Shown above is an aftermarket/3rd party Makita-compatible 18V Li-ion battery pack, advertised as fitting all Makita 18V tools and chargers.
There are also counterfeit batteries designed to look like Makita batteries, as cautioned on Makita Japan’s website, but that’s different.
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While 3rd party “replacement batteries” are usually described as being compatible with toolmakers’ genuine batteries, they are often much less expensive and it is hard to imagine that there aren’t some quality compromises.
When last discussing this subject with another brand (not Makita/Makita USA), I was told that 3rd party battery packs are not built to the same quality or safety standards. In their tests, the 3rd party batteries were failing – sometimes dramatically – under conditions the brand’s batteries are designed to endure.
Tool brands’ batteries aren’t guaranteed to be perfect, but aside from outlier defects, you can usually expect consistent and predictable performance.
Maybe “replacement” batteries have risen in quality and safety features, but given the price points and the fact that many new and unknown brands pop up in online marketplaces all the time, I’m doubtful of this. These batteries seem to be designed to be cheap.
The situation is similar in other industries as well, such as with cameras batteries. Knockoff batteries sometimes deliver on-par performance, other times they lead to unpredictable issues. Results seem to vary depending on the supplier.
For instance, a Canon camera battery (LP-E6NH) is priced at $79. A reasonably well-known aftermarket brand’s replacement battery is priced at $59. On Amazon, an unknown brand has a 4-pack of “replacement for Canon” batteries for $28, which comes to $7 each. That’s 1/11th the price of a single Canon battery. Why?
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Will it matter? Maybe, maybe not, I’d guess it depends on what the battery is powering.
With Makita XGT, the brand shared details on how their 40V Max and 80V Max XGT tools will interact with the 3rd party batteries that will inevitably hit the market at some point.
If you use a knockoff/3rd party battery, the XGT charger will not fully charge that battery.
Basically, Makita’s XGT charger will stop charging knockoff batteries at a specific percentage.
In a tool, you will not get maximum performance from a 3rd party or replacement battery.
Makita has said that XGT tools will detect fake batteries and limit the tool’s power accordingly.
WHY?
This is a deterrent to prevent the use of knock-off batteries, although they did not clarify beyond this.
Does Makita want to sell you more batteries? Which brand doesn’t?
If you ask me, I would think it’s more about tool expectations and safety. Is this something other brands might do? Is this something that some other brands are doing already?
I think this is a good way to go. On one hand, aftermarket battery use is discouraged but if you’re going to use cheap 3rd party batteries, they won’t stop you.
The way I see it, not fully charging a 3rd party battery or limiting tool performance comes down to creating a safety margin. Batteries are stressed during charging, and they’re stressed during high-demand use. If the safety limits are unknown, capping the charge capacity or power output seems like a good way to go.
If this sets a trend, would it be a good thing? I think so. Is it already a trend and one we’re simply not aware of?
I don’t use 3rd party cordless power tool batteries, and I don’t encourage their use. Maybe this is really just about not losing battery sales to 3rd party replacement battery makers, but I don’t think so.
Do you remember the hoverboard incidents from a few years ago where cheap Li-ion batteries with insufficient safety features were exploding and causing fires? XGT tools and chargers and how they work with 3rd party batteries seems like a way for Makita to cover their and your interests in case you do use knockoff batteries.
Speaking as someone who doesn’t use 3rd party power tool batteries and hasn’t found a recommendable brand of such products, I wouldn’t mind if brands capped the charging capacity or tool performance of 3rd party “replacement” batteries.
This could set a good trend – if done for the right reasons, such as user safety.
If you do use aftermarket cordless power tool batteries, how would you feel if your brand(s) did this? Might they already be doing this? Would you notice?
Aftermarket 18V battery imagery is shown above, but to our knowledge this is only a feature/function unique to Makita’s XGT system. There has not been any indication as to whether similar functionality was built into Makita’s 18V system or any other brand’s system.
Champs
This blog has been a little rough on Makita lately but this seems fair. If you’ve ever seen the knockoffs get a tear down, it’s pretty obvious that you get what you pay for, inside and out, with more durable packaging and better electronics.
