ... with all things 😎

[Pouatchee]

On 10/14/2023 at 10:44 AM, Yellowtail said:

Anyone use a particular brand? 

i bought 2 aftermarket chinese for my drill... about 1200 each. lasted less than a year. so i took the bodies of the packs got rid of the batteries and rebuilt the battery pack. i had to buy a battery spot welder... dirt cheap and batteries. works like a charm

makita batteries come with screws so easy to take apart. just keep the electronics inside the battery pack (a battery management system (BMS),) and DIY. 

 

with the right tools it is easy as pie

 

https://shopee.co.th/8000W-Spot-Welder-High-Power-Kit-DIY-18650-แบตเตอรี่-Pack-เครื่องมือเชื่อมแบบพกพาเครื่องเชื่อมจุดปากกาสำหรับ-0.1-0.3-มม.-i.998866264.19490281730?sp_atk=ba92d33d-3ea2-4efa-b3d0-7d589a28b95e&xptdk=ba92d33d-3ea2-4efa-b3d0-7d589a28b95e

[Yellowtail]

Actually, you can solder the ends of batteries, but you have to be quick. 

[1sickpuppy]

I bought some for bosche, total garbage Chinese crap, do not last as long and 1 totally kaput, by the original ones is worth the extra cash