18v makita and dewalt tools (1 Viewer)

[bugsnbikes]

A contractor neighbor kicked me down some makita and dewalt 18v lithium ion drills. But no chargers and a few batts that work. does it make sense to invest in some chargers and more batts or is the 18v outdated enuff that I should just jump to 20v system?

Also I’d like to grab an impact for trail use....would an 18v have enuff oomph? And are Milwaukee’s the only way to go on the impacts?

 

[e9999]

some manufacturers (tick me off) will advertise 20V tools that by other manuf standards would be called 18V. Typically they are the same thing (i.e. number of cells in the battery). It depends whether you use the nominal or "maximal" voltage for your marketing. Semantics. So no difference in power between 18V and "20" normally, everything else the same.
Some of the newer batteries may have a variable voltage design, though, like "20 / 40" etc but that's a different issue and you need the proper tool for that.
Generally speaking it's not necessarily true that more voltage equals more power in any case.
More important, I think, is that you decide what brand you want for the long term cuz once you're invested in a brand with a bunch of batteries, it's expensive to change.

 

[KLF]

A 20V is just an 18V that is slightly over charged.

I've been devoted to the Makita LXT 18V line since it came out in 2005, I won't buy anything else. My oldest batteries now are a pair I bought in 2008, still doing fine just a slightly reduced run time. I have beat the hell out of my old impact driver, it just keeps going. I now have a 1/2" impact wrench that lives in my rear drawers, does fine with lug nuts but there have been a few bigger things that I need to bust lose with a breaker first.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

i have line up of makita LION , and they rock , never a battery failure


i would say invest in the makita 18v LION

 

[e9999]

I'd add that usually it's the batteries that are the real $. You can get drills etc really cheap on Craigslist when the owner's batteries fail or are gone and he doesn't want to pony up for new ones. So I don't know that I'd necessarily stick with the drills' brand you just got unless you've already got good batteries for them. If you want to buy a charger, I never found it compelling to get more than one charger for each brand cuz you can usually charge faster than use the battery, and the newer ones are usually able to handle old batteries which is nice. Also, I found that buying a drill/battery/charger kit around christmas sales time usually ends up being only marginally more expensive than buying just a battery or charger by itself. Cuz the brand wants to suck you in. So maybe wait for that?
And I'd go with Makita over Dewalt...

 

[bugsnbikes]

The makita is a smaller one which I think could be more handy fitting into tighter areas of the engine bay on a cruiser.

While the dewalt is fairly big with a battery that’s about twice the physical size of the makita (although the little makita is a 5.0ah )

currently the Makita battery has some life so I know it’s not dead. Whereas the dewalt batt is dead and I’m unsure whether it’s going to even take a charge or not.

so I may just start with finding a charger and second battery deal on the Makita and get rid of the Dewalt.

Is there any merit to using an Oem Makita charger? or will any of the chinesium ones suffice?

 

[e9999]

given that charging most Li ions batteries is a delicate and potentially troublesome affair, that most have complex circuitry, and that you want them to charge reasonably fast, I'd go OEM personally.

 

[mmajsw]

As far as I am aware, all Dewalt 18V batteries are Ni-MH or NiCad while the 20V are lithium. Dewalt does sell an adapter attachment to allow you to use the lithium cell in place of the Ni-MH. I have done that on my drill and saw.
Adapters, battery and charger can be found here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016K1UEPS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Waorani]

Dewalt DC9182 is an 18v Li-ion battery.

 

[45Kevin]

If you look around for deals, you can probably find a drill/impact combo with charger and batteries for same price as replacement batteries and charger for the old tools.

 

[mmajsw]

Dewalt DC9182 is an 18v Li-ion battery.

I stand corrected

 

[gilamonster]

I use my makita 18v impact all the time. Never even touch the air tools anymore. It'll twist all kinds of rusted frozen nuts and bolts out. One of my favorite tools.

 

[Tapage]

While I have few Makita tools, DeWalt have more tools available for good prices ( not new ) to share the same batteries .. I'm still using 18V that have 10 years ..

 

[mdsims]

Late as well but I run the 18v Makita. Better quality and the tool last longer than Dewalt. I’ve owned both. Over time, the Dewalys begin to feel ‘loose’. Currently have the 1/4 hex rattle gun, 3/8 and 1/2 impacts, used to use the long body high torque 1/2 impact but gave that up after breaking too many bolts. Also have the portable band saw and one of the LED work lights. Used a bud’s angle grinder, worked well. Company I used to work for was Makita exclusive so I’ve used just about everything they make. Even the cheesy leaf blower.