Now for Makita to make first party batteries that don’t look like knockoffs in the first place…
Stuart
I do wish I had more information/insights and that they got back to my request to use the “don’t use or else!!!” presentation slides, but what can you do?
MoogleMan3
Exactly. Batteries are one thing I won’t cheap out on. There’s always sales or BOGO offers. No need to save a few pennies and take the risk.
Josh
So just go with the true makita batts? I need 1 or 2 would be nice but i think ill shop home depo
John h8gwb Lin
“Now for Makita to make first party batteries that don’t look like knockoffs in the first place…”
THIS IS the comment I was looking for. I assume you tinker with other brands of power tool batteries, as well?
Peter Fox
In less demanding application I could see after market batteries as a reasonable tradeoff from a price versus performance standpoint.
Personally I find a different trade off more appealing. New OEM batteries on Ebay sets that are split up and sold individually. Less than new retail price but still OEM quality. Obviously there is some risk of counterfeits, but so far I have had good luck getting real OEM packs (or damn good knockoffs that I can’t tell apart).
Once you enter the realm of high capacity higher voltage packs I can see the justification for these types of measures. There is a lot of potential energy stored and failure has a much higher likelihood of causing significant damage and possibly injury. I think that this approach is probably the best compromise, Knockoffs work but are treated gentler to reduce risks of catastrophic failure. From a liability standpoint who is responsible if an aftermarket pack catches fire on a OEM fast charger?
Kane
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, aftermarket batteries are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.
Jared
Tricky question. On the one hand, there are legitimate safety concerns. On the other, it makes me think of the games printer companies play.
HP infamously once made a whole series of printers stop working if they were using third-party ink via a firmware update. They were successfully sued.
Its obvious why that became a viable strategy for them though. Printers and razors are two industries where the business model is to sell the initial purchase as cheaply as possible and to make profit based on the consumables. HP doesn’t want you using third-party ink (or paper), because then they are selling you a cheap printer but failing to capitalize on the profit from the supplies.
I don’t think you could make a straight-across comparison for power tool companies. I’m sure they make money from selling batteries, but they also make money selling tools.
I can only speculate what all the variables might be here though. E.g. they might just want to keep their consumers safe. More likely it’s that plus other considerations: like not having to deal with warranty repairs related to third-party battery use, damage to the Makita brand reputation if tools malfunction, being included in a lawsuit if a power tool burns down a house – even if a faulty third-party battery was mostly to blame, etc.
Tom D
It would be quite easy for them to put a chip in the battery and charger – but I suspect they don’t do this precisely because tools and batteries get beat up quite a bit.
So instead limiting charge seems reasonable especially if they are using cells that are “better than rated” in their own batteries.
John h8gwb Lin
Hilariously, Makita already has a function on their battery that bricks the BMS if the charger detects a fault on it a few times. There’s no hope of repairing a battery after that, even if the cells independently test good or even with new cells, short of replacing the BMS.
In any case, ‘Eff Makita. They may make good tools, but their battery quality is barely a step up from the knockoffs, at least compared to the Ridgid batteries I’ve opened too, lending credence that Makita LOVES to profit off their batteries. Plus, Ridgid only throws up token attempts to block your right to repair(that are more like speed bumps than solid concrete walls).
Aaron
third party printer ink doesn’t catch fire or explode
Mike McFalls
I don’t have a problem with Makita or any company limiting aftermarket parts from working properly in their equipment in so long as they are completely honest that they just don’t want us using it. I mean it’s only fair considering their R&D costs on these products.
I can also see headaches should an aftermarket part causing issues with the product and them being on the hook for repairs caused by inferior batteries or even exposed to lawsuits and such in accidents.
I’d just rather that be the communicated message versus some of the gobbly-goop we get all the time.
Aaron
This is essentially locking an ecosystem to their brand of batteries by crippling their competition. Wouldn’t it be better to create standards and licensing requirements that way they could ensure that 3rd party makers are not putting an unsafe product on the market while still allowing for competition? Imagine if Ford made cars that only ran on Ford gas. People would be outraged. Personally, I don’t care. Sometimes though, companies get sued for anticompetitive practices. I’m not a lawyer though so I have no idea if that sort of thing applies here.
Matt J.
I mean, if we’re going to use the car metaphor…this is pretty much what Tesla has successfully done with supercharging and proprietary fitting. Yes, you can work with others but at diminished rates. It’s worked fine for them.
John h8gwb Lin
Except people DO get outraged by such anti-competitive practices. Tesla Superchargers in Europe need to work on other brands of EVs and they eventually will in the U.S. charge Ford products, as well.
skfarmer
i say no. i don’t use third party batteries and more than likely never will but my son has a couple and he says they work as good or better than his name brand
here is where i have an issue. what happens if the 3rd party discontinues the system you are on. then what? i understand and fully support using only oem batteries during warranty and for warranty purposes but at the end of the day. it’s my tool, i own it and i should be able to do want with it when i want to,.
how would you like it if you owned a car and the oem said you had to install an oem battery or it would only charge it to 70%. how would it start at -25 in the winter? how would it perform on on a hot day when pushing the ac to its limits and using other electrical loads like lights, winches etc.?
Jim Felt
Join the world of present day EV vehicles. At least for the foreseeable future.
Though I believe some SoCal vendors are rehabbing older hybrid Prius batteries.
Tesla, MB, Audi, Kia, Jag, BMW et al not so much.
James C
Stuart, would you feel differently if a 3rd party came out with a battery that was actually superior to a given power tool company’s batteries?
Stuart
Yes, possibly. But when is this ever the case?
Kane
For older NiCad tool platforms, I have seen third party companies release direct plug-in Lithium Ion batteries; the 18v DeWalt DC9096 equivalent comes to mind.
On the charger aspect, I’ve seen the third-party companies sell ones that offer greater compatibility. Porter Cable and B&D 20v batteries share the same terminal arrangement and a similar design overall; one has a notch on one rail and the other is on the opposite. By eliminating the tabs, some aftermarket chargers work for both.
James C
It’s not usually the case, no. But my point is when companies start DRM-ing their tools you can be sure of one thing: consumers will have fewer options for how to use what they purchased. I appreciate the point about protecting users from themselves and the potential dangers of cheap batteries. The flip side is we’ll be locked out of the benefits of 3rd party products that could actually be good.
riba2233
Ok I have built my own xgt packs with casing and pcb from aliexpress and used high quality samsung 20s cells (which are more powerful that ones makita uses) and I can confirm that this is not true, they charge fully on original charger and tools work with full power.
Robin
I would be more concerned if and when Makita or any tool company decides to stop producing those specific systems and their tools become obsolete.
Sears was famous for this. Porter Cable in recent memory. So if the only option was a third party replacement, you’re kind of in a Catch-22.
Do I keep running my tools at 50 percent or do I get rid of them and buy into a new system?
MC 703
This exactly! I have a few 20v Porter Cable tools that get occasional use (recip, oscillating, second impact driver when using Phillips and T25 on a project). I plan to keep these forever and see no reason to buy another oscillating / recip on my other battery platforms (Ryobi and Ridgid) but PC batteries are getting hard to find or crazy expensive.
Stuart – any thoughts on buying 3rd party to keep a functional tool in use vs replacing?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Stuart
Most brands continue to offer their own replacement brands even when the cordless lines are no longer ubiquitous or available as new.
For the brands that abandon their users to where batteries aren’t available, I’d wear them down until it’s time to buy into a better system.
TTI North America, which designs and develops Ryobi and Ridgid 18V lineups are extremely conscious about how long their users remain in-system. This is why Ryobi still has a stem pack and hasn’t modernized their interface – they know it would leave too many existing users behind.
MC 703
Makes sense. Of course I just checked and can pick up 2 x 4ah OEM batteries linked from the PC site for $100. May as well for that price 🙂
Stuart
That’s good to hear, and a decent price as well.
Brands occasionally have promo pricing where you can get 2x 3.0Ah batteries for $99.
Tom D
There exist pack rebuilders – usually for things like electric bicycles but the theory is the same for tools – here are some tear downs: https://www.sevarg.net/tag/batterypacks/
If you want to you could bust open the dead pack and replace the cells (either from eBay cells or from a competitor’s pack).
tojen1981
I always use oem batteries, but I’m super curious as to what technology Makita plans on using to discern a counterfeit vs an oem battery.
I could see issues coming up down the road when oem packs that are out of warranty start losing performance and the charger deciding it’s not an oem pack and it not receiving the proper charge.
Tim E.
I would guess that an “OEM” determination is not based on battery performance, which would be likely fudgeable on 3P packs with only moderate electronics to disguise an otherwise “lesser” pack. More likely they have some hardware-based security function specific to authentic Makita batteries on one of the BMS chips that communicates with the tool/charger. In that case, short of a 3p company getting their hands on actual Makita BMS chips and using those with their 3p batteries, it would be neigh impossible to fake… similar hardware level security features and communication are quite common, and it isn’t as simple as steal the chip design and make it in another facility and presto you have a Makita OEM chip, aside from the very stiff penalties and relatively easily traceability were one to do so.
Stuart
Different brands already have some handshake protocols, it’s probably tied into this somehow.
x lu
i’d take makita knockoffs any day of the week and twice on Sunday thats how bad the OEM batteries are imo. For other majors, a hard pass on the knockoffs unless in an emergency.
XRH07
Makita OEM batteries haven’t been bad since ~2010, or before they introduced star protection. Today’s packs are absolutely excellent and out of the ~$8k worth of Makita stuff we run where I work we’ve only had 2 failed packs in the past 5 years and were both were covered under warranty. Those packs only failed because they were slim packs and were being used in high draw tools (angle grinder, reciprocating saw.) You’ll get the same sort of problems with any other slim pack from any other brand though. (Milwaukee offers a lesser 2 year warranty on CP packs for a reason)
We used to run 3rd party packs and they failed left, right and center. They were trash and I put a stop to that after I took AC/DC theory and taught myself how to build battery packs.
Know why Makita packs used to be bad? They had no cell balance. The PCB would also only pull power off the first series cell and that just exacerbated the problem.
Know why 3rd party packs are so bad and will pretty much always be bad?
1) No cell balance. I have seen a couple packs with cell balance, but the vast majority don’t.
2) Terrible/poor overheat protections
3) no overdischarge protection
4) Garbage Chinese cells.
5) terrible quality plastic that can’t survive a ~15 ft drop onto grass. Broke one of my rebuilds this way. Never had a Makita pack break even after falling on concrete.
A 3rd party pack inserted into a light or radio will drain well below 12.5V because it isn’t cable of disconnecting itself from the tool like an OEM Makita. And 3rd party packs run on higher draw tools will just cook themselves because their temperature protection is also pretty terrible. Cooked one of my rebuilds with a metal cutting circular saw.
I’ve torn apart both and rebuilt a bunch of 3rd party batteries. There is no comparison and Makita 3rd party are actually some of the worst fakes you can get between the major brands. At least most Dewalt and Milwaukee fakes get cells balance.
Tom D
Interesting on the genuine M18 – the battery is “dumb” and relies on the tool to shut off when the voltage drops too low – I have a device wired in and it will drain an M18 entirely – so low that it won’t show any LED and won’t charge (though letting it “rest” seems to get it charging again).
Gordon
I’ll second everything you said. I was running my angle grinder with a wire wheel on a hot day and only got about 20 min out of my 5.0ah batteries before they would overheat. Once they cooled off I could get another 20 min. I borrowed my dad’s “6.0ah” amazon special battery and got about 30 min before it was spinning too slow to be useful. The battery was too hot to hold and the charger didn’t want to recharge it. So clearly, not a real 6.0ah battery, and no temp or discharge protection. I hardly consider that a deal when it could be killed on the first use.
Bob B.
Odd, I’ve never had an issue with my 8 OEM Makita batteries (2x 4Ah 6x 5Ah).
RI Guy
Name brand batteries are cheaper in the long in that they have a long run. Knockoffs don’t have overload protection generally which is insane with lithium. Not worth it.
Mike
They also make aftermarket chargers so they will charge aftermarket batteries full
Chris S
I love how the OEM’s can “protect the investment” by limiting 3rd party batteries, but still fail to offer an option like partial charging.
Charging a battery to 70-80% for intermittent use and/or extending the batteries useful lifespan is just too hard for tool manufacturers (most phone companies display this anti-consumer behavior as well while making battery replacement even more difficult), and yet they show how easy it actually is.
Somehow manufacturers can feel justified in charging big $$$ ($139) for even the cheapest of setups (5.0AH). Consisting of $30 worth of batteries, $2 PCB, ~$3-5 in electronics, and less than $5 in plastic. Economies of scale would mean it’s even cheaper for them.
Support “right to repair” legislation to help fight against bloated manufacturers and their anti-consumer practices.
Steve S
I have to agree with this.
Manufacturers inevitably trot out the old “safety” bromides to defend anti-competitive practices that are quite apparently designed to limit consumer choices and protect ongoing cash streams. This is true whenever dealing with consumables (and more recently firmware, witness the repair unfriendly practices of some automotive and farm equipment manufacturers). Let the free market customer decide if it’s worth the tradeoff and risk to purchase third party consumables, repair parts, and firmware upgrades.
IMHO the ONLY justifiable manufacturer practice is trademark protection against counterfeits that deceive the consumer into believing a third party item is made by an OEM.
I have several Makita corded tools, but after reading of this anti-consumer tactic I will not be tempted by any of their cordless options.
Stuart
How do you know that other brands don’t already do the same?
We also don’t know the extent to which 3rd party batteries are limited, and there’s no way to find out because Makita USA doesn’t answer questions.
Will
Nah this is garbage. Just means I’d get the knockoff charger to go with it.
aerodawg
Bigotry? For calling them chicoms? The CHInese COMmunistS? The CHInese COMunist party does run the whole country you know? It isn’t bigotry just because you don’t like me calling reality for what it is…. Some people called the Soviets RUSCOMs back in the day. Would you call that bigotry or reality?
Vards Uzvards
For what it is worth, Russians call themselves “russkie” (“русские”).
aerodawg
BTW I have an enormous amount of respect for the Chinese as a whole. Their gov’t is freaking evil but the people themselves are quite impressive industrialists. They can reverse engineer and clone like nobody else, neither of which are easy. Hence the 15 minute work around comment…
Gordon
I think Makita does itself a disservice listing the retail price for batteries so ridiculously high.
A single 5.0ah battery is $149.
The pair is $219.
Yet with a little leg work you can buy a deal like the x2 circ saw with a second set of batteries for $249. So that’s 4 batteries, dual rapid charger, and a circ saw for a little more than the pair of batteries. Keep the saw, or sell it. The bare tool price is over $300 so it’s pretty easy to toss it on marketplace for $100. Now you got 4 batteries and a charger for the same price as the retail price of a single battery.
These sorts of deals aren’t that rare too. There is almost always some OPE that has an extra battery promo going on.
Stuart
A lot of brands aggressively price their kits and bundles.
If you’re buying batteries, you’re an existing user. If you’re shopping for a kit, you might be a new or existing user that can be anchored or more deeply anchored to the cordless system.
Cable, mobile, and internet providers do this all the time. A new subscriber gets so many perks while existing subscribers see rate hikes.
Ken Weinstein
I wish there was a company making “better than OEM” batteries like in automotive, boating, and other industries. I have not found that yet. Every time I try to save a few bucks with knock-offs for my Dewalt or Ryobi I end up returning them to Amazon. I’ll go OEM every time now.
Mike
This isn’t hard to do. All the manufacturer needs to do is install their specific flavor of BMS system with a “handshake” type code that talks to the smart charger to say, “yo dawg I’m legit!” And it’s green light go.
3rd party batteries will have a generic BMS, because it’s cheaper, and that won’t “talk” to the smart charger to the charger goes into “ehhhhh….I’m gonna give you some angry pixies, but not as much as that guy over there that I know.”
In short. Just contact a battery rebuilder. Rebuilding battery packs isn’t rocket surgery. You can buy the battery spot welder off Amazon, and get the pure nickle strips from there as well. Then just source your rechargable cells from one of the many online vendors and BOOM you never need to worry about this nonsense ever again. It’s not like the world is going to suddenly go corded again, or you won’t be able to make a few bucks refurbing batteries for people on the side. Hell I get the “recycle” batteries from the local hardware stores and rebuild those. Sometimes it’s 1 cell that went bad, other times it’s the BMS. Worst case I have enough stuff I can cobble together a quick pack and flip it for pure profit.
Modern problems require modern solutions. Think outside the box.
RCWARD
It’s a joke that each company uses a different type of battery. It should be universal across all platforms. Then you could just choose they type of tool you want to go with and not be concerned about the battery. What if flashlight used their own type of batteries. What a nightmare that would be. Kind of like the tool industries are.
Stuart
It’s not happening.
Rechargeable flashlights often do use very different types of batteries.
Javier M.
I only use OEM batteries in my tools, but even so, I don’t agree that it is a good idea to limit non OEM batteries, almost always less options is not good. I understant the idea of protection to the userbase, but I think it is outside the scope of the manufacturer what the user do with the tools…
It is clear to me and to anybody who uses the tools that the manufacturer only takes responsability with the accesories they approve and test, if I wan’t to use other batteries I should be able to, but also I’m responsible for whatever outcome might rise from it.
On another matter, given that makita puts the electrical protections on the battery and not on the tool itself (like for ex: dewalt or milwaukee) I can see how that might be a problem if the knockoff battery fail to protect the tool in case of a malfunction… whereas on the other systems if there is a malfunction the protection are built in the tools. Each approach have Pros and Cons.. I am not saying one is better than the other, just pointing out the differences in this case in particular
Ian
I personally am ok with this, but will admit to using knockoff batteries for some of my higher voltage outdoor tools. No thank you to buying my 7th weedwacker for 150 with free battery instead of the same loose battery for 170.
I now own a frankenwacker with the best bits and bobs from several successive generation of units.
Handymike
That’s sometimes the best way to go. They make the tool the consumable because it’s cheaper to buy a new tool with the battery.
Nathan
so of the comments I’m of 2 minds here with similar thoughts.
1) makita is going to tag the batteries in some way their charger will know the difference in a fake. With limited contacts to read off of there is only so many ways to skin that cat – all of which point to a coded chip of some flavor. even if it was to squit out a coded radio signal to the charger “hey I’m real” via BT or some approved transmission. still a coded chip. Now to that end it’s replicable. so battery vendor _______ will end up one day selling a full makita compatible battery that isn’t hampered . . . . . . extra words. At that point is it really a safety feature they are defeating?
2) some vendor makes Makita’s batteries for them. Probably Panasonic as a guess but who knows. Now this is also true of team ____________ insert color of choice. and as such it would be nice if those vendors could put out their own battery pack and advertise as full compatible with _______________. because they would know.
Third thought as a tanget – would be nice if some of those vendors would sell a compatible battery base with say interchangeable tops so you could use a battery pack on multiple devices. Top A works _________ while top B works __________ but I know it’s a dream.
Stuart
It’s unclear.
For some tool brands (I haven’t tested all of them yet), you cannot simply connect an 18V DC power source to operate an 18V cordless power tool, the tool will be waiting for signals from sensors or the battery management system.
There are ways to skip the sensors and spoof their normal operating condition signals, and this is something that some replacement battery brands could potentially be doing. How would you know if they are or aren’t? And given what I have seen in online marketplaces, which of these replacement battery brands can be held accountable if battery failure causes property damage or personal injury?
With that last one – I KNOW!!! But, it’s not feasible. Cordless power tool and battery pack tech have grown in sophistication to where there are lots of different things going on, and with different brands taking different approaches to sensor tech, handshakes, or battery size/class identification. There’s no simple common denominator.
High & Mighty
I used to think the same thing about knockoff batteries until I bought a few for my Dewalt tools. I have two knockoff 6ah batteries and one knockoff 9ah battery. They’re even the same colors as the oem Dewalt batteries. Am I going to take them apart and inspect them to see whats so bad about them vs an oem battery? Hell no. I could care less. It’s purpose is to power my tools to perform as they should and to recharge repetitively. That’s all. And thus far they’ve done so quite well. They’re just as good as the oem Dewalt batteries that I own. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them. They do exactly what they’re meant to do. And how the hell would a single one of you know whether or not a knockoff battery is good or bad if you’ve never even used one before. Let alone bought one and used it for an extensive amount of time and put it up against an oem battery to know whether it’s worth a damn or not. Technical knowledge means nothing when being compared to actual use. Now, I don’t use makita tools. I don’t plan on buying into makita tools. I don’t know if the knockoff batteries for makita are terrible or not. So I’m not gonna say that they are or aren’t. I do know that they’re oem batteries used to have some problems with dying prematurely and would fail to charge after a relatively short period of time. But what makita is doing isn’t right. They essentially forcing consumers into buying their proprietary battery. Monopolizing. Oem battery manufacturers have been screwing people for a long time by forcing consumers to buy their proprietary batteries because there were no other options available. We all know those damn batteries costs far more than what they’re worth. Now that there’s finally a cheaper option available, they’re trying to hate on the little guy trying to make a few bucks. That’s some bullshit.
Bob
Stuart, I vehemently disagree with you!
I can’t think of any time limiting consumer choice has ever been a good thing. It boils down to:
“You pay your money and you take your chances”
I don’t like any brand that limits consumer choice. While I agree third-party batteries may or may not be as good as OEM quality I don’t care. I bought the tool. I can do whatever I want with it. If you burn your tool down or your house down you also can’t go after the OEM. Personal responsibility goes both ways.
This is a money grab pure and simple. They can spin it with claims about safety and warranty claims and such but it’s all a bunch of hogwash. They want to sell batteries and that’s their choice. Its also my choice to buy from a different brand.
Are they now going to say I have to buy their carbide tip sawblades. Potentially a third-party could have issues with the brazing? It could throw carbide pieces at me? The hook angle of the tooth could be off. It could climb up out of the board and cut my fingers off or cause kick back in a table saw.
What about proprietary propellants for gas actuated nail guns or charges for powder actuated nail guns. The list goes on
Apple tried this with their stupid chip in their chargers with limited sucess. All of my chargers are aftermarket and better quality than OEM.
On the bright side I’m sure it will only take a few months for the after market to reverse engineer the controls limiting non OEM batteries from a full charge and the problem will sort itself out. I love the free market economy.
My unconfirmed suspicion is that Makita is experiencing a surge in decent quality cheap aftermarket batteries and it’s cutting into their profits. So they came up with this work around. Coupled with the fact of their stale innovation latley the company is probably experiencing some financial hardship.
Perhaps they should focus on innovation instead of limitation.
Stuart
All they’ve said or indicated was that this is a measure to discourage the use of “fake” batteries. We’re left to guess as to the reasons why.
Personally, I’d think (or hope) it’s more done for safety or a more positive user experience. Maybe Makita did something different with XGT where there are greater risks if using knock-off batteries?
Maybe it is just a money grab as you suspect, but if that was the case couldn’t they lock down tool-battery and battery-charger communications to completely prevent the use of 3rd party batteries?
Bob
I would hope they care about safety as well but I think the bottom line is the driving factor unfortunately. I’m sure I will never be privy to that information. I can’t understand why they’re not sharing information with a legit tool journalist like yourself tho.
I’m sure they could build in more secure controls limiting battery choice but then cost and reliability come into factor as well as potentialy limiting older gen genuine batteries. At that point it’s like a new battery system. And nobody likes that!
Ray
I wish I hadn’t bought Makita tools. I bought Makita because the contractor I started working for used them. But I find there tool line confusing as to model differences and their battery prices outrageous.
Doug
Heres my gripe. I bought a 7.2v hand drill in 1995. This thing has had many jobs and has gone through its share of batteries.
Now since i am still using it, its needless to say that it has become a part of me. Its a workhorse, thats for darn sure.
I had to search around for a battery as my old ones had finally broken down. But the drill has not. But since the battery configuration has changed many times since then, I can no longer get a factory replacement. I have always went with original product parts replacement so im getting the same performance and peace of mind. This time i had to choose to get a decent replacement from another source (R.O.V.) as the batteries that came with the drill finally gave in to stress.
Why would i want to search for a new drill when this one is still kickin and screaming through the drywall nailing business?
Cant they just design a battery case that fits all of their tools no matter what, so that youre not forced to buy a new tool. Last i checked, the automotive industry pretty much keeps the battery compartment pretty much the same to fit a large rectangular cube.
Joshb92
People will simply buy 3rd party chargers for their 3rd party batteries… This is pointless really.
Stuart
You’re still not going to get max performance on XGT tools with 3rd party batteries.